[p.138]the foot of the hill upon which stands Kalaat el Medyk [Arabic],
or the castle of Medyk. It probably occupies the site of Apamea: for
there can be little doubt that travellers have been wrong in placing
that city at Hamah, the ancient Epiphania, or at some ruins situated at
four hours distance from Hamah. Notwithstanding our desire to enter the
castle, we could not venture to do so. The governor, Milly Ismayl, a man
eighty-five years of age, and whose name has been well known in Syria
for the last twenty years, was last year, when governor of Hamah,
ordered by the Pasha of Damascus to march with his corps of Dehlys
towards Ladakie, to join the Tripoli army, then fighting against the
Anzeyrys, who inhabit the mountains between Ladakie and Antioch; in
passing by Kalaat el Medyk, on his way to Djissr Shogher, he found the
castle without a garrison, and took possession of it, thereby declaring
himself a rebel. Orders have in consequence been given to strike off his
head. Although his strong fortress enables him to defy these orders, his
dread of being surprised induces him to try every means in his power to
obtain his pardon from the Porte, and he has even sent considerable sums
of money to Constantinople. [Damascus. April 28, 1812.--In the latter
end of March, Milly Ismayl went to Hamah on some private business, and
during his absence with his troops Topal Aly quietly seized upon the
castle. The former now lives in retirement at Hamah, while the power and
reputation of Topal have been thus considerably increased in the
northern parts of Syria.] Under these circumstances my companion and
myself were afraid that he might lay hold of us, in order to make our
deliverance subservient to his purposes; we therefore passed by the foot
of the hill, while we sent in our attendants to buy some provisions. The
castle is built upon an almost insulated hill, communicating on its
eastern side only with the mountain called Djebel