[p.146]called El Shyhy [Arabic], was to our right; at three hours, we
passed the village El Djadjye [Arabic], distant from the left of the
road a quarter of an hour; and near it the village El Kasa. The fertile
soil now begins to be well cultivated. In four hours we reached Hamah,
where we alighted, at the house of Selym Keblan, one of the Mutsellim's
secretaries, the most gentlemanly Levantine I had yet known.
Hamah is situated on both sides of the Orontes; a part of it is built on
the declivity of a hill, and a part in the plain; the quarters in the
plain are called Hadher [Arabic] and El Djissr; those higher up El
Aleyat [Arabic], and El Medine. Medine is the abode of the Christians.
The town is of considerable extent, and must contain at least thirty
thousand inhabitants, of whom the Greek families, according to the
Bishop's information, are about three hundred. In the middle of the city
is a square mound of earth, upon which the castle formerly stood; the
materials, as well as the stones with which it is probable that the hill
was faced, have been carried away and used in the erection of modern
buildings. There are four bridges over the Orontes
in the town. The river supplies the upper town with water by means of
buckets fixed to high wheels (Naoura) [Arabic], which empty themselves
into stone canals, supported by lofty arches on a level with the upper
parts of the town. There are about a dozen of the wheels; the largest of
them, called Naoura el Mohammedye, is at least seventy feet in diameter.
The town, for the greater part, is well built, although the walls of the
dwellings, a few palaces excepted, are of mud; but their interior makes
amends for the roughness of their external appearance. The Mutsellim
resides in a seraglio, on the banks of the river. I enquired in vain for
a piece of marble, with figures in relief, which La Roque saw; but in
the corner of a house in the Bazar is a stone with a number
[p.147]of small figures and signs, which appears to be a kind of
hieroglyphical writing, though it does not resemble that of Egypt. I
counted thirteen mosques in the town, the largest of which has a very
ancient Minaret.
The principal trade of Hamah is with the Arabs, who buy here their tent
furniture and clothes. The Abbas, or woollen mantles made here, are much
esteemed. Hamah forms a part of the province of Damascus, and is usually
the station of three or four hundred horsemen, kept here by the Pasha to
check the Arabs, who inundate the country in spring and summer. Few rich
merchants are found in the town; but it is the residence of many opulent
Turkish gentlemen, who find in it all the luxuries of the large towns,
at the same time that they are in some measure removed from the
extortions of the government. Naszyf Pasha, of the family of Adein, who
has an annual income of about £8000. sterling, has built a very handsome
house here. He is well known for his travels in Europe, and Barbary, and
for his brave defence of Cairo, after the defeat of the Grand Vizir by
General Kleber near Heliopolis. Being curious to see him, I waited upon
him, notwithstanding the rule I had prescribed to myself of mixing as
little as possible with Turkish grandees, and presented him a letter of
recommendation. We conversed for about half an hour; he was very civil
for a Pasha, and made many enquiries concerning Prince Augustus (the
Duke of Sussex), whom he had known in Italy.
The government of Hamah comprises about one hundred and twenty inhabited
villages, and seventy or eighty which have been abandoned. The western
part of its territory is the granary of northern Syria, though the
harvest never yields more than ten for one, chiefly in consequence of
the immense numbers of mice,
[p.148]which sometimes wholly destroy the crops. I did not see any of
these animals.
From a point on the cliff above the Orontes, called El Sherafe, the
traveller enjoys a beautiful view over the town. At one hour and a half
from it lies the Djebel Zeyn Aabdein [Arabic] in the direction N. by E.;
this mountain has two prominent summits, called the Horns of Zeyn
Aabdein [Arabic]; its continuation southward is called Djebel Keysoun,
the highest point of which bears E. 1/2 N.; still farther south it
protrudes in a point in the neighbourhood of Salamie, which bears S.E.
and is called Djebel el Aala, upon which stands the castle called Kalaat
Shemmasye [Arabic]. To the S. of Hamah, two hours distant, lies an
insulated chalky mountain, two or three hours in length, from west to
east, called Djebel Erbayn; its highest point bearing from Hamah S. 1/2
E. The Orontes flows on its E. side.
The Aaszy irrigates a great number of gardens belonging to Hamah, which
in winter time are generally inundated. Whereever the gardens lie higher
than the river, wheels like those already mentioned are met with in the
narrow valley, for the purpose of raising up water to them. In summer
the water of the river is quite clear.
February 27th.--We remained five days in the hospitable house of Selym,
where a large company of Turks and Arabs assembled every evening; and it
was with difficulty that we could prevail upon him to let us depart. The
distance between Hamah and Tripoli, by the direct road, is four days, or
three days by performing on the first a thirteen hours journey from
Hamah to Hossn; but we wished to visit the castle of Maszyad, the seat
of the Ismaylys, which is laid down upon most of the maps of Syria, but
has rarely been visited by any travellers. We set out about mid-day, and
travelling in a S.W.