[p.179]from the westerly gales. I saw but one boat between the rocks of
Batroun.
March 14th.--Our road lay along the rocky coast. In three quarters of an
hour we came to a bridge, called Djissr Medfoun [Arabic], which crosses
a winter torrent. The territory of Batroun extends to this bridge; its
northern limits begin at the village of Hammad, upon the Djebel Nourye,
which terminates the district of Koura; beyond the bridge of Medfoun is
the village Aabeidat [Arabic] to the left. The mountain reaches quite
down to the sea shore. The direction of our road was S.b.W. At two
hours, upon a hill to the left of the road, called Berdj Reihani
[Arabic], stands a ruined arched building; on the road below it are
three columns of sand stone. Up in the mountain are the Greek villages
of Manszef [Arabic], Berbar [Arabic], Gharsous [Arabic], and Korne
[Arabic]. In three hours and a quarter we passed a Wady, without water,
called Halloue [Arabic]. At every three or four miles on this road small
Khans are met with, where refreshments of bread, cheese, and brandy are
sold. Close to the sea shore are many deep wells, with springs of fresh
water at their bottom. Three hours and a half is Djebail [Arabic], the
ancient Byblus. Above it, in the mountain, is the convent Deir el Benat,
with the village Aamsheit [Arabic]. I passed on the outside of Djebail
without stopping. The town is enclosed by a wall, some parts of which
appear to be of the time of the crusades. Upon a stone in the wall I saw
a rose, with a smaller one on each side. There is a small castle here,
in which the Emir Beshir keeps about forty men. A few years ago Djebail
was the residence of the Christian Abd el Ahad; he and his brother
Djordjos Bas were the head men of the Emir Beshir, and in fact were more
potent than their master. Djordjos Bas resided at Deir el Kammar. The
district of Djebail was under the command of Abd el Ahad, who built a
[p.180]very good house here; but the two brothers shared the fate of all
Christians who attempt to rise above their sphere; they were both put to
death in the same hour by the Emir's orders; indeed there is scarcely an
instance in the modern history of Syria, of a Christian or Jew having
long enjoyed the power or riches which he may have acquired: these
persons are always taken off in the moment of their greatest apparent
glory. Abd el Hak, at Antioch; Hanna Kubbe, at Ladakie; Karaly, at
Aleppo; are all examples of this remark. But, as in the most trifling,
so in the most serious concerns, the Levantine enjoys the present
moment, without ever reflecting on future consequences. The house of
Hayne, the Jew Seraf, or banker, at Damascus and Acre, whose family may
be said to be the real governors of Syria, and whose property, at the
most moderate calculation, amounts to three hundred thousand pounds
sterling, are daily exposed to the same fate. The head of the family, a
man of great talents, has lost his nose, his ears, and one of his eyes,
in the service of Djezzar, yet his ambition is still unabated, and he
prefers a most precarious existence, with power, in Syria, to the ease
and security he might enjoy by emigrating to Europe. The Christian
Sheikh Abou Nar commands at Djebail, his brother is governor or Sheikh
of Bshirrai.
Many fragments of fine granite columns are lying about in the
neighbourhood of Djebail. On the S. side of the town is a small Wady
with a spring called Ayn el Yasemein [Arabic]. The shore is covered with
deep sand. A quarter of an hour from Djebail is a bridge over a deep and
narrow Wady; it is called Djissr el Tel [Arabic]; upon a slight
elevation, on its S. side, are the ruins of a church, called Kenyset
Seidet Martein [Arabic]. Up in the mountains are two convents and
several Maronite villages, with the names of which my Greek guide was
unacquainted. In half an hour we came to a pleasant grove of oaks
skirting the