[p.176]points; the northern wall, instead of completing the quadrangle,
consists of two curves about twelve feet in depth, and both vaulted like
niches, as high as the roof, which has fallen in. In the S. wall are
several projecting bases for statues. The door and its soffit, which is
formed of a single stone, are ornamented with beautiful sculptures,
which are not inferior to those of Baalbec. Before the entrance was a
portico of four Ionic columns, of which three are standing; they are
about eighteen feet high, and of a single stone. Opposite to each of the
exterior columns of this portico is a pilaster in the wall of the
temple. There are also two other pilasters in the opposite or eastern
wall. Between the two middle columns of the portico is a gate six feet
high, formed of two posts, with a stone laid across them; this is
probably of modern date, as the exterior of the northern wall also
appears to be; instead of forming two semicircles, as within, it is
polygonal. Between the door and the pilaster, to the northward of it, is
a niche. The entablature of the portico is perfect. In the midst of the
building stands a large old oak tree, whose branches overshadow the
temple, and supply the place of the roof, rendering the ruin a highly
picturesque object. I saw no inscriptions.
Half an hour to the west of Beshiza lies the village of Deir Bashtar
[Arabic]. From the temple we turned N.-eastward, and at the end of half
an hour passed the village Amyoun [Arabic], the chief place in the
district of El Koura, and the residence of Assaf Ibn Asar, the governor
of that province; he is a Greek Christian, and a collector of the Miri,
which he pays into the hands of the Emir Beshir. Many Christian families
are governors of provinces and Sheikhs of villages in the mountains: in
collecting the
[p.177]Miri, and making the repartitions of the extraordinary demands
made by the Emir, they always gain considerable sums; but whenever a
Sheikh has filled his purse, he is sure to fall a victim to the avidity
of the chief governor. These Sheikhs affect all the pomp of the Turks;
surpass them in family pride, and equal them in avarice, low intrigue,
and fanatism. The governor of the province of Zawye is also a Christian,
of the family of Dhaher.
Instead of descending towards the sea shore, which is the usual route to
Batroun, I preferred continuing in the mountain. At an hour and a
quarter from Amyoun, after having twice passed the Beshiza, or, as it is
also called, the Nahr Aszfour, which runs in a very narrow Wady
descending from the district of Laklouk, we reached the village of
Keftoun, where is a convent. Above it lies the village of Betaboura, and
in its neighbourhood Dar Shemsin and Kferhata. West of Amyoun is the
village of Kfer Hasir [Arabic]. The industry with which these
mountaineers cultivate, upon the narrow terraces formed on the steep
declivity of the mountain, their vines and mulberry trees, with a few
acres of corn, is really admirable. At two hours the village of Kelbata
was on our right; a little farther, to the right, Ras Enhash. [Arabic];
below on the sea shore, at the extremity of a point of land, is a large
village called Amfy [Arabic], and near it the convent Deir Natour. It is
with great difficulty that a horse can travel through these mountains;
the roads are abominable, and the inhabitants always keep them so, in
order to render the invasion of their country more difficult. The
direction of Batroun, from the point where the road begins to descend,
is S.W.b.W.
We descended the mountain called Akabe el Meszabeha, near the Wady
Djaous, which lower down takes the name of Nahr Meszabeha. Two hours and
a half from Amyoun, on the descent, is a fine spring, with a vaulted
covering over it, called Ayn el Khowadja [Arabic]. At the end of three
hours we reached