The ancient town of Tiberias does not seem to have occupied any part of the present limits of Tabaria, but was probably situated at a short distance farther to the south, near the borders of the lake. Its ruins begin at about five minutes walk from the wall of the present town, on the road to the hot-wells. The only remains of antiquity are a few columns, heaps of stones, and some half ruined walls and foundations of houses. On the sea-side, close to the water, are the ruins of a long thick wall or mole, with a few columns of gray granite, lying in the sea. About mid-way between the town and the hot-wells, in the midst of the plain, I saw seven columns, of which two only are standing upright; and there may probably be more lying on the ground, hid among the high

[p.329] grass with which the plain is covered; they are of gray granite, about twelve or fourteen feet long, and fifteen inches in diameter; at a short distance from them is the fragment of a beautiful column of red Egyptian granite, of more than two feet in diameter. These ruins stretch along the sea-shore, as far as the hot springs, and extend to about three hundred yards inland. The springs are at thirty-five minutes from the modern town, and twenty paces from the water's edge; they were probably very near the gate of the ancient town. No vestiges of buildings of any size are visible here; nothing being seen but the ruins of small arched buildings, and heaps of stone.

There are some other remains of ancient habitations on the north side of the town, upon a hill close to the sea, which is connected with the mountain; here are also some thick walls which indicate that this point, which commands the town, was anciently fortified. None of the ruined buildings in Tiberias or the neighbourhood are constructed with large stones, denoting a remote age; all the walls, of which any fragments yet remain, being of small black stones cemented together by a very thick cement. Upon a low hill on the S.W. side of the town stands a well built mosque, and the chapel of a female saint.

The present hot-bath is built over the spring nearest the town, and consists of two double rooms, the men's apartment being separated from that of the women. The former is a square vaulted chamber, with a large stone basin in the centre, surrounded by broad stone benches; the spring issues from the wall, and flows into the basin or bath. After remaining in the water for about ten minutes, the bathers seat themselves naked upon the stone benches, where they remain for an hour. With this chamber a coffee room cummunicates, in which a waiter lives during the bathing season, and where visitors from a distance may lodge. The spring

[p.330] which has thus been appropriated to bathing, is the largest of four hot sources; the volume of its water is very considerable, and would be sufficient to turn a mill. Continuing along the shore for about two hundred paces, the three other hot-springs are met with, or four, if we count separately two small ones close together. The most southern spring seems to be the hottest of all; the hand cannot be held in it. The water deposits upon the stones over which it flows in its way towards the sea, a thick crust, but the colour of the deposit is not the same from all the springs; in some it is white, in the others it is of a red yellowish hue, a circumstance which seems to indicate that the nature of the water is not the same in all the sources. There are no remains whatever of ancient buildings near the hottest spring.

People from all parts of Syria resort to these baths, which are reckoned most efficacious in July; they are recommended principally for rheumatic complaints, and cases of premature debility. Two patients only were present when I visited them. Some public women of Damascus, who were kept by the garrison of Tabaria, had established themselves in the ruined vaults and caverns near the baths.

In the fourteenth century, according to the testimony of the Arabian geographers, the tomb of Lokman the philosopher was shewn at Tiberias. Not having been immediately able to find a guide to accompany me along the valley of the Jordan, I visited a fortress in the mountain near Medjdel,[See page 320.] of which I had heard much at Tabaria. It is called Kalaat Ibn Maan (Arabic), the castle of the son of Maan, or Kalaat Hamam (Arabic), the Pigeon's castle, on account of the vast quantity of wild pigeons that breed there. It is situated half

KALAAT HAMAM

[p.331] An hour to the west of Medjdel, on the cliff which borders the Wady Hamam. In the calcareous mountain are many natural caverns, which have been united together by passages cut in the rock, and enlarged, in order to render them more commodious for habitation; walls have also been built across the natural openings, so that no person could enter them except through the narrow communicating passages; and wherever the nature of the almost perpendicular cliff permitted it, small bastions were built, to defend the entrance of the castle, which has been thus rendered almost impregnable. The perpendicular cliff forms its protection above, and the access from below is by a narrow path, so steep as not to allow of a horse mounting it. In the midst of the caverns several deep cisterns have been hewn. The whole might afford refuge to about six hundred men; but the walls are now much damaged. The place was probably the work of some powerful robber, about the time of the Crusades; a few vaults of communication, with pointed arches, denote Gothic architecture. Below in the valley runs a small rivulet, which empties itself into the Wady Lymoun. Here the peasants of Medjdel cultivate some gardens.

In returning from the Kalaat Hamam I was several times reprimanded by my guide, for not taking proper care of the lighted tobacco that fell from my pipe. The whole of the mountain is thickly covered with dry grass, which readily takes fire, and the slightest breath of air instantly spreads the conflagration far over the country, to the great risk of the peasant's harvest. The Arabs who inhabit the valley of the Jordan invariably put to death any person who is known to have been even the innocent cause of firing the grass, and they have made it a public law among themselves, that even in the height of intestine warfare, no one shall attempt to set his enemy's harvest on fire. One evening, while at Tabaria, I saw a large fire on the opposite side of the lake, which

LAKE OF TIBERIAS

[p.332] spread with great velocity for two days, till its progress was checked by the Wady Feik.

The water of the lake of Tiberias along its shores from Medjdel to the hot-wells, is of considerable depth, with no shallows. I was told that the water rises during the rainy season, three or four feet above its ordinary level, which seems not at all improbable, considering the great number of winter torrents which empty themselves into the lake. The northern part is full of fish, but I did not see a single one at Szammagh at the southern extremity.[See p. 276] The most common species are the Binni, or carp, and the Mesht (Arabic), which is about a foot long, and five inches broad, with a flat body, like the sole. The fishery of the lake is rented at seven hundred piastres per annum: but the only boat that was employed on it by the fishermen fell to pieces last year, and such is the indolence of these people, that they have not yet supplied its loss. The lake furnishes the inhabitants of Tiberias with water, there being no spring of sweet water near the town. Several houses have salt wells.

June 26th.—I took a guide to Mount Tabor. The whole of this country, even to the gates of Damascus, is in a state of insecurity, which renders it very imprudent to travel alone. Merchants go only in large caravans. We ascended the mountain to the west of the town, and in thirty-five minutes passed the ruined vil[lage] of Szermedein (Arabic), on the declivity of the mountain, where is a fine spring, and the tomb of a celebrated saint. The people of Tabaria here cultivate Dhourra, melons, and tobacco. At the end of one hour we reached the top of the steep mountain, from whence Mount Tabor, or Djebel Tor (Arabic), as the natives call it, bears S.W. by S. From hence the road continues on a gentle

MOUNT TABOR

[p.333] declivity, in the midst of well cultivated Dhourra fields, as far as a low tract called Ardh el Hamma (Arabic). The whole district is covered with the thorny shrub Merar (Arabic). On the west side of Ardh el Hamma we again ascended, and reached the village of Kefer Sebt (Arabic), distant two hours and a half from Tabaria, and situated on the top of a range of hills which run parallel to those of Tabaria. About half an hour to the N.E. is the spring Ain Dhamy (Arabic), in a deep valley. From hence a wide plain extends to the foot of Djebel Tor; in crossing it, we saw on our right, about three quarters of an hour from the road, the village Louby (Arabic), and a little farther on, the village Shedjare (Arabic). The plain was covered with the wild artichoke, called Khob (Arabic); it bears a thorny violet coloured flower, in the shape of an artichoke, upon a stem five feet in height. In three hours and a quarter, we arrived at the Khan of Djebel Tor (Arabic), a large ruinous building, inhabited by a few families. On the opposite side of the road is a half ruined fort. A large fair is held here every Monday. Though the Khan is at no great distance from the foot of Mount Tabor, the people could not inform us whether or not the Mount was inhabited at present; nor were they hospitable enough either to lend or sell us the little provision we might want, should there be no inhabitants. At a quarter of an hour from the Khan is a fine spring, where we found an encampment of Bedouins of the tribe of Szefeyh (Arabic), whose principal riches consist in cows. My guide went astray in the valleys which surround the lower parts of Djebel Tor, and we were nearly three hours, from our departure from the Khan, in reaching the top of the Mount.

Mount Tabor is almost insulated, and overtops all the neighbouring summits. On its south and west sides extends a large

[p.334] plain, known by the name of Merdj Ibn Aamer (Arabic), the Plain of Esdrelon of the Scriptures. To the S. of the plain are the mountains of Nablous, and to the N. of it, those of Nazareth, which reach to the foot of Mount Tabor, terminating at the village of Daboury. The plain of Esdrelon is about eight hours in length and four in breadth, it is very fertile, but at present almost entirely deserted. The shape of Mount Tabor is that of a truncated cone; its sides are covered to the top with a forest of oak and wild pistachio trees; its top is about half an hour in circuit. The mountain is entirely calcareous. We found on the top a single family of Greek Christians, refugees from Ezra, a village in the Haouran, where I had known them during my stay there in November, 1810. They had retired to this remote spot, to avoid paying taxes to the government, and expected to remain unnoticed; they rented the upper plain at the rate of fifty piastres per annum from the Sheikh of Daboury, to which village the mountain belongs; the harvest, which they were now gathering in, was worth about twelve hundred piastres, and they had had the good fortune not to be disturbed by any tax-gatherers, which will certainly not be the case next year, should they remain here.

On the top of Mount Tabor are found the remains of a large fortress. A thick wall, constructed with large stones, may be traced quite round the summit, close to the edge of the precipice; on several parts of it are the remains of bastions. On the west side a high arched gate, called Bab el Haoua (Arabic), or the gate of the winds, is shewn, which appears to have been the principal entrance. The area is overspread with the ruins of private dwellings, built of stone with great solidity. There are no springs, but a great number of reservoirs have been cut in the rock, two of which are still of service in supplying water. The Christians consider

[p.335] Mount Tabor a holy place, in honour of the Transfiguration, but the exact spot at which it took place is not known; and the Latins and Greeks are at variance upon the subject. The Latins celebrate the sacred event in a small cavern, where they have formed a chapel; at about five minutes walk from which, the Greeks have built a low circular wall, with an altar before it, for the same purpose. The Latin missionaries of the Frank convent of Nazareth send annually two fathers to celebrate a mass in their chapel; they generally choose St. Peter's day for making this visit, and arrive here in the morning, in order that they may read the evening mass in the church of St. Peter at Tabaria. The Greek priests of Nazareth visit their chapel of Mount Tabor on the festival of the Virgin, on which occasion several thousand pilgrims repair to the mountain, where they pass the night under tents with their families, in mirth and feasting.

During the greater part of the summer Mount Tabor is covered in the morning with thick clouds, which disperse towards mid-day. A strong wind blows the whole of the day, and in the night dews fall, more copious than any I had seen in Syria. In the wooded parts of the mountain are wild boars and ounces. I lodged with my old acquaintance the Arab of Ezra, who had taken up his quarters in one of the ruined habitations.

June 27th.—After mid-day we returned to Tabaria by the same road. On entering the church-yard of St. Peter's, my old lodgings, I was not a little surprised to find it full of strangers. Mr. Bruce, an English traveller, had arrived from Nazareth, in company with several priests of the Frank convent, who intended to celebrate mass at night, this being St. Peter's day. I was easily prevailed on by Mr. Bruce to accompany him on his return to Nazareth the following morning, the more so, as I there hoped to find a guide for the valley of the Jordan; for no person at Tabaria

NAZARETH

[p.336] seemed to be inclined to undertake the journey, except in the company of an armed caravan.

June 28th.—We left Tabaria two hours before sun-rise. There are two direct roads to Nazareth; one by Kefer Sebt and El Khan, the other by Louby. We took a third, that we might visit some spots recorded in the New Testament. In one hour from Tabaria we passed a spring called Ain el Rahham (Arabic). At two hours and a half, the road leads over a high uncultivated plain, to Hedjar el Noszara (Arabic), the Stones of the Christians, four or five blocks of black stone, upon which Christ is said to have reclined while addressing the people who flocked around him. The priests of Nazareth stopped to read some prayers over the stones. Below this place, towards the N.E. extends a small plain, called Sahel Hottein (Arabic). The country is intersected by Wadys. About one hour distant from the stones, upon the same level, stands a hill of an oblong shape, with two projecting summits on one of its extremities; the natives call it Keroun Hottein (Arabic), the Horns of Hottein. The Christians have given it the appellation of Mons Beatitudinis, and pretend that the five thousand were there fed. We travelled over an uneven, uncultivated ground, until we arrived at Kefer Kenna (Arabic), four hours and a quarter from Tabaria, a neat village with a copious spring surrounded by plantations of olive and other fruit trees, and chiefly inhabited by Catholic Christians. This is the Cana celebrated in the New Testament for the miracle at the marriage feast; and the house is shewn in which Our Saviour performed it. We rested under an immense fig-tree, which afforded shelter from the sun to a dozen men and as many horses and mules. From hence the road ascends, and continues across chalky hills, overgrown with low shrubs, as far as Naszera (Arabic) or Nazareth, eight hours from Tabaria, by the road we travelled. I alighted at the convent

[p.337] belonging to the missionaries of Terra Santa. Here Mr. Bruce introduced me to Lady Hester Stanhope, who had arrived a few days before from Jerusalem and Akka, and was preparing to visit the northern parts of Syria, and among other places Palmyra. The manly spirit and enlightened curiosity of this lady ought to make many modern travellers ashamed of the indolent indifference with which they hurry over foreign countries. She sees a great deal, and carefully examines what she sees; but it is to be hoped that the polite and distinguished manner in which she is every where received by the governors of the country, will not impress her with too favourable an opinion of the Turks in general, and of their disposition towards the nations of Europe.

Naszera is one of the principal towns of the Pashalik of Akka; its inhabitants are industrious, because they are treated with less severity than those of the country towns in general; two-thirds of them are Turks, and one-third Christians; there are about ninety Latin families; together with a congregation of Greek Catholics and another of Maronites. The house of Joseph is shewn to pilgrims and travellers; but the principal curiosity of Nazareth is the convent of the Latin friars, a very spacious and commodious building, which was thoroughly repaired, and considerably enlarged in 1730. Within it is the church of the Annunciation, in which the spot is shewn where the angel stood, when he announced to the Virgin Mary the tidings of the Messiah; behind the altar is a subterraneous cavern divided into small grottos, where the Virgin is said to have lived: her kitchen, parlour, and bedroom, are shewn, and a narrow hole in the rock, in which the child Jesus once hid himself from his persecutors; for the Syrian Christians have a plentiful stock of such traditions, unfounded upon any authority of Scripture. The pilgrims who visit these holy spots are in the habit of knocking off small pieces of stone from the

[p.338] walls of the grottos, which are thus continually enlarging. In the church a miracle is still exhibited to the faithful; a fine granite column, the base and upper part of which remain, has lost the middle part of its shaft. According to the tradition, it was destroyed by the Saracens, ever since which time, the upper part has been miraculously suspended from the roof, as if attracted by a load-stone. All the Christians of Nazareth, with the friars of course at their head, affect to believe in this miracle, although it is perfectly evident that the upper part of the column is connected with the roof. The church is the finest in Syria, next to that of the Holy Sepulchre at Jerusalem, and contains two tolerably good organs. Within the walls of the convent are two gardens, and a small burying ground; the walls are very thick, and serve occasionally as a fortress to all the Christians of the town. There are at present eleven friars in the convent.

The yearly expenses of the establishment amount to upwards of L900. sterling, a small part of which is defrayed by the rent of a few houses in the town, and by the produce of some acres of corn land; the rest is remitted from Jerusalem. The whole annual expenses of the Terra Santa convents are about L15,000. They have felt very sensibly the occupation of Spain by the French, and little has been received from Europe for the last four years; while the Turkish authorities exact the same yearly tribute and extraordinary contributions, as formerly;[The Terra Santa pays to the Pasha of Damascus about L12000. a year; the Greek convent of Jerusalem pays much more, as well to maintain its own privileges, as with a view to encroach upon those of the Latins.] so that if Spain be not speedily liberated, it is to be feared that the whole establishment of the Terra Santa must be abandoned. This would be a great calamity, for it cannot be doubted that they have done honour to the European

[p.339] name in the Levant, and have been very beneficial to the cause of Christianity under the actual circumstances of the East.

The friars are chiefly Spanjards; they are exasperated against France, for pretending to protect them, without affording them the smallest relief from the Pasha's oppressions:[I understood from the Spanish consul at Cairo, that when the news of the capture of Madrid, in August, 1812, reached Jerusalem, the Spanish priests celebrated a public Te Deum, and took the oaths prescribed by the new constitution of the Cortes.] but they are obliged to accept this protection, as the Spanish ambassador at Constantinople is not yet acknowledged by the Porte. They are well worth the attention of any ambassador at the Porte, whose government is desirous of maintaining an influence in Syria, for they command the consciences of upwards of eighty thousand souls.

When the French invaded Syria, Nazareth was occupied by six or eight hundred men, whose advanced posts were at Tabaria and Szaffad. Two hours from hence, General Kleber sustained with a corps not exceeding fifteen hundred men, the attack of the whole Syrian army, amounting to at least twenty-five thousand. He was posted in the plain of Esdrelon, near the village of Foule, where he formed his battalion into a square, which continued fighting from sun-rise to mid-day, until they had expended almost all their ammunition. Bonaparte, informed of Kleber's perilous situation, advanced to his support with six hundred men. No sooner had he come in sight of the enemy and fired a shot over the plain, than the Turks, supposing that a large force was advancing, took precipitately to flight, during which several thousands were killed, and many drowned in the river Daboury, which then inundated a part of the plain. Bonaparte dined at Nazareth, the most northern point that he reached in Syria, and returned the same day to Akka.

[p.340] After the retreat of the French from Akka, Djezzar Pasha resolved on causing all the Christians in his Pashalik to be massacred, and had already sent orders to that effect to Jerusalem and Nazareth; but Sir Sidney Smith being apprized of his intentions reproached him for his cruelty in the severest terms, and threatened that if a single Christian head should fall, he would bombard Akka and set it on fire. Djezzar was thus obliged to send counter orders, but Sir Sidney's interference is still remembered with heartfelt gratitude by all the Christians, who look upon him as their deliverer. "His word," I have often heard both Turks and Christians exclaim, "was like God's word, it never failed." The same cannot be said of his antagonist at Akka, who maliciously impressed the Christians, certainly much inclined in his favour, with the idea of his speedy return from Egypt. On retreating from Akka he sent word to his partizans at Szaffad and Nazareth, exhorting them to bear up resolutely against the Turks but for three months, when, he assured them upon his honour, and with many oaths, that he would return with a much stronger force, and deliver them from their oppressors.

The inhabitants of Nazareth differ somewhat in features and colour from the northern Syrians; their physiognomy approaches that of the Egyptians, while their dialect and pronunciation differ widely from those of Damascus. In western Palestine, especially on the coast, the inhabitants, seem in general, to bear more resemblance to the natives of Egypt, than to those of northern Syria. Towards the east of Palestine, on the contrary, especially in the villages about Nablous, Jerusalem, and Hebron, they are evidently of the true Syrian stock, in features, though not in language. It would be an interesting subject for an artist to pourtray accurately the different character of features of the Syrian nations; the Aleppine, the Turkman, the native of Mount

[p.341] Libanus, the Damascene, the inhabitant of the sea-coast from Beirout to Akka, and the Bedouin, although all inhabiting the same country, have distict national physiognomies, and a slight acquaintance with them enables one to determine the native district of a Syrian, with almost as much certainty as an Englishman may be distinguished at first sight from an Italian or an inhabitant of the south of France.

The Christians of Nazareth enjoy great liberty. The fathers go a shooting alone in their monastic habits to several hours distance from the convent, without ever being insulted by the Turks. I was told that about thirty years ago the padre guardiano of the convent was also Sheikh or chief justice of the town, an office for which he paid a certain yearly sum to the Pasha of Akka; the police of the place was consequently in his hands, and when any disturbance happened, the reverend father used to take his stick, repair to the spot, and lay about him freely, no matter whether upon Turks or Christians. The guardian has still much influence in the town, because he is supposed, as usual, to be on good terms with the Pasha, but at present the chief man at Nazareth is M. Catafago, a merchant of Frank origin, born at Aleppo. He has rented from the Pasha about twelve villages situated in the neighbourhood of Nazareth and the plain of Esdrelon, for which he pays yearly upwards of L3000.[The villages in the Pashalik of Akka are all of the description which the Turkish law calls Melk. They are all assessed at certain yearly sums, which each is obliged to pay, whatever may be the number of its inhabitants. This is one of the chief causes of the depopulation of many parts of Syria.] His profits are very considerable, and as he meddles much in the politics and intrigues of the country, he has become a person of great consequence. His influence and recommendations may prove very useful to travellers in Palestine, especially to those who visit the dangerous districts of Nablous.

NABLOUS

[p.342] It happened luckily during my stay at Nazareth, that two petty merchants arrived there from Szalt, to take up some merchandize which they sell at Szalt on account of their principals at this place. Szalt was precisely the point I wished to reach, not having been able to visit it during my late tour in the mountains of Moerad; on their return therefore I gladly joined their little carayan, and we left Nazareth at midnight, on the 1st of July.

July 2d.—Our road lay over a mountainous country. In two hours from Nazareth we passed a small rivulet. Two hours and a half, the village Denouny (Arabic), and near it the ruins of Endor, where the witch's grotto is shewn. From hence the direction of our route was S.S.E. Leaving Mount Tabor to the left we passed along the plain of Esdrelon: meeting with several springs in our road; but the country is a complete desert, although the soil is fertile. At five hours and a half is the village of Om el Taybe (Arabic), belonging to the district of Djebel Nablous, or as it is also called Belad Harthe (Arabic). The inhabitants of Nablous are governed by their own chiefs, who are invested by the Pasha. It is said that the villages belonging to the district can raise an army of five thousand men. They are a restless people, continually in dispute with each other, and frequently in insurrection against the Pasha. Djezzar never succeeded in completely subduing them, and Junot, with a corps of fifteen hundred French soldiers, was defeated by them. The principal chief of Nablous at present is of the family of Shadely (Arabic). In six hours and three quarters we passed the village of Meraszrasz (Arabic), upon the summit of a chain of hills on the side of Wady Oeshe (Arabic), which falls into the Jordan. At about half an hour to the north of this Wady runs another, called Wady Byre (Arabic), likewise falling into that river. Between these two valleys are situated the villages of Denna (Arabic) and Kokab (Arabic). Beyond Meraszrasz

BYSAN

[p.343] we began to descend, and reached the bottom of the valley El Ghor in seven hours and three quarters from our departure from Nazareth. We now turned more southward, and followed the valley as far as Bysan, distant eight hours and a quarter from Nazareth.

The two merchants and myself had left the caravan at Meraszrasz, and proceeded to Bysan, there to repose till the camels came up: but the drivers missed the road, and we continued almost the whole day in search of them. Bysan (Bethsan, Scythopolis) is situated upon rising ground, on the west side of the Ghor, where the chain of mountains bordering the valley declins considerably in height, and presents merely elevated ground, quite open towards the west. At one hour distant, to the south, the mountains begin again. The ancient town was watered by a river, now called Moiet Bysan (Arabic), or the water of Bysan, which flows in different branches towards the plain. The ruins of Scythopolis are of considerable extent, and the town, built along the banks of the rivulet and in the valleys formed by its several branches, must have been nearly three miles in circuit. The only remains are large heaps of black hewn stones, many foundations of houses, and the fragments of a few columns. I saw only a single shaft of a column standing. In one of the valleys is a large mound of earth, which appeared to me to be artificial; it was the site perhaps of a castle for the defence of the town. On the left bank of the stream is a large Khan, where the caravans repose which take the shortest road from Jerusalem to Damascus.

The present village of Bysan contains seventy or eighty houses; its inhabitants are in a miserable condition, from being exposed to the depredations of the Bedouins of the Ghor, to whom they also pay a heavy tribute. After waiting here some time for the arrival of the caravan, we rode across the valley, till we reached the

VALLEY OF THE JORDAN

[p.344] banks of the Jordan, about two hours distant from Bysan, which bore N.N.W. from us. We here crossed the river at a ford, where our companions arrived soon afterwards.

The valley of the Jordan, or El Ghor (Arabic), which may be said to begin at the northern extremity of the lake of Tiberias, has near Bysan a direction of N. by E. and S. by W. Its breadth is about two hours. The great number of rivulets which descend from the mountains on both sides, and form numerous pools of stagnant water, produce in many places a pleasing verdure, and a luxuriant growth of wild herbage and grass; but the greater part of the ground is a parched desert, of which a few spots only are cultivated by the Bedouins. In the neighbourhood of Bysan the soil is entirely of marle; there are very few trees; but wherever there is water high reeds are found. The river Jordan, on issuing from the lake of Tiberias, flows for about three hours near the western hills, and then turns towards the eastern, on which side it continues its course for several hours. The river flows in a valley of about a quarter of an hour in breadth, which is considerably lower than the rest of the plain of Ghor; this lower valley is covered with high trees and a luxuriant verdure, which affords a striking contrast with the sandy slopes that border it on both sides. The trees most frequently met with on the banks of the Jordan are of the species called by the Arabs Gharab (Arabic) and Kottab (Arabic) [The following are the names or the rivulets which descend from the western mountains into the Ghor, to the north or Bysan. Beginning at the southern extremity of the lake of Tiberias are Wady Fedjaz (Arabic), Ain el Szammera (Arabic), Wady Djaloud (Arabic), Wady el Byre (Arabic), and Wady el Oeshe (Arabic). To the south of Bysan are Wady el Maleh (Arabic), Wady Medjedda (Arabic), with a ruined town so called, Wady el Beydhan (Arabic), coming from the neighbourhood of Nablous, and Wady el Farah (Arabic). On the east side of the Jordan, beginning at the Sheriat el Mandhour, and continuing to the place where we crossed the river, the following Wadys empty themselves into it: Wady el Arab (Arabic), Wady el Koszeir (Arabic), Wady el Taybe (Arabic), Wady el Seklab (Arabic), which last falls into the Jordan near the village Erbayn, about one hour's distance north of the place where we crossed. This Wady forms the boundary between the districts; called El Koura and El Wostye.

On the west side of the river, to the north of Bysan, are the following ruined places in the Ghor: beginning at the lake, Faszayl (Arabic), El Odja (Arabic), Ayn Sultan (Arabic). Near where we crossed, to the south, are the ruins of Sukkot (Arabic). On the western banks of the river, farther south than Ayn Sultan, which is about one hour distant from Bysan, there are no ruins, as far as Rieha, or Jericho, the yalley in that direction being full of rocks, and little susceptible of cultivation.].

[p.345] The river, where we passed it, was about eighty paces broad, and about three feet deep; this, it must be recollected, was in the midst of summer. In the winter it inundates the plain in the bottom of the narrow valley, but never rises to the level of the upper plain of the Ghor, which is at least forty feet above the level of the river. The river is fordable in many places during summer, but the few spots where it may be crossed in the rainy season are known only to the Arabs.

After passing the river we continued our route close to the foot of the eastern mountain. In half an hour from the ford we crossed Wady Mous (Arabic), coming from the mountains of Adjeloun. In one hour and a quarter we passed Wady Yabes, and near it, the Mezar, or saint's tomb called Sherhabeib (Arabic). In two hours we came to a stony and hilly district, intersected by several deep but dry Wadys, called Korn el Hemar (Arabic), the Ass's Horn. Our direction was alternately S. and S. by W. Here the Jordan returns to the western side of the valley. The Korn el Hemar

ABOU OBEIDA

[p.346] projects into the Ghor about four miles, so that when seen from the north the valley seems to be completely shut up by these hills. From thence a fertile tract commences, overgrown with many Bouttom (Arabic) or wild pistachio trees. Large tracts of ground were burnt, owing probably to the negligence of travellers who had set the dry grass on fire. At the end of six hours, and late at night, we passed to the right, the ruins of an ancient city standing on the declivity of the mountain and still bearing its original name Amata (Arabic). My companions told me that several columns remain standing, and also some large buildings. A small rivulet here descends into the plain. In six hours and a half we reached the Mezar Abou Obeida (Arabic), where we rested for two hours. The tomb of the Sheikh is surrounded by a few peasant's houses; but there are no inhabitants at present, except the keeper of the tomb and his wife, who live upon the charity of the Bedouins. It appears from the account given by the great Barbary traveller, Ibn Batouta, that in the sixteenth century this part of the Ghor was well cultivated, and full of villages.

The valley of the Jordan affords pasturage to numerous tribes of Bedouins. Some of them remain here the whole year, considering it as their patrimony; others visit it only in winter; of the latter description are the Bedouins who belong to the districts of Naszera and Nablous, as well as those of the eastern mountains. We met with several encampments of stationary Bedouins, who cultivate a few fields of wheat, barley, and Dhourra. They are at peace with the people of Szalt, to many of whom the greater part of them are personally known; we therefore passed unmolested; but a stranger who should venture to travel here unaccompanied by a guide of the country would most certainly be stripped.[For the names of the Bedouin tribes see the classification, in the Appendix.]

ELMEYSERA

[p.347]July 3d.—We departed from Abou Obeida long before sun-rise, proceeding from thence in a more western direction. In a quarter of an hour we passed the northern branch of the river El Zerka, near a mill, which was at work. In one hour we passed the principal stream, a small river, which empties itself into the Jordan about one hour and a half to the S.W. of the spot where it issues from the mountain. Its banks are overgrown with Defle (Solanum furiosum). On the other side of the Zerka we ascended the mountain by a steep acclivity, but the road, from being much frequented, is tolerably good. The mountain consists of calcareous rock, with layers of various coloured sand-stone, and large blocks of the black Haouran stone, or basalt, which forms a principal feature in the mineralogy of Eastern Syria. In two hours and three quarters we arrived at the top of the mountain, from whence Abou Obeida bore N.N.W. Here we had a fine view over the valley below.

On the west side of the Jordan, between the river and the mountains of Nablous, I remarked a chain of low calcareous rocky heights which begin at about three hours north of Abou Obeida, and continue for several hours distance to the S. of that place on the opposite side of the river. The highest point of Djebel Nablous bore N.W.; the direction of Nablous itself was pointed out to me as W.N.W. On the summit where we stood are some large heaps of hewn stones, and several ruined walls, with the fragments of three large columns. The Arabs call the spot El Meysera (Arabic). The Zerka, or Jabock of the Scriptures, divides the district of Moerad from the country called El Belka (Arabic). The highest summit of the mountains of Moerad seems to be considerably higher than any part of the mountains of Belka. From Meysera the road continues over an uneven tract, along the summit of the lower ridge of mountains which form the northern limits of

MOUNT OSHA

[p.348] the Belka. We had now entered a climate quite different from that of the Ghor. During the whole of yesterday we had been much oppressed by heat, which was never lessened by the slightest breeze; in the Belka mountains, on the contrary, we were refreshed by cool winds, and every where found a grateful shade of fine oak and wild pistachio trees, with a scenery more like that of Europe than any I had yet seen in Syria. In three quarters of an hour from Meysera we passed a spring. I was told that in the valley of the Zerka, at about one hour above its issue from the mountains into the plain, are several hills, called Telloul el Dahab (Arabic) (the Hills of Gold), so called, as the Arabs affirm, from their containing a gold mine. In one hour and a quarter we passed the ruined place called El Herath (Arabic). The Arabs cultivate here several fields of Dhourra and cucumbers. My companions seeing no keepers in the neighbouring wood carried off more than a quintal of cucumbers. About one hour to the S.E. of Herath are the ruined places called Allan (Arabic), and Syhhan (Arabic). At the end of two hours we reached the foot of the mountain called Djebel Djelaad and Djebel Djelaoud (Arabic), the Gilead of the Scriptures, which runs from east to west, and is about two hours and a half in length. Upon it are the ruined towns of Djelaad and Djelaoud. We ascended the western extremity of the mountain, and then reached the lofty mountain called Djebel Osha, whose summit overtops the whole of the Belka. In three hours and a quarter from Meysera we passed near the top of Mount Osha (Arabic), our general direction being still S.S.E. The forest here grows thicker; it consists of oak, Bouttom, and Balout (Arabic) trees. The Keykab is also very common. In three hours and three quarters we descended the southern side of the mountain, near the tomb of Osha, and reached Szalt (Arabic), four hours and a half distant from Meysera. Near the tomb of Osha was an encampment of about sixty tents

SZALT

[p.349] of the tribe of Abad (Arabic); they had lately been robbed of almost all their cattle by the Beni Szakher, and were reduced to such misery that they could not afford to give us a little sour milk which we begged of them. They were still at war with the Beni Szakher, and were in hopes of recovering a part of their property; but as they were too weak to act openly, they had encamped, for protection, in the neighbourhood of their friends the inhabitants of Szalt. They intended to make from hence some plundering excursions against their enemies, for they had now hardly any thing more to lose in continuing at war with them. I alighted at Szalt at the house of one of my companions, where I was hospitably entertained during the whole of my stay at this place.

The town of Szalt is situated on the declivity of a hill, crowned by a castle, and is surrounded on all sides by steep mountains. It is the only inhabited place in the province of Belka, and its inhabitants are quite independent. The Pashas of Damascus have several times endeavoured in vain to subdue them. Abdulla Pasha, the late governor, besieged the town for three months, without success. The population consists of about four hundred Musulman and eighty Christian families of the Greek church, who live in perfect amity and equality together: the Musulmans are composed of three tribes, the Beni Kerad (Arabic), the Owamele (Arabic), and the Kteyshat (Arabic), each of which has its separate quarter in the town; the principal Sheikhs, at present two in number, live in the castle; but they have no other authority over the rest than such as a Bedouin Sheikh exercises over his tribe. The castle was almost wholly rebuilt by the famous Dhaher el Omar,[See the history of Sheikh Dhaher, the predecessor of Djezzar Pasha in the government of Akka, in Volney. Voyage en Egypte et en Syrie, vol. ii. chap. 25. Ed.] who resided here several years. He obtained possession by the assistance of the weakest of the two parties into which the place

AIN DJEDOUR

[p.350] was divided, but he was finally driven out by the united efforts of both parties.

The castle is well built, has a few old guns, and is surrounded by a wide ditch. In the midst of the town is a fine spring, to which there is a secret subterraneous passage from the castle, still made use of in times of siege. In a narrow valley about ten minutes walk from the town, is another spring called Ain Djedour (Arabic), the waters of both serve to irrigate the gardens and orchards which lie along the valley. Opposite to Ain Djedour is a spacious sepulchral cave cut in the rock, which the people affirm to have been a church. In the town, an old mosque is the only object that presents itself to the antiquary. The Christians have a small church, dedicated to the Virgin, where divine service is performed by two priests, who each receive annually from their community about L4. They are not very rigid observers either of their prayers or fasts; and although it was now the time of Lent with the Greeks, I daily saw the most respectable Christians eating flesh and butter.

The greater part of the population of Szalt is agricultural, a few are weavers, and there are about twenty shops, which sell on commission for the merchants of Nazareth, Damascus, Nablous, and Jerusalem, and furnish the Bedouins with articles of dress and furniture. The prices are at least fifty per cent. higher than at Damascus. The culture consists of wheat and barley, the superfluous produce of which is sold to the Bedouins; vast quantities of grapes are also grown, which are dried and sold at Jerusalem. The arable fields are at least eight miles distant from Szalt, in the low grounds of the neighbouring mountains, where they take advantage of the winter torrents. In the time of harvest the Szaltese transport their families thither, where they live for several months under tents, like true Bedouins. The principal encampment

SZALT

[p.351] is at a place called Feheis, about one bour and a half to the S.E. of Szalt.

In addition to the means of subsistence just mentioned the inhabitants of Szalt have several others: in July and August they collect, in the mountains of the Belka the leaves of the Sumach, which they dry and carry to the market at Jerusalem, for the use of the tanneries; upwards of five hundred camel loads are yearly exported, at the rate of fifteen to eighteen piastres the cwt. The merchants also buy up ostrich feathers from the Bedouins, which they sell to great advantage at Damascus.

The food and clothing of the Szaltese are inferior in quality to those of the peasants of northern Syria. Their dress, especially the women's approaches to that of the Bedouins: their language is the true Bedouin dialect. The only public expense incurred by them is that of entertaining travellers: for this purpose there are four public taverns (Menzel, or Medhafe), three belonging to the Turks and one to the Christians; and whoever enters there is maintained as long as he chooses, provided his stay be not prolonged to an unreasonable period, without reasons being assigned for such delay. Breakfast, dinner, and supper, with a proportionate number of cups of coffee, are served up to the stranger, whoever he may be. For guests of respectability a goat or lamb is slaughtered, and some of the inhabitants then partake of the supper. The expenses incurred by these Menzels are shared among the heads of families, according to their respective wealth, and every tavern has a kind of landlord, who keeps the accounts, and provides the kitchen out of the common stock. I was told that every respectable family paid about fifty piastres per annum into the hands of the master of the Menzels, which makes altogether a sum of about L1000. spent in the entertainment of strangers. Were the place dependent on any Turkish government,

[p.352] more than triple that sum would be extorted from its inhabitants for the support of passengers. Besides the Menzels every family is always ready to receive any acquaintances who may prefer their house to the public inn. It will readily be conceived, that upon these terms the people of Szalt are friends of the neighbouring Bedouins; who moreover fear them because they have a secure retreat, and can muster about four hundred fire-locks, and from forty to fifty horses. The powerful tribe of Beni Szakher alone is fearless of the people of Szalt; on the contrary, they exact a small yearly tribute from the town, which is willingly paid, in order to secure the harvest against the depredations of these formidable neighbours; disputes nevertheless arise, and Szalt is often at war with the Beni Szakher.

While I remained at Szalt I was told of a traveller of whom I had also heard in the Haouran; he was a Christian of Abyssinia, whose desire it was to end his days at Jerusalem; he first sailed from Massoua to Djidda, where he was seized by the Wahabi, and carried to their chief Ibn Saoud at Deraye, where he remained two years. From Deraye he crossed the desert with the encampments of wandering Bedouins, in the direction of Damascus, and last year he reached Boszra in the Haouran, from whence he was sent by the Christians to Szalt, where he remained a few days, and then proceeded for Jerusalem. When he arrived at the Jordan, he declared to his companions that he was a priest, a circumstance which he had always kept secret; he continued two days on the banks of the river fasting and praying, and from thence made his way alone to Jerusalem. He never tasted animal food, and although he had experienced no sickness on the road, he died soon after his arrival in the holy city.

It was not my intention to tarry at Szalt; I wished to proceed by the first opportunity to Kerek, a town on the eastern side of the

MEZAR OSHA

[p.353] Dead sea; but the communications in these deserted countries are far from being regular, and the want of a proper guide obliged me to delay my departure for ten days; during this delay I had the good fortune to see the ruins of Amman, which I had not been able to visit in the course of my late tour in the Decapolis. But before I describe Amman I shall subjoin some notes on the neighbourhood of Szalt.

A narrow valley leads up from Szalt towards the Mezar Osha, which I have already mentioned. Half way up, the valley is planted with vines, which are grown upon terraces as in Mount Libanus, to prevent their being washed away by the winter torrents. The Mezar Osha is supposed to contain the tomb of Neby Osha, or the prophet Hosea, equally revered by Turks and Christians, and to whom the followers of both religions are in the habit of offering prayers and sacrifices. The latter consist generally of a sheep, to be slain in honour of the saint, or of some perfumes to be burnt over his tomb. I was invited to partake of a sheep presented by a suppliant, to whose prayers the saint had been favourable. There was a large party, and we spent a very pleasant day under a fine oak-tree just by the tomb. The wives and daughters of those who were invited were present, and mixed freely in the conversation. The tomb is covered by a vaulted building, one end of which serves as a mosque; the tomb itself, in the form of a coffin, is thirty-six feet long, three feet broad, and three feet and a half in height, being thus constructed in conformity with the notion of the Turks, who suppose that all our forefathers were giants, and especially the prophets before Mohammed. The tomb of Noah in the valley of Coelo-Syria is still longer. The coffin of Osha is covered with silk stuffs of different colours, which have been presented to him as votive offerings. Visitors generally throw a couple of paras upon the tomb. These are

[p.354] collected by the guardian, and pay the expenses of illuminating the apartment during the summer months; for in the winter season hardly any body seeks favours at the shrine of the saint. In one corner stands a small plate, upon which some of the most devout visitors place a piece of incense. A wooden partition separates the tomb from the mosque, where the Turks generally say a few prayers before they enter the inner apartment. On the outside of the building is a very large and deep cistern much frequented by the Bedouins. Here is a fine view over the Ghor. Rieha, or Jericho, is visible at a great distance to the southward. About half an hour to the N.W. of Osha, on the lower part of the mountain, is the ruined place called Kafer Houda (Arabic).

As pilgrimage in the east is generally coupled with mercantile speculations, Osha's tomb is much resorted to for commercial purposes, and like Mekka and Jerusalem, is transformed into a fair at the time of the visit of the pilgrims. The Arabs of the Belka, especially the Beni Szakher, bring here Kelly or soap-ashes, which they burn during the summer in large quantities: these are bought up by a merchant of Nablous, who has for many years monopolized the trade in this article. The soap-ashes obtained from the herb Shiman, of the Belka, are esteemed the best in the country, to the S. of Damascus, as those of Palmyra are reckoned the best in northern Syria. They are sold by the Arabs for about half a crown the English cwt., but the purchaser is obliged to pay heavy duties upon them. The chief of the Arabs of El Adouan, who is looked upon as the lord of the Belka, although his tribe is at present considerably weakened, exacts for himself five piastres from every camel load, two piastres for his writer, and two piastres for his slave. The town of Szalt takes one piastre for every load, the produce of which duty is divided among the public taverns of the town. The quantity of soap-ashes brought to

[p.355] the Osha market amounts, one year with another, to about three thousand camel loads. The Nablous merchant is obliged to come in person to Szalt in autumn. According to old customs, he alights at a private house, all the expenses of which he pays during his stay; he is bound also to feed all strangers who arrive during the same period at Szalt; in consequence of which the Menzels remain shut; and he makes considerable presents on quitting the place. In order that all the inhabitants may share in the advantages arising from his visits, he alights at a different house every year.

In descending the narrow valley to the south of Szalt, the ruins of a considerable town are met with, consisting of foundations of buildings and heaps of stones. The Arabs call the place Kherbet el Souk (Arabic). Near it is a fine spring called Ain Hazeir (Arabic) (perhaps the ancient Jazer), which turns several mills, and empties itself into the Wady Shoeb (Arabic). The latter joins the Jordan near the ruined city of Nymrein (Arabic). In a S.W. direction from Szalt, distant about two hours and a half, are the ruined places called Kherbet Ayoub (Arabic), Heremmela (Arabic), Ayra (Arabic), one of the towns built by the tribe of Gad, and Yerka (Arabic). East of Szalt, about one hour, are the ruins called El Deir (Arabic).

I found it impossible at Szalt to procure a guide to Amman; the country was in a state which rendered it very dangerous to travel through it: the Beni Szakher were at war with the Arabs of Adouan, with the government of Damascus, and with the Rowalla, a branch of the Aeneze; and we heard daily of skirmishes taking place between the contending parties, principally near the river Zerka. Amman being a noted spring, was frequented by both the hostile parties; and although, the people of Szalt were now at peace with the Beni Szakher, having concluded it on the day of my arrival, yet they were upon very indifferent terms with the

FEHEIS

[p.356] Adouan and Rowalla. I had once engaged four armed men to accompany me on foot to the place, but when we were just setting out, after sunset, their wives came crying to my lodging, and upbraided their husbands with madness in exposing their lives for a couple of piastres. Being equally unsuccessful in several other attempts, and tired of the exaggerations of my land-lord, who pretended that I should be in danger of being stripped, and even killed, I at length became impatient, and quitting Szalt in the evening of the 6th, I rode over to Feheis, where the greater part of the Szaltese were encamped, for the labours of the harvest, and where it was more likely that I should meet with a guide. On my way I passed the deep Wady Ezrak (Arabic), where is a rivulet and several mills.

El Feheis is a ruined city, with a spring near it; here are the remains of an arched building, in which the Christians sometimes perform divine service. Below Feheis, upon the top of a lower mountain, is the ruined place called El Khandok (Arabic), which appears to have been a fort; it is surrounded with a wall of large stones, and the remains of several bastions are visible. From a point near Khandok, the Dead sea, which I saw for the first time, bears S.W. b. W.

At Feheis I was so fortunate as to find a guide who five years ago had served in the same capacity to Mousa, the name assumed by M. Seetzen. As he was well acquainted with all the Bedouins, and on friendly terms with them, he engaged to take me to Amman, in company with another horseman.

July 7th.—We set off before sunrise. On leaving Feheis we crossed a mountainous country, passed through a thick forest of oak trees, and in three quarters of an hour reached the Ardh el Hemar, which is the name of a district extending north and south for about two hours. Here are a number of springs, which have rendered it a

AMMAN

[p.357] favourite place of resort of the Bedouins: the valley was covered with a fine coat of verdant pasture. From hence the road ascended through oak woods and pleasant hills, over flinty ground, till we reached, after a march of two hours and a half, an elevated plain, from whence we had an extensive view towards the east. The plain, which in this part is called El Ahma (Arabic), is a fertile tract, interspersed with low hills; these are for the greater part crowned with ruins, but they are of irregular forms, unlike the Tels or artificial heights of the Haouran, and of northern Syria. Just by the road, at the end of three hours, are the ruins called El Kholda (Arabic). To the left are the ruins of Kherbet Karakagheish (Arabic); and to the right, at half an hour's distance, the ruins of Sar (Arabic), and Fokhara (Arabic). At about one hour south of Sar begins the district called Kattar (Arabic) or Marka (Arabic). The ruins which we passed here, as well as all those before mentioned in the mountains of Belka, present no objects of any interest. They consist of a few walls of dwelling houses, heaps of stones, the foundations of some public edifices, and a few cisterns now filled up; there is nothing entire, but it appears that the mode of building was very solid, all the remains being formed of large stones. It is evident also, that the whole of the country must have been extremely well cultivated, in order to have afforded subsistence to the inhabitants of so many towns. At the end of three hours and a half we entered a broad valley, which brought us in half an hour to the ruins of Amman, which lies about nineteen English miles to the S.E. by E. of Szalt. The annexed plan [not included] will give an idea of the situation and ruins of Amman, one of the most ancient of the cities recorded in Jewish history. The town lies along the banks of a river called Moiet Amman, which has its source in a pond (a), at a few hundred paces from the south-western end of the town; I was informed that this river is

[p.358] lost in the earth one hour below the pond, that it issues again, and takes the name of Ain Ghazale (Arabic); then disappears a second time and rises again near a ruined place called Reszeyfa (Arabic); beyond which it is said to be lost for a third time, till it reappears about an hour to the west of Kalaat Zerka, otherwise called Kaszr Shebeib (Arabic), near the river Zerka, into which it empties itself. Ain Ghazale is about one hour and a half distant from Amman, Kalaat Zerka is four hours distant. The river of Amman runs in a valley bordered on both sides by barren hills of flint, which advance on the south side close to the edge of the stream.

The edifices which still remain to attest the former splendour of Amman are the following: a spacious church (b), built with large stones, and having a steeple of the shape of those which I saw in several ruined towns in the Haouran. There are wide arches in the walls of the church.—A small building (c), with niches, probably a temple.—A temple (d), of which a part of the side walls, and a niche in the back wall are remaining; there are no ornaments either on the walls, or about the niche.——A curved wall (e) along the water side, with many niches: before it was a row of large columns, of which four remain, but without capitals, I conjecture this to have been a kind of stoa, or public walk; it does not communicate with any other edifice.—A high arched bridge (f) over the river; this appears to have been the only bridge in the town, although the river is not fordable in the winter. The banks of the river, as well as its bed, are paved, but the pavement has been in most places carried away by the violence of the winter torrent. The stream is full of small fish. On the south side of the river is a fine theatre, the largest that I have seen in Syria. It has forty rows of seats; between the tenth and eleventh from the bottom occurs a row of eight boxes or small apartments, capable of holding about twelve spectators each; fourteen rows higher, a similar row

[p.359] of boxes occupies the place of the middle seats, and at the top of all there is a third tier of boxes excavated in the rocky side of the hill, upon the declivity of which the theatre is built. On both wings of the theatre are vaults. In front was a colonnade, of which eight Corinthian columns yet remain, besides four fragments of shafts; they are about fifteen feet high, surmounted by an entablature still entire. This colonnade must have had at least fifty columns; the workmanship is not of the best Roman times. Near this theatre is a building (h), the details of which I was not able to make out exactly; its front is built irregularly, without columns, or ornaments of any kind. On entering I found a semi-circular area, enclosed by a high wall in which narrow steps were formed, running all round from bottom to top. The inside of the front wall, as well as the round wall of the area, is richly ornamented with sculptured ornaments. The roof, which once covered the whole building, has fallen down, and choaks up the interior in such a way as to render it difficult to determine whether the edifice has been a palace, or destined for public amusements. Nearly opposite the theatre, to the northward of the river, are the remains of a temple (k), the posterior wall of which only remains, having an entablature, and several niches highly adorned with sculpture. Before this building stand the shafts of several columns three feet in diameter. Its date appears to be anterior to that of all the other buildings of Amman, and its style of architecture is much superior. At some distance farther down the Wady, stand a few small columns (i), probably the remains of a temple. The plain between the river and the northern hills is covered with ruins of private buildings, extending from the church (c) down to the columns (i); but nothing of them remains, except the foundations and some of the door posts. On the top of the highest of the northern hills stands the castle of Amman, a very extensive

[p.360] building; it was an oblong square, filled with buildings, of which, about as much remains as there does of the private dwellings in the lower town. The castle walls are thick, and denote a remote antiquity: large blocks of stone are piled up without cement, and still hold together as well as if they had been recently placed; the greater part of the wall is entire, it is placed a little below the crest of the hill, and appears not to have risen much above the level of its summit. Within the castle are several deep cisterns. At (m) is a square building, in complete preservation, constructed in the same manner as the castle wall; it is without ornaments, and the only opening into it is a low door, over which was an inscription now defaced. Near this building are the traces of a large temple (n); several of its broken columns are lying on the ground; they are the largest I saw at Amman, some of them being three feet and a half in diameter; their capitals are of the Corinthian order. On the north side of the castle is a ditch cut in the rock, for the better defence of this side of the hill, which is less steep than the others.

The ruins of Amman being, with the exception of a few walls of flint, of calcareous stone of moderate hardness, have not resisted the ravages of time so well as those of Djerash. The buildings exposed to the atmosphere are all in decay, so that there is little hope of finding any inscriptions here, which might illustrate the history of the place. The construction shews that the edifices were of different ages, as in the other cities of the Decapolis, which I have examined.

I am sensible that the above description of Amman, though it notices all the principal remains, is still very imperfect; but a traveller who is not accompanied with an armed force can never hope to give very satisfactory accounts of the antiquities of these deserted countries. My guides had observed some fresh horse-dung near the water's side, which greatly alarmed them, as it was a proof that

SZAFOUT

[p.361] some Bedouins were hovering about. They insisted upon my returning immediately, and refusing to wait for me a moment, rode off while I was still occupied in writing a few notes upon the theatre. I hastily mounted the castle hill, ran over its ruins, and galloping after my guides, joined them at half an hour from the town. When I reproached them for their cowardice, they replied that I certainly could not suppose that, for the twelve piastres I had agreed to give them, they should expose themselves to the danger of being stripped and of losing their horses, from a mere foolish caprice of mine to write down the stones. I have often been obliged to yield to similar reasoning. A true Bedouin, however, never abandons his companion in this manner; whoever, therefore, wishes to travel in these parts, and to make accurate observations, will do well to take with him as many horsemen as may secure him against any strolling party of robbers.

About four or five bours S.S.W. from Amman are the ruins called El Kohf (Arabic), with a large temple, and many columns. About eight hours S.S.E. is the ruined city of Om el Reszasz (Arabic), i.e. the Mother of Lead, which, according to all accounts, is of great extent, and contains large buildings. In my present situation it was impossible for me to visit these two places. I hope that some future traveller will be more fortunate.

We returned from Amman by a more northern route. At one hour and three quarters, we passed the ruined place called Djebeyha (Arabic); in two hours the ruins of Meraze (Arabic). The hills which rise over the plain are covered to their tops with thick heath. At two hours and a half are the ruins of Om Djouze (Arabic), with a spring. Sources of water are seldom met with in this upper plain of the Belka, a circumstance that greatly enhances the importance of the situation of Amman. At three hours and a half is

SZALT

[p.362] Szafout (Arabic), where are ruins of some extent, with a spring; the gate of a public edifice is still standing. To the north and north- east of this place, at the foot of the mountain on which it stands, extends a broad valley called El Bekka (Arabic); it is extremely fertile, and is in part cultivated by the people of Szalt, and the Arabs of the Belka. The Beni Szakher had burnt up the whole of the crops before they concluded peace with Szalt. In the Bekka is a ruined place called Ain el Basha (Arabic), with a spring.

From Szafout we returned by Ardh el Hemar to Feheis, which we reached in four hours and a half from Szafout. Near the springs of Hemar we found a cow that had gone astray from some Bedouin encampment; my guides immediately declared her to be a fair prize, and drove her off before them to Feheis, where she was killed, to prevent the owner from claiming her, and the encampment feasted upon the flesh for two days. N.E. from Szafout, distant about two hours, is a ruined city, with several edifices still standing, called Yadjoush (Arabic). N. of Amman, two hours, is a ruined building called El Nowakys (Arabic), on the interior wall of which are some busts in relief, according to the report of one who had seen them, but whose veracity was rather doubtful.

On my return to Szalt I was obliged to remain there several days longer, for want of a guide; for the road to Kerek is a complete desert, and much exposed to the inroads of the Arabs. At last I found a man who engaged to serve me, but his demands were so exorbitant, that I was several days in bargaining with him. Mousa, (M. Seetzen), he said, had paid his guide twenty-five piastres for the trip from hence to Kerek, and he would not, therefore, go the same road for less than twenty- three; this was an enormous sum for a journey of two days, in a country where an Arab will toil for a fortnight without obtaining so great a sum. My principal

MEKABBELY

[p.363] objection to paying so much was, that it would become known at Kerek, which, besides other difficulties it might bring me into, would have obliged me to pay all my future guides in the same proportion. My landlord, however, removed this objection by making the guide take a solemn oath that he would never confess to having received more than six piastres for his trouble. There was no other proper guide to be got, and I began to be tired of Szalt, for I saw that my landlord was very earnest in his endeavours to get me away; I resolved therefore to trust to my good fortune, and to set out with no other company than that of an armed horseman. In the evening I returned to Feheis, from whence we departed early the next morning.

July 13th.—We passed Ardh el Hemar, in the neighbourhood of which are the ruined places El Ryhha (Arabic), Shakour (Arabic), Meghanny (Arabic), and Mekabbely (Arabic); and at a short distance farther on in the wood, we met two men quite naked. Whenever the Bedouins meet any other Arabs in the desert, of inferior force, and who are unknown to them, they level their lances, and stop their horses within about ten yards of the strangers, to enquire whether they are friends or not. My guide had seen the two men at a great distance among the trees; be called to me to get my gun ready, and we galloped towards them; but they no sooner saw us than they stopped, and cried out, "We are under your protection!" They then told us that they were peasants of a village near Rieha or Jericho; that they had been carried away from their own fields by a party of Beni Szakher, with whom their village happened to be at war, as far as Yadjoush, where the latter had encampments; that after being required to pay the price of blood of one of the tribe slain by the inhabitants of their village, they had been beaten, and stripped naked; but that at last they had found means to escape. Their bruises and sores bore testimony

MERDJ EKKE

[p.364] to the truth of their story; instances of such acts of violence frequently occur in the desert. In one hour and three quarters we came to the ruins of Kherbet Tabouk (Arabic), which seems to have been a place of some importance. Many wild fig-trees grow here. The direction of our road was S. b. E. Here the woody country terminates, and we found ourselves again upon the high plain called El Ahma, which has fertile ground, but no trees. At two hours and a quarter is a ruined Birket, or reservoir of rain water, called Om Aamoud (Arabic), from some fragments of columns, which are found here. In two hours and a half we passed, on our right, the Wady Szyr (Arabic), which has its source near the road, und falls below into the Jordan. Above the source, on the declivity of the valley, are the ruins called Szyr. We continued to travel along a well trodden road for the greater part of the day. At three hours were the ruins of Szar, to our left. At three hours and a half, and about half an hour west of the road, are the ruins of Fokhara, on the side of the Wady Eshta (Arabic), which empties itself into the Jordan. Here are a number of wild fig-trees. The whole of the country to the right of the road is intersected with deep Wadys and precipices, and is overgrown in many parts with fine woods. We had at intervals a view of the Ghor below. To the left of the road is the great plain, with many insulated hillocks. In three hours and a half we passed a hill called Dhaheret el Hemar (Arabic), or the Ass's Back. At three hours and three quarters, to the right, are the ruins of Meraszas (Arabic), with a heap of stones called Redjem Abd Reshyd (Arabic), where, according to Bedouin tradition, a wonderful battle took place between a slave of an Arab called Reshyd, and a whole party of his master's enemies. Here terminates the district El Ahma. To the left are the ruins called Merdj Ekke (Arabic). The soil in this vicinity is chalky. Last year a battle was fought here between the troops of the Pasha of Damascus,

EL AAL

[p.365] and the Beni Szakher, in which the former were routed. At four hours and a half, and about three quarters of an hour to our right, we saw the ruins of Naour (Arabic) on the side of a rivulet of that name, which falls into the Jordan opposite Rieha, or Jericho, driving in its course several mills, where the Bedouins of the Belka grind their corn. On both sides of the road are many vestiges of ancient field-enclosures. From Naour our road lay S. At five hours and three quarters are the ruins of El Aal (Arabic), probably the Eleale of the Scriptures: it stands upon the summit of a hill, and takes its name from its situation, Aal meaning "the high." It commands the whole plain; and the view from the top of the hill is very extensive, comprehending the whole of the southern Belka. From hence the mountain of Shyhhan (Arabic), behind which lies Kerek, bears S. by W. El Aal was surrounded by a well built wall, of which some parts yet remain. Among the ruins are a number of large cisterns, fragments of walls, and the foundations of houses; but nothing worth particular notice. The plain around is alternately chalk and flint. At six hours and a quarter is Hesban (Arabic), upon a hill, bearing S.W. from El Aal. Here are the ruins of a large ancient town, together with the remains of some edifices built with small stones; a few broken shafts of columns are still standing, a number of deep wells cut in the rock, and a large reservoir of water for the summer supply of the inhabitants. At about three quarters of an hour S.E. of Hesban are the ruins of Myoun (Arabic), the ancient Baal Meon (Arabic), of the tribe of Ruben.

In order to see Medaba, I left the great road at Hesban, and proceeded in a more eastern direction. At six hours and three quarters, about one hour distant from the road, I saw the ruins of Djeloul (Arabic), at a short distance to the east of which, are the ruined places called El Samek (Arabic), El Mesouh (Arabic), and

MADEBA

[p.366] Om el Aamed (Arabic), situated close together upon low elevations. At about four hours distant, to the east of our road, I observed a chain of hills, which begins near Kalaat Zerka, passes to the east of Amman, near the Kalaat el Belka, (a station of the Syrian Hadj, called by the Bedouins Kalaat Remeydan [Arabic]), and continues as far as Wady Modjeb. The mountains bear the name of El Zoble (Arabic); the Hadj route to Mekka lies along their western side. At seven hours and a quarter is El Kefeyrat (Arabic), a ruined town of some extent. In seven hours and a half we came to the remains of a well paved ancient causeway; my guide told me that this had been formerly the route of the Hadj, and that the pavement was made by the Mohammedans; but it appeared to me to be a Roman work. At the end of eight hours we reached Madeba, built upon a round hill; this is the ancient Medaba, but there is no river near it. It is at least half an hour in circumference; I observed many remains of the walls of private houses, constructed with blocks of silex; but not a single edifice is standing. There is a large Birket, which, as there is no spring at Madeba might still be of use to the Bedouins, were the surrounding ground cleared of the rubbish, to allow the water to flow into it; but such an undertaking is far beyond the views of the wandering Arab. On the west side of the town are the foundations of a temple, built with large stones, and apparently of great antiquity. The annexed is its form and dimensions. A part of its eastern wall remains, constructed in the same style as the castle wall at Amman. At the entrance of one of the courts stand two columns of the Doric order, each of two pieces, without bases, and thicker in the centre than at either extremity, a peculiarity of which this is the only instance I have seen in Syria. More modern capitals have been added, one of

[p.367] which is Corinthian and the other Doric, and an equally coarse architrave has been laid upon them. In the centre of one of the courts is a large well.

About half an hour west of Madeba (Arabic), are the ruins of El Teym (Arabic), perhaps the Kerjathaim of the Scripture, where, according to my guide, a very large Birket is cut entirely in the rock, and is still filled in the winter with rain water. As there are no springs in this part of the upper plain of the Belka, the inha[bi]tants were obliged to provide by cisterns for their supply of water during the summer months. We returned from Madeba towards the great road, where we fell in with a large party of Bedouins, on foot, who were going to rob by night an encampment of Beni Szakher, at least fourteen hours distant from hence. Each of them had a small bag of flower on his back, some were armed with guns and others with sticks. I was afterwards informed that they drove off above a dozen camels belonging to the Beni Szakher. They pointed out to us the place where their tribe was encamped, and as we were then looking out for some place where we might get a supper, of which we stood in great need, we followed the direction they gave us. In turning a little westwards we entered the mountainous country which forms the eastern border of the valley of the Jordan, and descending in a S.W. direction along the windings of a Wady, we arrived at a large encampment of Bedouins, at the end of ten hours and a half from our setting out in the morning. The upper part of the mountains consists entirely of siliceous rock. We passed on the road several spots where the Bedouins cultivate Dhourra.

We were well received by the Bedouins of the encampment; who are on good terms with the people of Szalt: one of the principal Sheikhs of which place is married to the daughter of the chief of this tribe. They belong to the Ghanemat, whose Sheikh, called

THE BELKA

[p.368] Abd el Mohsen (Arabic), is one of the first men in the Belka. The chief tribe in this province, for many years, was the Adouan, but they are now reduced to the lowest condition by their inveterate enemies the Beni Szakher. The latter, whose abode had for a long space of time been on the Hadj road, near Oella (Arabic), were obliged, by the increasing power of the Wahabi, to retire towards the north. They approached the Belka, and obtained from the Adouan, who were then in possession of the excellent pasturage of this country, permission to feed their cattle here, on paying a small annual tribute. They soon proved, however, to be dangerous neighbours; having detached the greater part of the other tribes of the Belka from their alliance with the Adouan, they have finally succeeded in driving the latter across the Zerka, notwithstanding the assistance which they received from the Pasha of Damascus. Peace had been made in 1810, and both tribes had encamped together near Amman, when Hamoud el Szaleh, chief of the Adouan, made a secret arrangement with the Pasha's troops, and the tribe of Rowalla, who were at war with the Beni Szakher to make a united attack upon them. The plot was well laid, but the valour of the Beni Szakher proved a match for the united forces of their enemies; they lost only about a dozen of their horsemen, and about two thousand sheep, and since that time an inveterate enmity has existed between the Beni Szakher and the Adouan. The second chief of Adouan, an old man with thirteen sons, who always accompany him to the field, joined the Beni Szakher, as did also the greater part of the Arabs of the Belka. In 1812, the Adouan were driven into the mountains of Adjeloun, and to all appearance will never be able to re-enter the Belka.[For the enumeration of the Belka Arabs, see the classification of Syrian Bedouins, in the Appendix.]

The superiority of the pasturage of the Belka over that of all southern Syria, is the cause of its possession being thus contested.

ZERKA MAYN

[p.369] The Bedouins have this saying, "Thou canst not find a country like the Belka."—Methel el Belka ma teltaka (Arabic); the beef and mutton of this district are preferred to those of all others. The Bedouins of the Belka are nominally subject to an annual tribute to the Pasha of Damascus; but they are very frequently in rebellion, and pay only when threatened by a superior force. For the last two years Abd el Mohsen has not paid any thing. The contribution of the Adouan is one- tenth of the produce of their camels, sheep, goats, and cows, besides ten pounds of butter for every hundred sheep.[The hundred of any kind of cattle is here called Shilleie (Arabic).] The Arabs of the Belka have few camels; but their herds of cows, sheep, and goats are large; and whenever they have a prospect of being able to secure the harvest against the incursions of enemies, they cultivate patches of the best soil in their territory. In summer they remain in the valleys on the side of the Ghor, in the winter a part of them descend into the Ghor itself, while the others encamp upon the upper plain of the Belka.

July 14th.—We left the encampment of Abd el Mohsen early in the morning, and at one hour from it, descending along a winding valley, we reached the banks of the rivulet Zerka Mayn (Arabic), which is not to be confounded with the northern Zerka. Its source is not far from hence; it flows in a deep and barren valley through a wood of Defle trees, which form a canopy over the rivulet impenetrable to the meridian sun. The red flowers of these trees reflected in the river gave it the appearance of a bed of roses, and presented a singular contrast with the whitish gray rocks which border the wood on either side. All these mountains are calcareous, mixed with some flint. The water of the Zerka Mayn is almost warm, and has a disagreeable taste, occasioned probably by the quantity of Defle flowers that fall into it. Having crossed the river we ascended the steep side of the mountain Houma (Arabic),

WADY WALE

[p.370] at the top of which we saw the summit of Djebel Attarous (Arabic), about half an hour distant to our right; this is the highest point in the neighbourhood, and seems to be the Mount Nebo of the Scripture. On its summit is a heap of stones overshaded by a very large wild pistachio tree. At a short distance below, to the S.W. is the ruined place called Kereyat (Arabic). The part of the mountain over which we rode was completely barren, with an uneven plain on its top. In two hours and a half we saw at about half an hour to our right, the ruins of a place called Lob, which are of some extent. We passed an encampment of Arabs Ghanamat. At the end of three hours and three quarters, after an hour's steep descent, we reached Wady Wale (Arabic); the stream contains a little more water than the Zerka Mayn; it runs in a rocky bed, in the holes of which innumerable fish were playing; I killed several by merely throwing stones into the water. The banks of the rivulet are overgrown with willows, Defle, and tamarisks (Arabic), and I saw large petrifactions of shells in the valley. About one hour to the west of the spot where we passed the Wale are the ruins of a small castle, situated on the summit of a lower ridge of mountains; the Arabs call it Keraoum Abou el Hossein (Arabic).

In the valley of Wale a large party of Arabs Sherarat was encamped, Bedouins of the Arabian desert, who resort hither in summer for pasturage. They are a tribe of upwards of five thousand tents; but not having been able to possess themselves of a district fertile in pasturage, and being hemmed in by the northern Aeneze, the Aeneze of the Nedjed, the Howeytat, and Beni Szakher, they wander about in misery, have very few horses, and are not able to feed any flocks of sheep or goats. They live principally on the Hadj route, towards Maan, and in summer approach the Belka, pushing northward sometimes as far as Haouran. They

WADY MODJEB

[p.371] are obliged to content themselves with encamping on spots where the Beni Szakher and the Aeneze, with whom they always endeavour to live at peace, do not choose to pasture their cattle. The only wealth of the Sherarat consists in camels. Their tents are very miserable; both men and women go almost naked, the former being only covered round the waist, and the women wearing nothing but a loose shirt hanging in rags about them. These Arabs are much leaner than the Aeneze, and of a browner complexion. They have the reputation of being very sly and enterprising thieves, a title by which they think themselves greatly honoured.

In four hours and a half, after having ascended the mountain on the S. side of the Wale, we reached a fine plain on its summit. All the country to the southward of the Wale, as far as the Wady Modjeb, is comprised under the appellation of El Koura, a term often applied in Syria to plains: El Koura is the "Plains of Moab" of the Scripture; the soil is very sandy, and not fertile. The Haouran black stone, or basalt, if it may be so called, is again met with here. The river El Wale rises at about three hours distance to the E. of the spot where we passed it, near which it takes a winding course to the south until it approaches the Modjeb, where it again turns westwards. The lower part of the river changes its name into that of Seyl Heydan (Arabic), which empties itself into the Modjeb at about two hours distant from the Dead sea, near the ruined place called Dar el Ryashe (Arabic). The Wale seems to be the same called Nahaliel in D'Anville's map, but this name is unknown to the Arabs; its source is not so far northward as in the map. Between the Wady Zerka Mayn and the Wale is another small rivulet called Wady el Djebel (Arabic). At the end of six hours and a half we reached the banks of the Wady Modjeb, the Arnon of the Scriptures, which divides the

[p.372] province of Belka from that of Kerek, as it formerly divided the small kingdoms of the Moabites and the Amorites. When at about one hour's distance short of the Modjeb I was shewn to the N.E. of us, the ruins of Diban (Arabic), the ancient Dibon, situated in a low ground of the Koura.

On the spot where we reached the high banks of the Modjeb are the ruins of a place called Akeb el Debs (Arabic). We followed, from thence, the top of the precipice at the foot of which the river flows, in an eastern direction, for a quarter of an hour, when we reached the ruins of Araayr (Arabic), the Aroer of the Scriptures, standing on the edge of the precipice; from hence a foot-path leads down to the river. In the Koura, about one hour to the west of Araayr, are some hillocks called Keszour el Besheir (Arabic). The view which the Modjeb presents is very striking: from the bottom, where the river runs through a narrow stripe of verdant level about forty yards across, the steep and barren banks arise to a great height, covered with immense blocks of stone which have rolled down from the upper strata, so that when viewed from above, the valley looks like a deep chasm, formed by some tremendous convulsion of the earth, into which there seems no possibility of descending to the bottom; the distance from the edge of one precipice to that of the opposite one, is about two miles in a straight line.

We descended the northern bank of the Wady by a foot-path which winds among the masses of rock, dismounting on account of the steepness of the road, as we had been obliged to do in the two former valleys which we had passed in this day's march; this is a very dangerous pass, as robbers often waylay travellers here, concealing themselves behind the rocks, until their prey is close to them. Upon many large blocks by the side of the path I saw heaps of small stones, placed there as a sort of weapon for the traveller,

[p.373] in case of need. No Arab passes without adding a few stones to these heaps. There are three fords across the Modjeb, of which we took that most frequented. I had never felt such suffocating heat as I experienced in this valley, from the concentrated rays of the sun and their reflection from the rocks. We were thirty-five minutes in reaching the bottom. About twelve minutes above the river I saw on the road side a heap of fragments of columns, which had been about eight feet in height. A bridge has been thrown across the stream in this place, of one high arch, and well built; but it is now no longer of any use, though evidently of modern date. At a short distance from the bridge are the ruins of a mill. The river, which flows in a rocky bed, was almost dried up, having less water than the Zerka Mayn and Wale, but its bed bears evident marks of its impetuosity during the rainy season, the shattered fragments of large pieces of rock which had been broken from the banks nearest the river, and carried along by the torrent, being deposited at a considerable height above the present channel of the stream. A few Defle and willow trees grow on its banks.

The principal source of the Modjeb is at a short distance to the N.E. of Katrane, a station of the Syrian Hadj; there the river is called Seyl Sayde [Seyl means rivulet in this country.] (Arabic), lower down it changes its name to Efm el Kereim (Arabic), or, as it is also called, Szefye (Arabic). At about one hour east of the bridge it receives the waters of the Ledjoum, which flow from the N.E. in a deep bed; the Ledjoum receives a rivulet caled Seyl el Mekhreys (Arabic), and then the Baloua (Arabic), after which it takes the name of Enkheyle (Arabic). Near the source of the Ledjoum is the ruined place called Tedoun

[p.374] (Arabic); and near the source of the Baloua is a small ruined castle called Kalaat Baloua. The rivulet Salyhha (Arabic), coming from the south, empties itself into the Modjeb below the bridge.

Near the confluence of the Ledjoum and the Modjeb there seemed to be a fine verdant pasture ground, in the midst of which stands a hill with some ruins upon it, and by the side of the river are several ruined mills. In mounting the southern ascent from the Modjeb, we passed, upon a narrow level at about five minutes from the bridge, the ruins of a small castle, of which nothing but the foundations remains: it is called Mehatet el Hadj (Arabic), from the supposition that the pilgrim route to Mekka formerly passed here, and that this was a station of the Hadj. Near the ruin is a Birket, which was filled by a canal from the Ledjoum, the remains of which are still visible. This may, perhaps, be the site of Areopolis. My guide told me that M. Seetzen had been partly stripped at this place, by some Arabs. We did not meet with any living being in crossing the Wady. Near the ruins is another heap of broken columns, like those on the opposite bank of the river; I conjecture that the columns were Roman milliaria, because a causeway begins here, and runs all the way up the mountain, and from thence as far as Rabba; it is about fifteen feet broad, and was well paved, though at present in a bad state, owing to a torrent which rushes along it from the mountain in winter time. At twenty-eight minutes from the Mehatet el Hadj are three similar columns, entire, but lying on the ground. We were an hour and three quarters in ascending from the bridge to the top; on this side the road might easily be made passable for horses. In several places the rock has been cut through to form the path. The lower part of the mountains is calcareous; I found great numbers of small petrified shells, and small pieces of mica are likewise met with. Towards

ARABS HAMAIDE

[p.375] the upper part of the mountain the ground is covered with large blocks of the black Haouran stone,[It is from this black and heavy stone, (which M. Seetzen calls basalt, but which I rather conceive to belong to the species called tufwacke by the Germans), that the ancient opinion of there having been mountains of iron on the east side of the Jordan appears to have arisen. Even now the Arabs believe that these stones consist chiefly of iron, and I was often asked if I did not know how to extract it.] which I found to be more porous than any specimens of it which I had seen further northward. On the summit of this steep southern ascent are the ruins of a large square building, of which the foundations only remain, covered with heaps of stone; they are directly opposite Araayr, and the ruins above mentioned are also called Mehatet el Hadj. I believe them to be of modern date.

We had now again reached a high plain. To our right, about three quarters of an hour, was the Djebel Shyhhan, an insulated mountain, with the ruined village of that name on its summit. To our left, on the E. side of the Ledjoum, about two or three hours distant, is a chain of low mountains, called El Ghoweythe (Arabic), running from N. to S. about three or four hours. To the south of El Ghoweythe begins a chain of low hills, called El Tarfouye (Arabic), which farther south takes the name of Orokaraye (Arabic); it then turns westward, and terminates to the south-west of Kerek. From the Mehatet el Hadj we followed the paved road which leads in a straight line towards Rabba, in a S.W. direction; in half an hour, we met some shepherds with a flock of sheep, who led us to the tents of their people behind a hill near the side of the road. We were much fatigued, but the kindness of our hosts soon made us forget our laborious day's march. We alighted under the tent of the Sheikh, who was dying of a wound he had received a few days before from a thrust of a lance; but such is the hospitality of these people, and their attention to the comforts

BEIT KERM

[p.376] of the traveller, that we did not learn the Sheikh's misfortune till the following day. He was in the women's apartment, and we did not hear him utter any complaints. They supposed, with reason, that if we were informed of his situation it would prevent us from enjoying our supper. A lamb was killed, and a friend of the family did the honours of the table: we should have enjoyed our repast had there not been an absolute want of water, but there was none nearer than the Modjeb, and the daily supply which, according to the custom of the Arabs, had been brought in before sun-rise, was, as often happens, exhausted before night; our own water skins too, which we had filled at the Modjeb, had been emptied by the shepherds before we reached the encampment. This loss was the more sensible to me, as in desert countries where water seldom occurs, not feeling great thirst during the heat of the day, I was seldom in the habit of drinking much at that time; but in the evening, and the early part of the night, I always drank with great eagerness.

July 15th.—We left our kind hosts, who belonged to the Arabs Hamaide, early in the morning, and continued our route along the ancient road. At half an hour from the encampment we passed the ruined village El Ryhha (Arabic), in one hour and a half we arrived at the ruins of an ancient city called Beit Kerm (Arabic), belonging to which, on the side of the road, are the remains of a temple of remote antiquity. Its shape is an oblong square, one of the long sides forming the front, where was a portica of eight columns in antis: the columns, three feet in diameter, are lying on the ground. Within the temple, a great part of the walls of which are fallen, there are fragments of smaller columns. The stones used in the construction of the walls are about five feet long, and two feet broad. At one hour and three quarters is the ruined village of Hemeymat (Arabic). This district, which is an even plain, is

KEREK

[p.377] very fertile, and large tracts are here cultivated by the inhabitants of Kerek, and the Arabs Hamaide. At two hours and a half is Rabba (Arabic), probably the ancient Rabbath Moab, where the ancient causeway terminates. The ruins of Rabba are about half an hour in circuit, and are situated upon a low hill, which commands the whole plain. I examined a part of them only, but the rest seemed to contain nothing remarkable. On the west side is a temple, of which one wall and several niches remain, by no means distinguished for elegance. Near them is a gate belonging to another building, which stood on the edge of a Birket. Distant from these ruins about thirty yards stand two Corinthian columns of middling size, one higher than the other. In the plain, to the west of the Birket, stands an insulated altar. In the town many fragments are lying about; the walls of the larger edifices are built like those of Heit Kerm. There are many remains of private habitations, but none entire. There being no springs in this spot, the town had two Birkets, the largest of which is cut entirely out of the rocky ground, together with several cisterns. About three quarters of an hour to the S.E. of Rabba, are two copious springs, called El Djebeyba (Arabic), and El Yaroud (Arabic). From Rabba our road lay S. by E. At four hours are the ruins of Kereythela (Arabic). At the end of five hours we entered a mountainous district, full of Wadys; and after a march of six hours we reached the town of Kerek.