FERTILE MOUNTAIN REGION RICH IN ANCIENT REMAINS.
It was past three in the afternoon of Thursday, February 14th, when we
started from the dwelling of our host, in order to pursue our route
in a south-easterly direction. We were agreeably surprised to see
fine vineyards at the village called Jelíli; but the cultivation of
olive-trees seemed almost to cease here, while the country became quite
open, and afforded an unbounded prospect towards the distant southern
range, with its peaks, depressions, and steep slopes. But the fine
olive-groves of Sgáif proved that we had not yet reached the limit of
this useful tree. We were just about to descend the slope into the broad
valley called Wady Rán, when, seeing darkness approaching, and frightened
by the black clouds rising from the valley, together with a very
chilly stream of air, we began to look seriously about for some secure
shelter for the night. To our right we had a pleasant little hollow with
olive-trees; but that would not suffice in such weather as was apparently
approaching, and we therefore descended a little along the cliffs on
our left, where our shoush knew that there were caverns called Merwán.
Scarcely had we pitched our tent on the little terrace in front of these,
when the rain began to pour down, and, accompanied with snow, continued
the whole night.
When we arose next morning, the whole country was covered with snow about
an inch deep, and its natural features were no longer recognisable.
Placed on the very brink of a bank partly consisting of rocky ground,
with many holes, partly of marly soil and accordingly very slippery, we
could not think of starting. At half-past six, the thermometer stood at
34° Fahr. Fortunately our tent, which had been fitted by Mr. Warrington
for every kind of weather, kept the wet out. The caverns were very
irregular excavations, used by the shepherds as temporary retreats, and
full of fleas. The snow did not melt till late in the afternoon, and the
rain fell without intermission the whole night.
In the morning the bad weather still continued, but the cold was not
quite so severe. Tired as we were of our involuntary delay in such
a place, we decided upon starting; but it was difficult to get our
half-frozen people to go to work. At length we set out, accompanied by
an old man, whom we hired as guide, on the deep descent into Wady Rán.
The soil was often so slippery that the camels could scarcely keep their
feet; and we were heartily glad when, after an hour and a quarter’s
descent, we at length reached stony ground, though still on the slope.
Here the valley spread out before us to right and left, with the village
Usíne, inhabited by the Merabetín Selahát, situated on the top of a
hill, and distinguished for the quality of its dates, which are of a
peculiar kind, short and thick with a very broad stone,—while at the
foot of the western heights another village was seen, and on the top of
them the castle Bústam. Here the great valley is joined by a smaller
ravine, called Wady Nkhal, with a small village of the same name. We
crossed two paths leading to Beni Ulíd, passing by Wady Rán, which went
parallel to our course on the right, and where there are two springs
and a date-grove, while to the left, we obtained a view of Sedi-úris,
situated on a cone overtowering the northern end of Wady Kominshát. We
then approached closely the steep glen of Wady Rán, and, after some
turnings, crossed the small rivulet which flows through it, and, a
little further on, recrossed it. Then, traversing the valley called Wady
Marníyeh, we entered a fine fertile plain surrounded on all sides by
heights, among which the Kelúba Naʿame was conspicuous on our right. But
the camels found the marly soil, fully saturated as it was with rain,
very difficult, especially after we had entered the “Shʿabet sóda.” For
this reason, also, we could not think of following the direct path, which
leads over the hills. At the western end of the shʿabet are the villages
Deb Beni ʿAbas and Suadíyeh, with olive-groves. All the waters of the
district are carried into Wady Rán, which joins the Wady Haera.
The country begins to exhibit decidedly a volcanic character, and from
all the heights rise bare basaltic cones, while the lower part is covered
with halfa. This character of the country seems to have been well
understood by the Arabs, when they gave to these basins, surrounded by
basaltic mounts, the name “Shʿabet,” which we have already seen given
to the crater of the Tekút. Here, at a short distance on our left, we
passed “another Shʿabet,” distinguished as “el Akhera.” At length we
found an opening through the hilly chain on our right, behind an indented
projection of the ridge called “Sennet el Osis,” and then suddenly
changed our course from north-east to south-east. As soon as we had made
the circuit of this mount, we obtained a view of the highest points of
the Tarhóna, and directed our course by one of them, Mount Bíbel, which
is said to be sometimes visible from Tripoli. Tales of deadly strife are
attached to some localities hereabouts; and, according to our guide, the
torrent which we crossed beyond Wady Ruéra poured down, some years ago,
a bloody stream. But at present the scene wants life, the Kasr Kuséba,
situated on the apex of a cone, being almost the only dwelling-place
which we had seen for five hours. Life has fled from these fertile and
pleasant regions; and the monotonous character which they at present
exhibit necessarily impresses itself on the narrative of the traveller.
At length, after having entered the gorges of the mountains, we reached
the encampment of the Merabetín Bu-ʿAáysha, and pitched our tent at a
short distance from it. These people have considerable herds of camels
and sheep; as for cattle, there are at present very few in the whole
regency of Tripoli, except in the neighbourhood of Ben-gházi. Their
chief, ʿAbdallah, who lives in Tripoli, is much respected. The valleys
and plains hereabouts, when well saturated with rain, produce a great
quantity of corn, but they are almost entirely destitute of trees. Having
been thoroughly drenched to-day by heavy showers, we were in a very
uncomfortable condition at its close.
About an hour before sunrise, when the thermometer stood at 41°, I set
out to ascend an eminence north from our tent, which afforded me an
excellent site whence to take the bearings of several prominent cones.
After my return to the tent, we started together in advance of the
camels, that we might have time to ascend the broad cone of Jebel Msíd,
which had arrested our attention. We soon passed a well, or rather
fountain, called Bir el ʿAr, which gives its name to some ancient
monument (“sanem,” or idol, as it is called by the Arabs) at a little
distance, and which the guide described as a kasr tawíl Beni Jehel, “a
high fortress of the Romans.” The country was varied and pleasant, and
enlivened, moreover, by flocks; but we saw no traces of agriculture till
we reached the well called Hasi el abiár, beyond which we entered upon
a volcanic formation. As we ascended along a small ravine, and entered
another irregular mountain-plain of confined dimensions, we found the
basalt in many places protruding from the surface. The more desolate
character of the country was interrupted in a pleasant way by the Wady
Nekhél, which has received its name from the number of palm-trees which
grow here in a very dwarfish state, though watered by a copious spring.
Following the windings of another small valley, we reached a plain at
the foot of Mount Msíd, while on the right a large ravine led down from
the heights. Here we commenced our ascent of the cone; and on the slope
of the mountain we met with large pillars similar to those which I had
seen in the ruins of Hanshír Settára. The pillars succeeded each other
at regular distances up the slope, apparently marking the track to be
followed by those ascending for religious purposes. The ascent was very
gradual for the first twelve minutes; and twelve minutes more brought us
to its summit, which was crowned with a castle of good Arabic masonry
of about the thirteenth century. Its ruined walls gave us a little
protection against the very strong blasts of wind; but we found it rather
difficult to take accurate angles, which was the more to be regretted
as a great many peaks were visible from this beautifully shaped and
conspicuous mount.
It was a little past noon when we pursued our journey from the western
foot of this once holy mount, and, turning its southern side, resumed
our north-easterly direction. We then soon came to the “Wady hammám,”
which forms here a wider basin for the brook running along it towards
Mejenín, so as to produce a pleasant and fresh green spot. Having watered
our animals, we entered a plain from which detached basaltic hillocks
started up; and some ruins of regularly hewn stones, scattered about,
bore testimony that the Romans had deemed the place worthy of fixed
settlements. A small limestone hill contrasts handsomely with these
black basaltic masses, among which the Leblú, the highest summit of a
larger group to our right, is particularly remarkable. At the foot of
the Jebel Jemmʿa was an encampment of the Welád ʿAli; but I cannot say
in what degree they are connected with the family which has given its
name to the valley in the Yefren. From this side in particular, the Jebel
Msíd presents the form of a beautiful dome, the most regular I remember
to have ever seen. It seems to rise with a proud air over its humbler
neighbours. Having then passed a continuous ridge of cones stretching
south-south-east, and cleared the basaltic region, we entered a wide
plain covered with halfa, and, cutting right across it, we reached
the fertile low plain Elkeb, where another encampment of the Welád
ʿAli excited the desire of our people to try their hospitality for our
night’s quarters; but some distance to the left two enormous pillars
were to be seen standing upright, and thither we repaired. Here I had an
opportunity of accurately investigating a very peculiar kind of ancient
remains, giving a clue, I hope, to the character of the religion of the
early inhabitants of these regions, though it seems impossible to give a
satisfactory explanation respecting all the details of their structure.
It consists of a pair of quadrangular pillars erected on a common basis,
which is fixed into the ground, and measures 3 ft. 1⁵⁄₁₂ in. in length,
and 2 ft. 10 in. in width. The two pillars, which measure 2 ft. on each
side, being 1 ft. 7²⁄₁₀ in. asunder, are 10 ft. high. The western pillar
has three quadrangular holes on the inside, while the corresponding holes
in the eastern pillar go quite through; the lowest hole is 1 ft. 8 in.
above the ground, and the second 1 ft. ½ in. higher up, and so the third
above the second. The holes are 6 in. square.
[Illustration]
Over these pillars, which at present lean to one side, is laid another
enormous stone about 6 ft. 6½ in. long, and of the same width as the
pillars, so that the whole structure bears a surprising resemblance to
the most conspicuous part of Stonehenge and other ruins in Malabar.
But besides these, there are other very curious stones of different
workmanship, and destined evidently for different purposes; some of them
are large, flat, and quadrangular, very peculiarly worked, and adapted,
probably, to sacrifices. One of them is 3 ft. in length and breadth,
but with a projection on one side, as is represented in the woodcut,
and 1 ft. 2 in. high. On the surface of this stone, and parallel to its
sides, is carved a channel 4⁸⁄₁₀ in. broad, forming a quadrangle; and
from this a small channel branches along the projecting part. Several
stones of similar workmanship lie about. There is also the remnant of an
enormous stone 3 ft. 7½ in. at the back and across, but rounded off at
the corners, looking like a solid throne, excepting that on the upper
side there is an excavation measuring 1 ft. 3²⁄₁₀ in. at the back, 9⁶⁄₁₀
in. on the front, and 1 ft. 1²⁄₁₀ in. across, and about 10 in. deep, with
a small opening. This stone looks very peculiar, and probably formed an
altar. These ruins are certainly very remarkable. Any one who looks at
them without prejudice or preconceived opinion, will be impressed with
the belief that they belonged to a place of worship; though how this
peculiar structure could be adapted to religious purposes, I will not
undertake to decide. I will only say that my distinct impression on the
spot was, that the structure was a rude kind of sundial, combining the
vertical with the horizontal principle. That it could not be intended
as a common doorway, even if it were connected with another building,
is evident from the narrowness of the passage; but it may have had the
purpose of serving as a sort of penitential or purgatory passage in
consecrating and preparing the worshippers, previous to their offering
sacrifices, by obliging them to squeeze themselves through this narrow
passage, the inconvenience of which was increased by the awful character
attributed to this cromlech. The religious character of the whole
structure can scarcely be doubtful, from the nature of the flat stone,
the channel in which was certainly intended to carry off the blood of the
victim.
It must strike the observer, in regarding these ruins, that while they
are so rude in principle, their style of execution evidently bears traces
of art; and I think it not improbable that the art may be ascribed to
Roman influence. We shall further on see another specimen of these
curious pillars combined with the ground-plan of an almost regular Roman
temple. But from whatever quarter this artistic influence may have
proceeded, there cannot be the least doubt that the character of the
structure is, on the whole, not Roman, but indicates quite another race;
and if we take into regard what I have just said about the influence of
art visible in this structure, and that such influence could scarcely
proceed from any other quarter than that of the Carthaginians or the
Romans, we must attribute these remains to the Berber race, who, during
the historical period, were the exclusive possessors of these inland
regions. Analogous structures have been found, however, not only in
England and Ireland on the one side, and in several parts of India,
principally in the Nilgherries, on the other, but also in Circassia,
Southern Russia, on the South Arabian coast, and in the Somali country.
These remarkable ruins are at a short distance from the foot of a
fortified hill, which is crowned with ancient fortifications of hewn
stone, to which are added later works of small stones. Other ruins of
cut-stone buildings lie about; and on an eminence at a little distance
eastward is a small castle belonging to the earlier times of the Arabs,
while on the highest top of the hilly chain behind the Arab encampment,
and which is called Gábes, are likewise ruins. The ruins of a whole
village, partly built of regularly cut stone, and even exhibiting the
ornament of a column, were found the next morning near our encampment,
which our people had placed on the slope of the hills bordering the plain
towards the north-east. All these ruins are evident proofs that the
fertile plain Elkeb, and the adjoining one, called Madher, were once well
cultivated and thickly inhabited. Their situation is very favourable, as
the direct road from Tripoli to Beni Ulíd and Sokna, by way of the valley
Melgha, passes close by. We had here descended to an average height of
about one thousand feet above the level of the sea.
During the night there was heavy rain, which lasted till morning, and
delayed our starting till rather late. After about a mile and a half’s
march, we ascended a little from the plain to the undulating pastures
of the Dháhar Tarhóna, which soon became enlivened by the tents and
herds of the Megaigera, and where I was glad to see at length a few
cows. The ground, though scantily covered with herbage, was dotted with
lilies, which my companion called balúdt, though this name is generally
understood to signify the ash-tree. Our guide from Meruán informed
me here that the water of this district takes its course not towards
the north, as might be expected, but towards the south-east, running
from hence to Temásla, on this side of Beni Ulíd, thence into the Wady
Merdúm, and thence into Wady Sofejín, which, as is well known, descends
towards Tawárgha. A little further on we left, on a small eminence to
the left, another hanshír surrounded by cultivated ground. It had been
an inconsiderable place, built chiefly of small stones; but even here
two enormous pillars or slabs were to be seen standing in the midst of
the rubbish. There were two holes in each of these pillars, going quite
through, and widening on one side.
At half-past nine o’clock, when passing the Hanshír Bu-Trehébe, at a
distance of more than two miles on our left, we had a fine retrospective
view of the various peaks of the Ghurián range, while on our left a
lower range approached more and more, with two summits rising from
it to a greater elevation. About noon we passed another site, called
Hanshír Suán, where are the remains of a large castle, with an inner
and outer fortification, built of small stones, but in a very neat and
regular style. The country, chiefly owing to the murkiness of the sky,
had begun to assume a very sombre character, and was crossed by stripes
of red sand, which, however, affords the best soil for the growth of
the pumpkin; but in the afternoon it improved greatly, showing fine
pasture-ground and ample corn-fields and, among the ruins of ancient
times, the rare example of a well-proportioned and neatly worked Ionic
capital, which I found at the border of a ravine. Further on, upon a
detached low rock, which had been hewn into rectangular walls, and
surrounded with a ditch, were seen ruins of cut stone, very similar in
appearance to those of Kasr Jahalíyeh, near Gargash. We at length found
traces of living beings, in an Arab encampment situated in a green
hollow, where we learnt that the Kaïd or governor of Tarhóna, whose
residence we were in search of, was at present encamped near the spring
called ʿAin Shershára.
The country gradually assumes a more diversified aspect, agreeably
succeeding its former monotony. A considerable mountain-range, with
manifold crags, peaks, and ravines, approaches from the south-south-west
and, turning north-east, presents an insurmountable barrier to an advance
in that direction, while the plain sweeps nicely in a concave towards
its foot; but it is quite bare and desolate, and only now and then is
seen a poor remnant of the large olive-grove, consisting, according to
the statement of our shoush, of 10,000 trees, which Bey ʿAbd Allah, in
Masráta, my host on my former journey, had ventured to plant here five
years ago. My people maintained, whether correctly or not I cannot say,
that the strong gales which prevail in this plain did not allow the young
olive-tree to thrive. I think the failure is due rather to the character
of the inhabitants, who, unaccustomed to this branch of culture, have not
paid the necessary attention to the young trees.
Having passed a small wady, we came in sight of the encampment of the
governor, which stretched out in front of us in a well-chosen situation
at the southern foot of a small cone. A Turkish officer’s green tent,
pitched a little in advance, was surrounded by several smaller ones,
while another group of twelve Bedouin tents, in a higher position up the
slope of the mount, contained the household. The governor received us
in a very friendly but rather affected manner, which seemed peculiar to
him, and might even be thought becoming in a man who has assisted his
country’s foes in exterminating all the members of his family, formerly
one of the foremost in the country. His friends, who try to represent him
as an honest man, say that he was forced to the deed, after having once
entered into Turkish service. This man, Bel Kásem el Lohéshi Mahmúdi,
has since played a conspicuous part in the present revolution; for he it
was who led the Turkish force last year against Ghóma, his near relative
but most bitter enemy, who, having been a prisoner in Trebizond for many
years, suddenly made his escape from thence during the Russian war, and,
issuing from the Tunisian frontier, appeared in Jebel Yefren. El Lohéshi
was routed, and taken prisoner, and, according to the first report, slain
by the successful rebel. When we visited el Lohéshi, he had occupied
his new post only for the last year, having been before governor of the
Jebel. During all the period he had been in Tarhóna, he assured us he had
not moved his encampment from this place; which I can well understand, as
it is a very pleasant spot. His principal business, of course, consists
in collecting the tithes, in registering which he was busily employed.
He knew very little of the province under his government; and it was to
other men that I had to look for information.
Having pitched our tent near that of the governor, we proceeded to make
ourselves acquainted with the locality, and, a few paces north from our
encampment, stumbled upon the famous brook called ʿAin Shersher, or ʿAin
Shershára, which, proceeding from the junction of three springs, forms
here a cascade of about twenty-five feet over the firm calcareous rock.
Running west a short distance, it then turns north and, breaking through
the mountain-slope in a deep picturesque glen, takes the direction of the
Wady Ramle, which, however, it only reaches during great floods.
It seems as if this pleasant spot had already been a favourite residence
in the Roman times, as is amply shown by the fine ruins of a large
building of hewn stone, which the torrent has rent asunder and scattered
on both sides. From this place, ascending the side of a very wild ravine,
we reached the height which overlooks the Bedouin encampment, and on the
morning of the following day made a more distant excursion to the mount
called Bu-tauwíl, about three miles north, which was represented to us
as affording a very distant prospect, and the name of which seemed to
promise more than ordinary elevation.
As to the view we were rather disappointed; yet we were well repaid
for our trouble from the character of the country traversed, and the
unexpectedly pleasing aspect of the terrace spread out at the western
foot of the mountain, which must have formed a favourite retirement in
the times of the Romans, so literally strewn is it with the ruins of
buildings of hewn stone. In descending it, about three hundred feet below
the summit, we first came to a Roman tomb, 8 ft. 7 in. long, and 7 ft. 9
in. broad, rising in two stories, the lower being about 10 ft. high from
the base to the moulding, and ornamented with pilasters at the corners.
A little further on, to the west, was another tomb, just on the brink
of the slope into the valley below; but it has been destroyed, and at
present the chief interest attaches to a monumental stone, which most
probably stood upright on its top, and fell down when the monument went
to pieces, so that it now lies in a merely casual position on the floor
of the sepulchre, which has been repeatedly rifled by greedy hands. This
stone is 7 ft. 2 in. long, and has on one side, in high relief, the
figure of a man, of natural size, clothed in a toga. The workmanship is
good, and certainly not much later than the time of Severus. Close at
hand are other ruins lying about; and further west are several groups
of buildings. Three olive-trees and a palm-tree adorned this beautiful
retired spot.
Having returned to our encampment, I and my companion resolved to
separate for a few days, Overweg wishing to examine the neighbourhood of
the ʿAin Shershára for geological purposes, while I was rather bent upon
executing the original plan of our route all round the mountain-range.
We agreed to meet again at the castle called Kasr el Jefára in the plain
near the sea-shore. We borrowed another tent from the governor for Mr.
Overweg during his stay at this place, while I procured a horseman, with
whom, together with Ibrahím, our shoush, and one of the camel-drivers, I
was ready for starting an hour before noon; for the heat of the sun was
not much to be dreaded at this season of the year. Overweg accompanied me
as far as Kasr Dóga.
Winding along narrow ravines, after about one mile’s march we passed, on
an eminence to our right, another specimen of large pilasters with an
impost, and ruins of buildings of large square stones close by. After
much winding, we cleared the narrow channel ascending the hills, which
were covered with halfa; but here too there was not a single tree to be
seen, and my guide said that there were no olive-trees in the Tarhóna
except in Máta, a place situated between Mount Bu-tauwíl and Kasr Jefára,
from which the tribe Máta derives its name. I have noticed before, as
remarkable, the three olive-trees near Bu-tauwíl. It was about one
o’clock in the afternoon when we came in sight of the Roman monument
called Kasr Dóga; and its brown colour almost induced us to conclude that
it was of brick; but on approaching nearer, we found that it was built of
hewn stone. We were astonished at the grand dimensions of the monument,
as it appeared evident that it was originally a mere sepulchre, though
in after times blocked up by the Arabs, and converted into a castle.
[Illustration]
The front of the monument faces the south with ten degrees of deviation
towards the west. The whole body of the building, rising upon a base
of three steps, measures 47 ft. 6 in. in length, and 31 ft. 4 in. in
breadth. The entrance or portal, equidistant from both corners, was 12
ft. 6 in. wide; but it has been entirely blocked up with hewn stone,
so that it is now impossible to get into the interior of the monument
without great labour, and only a glimpse can be obtained of a kind
of entrance-hall of small dimensions. Of the interior arrangement,
therefore, nothing meets the view; but on the top of the solid mass of
building, rising to a height of 28 ft. 10 in., the ground-plan of the
third story, which has been demolished to obtain materials for closing
the entrance is distinctly visible. Here the vestibule measures 10 ft.
10 in., the wall of the interior chamber or cell being adorned with
two columns, which are no less than 3 ft. 10 in. apart: the inner room
itself measures 22 ft. 4 in. in length within the walls. The monument,
although more massive than beautiful, is a fair proof of the wealth of
this district in ancient times. Opposite to it, on a limestone hill of
considerable elevation, is another specimen of the cromlech kind in good
preservation, besides other ruins. In the hollow at the south-east side
of the sepulchre there are six deep and spacious wells sunk in the rock.
Here my companion left me, and I continued my route alone, passing
through a well-cultivated tract, till I reached an encampment of the
Welád Bu-Séllem, where we pitched our tent. Here I met a cousin of Haj
ʿAbd el Hádi el Meráyet, who had once been master of half the Tarhóna
district, but was made prisoner by the Turks, and sent to Constantinople.
This man also reappeared on the stage last year.
We set out early in the morning, the country continuing flat as far
as the chapel of Sidi ʿAli ben Salah, which, standing on a hill, is a
conspicuous object for many miles round. At a short distance from this
chapel, I observed the ruins of a castle built of large square stones
taken from older buildings; it measures 42 ft. in every direction, and
exhibits a few bad but curious sculptures, among others an ass in relief.
Around are the ruins of a small village, and flat stones of immense size,
similar in workmanship to those described above, but no upright pillars.
[Illustration]
Beyond the chapel of the saint the country became more hilly, and after
some time we entered a ravine joining the Wady Gedaera, which exhibited
the remains of three broad and firmly constructed dykes, crossing the
ravine at the distance of about eight hundred yards from each other.
They were built of small stones, and were evidently intended to exclude
the water from the lower part of the valley. Another eight hundred yards
below the innermost dyke, the ravine widens out into a fine verdant
hollow, stretching from west to east, and provided with several wells.
On a detached hill rising in the midst of this basin, is situated the
Kasr Dawán, built partly of older materials of hewn stone, partly of
small stones, and probably of the same age as the dykes. The whole floor
of the basin is strewn with ruins; and a considerable village seems to
have extended round the castle: where the ground was free from stones, it
was covered with ranunculuses. Altogether, this spot was interesting—the
stronghold of a chieftain who appears to have had energy and foresight,
but whose deeds are left without a record.
As soon as we emerged from this ravine the whole character of the country
changed, and through a pleasant valley we entered a wider plain, bordered
in the distance by a high range of mountains, among which the Jebel Msíd,
crowned with a zawíya or convent, is distinguished by its height and its
form.
The fine pasturage which this plain affords to the cows of the Mehaedi
enabled their masters to regale us with fine fresh sourmilk, which
interrupted our march very pleasantly. On the site of an ancient village,
near the margin of a small torrent, I found the above curious specimens
of upright pilasters, together with the impost, remarkable for their
height as well as for the rough sculpture of a dog, or some other
animal, which is seen on the higher part of one of them. About seven
hundred yards beyond the torrent called Ksaea, we had on our right a
large building of hewn stone about 140 yards square, besides six pairs
of pilasters together with their imposts; but some of them are lying at
present on the ground. These structures could never have been intended as
doors or passages; for the space between the upright stones is so narrow,
that a man of ordinary size could hardly squeeze his way through them.
Other ruins are on the left.
Here we entered the mountain-chain which forms the natural boundary
between the district of Tarhóna and that of Meselláta, and at the present
time separates scenes of nomadic life from fixed settlements. The highest
part of the chain round the Jebel Msíd remained on our left, while the
height on the right decreased in elevation. The chain has little breadth;
and we hardly reached its crest when the country that presented itself
to our view had quite a different appearance from that just left behind,
presenting among other objects the castle of Meselláta, surrounded by an
olive-grove. In this spot ancient sites and modern villages with stone
houses are intermixed, while thick olive-groves enliven the whole, and
constitute the wealth of the inhabitants.
Having passed a village called Fatír, lying in a ravine that runs
south-west, we soon descried, in a hollow at the southern foot of the
Kasr Sʿaade (a small ancient fortress), the first olive-plantation and
the first orchards belonging to Meselláta. From this place onward they
succeed each other at short intervals. Having passed a small eminence,
with a fine olive-grove in the hollow at its foot, we entered the
beautiful and well-inhabited plain of Meselláta. Here a great deal of
industry was evinced by the planting of young cuttings between the
venerable old olive-trees, or ghúrs Faraón as the Arabs call them.
My shoush affirmed that the inhabitants of Meselláta are the most
industrious and diligent people in the whole regency, taking good care
of their plantations, and watering them whenever they need it. The whole
country has here a different character from that of Tarhóna, the naked
calcareous rock protruding everywhere, while in Tarhóna the plains
generally consist of a clayey soil. This district is only about one
thousand feet above the sea, while the average height of the Jebel
(Yefren) and the Ghurián is about two thousand feet. Here the olives had
been collected a month ago; in the former districts they remained still
on the tree.
Cheered by the spectacle of life and industry around us, we continued our
pleasant march, and having crossed an open space of rough rocky ground
filled with cisterns, we reached the castle of Meselláta, an edifice of
little merit, built with square stones from old ruins, and lying at the
northern end of the village Kúsabát, which properly means “the Castles.”
While my people were pitching my tent behind the castle, on the only spot
which would allow of the pegs being driven into the ground, I went to
pay a visit to Khalíl Aghá, who resided in the castle; but I found it to
be so desolate and comfortless that I left it immediately, taking with
me the sheikh Mesʿaud and a shoush named Ibrahím Tubbát, in order to view
the Kalʿa or Gellʿah, a very conspicuous object, visible even from the
sea. Keeping along the western side of the village, which consists of
from three hundred to four hundred cottages built of stone, and occupies
a gentle slope towards the south, the highest point of which, near the
mosque, is 1,250 feet above the level of the sea, we reached a pleasant
little hollow adorned with gardens, which being fenced with hedges of
the Indian fig-tree, rendered the spot extremely picturesque. From hence
we ascended the naked calcareous eminence, from the top of which the
fortress overlooks a great extent of country. Going round its demolished
walls, from east to west, I was able to descry and to take the bearings
of a great number of villages belonging to the district of Meselláta,
some of them peeping out of olive-groves, others distinguishable only by
the smoke rising up from them.
The fortress itself is evidently a work not of Mohammedans, but of
Europeans, and was most probably constructed by the Spaniards in the
first half of the sixteenth century. It is built in the form of a
triangle, one side of which, running north-west and south-east, measures
about 108 yards; another, running east-north-east and west-south-west,
measures 78½ yards, and the third, S. 5 W. and N. 5 E., 106½ yards. At
the corner between the first and the second wall, is a polygonal bastion;
between the second and third a round bastion, and a small one also
between the third and the first wall. Descending from the fortress, I
went with Mesʿaud through the village, the dwellings of which are built in
a much better style than is usual in the regency. It is also stated that,
in comparison with the rest of the country, its inhabitants enjoy some
degree of wealth, and that the market is well supplied.
I rose at an early hour, in order to continue my route, and entered a
very pleasant country, rendered more agreeable in appearance by the
fineness of the morning. Winding along through hilly slopes covered
with luxuriant corn-fields and wide-spreading olive-trees, we reached
at half-past eight o’clock an interesting group of ruins consisting of
immense blocks, and amongst them one like the flat quadrangular stones
represented above, but having on its surface, besides the little channel,
a large hole; also a block of extraordinary dimensions, representing a
double altar of the curious massive sort described above. Close to these
remarkable ruins, in a fine corn-field, is a small castle, situated upon
a natural base of rock, in which subterranean vaults have been excavated
in a very regular way. Towards the south, at the distance of about half
an hour’s march, the large castle of Amámre rises into view. We then
reached the fine plantation of Rumíyeh, while on a hill to the left lie
other scattered ruins.
We met a good many people going to the Thursday market at Kúsabát.
Further on, near another little grove, we found a small encampment of
the Jehawát, a tribe which claims the possession of this whole district.
We then passed a castle irregularly built of large square stones about
twelve yards square. Having crossed a hollow, we obtained a good view
over the country, in which the “Merkeb Sʿaid n ʿAli” (the most advanced
spur of this chain towards the coast) formed a distinguished point,
while we had already reached the last low breaks of the mountain-country
towards the east. Meanwhile the greater dimensions of the ruins remind
the traveller that he is approaching the famous remains of Leptis. I
found here, a little to the right of our path, near a Bedouin encampment,
the ruins of a temple of large proportions, called Sanem ben Hamedán,
and of rather curious arrangement, the front, which faces the north
and recedes several feet from the side-walls, being formed by double
ranges of enormous stones standing upright—they can scarcely be called
pilasters,—while the inner part is ornamented with columns of the Ionic
order. The whole building is about forty paces long, and thirty-six
broad; but the architectural merit of its details is not sufficient
to repay the trouble of exact measurements. About a thousand yards
further on, to the east, are the ruins of another still larger monument,
measuring about seventy-seven paces in every direction, and called by
the Arabs Kasr Kérker. It has several compartments in the interior—three
chambers lying opposite to the entrance, and two other larger ones on the
east side. Nearly in the middle of the whole building, there is a large
square stone like those mentioned above, but having on one of its narrow
sides a curious sculpture in relief.
[Illustration]
The camels having been allowed to go on, I hastened after them with my
shoush as fast as my donkey could trot, and passed several sites of
ancient villages or castles, and numerous fine hollows with luxuriant
olive-trees. I scarcely ever remember to have seen such beautiful trees.
The country continues undulating, with fertile hollows or depressions. We
reached the camels at Wady Lebda, which I found perfectly dry.
Close to our left we had cultivated ground and ruins. Near the sea-shore,
the spacious and pleasant site of Leptis spread out on the meadow-land,
while a little further, on rose a small ridge, on the top of which is
situated the village Khurbet Hammám. After we had passed a pleasant
little hollow, the plain became for a while overgrown with thick
clusters of bushes; but on reaching the plantation of Swail, an almost
uninterrupted line of villages stretched along the sahel (sea-shore) amid
corn-fields and groves of olive and date-trees. According to my shoush, a
great deal of corn is cultivated also in the valleys behind this plain;
and numerous well-trodden paths were seen leading from the sahel into
the hilly country on its southern side. After plentiful rains, this
part of the plain is inundated by the waters of the Wady Bondári, which
is called after the general name of the low range bordering the plain.
Having passed several little villages of the sahel, and paid my due
tribute of veneration to “el Dekhaele” (the oldest and tallest palm-tree
in the whole district), a little before five o’clock in the afternoon I
reached the village called Zawíya Ferjáni, where we pitched our tent in
the stubble-field near a date-grove, and rested from our pleasant day’s
march, experiencing hospitable treatment from our hosts.
The country hereabouts is regarded as tolerably healthy, but ʿAbd eʾ
Saʿade, a village a little further eastward, has suffered greatly from
malignant fevers, which are attributed to the unwholesomeness of the
waters of the Wady Kʿaám, as I noticed on my former journey; hence the
population has become rather thin, and industry has declined. At some
distance from the wady, cultivation ceases entirely, and, instead of
groves and gardens, a wide and wild field of disorder and destruction
meets the eye. This rivulet, which is identical with the Cinyps, was
in great vogue with the ancients, who knew how to control and regulate
its occasional impetuosity. Immense walls, which they constructed as
barriers against destructive inundations, remain to testify to their
activity and energy. Of these one group, forming a whole system of dykes,
some transverse, some built in the form of a semi-circle, is seen near
the spot, where a beautiful subterranean aqueduct which supplied Leptis
issues from the wady; another enormous wall, 650 yards long, and from 4
to 4½ yards thick, stands about three quarters of a mile higher up the
valley.
Having started in the afternoon from the mouth of the wady, I re-entered
Zawíya ʿAbd el Ferjáni from the rear, but finding that my people had
gone on to Leptis, I followed them, after a little delay, by the way of
Wady Súk, where every Thursday a market is held (“Súk el khamís,” a name
applied by Captain, now Rear-Admiral, Smyth to the neighbouring village),
and then over the open meadow-plain, having the blue sea on my right, and
came up with my people just as they were about to pitch my tent at the
foot of an enormous staircase leading to some undefined monument in the
eastern part of the ancient city of Leptis. During the forenoon I was
busily employed in a second investigation of some of the ruins of Leptis,
which have been so well described and illustrated by Admiral Smyth. Near
the small creek called Mirsá Legátah, and a little east of the chapel of
the Merábet ben Shehá, a small castle has been lately built by the Turks,
about a hundred paces square. It has quite a handsome look with its
pinnacles and small bastions.
Leaving the site of this celebrated city, we proceeded, early in the
afternoon, through a diversified hilly country, till we reached the high
hill or mount of Mérkeb Sʿaid-n-ʿAli, which is visible from a great
distance. This I ascended in order to correct some of my positions,
particularly that of el Gellʿah in Meselláta, but found the wind too
violent. Passing an undulating country, overgrown with the freshest
green, and affording ample pastures to the herds of numerous Arab
encampments, I pitched my tent near a small dowar of the Beni Jéhem, who
treated us hospitably with sour milk and bazín.
The country continued varied, hill and dale succeeding each other; but
beyond Kasr Aláhum (an irregular building of a late age), it became more
rough and difficult, especially near the steep descent called Negási.
Soon after this we descended into the plain, not far from the sea-shore,
where we crossed several flat valleys. From the Wady Bú Jefára, where a
small caravan going from Zlíten to the town overtook us, a monotonous
plain, called Gwaea mtʿa Gummáta, extends to the very foot of the
slope of Meselláta. Having traversed the desolate zone called el Míta
mtʿa Terúggurt, whence may be descried the “úglah” near the shore, the
residence of my old friend the sheikh Khalífa bú-Ruffa, we reached the
broad and rock-bound valley Terúggurt itself, probably the most perfect
wady which this part of the coast exhibits. To my great satisfaction, I
met Overweg at the Kasr Jefára.
K. Jefára is also called Karabúli, from the name of a Mamlúk who, in the
time of Yusuf Basha, built here a sort of convent or chapel. It is rather
a “funduk,” or caravanserai, than a “kasr,” or castle, and the gates are
always left open; but its situation is important, and it is the residence
of a judge or kaíd. A battle between Ghóma and the Turks was fought in
1855 at no great distance from it. The country around is a monotonous
plain, enlivened only by three small clusters of palm-trees towards the
north. The following morning we proceeded, and encamped on the eastern
side of Wady Raml. On Tuesday we returned to Tripoli well satisfied with
our little excursion, and convinced that the Regency of Tripoli is not by
any means so poor and miserable as it is generally believed to be.