[p.237]obliging him to fly, he repaired to the Aeneze, with whom he
found security and protection.
Half an hour from Aaere we passed Wady Ghothe [Arabic], with the village
of Ghothe to our left; route N.W.b.N. One hour and a half, the village
Om Waled [Arabic], one hour and three quarters, the village El Esleha
[Arabic], inhabited principally by Christians. Two hours and a quarter,
passed Wady Soueida. Two hours and a half the village Thale [Arabic], to
the west of which, one hour, is Tel Hossein, with the village Kheraba.
At three hours and a quarter is the village El Daara [Arabic], with Wady
Daara; here we dined at an encampment of Arabs of Djebel Haouran, who
are in the habit of descending into the plain to pasture their cattle,
as soon as the country is evacuated by the Aeneze. At four hours and
three quarters is Melieha el Aattash [Arabic], in a direction N.W. from
Daara; from thence our route lay W. by N. Not more than one-third of the
plain was cultivated, though the peasants had sown more grain this year,
than they had done for many years back. S. of Melieha half an hour lies
the village Rakham [Arabic]. Five hours and a half the village El Herak
[Arabic]. Five hours and three quarters, the village El Hereyek
[Arabic]. In all these villages are several reservoirs of water, for the
supply of the inhabitants during summer, and which are filled either by
the winter torrents descending from the Djebel Haouran, or by rain
water, which is conducted into them from every side by narrow channels:
they are all of ancient date, and built entirely with the black Haouran
stone; but I saw in none of the villages any edifice of magnitude. Near
Hereyek we fell in with the encampment of the Damascus beggars, who make
an excursion every spring to the Haouran, to collect alms from the
peasants and Arabs; these contributions are principally in butter and
wool,