_Haleb_, or, as we call it, _Aleppo_, the present metropolis of
_Syria_[1], though greatly inferior to the cities of _Constantinople_
and _Cairo_ in extent, number of inhabitants, riches, and perhaps several
other circumstances, yet, in respect to buildings, yields to none in the
_Turkish_ empire.
This city and suburbs stand on eight small hills or eminences, none of
them considerable, except that in the middle of the place, on which the
castle is erected. This mount is of a conic form, and seems, in a great
measure, to be artificial, and raised with the earth thrown up out of a
broad deep ditch that surrounds it. The suburbs, called _Sheih il Arab_,
to the N. N. E. are next in height to this, and those to the W. S. W. are
much lower than the parts adjacent, and than any other parts of the city.
An old wall not a little decayed, and a broad ditch now in most places
turned into gardens, surround the city, the circumference of which is
about three miles and an half; but, including the suburbs, which are
chiefly to the North East, the whole may be about seven miles[2].
The houses, are composed of apartments, on each of the sides, of a square
court all of stone, and consist of a ground floor which is generally
arched, and an upper story which is flat on the top, and either terraced
with hard plaister, or paved with stone. Their ceilings are of wood
neatly painted, and sometimes gilded, as are also the window-shutters,
the pannels of some of their rooms, and the cupboard doors, of which
they have a great number: these, taken together, have a very agreeable
effect. Over the doors and windows within the houses of the _Turks_,
are inscribed passages out of the Koran, or verses either of their own
composition, or taken from some of their most celebrated poets. The
_Christians_ generally borrow theirs from scripture.
In all their houses the court yard is neatly paved, and, for the most
part, has a bason with a jet d’eau in the middle, on one or both sides
of which, a small spot is left unpaved for a sort of garden, which often
does not exceed a yard or two square; the verdure, however, which is
here produced, together with the addition of a few flowers in pots, and
the fountains playing, would be a very agreeable sight to the passenger,
if there were openings to the street through which these might be
discovered, but they are entirely shut up with double doors so contrived,
as that, when open, one cannot look into the court yard; and there are no
windows to the street, except a very few in their upper rooms; so that
nothing is to be seen but dead walls, which make their streets appear
very disagreeable to _Europeans_.
Most of the better sort of houses have an arched alcove within this
court open to the north, and opposite to the fountain; the pavement of
this alcove is raised about a foot and an half above that of the yard,
to serve for a divan[3]. Between this and the fountain the pavement is
generally laid out in mosaic work, with various coloured marble; as is
also the floor of a large hall with a cupola roof, which commonly has a
fountain in the middle, and is almost the only tolerably cool room in
their houses during the summer.
The people of fashion have in the outer court but one or two rooms
below stairs for themselves, the rest are for servants and stabling;
the pavement of this is but rough, as their horses stand there all the
summer, except a few hours in the middle of the day. Above stairs is
a colonade, if not round the whole court, at least fronting the west,
off from which are their rooms and _kiosks_[4]; these latter are a sort
of wooden divans, that project a little way from the other part of the
building, and hang over the street; they are raised about one foot and
an half higher, than the floor of the room, to which they are quite
open, and, by having windows in front and on each side, there is a great
draught of air, which makes them cool in the summer, the advantage
chiefly intended by them. Beyond this court is another, containing the
womens apartments, built much in the same manner that I have described
the other houses; some few of them have a tolerable garden, in which, as
well as in the outer yard, there is generally a tall cypress tree.
The mosques in _Aleppo_ are numerous, and some few of them magnificent;
before each is a square area, in the middle of which, is a fountain for
the appointed ablutions before prayers, and behind some of the larger
mosques there is a little garden.
Besides these open spaces there are many large _khanes_ or (as most
travellers call them) _caravan seraijs_, consisting of a capacious
square, on all sides of which are built on the ground floor a number of
rooms, used occasionally for stables, warehouses, or chambers. Above
stairs a colonade occupies the four sides, to which opens a number
of small rooms, wherein the merchants, as well strangers as natives,
transact most of their business.
The streets are generally narrow, but, however, are well paved, and kept
remarkably clean.
The market places, called here _bazars_, are properly, long, covered,
narrow streets, on each side of which are a number of small shops just
sufficient to hold the tradesman (and perhaps one or two more) with
all the commodities he deals in about him, the buyer being obliged to
stand without. Each separate branch of business has a particular _bazar_
allotted them, and these, as well as the streets, are all locked up an
hour and an half after sunset, and many of them earlier, which is a great
security from house-breakers. It deserves to be remembered, how odd
soever it may appear, that though their doors are mostly cased with iron,
yet their locks are made of wood.
In the suburbs, to the eastward, are their slaughter-houses, in a very
airy place, with a large open field before them. The tanners have a
_khane_, where they work, in the south west part of the town near the
river.
To the southward, just without the walls in the suburbs, they burn lime;
and a little way further is a small village, where they make ropes and
catgut, which last manufacture is, at some seasons, extremely offensive.
In _Mesherka_, which is part of the suburbs on the opposite side of the
river to the westward, is a glass-house, where they make a coarse kind of
white glass, but they work only a few months in the winter, the greatest
part of this manufacture being brought from a village called _Armenass_,
about thirty-five miles to the westward, from whence also they bring the
sand used in their glass-house at _Aleppo_.
The city is supplied with very good water from some springs near the
banks of the river at _Heylan_, about five miles to the north north
east, which is conveyed from thence by an aquæduct, and distributed to
the different parts of the town by earthen pipes. There is a tradition,
that this aquæduct was the work of the empress _Helena_, and that from
her the springs took their present name: this water is sufficient for
the necessary purposes of drinking, cookery, _&c._ Besides this, almost
every house has a well, but the water of these, being brackish, is only
employed for washing their court yards, and filling the reservoirs for
their fountains.
The fuel, used in their houses, is wood and charcoal; for heating their
bagnios, they burn the dung of animals, leaves of plants, parings of
fruit, and such like, which they employ people to gather and dry for that
purpose.
The markets are well supplied with provisions, of which we shall have
occasion to give a more particular account.
For at least four or five miles round _Aleppo_, the ground is very stony
and uneven, having a number of small eminences, most of which are as
high as any part of the city. From the west south west to the north west
by west, this sort of country continues for at least twenty miles, with
a number of small fertile plains interspersed. To the northward and
southward, after about six or seven miles, the country is level and not
stony. To the eastward a vast plain commences, which, though it is called
the _desart_, yet for a great many miles beyond _Aleppo_, affords a fine
fertile soil.
In clear weather, the top of mount _Cassius_, bearing west by south,
and part of the mountains, called _Amanus_, are to be seen from several
places in the city; but, as the nearest of these, _viz._ that part of
_Amanus_, which stretches to the eastward and approaches to _Killis_,
is at least thirty miles distant from _Aleppo_, they can be supposed to
have but very little influence upon the air of the place, any more than a
small conical rocky hill, called _Sheih Barakat_, at about twenty miles
to the west by north, and a narrow chain of low rocky hills, usually
named the _Black Mountains_, to the south south east, at about ten miles
distance.
The river _Coic_[5] (if a stream scarce six or eight yards wide deserves
that name) passes along the western part of the city within a few yards
of the walls, and barely serves to water a narrow slip of gardens upon
its banks, reaching from about five miles north to about three miles
south of the town. Besides these gardens, there are a few more near a
village called _Bab Allah_, about two miles to the north-east, which are
supplied by the aquæduct.
The rising-grounds above the gardens, to which the water cannot be
conveyed, are in some places laid out in vineyards interspersed with
olive, fig, and pistachio trees, as are also many spots to the eastward,
where there are no gardens.
Inconsiderable as this stream and these gardens may appear, yet they
contain almost the only water and trees that are to be met with for
twenty or thirty miles round, for the villages are all destitute of
trees, and most of them only supplied with water by what rain they can
save in cisterns.
The latitude of _Aleppo_, as fixed by a _French_ mathematician who was
there in the year 1753, is thirty-six degrees twelve minutes N. latitude,
which, though some minutes different from the observations of others,
yet is probably the most exact, as he was not only a man of eminence in
his profession, but was also furnished with the best instruments, an
advantage which perhaps the other observators had not. The longitude is
said to be 37 D. 40 M. east from _London_. Its distance from the sea,
in a direct line is about sixty miles, and its height from thence is
considerable, but not yet accurately ascertained.
Having thus finished what was thought necessary concerning the situation
of _Aleppo_, with respect to the parts adjacent, let us now take a
general view of the face of the country throughout _Syria_.
The coast in general is bordered by very high mountains, except near
_Seleucia_, and there from mount _Pieria_ to mount _Cassius_, which is
ten or fifteen miles, is quite level, leaving a passage for the river
_Orontes_ to empty itself into the _Mediterranean_. Those mountains are
covered with trees, shrubs, and a number of plants; so that, different
from the plains, they retain their verdure all the summer. As they abound
with springs these collect into little rivulets, and in a few places on
that side next the sea rivers, which plentifully irrigate the plains
that are between them and the sea. Behind them, on the land side, are
generally extensive plains which receive great benefit from the streams
that descend from the mountains, nigh to which they are well cloathed
with myrtle, oleander, and other shrubs. The opposite boundaries of
those plains are for the most part low, barren, rocky hills, and behind
them other large plains, which though they have no water but the rain
which falls in the winter, yet are exceeding fertile; and this is not
improbably occasioned by the quantity of soil which must necessarily be
washed down into them from the surrounding little rocky hills, by the
violent rains of the winter. This intermixture of rocky eminencies and
plains reaches within land about sixty or seventy miles, after which the
country is generally level, from what I have been told, all the way to
_Bassorah_, and is properly _Arabia Deserta_.
In all _Syria_ there is but one river, (the _Orontes_) that having
its rise on the land side of the high mountains, finds its way to the
sea; the rest, which indeed are but few and inconsiderable, being soon
absorbed by the thirsty plains through which they run, more especially
as they receive but very few supplies in their passage: and even the
_Orontes_, though it be swelled by a number of little brooks from the
high mountains behind which it runs, and derives a farther supply from
the lake of _Antioch_, yet seems as considerable a great many miles above
_Antioch_, as where it empties itself into the _Mediterranean_.
The seasons in this country, generally speaking, are exceeding regular,
particularly at _Aleppo_, where the air is usually very healthy, and so
pure and free from damps that all the inhabitants, of what rank soever,
sup and sleep in their court-yards, or upon the house tops, exposed to
the open air, from the end of _May_ to the middle of _September_, without
suffering any inconveniency from it. However, as I shall hereafter have
occasion to be more particular on this subject, I will at present only
mention in general the changes of the seasons as they appear to our
senses.
The natives reckon the severity, of the winter to last but forty days,
which they call _Maarbanie_, beginning from the twelfth of _December_,
and ending the twentieth of _January_; and in fact this computation comes
near the truth. The air, during this time, is excessively piercing,
particularly to strangers, even though they are but just come from a cold
climate. In the thirteen years that I resided there, it happened not
above three times that the ice was of sufficient strength to bear a man,
and that too with caution, and only in a situation where the sun-beams
never reached it. The snow, excepting three years, never lay above a day,
and even in the depth of winter, when the sun shines out and there is no
wind, it is warm, nay sometimes almost hot, in the open air. Narcissus’s
are in flower during the whole of this weather, and hyacinths and violets
at the latest appear before it is quite over.
As _February_ advances, the fields which were partly green before, now
by the springing up of the later grain become entirely covered with
an agreeable verdure, and though the trees continue in their leafless
wintery state till the end of this month, or the beginning of _March_,
yet the almond, when latest, being in blossom before the middle of
_February_, and quickly succeeded by the apricot, peach, _&c._ gives
the gardens an agreeable appearance. The spring now becomes extremely
pleasant, and has no defect but its short duration, for as _March_ brings
it on with rapidity, so _April_ advances with like haste towards summer,
and the gay livery that the fields wore in those two months, and indeed
most of the winter, fades before the middle of _May_; and before the end
of this month the whole country puts on so parched and barren an aspect,
that one would scarce think it was capable of producing any thing but
the very few robust plants which still have vigour enough to resist the
extreme heats. From this time not so much as one refreshing shower falls,
and scarce a friendly cloud appears to shelter us from the excessive heat
of the sun till about the middle of _September_, when generally a little
rain falling, either in _Aleppo_, or the neighbourhood, refreshes the air
greatly.
From these first rains till the second, an interval of at least between
twenty and thirty days, the weather is temperate, serene, and extremely
delightful, and if the rains have been at all plentiful, though but of a
few hours duration, the country soon assumes a new face; after the second
rains the weather becomes variable, and winter approaches by degrees, not
with so swift a pace as the summer, for the greater part of the trees
retain their leaves till the middle of _November_; the most delicate
never make fires till about the end of this month, and some few pass the
whole winter without them.
It is seldom that _Aleppo_ is troubled with very hard gales of wind; the
coldest winds in the winter are those that blow from between the north
west and the east, and the nearer they approach to the last-mentioned
point, the colder they are during winter and part of the spring. But
from the beginning of _May_ to the end of _September_, the winds blowing
from the very same points bring with them a degree and kind of heat
which one would imagine came out of an oven, and which, when it blows
hard, will affect metals within the houses, such as locks of room doors,
nearly as much as if they had been exposed to the rays of the sun; yet
it is remarkable that water kept in jars is much cooler at this time
than when a cool westerly wind blows. In this season the only remedy is
to shut all the doors and windows, for though these winds do not kill
as the _sumyel_, (which are much of the same nature) do on the desart,
yet they are extremely troublesome, causing a languor and difficulty in
respiration to most people. Many summers pass without any of these winds,
and, during my stay, in no summer have there been more than four or five
days of them; for though the easterly and northerly winds reign most
in the winter, yet providence has wisely ordered it that the westerly
winds are the most frequent in the summer, without which, considering
the intense heat of the sun’s rays, and the reflection from a bare rocky
tract of ground, and from the white stone walls of the houses, the
country would scarcely be habitable.
Where the town is situated it is, as most of the other rising grounds,
rocky, and the soil just round it a white light earth, very stoney,
and not fertile; but in most other parts of the country, the soil is a
redish, or sometimes blackish light mold, and produces the fruits of the
earth in great abundance.
A considerable part of the country lies uncultivated, from the tyranny
of their government, the insecurity of property, and the consequent
indolence of the inhabitants; but very little is allowed to lie fallow
with a view to culture, nor do they use much manure.
They begin to plough about the latter end of _September_, and sow their
earliest wheat about the middle of _October_. The frosts are never severe
enough to prevent their ploughing all the winter, so that they continue
to sow all sorts of grain to the end of _January_, and barley sometimes
after the middle of _February_. No harrow is used, but the ground is
ploughed a second time after it is sown, in order to cover the grain; in
some places where the soil is a little sandy they plough but once, and
that is after sowing. The plough is so light, that a man of a moderate
strength may easily carry it with one hand: a little cow, or at most two,
and sometimes only an ass, is sufficient to draw it in ploughing, and one
man both drives and holds it with so much ease that he generally smokes
his pipe at the same time.
Besides _Turkey_ wheat, barley, and cotton[6], they sow in the fields,
cicers[7], lentils[8], beans[9], chickling[10], small vetch[11],
sesamum, ricinus, hemp, a green kidney bean[12], called by the
natives mash, and much eat; musk melon[13] water melon[14], a small
sort of cucumber called ajour, fennel-flower[15], fœnugreek[16],
bastard-saffron[17], _Turkey_ millet.
About _Aleppo_ they sow no oats, their horses being all fed with barley;
but near _Antioch_, and on the coast of _Syria_, I have seen some few
fields of them.
Near the city tobacco[18] is planted in the gardens only, but in the
villages about ten or fifteen miles off a large quantity is planted in
the fields, and all the hills from _Shogre_ to _Latachia_ produce such
plenty of this vegetable that it makes no inconsiderable branch of trade,
particularly with _Egypt_.
The harvest commences with the barley about the beginning of _May_, and
that, as well as the wheat, is generally all reaped by the twentieth of
the same month. The more wet the spring the later the harvest and the
more plentiful the crop. As soon as it is cut down, or rather pluck’d up,
(for this is their more usual way) it is carried to some neighbouring
spot of hard even ground, and there dislodged from its hulk by a machine
like a sledge, which runs upon two or three rollers, drawn by horses,
cows, or asses. In these rollers are fixed low iron wheels, notched like
the teeth of a law, and pretty sharp, at once cutting the straw and
separating the grain.
Their granaries are even at this day subterraneous grottos, the entry to
which is by a small hole or opening like a well, often in the high way,
and as they are commonly left open when empty, they make it not a little
dangerous riding near the villages in the night.
The cotton is not gathered till _October_, and such spots as are sown
with it yield a pleasant verdure when every thing else seems to be burnt
up. In the neighbourhood of _Aleppo_ there is no great quantity.
The olives produced about the city are, as I apprehend, very little more
than sufficient for pickling for the use of the inhabitants. But at
_Edlib_, about thirty miles to the south west, and the other villages
near it, they have large plantations affording yearly abundance of oil,
with which, and the ashes brought by the _Arabs_ from the desart, a very
considerable quantity of soap is annually made, some at _Aleppo_, but the
greatest part at _Edlib_.
When proper care is taken, the oil is very good, but as the people of
the country are not nice in their taste, they are less disposed to be
attentive about it.
The ricinus furnishes an oil which serves the common people for burning
in their lamps, and from the sesamum an oil likewise is extracted called
seerage, consumed chiefly by the _Jews_.
The vineyards round the city produce several sorts of tolerably good
grapes, sufficient for the supply of the markets. I need scarce mention
that the _Turks_ make no wine, but the _Christians_ and _Jews_ are
allowed to make sufficient for their own use, upon payment of a certain
tax; and the grapes for this purpose, as well as raisins, are all brought
from some distance. Their white wines are palatable, but thin and poor,
and seldom keep sound above a year. The red wine is deep-coloured,
strong, and heady, without any flavour, and much sooner produces sleep or
stupidity than mirth and elevation of spirits.
From the raisins, usually mixed with a few aniseeds, they draw an ardent
spirit, which they stile arrack, and of this the _Christians_ and _Jews_
drink pretty liberally.
The inspissated juice of the grape[19], called here dibbs, is brought
to the city in skins, and sold in the publick markets; it has much the
appearance of coarse honey, is of a sweet taste, and in great use among
the people of all sorts.
Though use seems the chief thing consulted in the laying out of their
gardens (except in a few where they have small summer-houses) and they
have not either fine walks, or any sort of ornament, yet, after what
has been said of the country, it will be easily imagined how agreeable
their verdure and shade must be in the hot weather, and consequently how
much they must be resorted to at that season. But this is not the only
refreshment they afford the inhabitants, for the markets are from them
plentifully supplied with several sorts of fruits, pot-herbs, roots,
and sallading; though, as they are obliged to use a great deal of water
(which they raise with the _Persian_ wheel) it must be owned that their
fruits in general have very little flavour, nor do they often stay till
they are ripe before they gather them. The following are all the variety
here produced.
Cherries three sorts; the common red cherry[20], the white heart
cherry[21], and _Visnia_ cherry[22]; apricots two sorts, one of which
has a sweet kernel, and is an exceeding good fruit, they ingraft it
upon the almond, and reckon its delicacy proceeds from that particular
circumstance[23]. Peaches but indifferent[24]; several sorts of
plumbs[25]; cornelian cherry[26]; two or three sorts of apples, but very
bad[27]; some indifferent good pears[28]; quinces[29]; pomegranates of
three sorts, sweet, sour, and another between both[30]; almonds[31];
black mulberries[32]; white mulberries in great abundance; with the
leaves of this tree the silk-worms are fed[33]; walnuts[34]; figs[35]
of four kinds; hazel-nuts[36], the kernels of which they parch and eat
between meals. Pistachio nuts[37], of a very good quality, and of which a
considerable quantity is yearly sent to _Europe_; jujubs[38]; olive[39];
sumach, used much as a relisher in many of their dishes[40]; one tree
only of St. _John_’s bread[41], is to be found in the gardens, though it
is very common on the coast, and the fruit sold in the bazars at _Aleppo_.
These trees are all standards planted promiscuously, and very little
obliged to culture. In some places they are thrown together in thickets,
in others they form inclosures for the beds of garden-stuff, in which
inclosures are also found the plane tree[42], white poplar[43], common
white willow[44]; another willow that bears a sweet-scented flower,
called by the natives baan, from whence they distill a simple cordial
water much used[45]. Horn-beam[46], a very few oaks[47], ash[48],
lilac[49], bead tree[50], a very few of the nettle trees[51],
oleaster[52], tamarisk[53], turpentine tree[54], a very few medlars[55],
elder[56], roses of various kinds[57], thorn[58], balaustine tree[59],
forming on the whole a wild and irregular but agreeable prospect.
The cypress trees[60] are generally planted nigh the house; the
black-berry[61] also grows wild all over the gardens. They have neither
goosberries nor currants now, though in _Rawolf_’s time there seems to
have been a few.
The pot-herbs, _&c._ produced by the gardens will be best ranged
according to the seasons in which they are most plentiful, in order
to give a clear idea of the food of the inhabitants in the different
seasons, for which reason also I shall here take the liberty to mention
several that have been already enumerated.
From the beginning of _November_ to the end of _March_, cabbage[62],
spinnage[63], endive[64], radishes of two sorts[65], turnips[66],
beet[67], carrot[68], are in great plenty; collyflowers[69] make their
appearance towards the end of _January_, are in great abundance in
_February_ and part of _March_, by the end of which month they become
scarce. _April_ and _May_ produce lettuces of different kinds[70],
beans[71], truffles[72], artichoaks[73], which are very small, and
chiefly eat by the natives when very young, so as when stew’d they eat
the whole; and pease[74].
The two last-mentioned remain in season all the month of _June_.
Purslane[75], and cucumbers[76] come in season also in _May_, and are in
plenty till the end of _July_; in _September_ and _October_ the latter
are again brought to market in great abundance, and towards the end of
this last mentioned month the young ones are gathered for pickling.
The months of _June_, _July_, and _August_ produce musk melons[77] in
great abundance; and a small cucumber called ajoor, which is often
extremely bitter. To these, in the month of _July_, are added water
melons[78], which we have in great perfection; Jews mallows[79]; kidney
beans[80]; adders cucumbers[81]; _Syrian_ mallow[82]; lupines[83]; as
also several kinds of gourds[84]; three species of mad apples[85], called
by the natives badinjan; which remain all _September_, and the latter as
far as the middle of _November_, making the principal part of the food
of the inhabitants during the months of _July_, _August_, _September_,
and _October_; and they are so fond of them, that they preserve them
various ways, so as to afford occasionally a dish through the whole
year. Squash[86] comes in towards the end of _September_, and continues
all the year. The orange-shaped pumpion[87] we have more common in
the summer-months. They have none of the colocassia at _Aleppo_, but
great quantities at _Tripoli_; where the shopkeepers use the leaves (as
_Rawolf_ mentions of _Aleppo_) instead of paper, for putting up their
wares.
The few following are to be met with at all seasons; parsley[88],
cress[89], mint[90], onions[91], and garlick[92]; which though they come
last in the list, yet they are far from being the least in use or esteem
among the natives.
In the gardens they also cultivate carraway[93], coriander[94],
dill[95], cypress canes[96], and common reed[97], both much used by the
manufacturers of silk and cotton stuffs, by way of reels, _&c._
Besides what have been already mentioned, which are produced by culture,
the fields afford the bugloss[98], mallow[99], and asparagus[100],
which they use as pot-herbs; the capper[101], which they pickle; the
dandelion[102], and water cresses[103], used in sallading; and the summer
savory[104], which, dried and powdered, and mixed with salt, they call
_zater_, and often eat as a relisher with bread, serving many of the
natives by way of breakfast in the winter-season; also the _Spanish_
nut[105]; and a species of hartwort[106], called by them _secacul_; both
which they eat crude.
In their little gardens they cultivate, besides the roses already
mentioned, the _Dutch_ hundred-leaf rose[107]; monthly rose[108], which,
by proper management, flowers about ten months in the year; a few
plants of the passion flower[109]; and several kinds of jasmin[110]:
oleander[111], and myrtle[112], grow plentifully in all the water’d parts
of _Syria_, but here only by culture. Henna[113] is kept in pots, and
preserved with great care from the inclemency of the winter, being much
esteemed on account of its sweet-scented flowers; _Spanish_ broom[114],
vervain mallow[115], night-shade[116], winter cherry[117]; and abundance
of flowers, several of which have been brought there by the _Europeans_,
and of which they are very fond, the women in particular, who decorate
their head-dress with them: of these the chief are the ranunculus
and anemony, carnation, hyacinth, narcissus, violet, tuberose[118],
_African_ marigold[119], lupines, sow-bread, _Indian_ bellflower[120],
marvel of _Peru_[121], columbine, stock-gelliflower. They also raise
in these little gardens _Guinea_ pepper[122], which they use as a
pickle; and love apples[123], which are but little ate by any of the
natives, except the Jews; rosemary[124], basil[125], flower gentle[126],
female balsamine[127], musk scabious, rue[128], wormwood[129]. The
common _Seville_ orange[130], the sweet _Seville_ orange[131], _China_
orange[132], common lemon[133], sweet lemon[134], and citron[135], are
also with care preserved here by the natives, for they will not bear a
severe winter in _Aleppo_; though they are in great abundance at _Byas_,
_Latachia_, _Tripoly_, and other places on the coast of _Syria_; from
whence the city is plentifully supplied with these fruits.
Neither my time, nor knowledge in botany, even though assisted by my
brother, who had a great deal more of both, were equal to the task of
making a compleat list of all the plants growing round _Aleppo_; but
though several may have been omitted, great care has been taken that
none should be inserted in the following account but what have been
determined with as much accuracy as possible.[136] It may not be improper
to observe, that the plants in general are of a much humbler growth here
than in most other parts.
Several plants have been already mentioned as flowering early in the
year, as hyacinth[137], daffodil[138], tulip[139], and violet[140]; but
the _Spanish_ nut is what may be called the harbinger of the spring, and
esteemed so by the natives, who are fond of its roots, which are sold at
this season in the publick streets in great quantities; and from this
time the botanizing season commences. Towards the middle of _February_
the banks of the river are covered with a small cranesbill[141]; and
about the same place is found the daizy[142], mentioned by _Rawolf_.
To these are quickly joined a profusion of plants, but chiefly in the
gardens and low grounds, meadow saffron[143]; flower-de-luce several
species[144], bulbous flower-de-luce[145], snow drop[146], ox eye[147],
marigold[148], archangel[149], fumitory[150], shepherds purse[151],
dandelion[152], hypecoon[153], grape hyacinth[154], saffron[155], great
variety of crowfoot[156], particularly one species (_ranuncul. vern.
rotundifol. minor_), that generally covers all the marshy parts of the
gardens.
[Illustration: _Pla 1: facing page 33._
_Onobrychis orientalis Galegæ folijs erectior floribus lineis purpureis
utrinque reticulato T. Cor. 26._
_Thlaspi Orientale saxatile flore rubente folijs Polygalæ petalis florum
æqualibus T. Cor. 15._
_G. D. Ehret delin:_ _J. S. Miller Sc:_]
As the spring advances, the following come on with surprising
rapidity. Madder[157], cleavers[158], periwinkle[159], plantain[160],
androsace[161], burnet[162], speedwell of many species[163], wake
robin[164] several species, dragons[165], several kinds of toad
flax[166], clary[167], sow bread[168], which near _Aleppo_ is chiefly
cultivated in their little gardens, but very common on the mountains;
various sorts of clarey[169], three species of charlock[170],
_Mithridate_ mustard[171], bastard _Mithridate_ mustard[172],
stock-gellyflower[173], dames violet[174] four species, wild
radish[175], two species of chickweed[176], four kinds of mouse-ear[177],
house-leek[178], caltrops[179], two species of anemony[180],
parsley[181], petty madder[182], hartwort[183], shepherds needle[184],
clove-gellyflower[185], various species of garlick[186], bindweed
two kinds[187], spurges several species[188], horehound[189], field
_Basil_[190], treacle-mustard[191], woad[192], hemlock[193], water
parsnip[194], navel-wort[195], brank ursine[196], gold of pleasure[197],
flix-weed[198], horned wild cumin[199], sweet fern[200], bastard
parsley[201], shrub hartwort[202], scorching carrot[203].
[Illustration: _Pla. 2 facing Page 34._
_An Allium Sylvestre sive moly minus albo amplo Flore T. Cor. 26._
_G. D. Ehret delin:_ _I. Mynde sc:_]
[Illustration: _Pla. 3. facing page 34_
_Onobrychis Orientalis incano flore luteo fructu magno radiato T. Cor.
26._
_G. D. Ehret delin:_ _J. S. Miller Sc:_]
[Illustration: _Pla: 4: facing page 34_
_An Lotus Græca maritima folio glaucio & velut argenteo T. Cor. 27._
_G. D. Ehret delin:_ _J. S. Miller sc:_]
And towards the middle of _April_ the country is in its full bloom, the
verdure of the fields being beautifully variegated by poppies[204],
bellflower[205], gromel[206], comfrey[207], mullein[208], sage[209],
rocket[210], hedge-mustard[211], mustard[212], horned poppy[213],
great variety of campions[214], pimpernel[215], figwort[216], berry
bearing chickweed[217], flax[218], corn-flag[219], lilly daffodil[220],
larkspur[221], bugloss[222], ladies bed-straw[223], birthwort[224],
ironwort[225], skull-cap[226], trifoil[227], melilot[228], calves
snout[229], _Moldavian_ balm[230], medick[231], rest harrow[232], goats
rue[233], bastard rocket[234], kidney vetch[235], corn sallet[236],
two species of satyrion[237], knapweed[238], hatchet vetch[239],
columbine[240], scabious[241]. Nor are the stoney, uncultivated rising
grounds without their plants; as thyme[242], vipers buglos[243], ground
pine[244], cress[245], common whitlow grass[246], madwort[247],
eryngo[248], St. _Foin_ several species[249], birds foot[250], horse-shoe
vetch[251], birds foot trefoil[252], moon trefoil[253], vetch several
kinds[254], milk vetch[255], betony[256], knapweed[257].
Among the rank herbage in the gardens are found at this season,
borage[258], _German_ madwort[259], hounds tongue[260], broom
rape[261], mint[262], rush[263], balm[264], thyme[265], vervain[266],
dittander[267], hollyhock[268], cinquefoil[269], lilly[270],
burdock[271], but in small quantity; mug-wort[272]. But among the plants
that adorn the fields at this season, no one is more conspicuous or
common than the lion-leaf[273]: nor should we here omit a beautiful
species of henbane[274], with a strong musk smell; which seems to be the
_hyosciamus rubello flore_, _C. B. P. 169._ though the peculiarity of its
smell I do not find has been mentioned.
[Illustration: _Pla 5 facing Page 41._
_Tragacantha Orientalis vesicaria erectior caule ab imo ad Summum florido_
_G. D. Ehret delin:_ _I. Mynde sc:_]
As the heats come on, the few following plants being of a hardier nature,
are the only ones that are capable of resisting them. Wild or _Syrian_
rue[275], bean capers[276], capers[277], which grow in plenty on the
tops of old houses; kings spear[278] several species; a variety of
stars of _Bethlem_[279], liquorice[280], night-shade[281], fennel[282],
blessed thistle[283], wild cucumber[284]. Nothing now remains of the
spring-plants in the open fields.
Of the plants that belong to the summer, except the following, al
hagy[285], a very low kind of acacia[286], goats thorn[287], kali[288],
several species of thistles[289], and the gundelia[290], the greatest
part are to be found under the shade, or nigh the little channels where
the water runs in the gardens. _Molucca_ balm[291], base horehound[292],
bastard horehound[293], dwarf oleander[294], ricinoides[295], thorn
apple[296], turnsole[297], leadwort[298], pimpernel[299], teasel[300].
After the first rains in the autumn, the fields every where throw out the
autumnal lilly daffodil; and the few plants which had stood the summer
now glow with fresh vigour.
Besides what plants have been already enumerated, the country produces
the camomile-like ox-eye[301], sneezwort[302], yarrow[303], cats
foot[304], fleabane[305], several sorts of grass[306], ragweed[307],
stinking orach[308], wild orach[309], vipers grass[310], ox-eye[311],
_May_ weed[312], corn marigold[313], goats beard[314], _Achilles_’s
yarrow[315], _American_ night-shade[316], chickling[317], chickling
vetch[318], _French_ honeysuckle[319], fever-few[320], chamomile[321],
hemp[322], sharp-pointed dock[323], bloodwort[324], pellitory of
the wall[325], true maiden-hair[326], nettle[327], starry hawkweed
succory[328], groundsell[329]. The weeping willow[330] should likewise
have been mentioned before, which is very common in the gardens.
And the river affords plenty of the yellow water-lilly[331], from whence
the natives distil a cordial-water much used by them.
[Illustration: _Plate 6 facing Page 44._
_An Ilex aculeata cocci glandifore glande maxima nunc cylindrica nunc
subrotunda cupula echinata T. Cor._
_An Astragalus quidam montanus vel Onobrychis Aliis_
_G. D. Ehret delin:_ _J. Mynde sc:_]
I never travelled through _Syria_, either with a botanical view, or at
the proper season; so that I cannot pretend to give any tolerable account
of the plants growing at any distance from _Aleppo_. The few, however,
that came to my knowledge, I shall just mention. On the mountains
grow several sorts of oaks, pines, myrtle, juniper, bay, St. _John_’s
bread, kermes, azarole, the fruit of which is brought to market in the
autumn; and the andrachne in such plenty, that it affords nigh one half
of the wood used for fuel in _Aleppo_. The shining red of its bark,
together with the beauty of its flowers and fruit, will, I doubt not,
make it esteemed as a valuable acquisition to the _British_ gardens,
if it agree with our climate, which the thriving condition of several
plants raised here seems to promise. The bindweed[332], from whence
the _Aleppo_ scammony of the shops is procured, does not grow near the
city, but chiefly on the mountains. This drug is the inspissated milky
juice that flows from the root by incision; and each produces but a very
small quantity. As the plant grows wild, it is the property of any one
that will take the trouble to look for it, which is the employment of
some peasants at the proper season; and having collected what they can
of the milky liquor, they carry it to the nearest village of any note,
where there are always some traders (chiefly _Jews_) ready to purchase
it of them; and these people generally mix it with wheat flour, sand,
ashes, _&c._ so that at present very little is brought quite pure to
market at _Aleppo_. It does not appear that any thing it is adulterated
with increases its violence in operating; on the contrary, the purer the
scammony, the smaller I have always found the dose: so that the notion of
its being mixed with the juice of the spurge seems without foundation.
However, the proportion of the heterogeneous substances mixed with it
being various, renders the dose of the medicine as found in the shops
very uncertain, and so occasions its being seldomer prescribed than
so safe and efficacious a purgative otherwise deserves. For further
particulars relating to this plant, see _Medical Observations and
Inquiries_, Vol. I.—At the bottom of the page is a catalogue of such
other plants as have come within my observation on the mountains, and in
other parts of _Syria_[333].
[Illustration: _Pla 7 facing page 46_
_Phlomis Orientalis hormini folio flore minore calyce Glabro._
_G. D. Ehret delin:_ _J. S. Miller sc:_]
[Illustration: _Pla 8: facing page 47._
_Phlomis Orientalis Angusto & longiore folio flore luteo._
_G. D. Ehret delin:_ _J. S. Miller sc:_]
There are no metals found any where near _Aleppo_, or, so far as I know
of, in all _Syria_; though some of the rocky hills from their appearance
seem to contain an iron ore. Nigh to _Antioch_ a few garnets are picked
up, but of an inferior quality.
The soil has been already mentioned. They have scarce any clay; and, what
they do meet with, has so little tenacity, that it is with difficulty
they can form a very ordinary sort of bricks; which, as well as the
water-jars they make of it, frequently fall to pieces of themselves. The
potters clay, of which the holes of their pipes are made, is brought from
_Damascus_ and _Sidon_.
About six hours from _Aleppo_ is found a sort of fullers earth, called by
the natives _bayloon_, which is often used in the bagnio instead of soap,
and particularly by the women for cleansing their hair; for which purpose
it is kept in balls, made up with rose-leaves, to give it an agreeable
smell. I may add, that a good deal of it is ate by longing women, and
such as have a depraved appetite from a chlorosis.
For common buildings they make use of a white gritty stone, every where
plenty about the town; and is very proper for the purpose, as it is
easily cut, and grows hard afterwards. For the gateways, pillars, and
pavements of their best buildings, they employ a yellow marble, which
is capable of a tolerable polish, and is likewise the produce of this
country. This is often intermixed with a red, white, and coarse black
marble in their buildings, by way of ornament. None of the three last
mentioned are found in the neighbourhood of _Aleppo_; being brought, the
first from _Damascus_; the second, either from _Italy_, or extracted
from old buildings, chiefly about _Antioch_; and the last, both from
_Damascus_ and _Killis_. When they are in want of the red, they can dye
the yellow marble of _Aleppo_, so as to have much the same appearance, by
rubbing it over with oil, and then putting it into a moderately-hot oven
for some hours. The slight partition-walls are built of a coarse sort of
chalk, of which there is abundance to the northward of the city.
Lime-stone is met with in plenty near the city, affording them good
cement for their buildings; which they carry on with great ease and
dexterity, and generally without any scaffolding. A few hours distance is
found the gypsum in small quantities, of which their plaister of _Paris_
is made. This is chiefly used in cementing the earthen pipes employed in
carrying water, and for a few other purposes about their best buildings.
About eighteen miles south-east from _Aleppo_, is a large plain, which we
generally call the _Valley of Salt_, bounded with low, rocky hills, so
as to form a kind of natural bason, which keep in the rains descending
from them, together with the water derived from a few springs in the
neighbourhood, and cause the whole to be entirely covered with water in
the winter. The extent and evenness of the surface, however, prevents
this water from collecting to any great depth; so that it is soon
evaporated by the summer’s heat, and leaves a cake of salt in some places
not less than half an inch thick, but it is more or less in proportion to
the quantity of rain that falls in the winter; and with this crust the
whole inclosed plain is covered. The soil of this plain is a stiff clay,
and strongly impregnated with salt; but I could not discover that the
springs above mentioned had any taste communicated by this mineral.
In the month of _August_ a number of people are employed in gathering
this salt; which is of a good quality, and in quantity proves sufficient
to supply all this part of the country.
What few black cattle they have near the city, are chiefly used for the
plough, or drawing water for the gardens. The greatest part of those
employed for this purpose are very large, with remarkably long legs, and
a gaunt belly, such as we often see on antique _intaglios_. The other
cattle of this species are small, and all in general have very short
horns.
The _Turks_ or _Jews_ scarce ever eat beef, and it is but of late that
the _Christians_ have begun to be fond of it; so that what is killed is
chiefly for the _Europeans_, who have it tolerably good at all seasons,
but best in summer, as the natives to this day religiously observe the
ancient custom of allowing the oxen employed in separating the corn from
the straw to eat what they please.
In some parts of _Syria_ there are abundance of buffaloes, but near
_Aleppo_ very few, and these chiefly kept for milk. Mutton is plentiful,
fat, and good the whole year, except a few weeks in the spring, and makes
by far the greater part of the animal food of all ranks of people. Lamb
is also to be had in every season, but in greatest plenty in _February_,
_March_, and _April_.
They have two sorts of sheep in the neighbourhood of _Aleppo_: the one
called _Beduin_ sheep, which differ in no respect from the larger kinds
of sheep in _Britain_, except that their tails are somewhat longer and
thicker: the others are those often mentioned by travellers on account of
their extraordinary tails; and this species is by much the most numerous.
This tail is very broad and large, terminating in a small appendix that
turns back upon it. It is of a substance between fat and marrow; and
is not eaten separately, but mixed with the lean meat in many of their
dishes, and also often used instead of butter. A common sheep of this
sort, without the head, feet, skin, and entrails, weighs about twelve
or fourteen _Aleppo_ rotoloes[334], of which the tail is usually three
rotoloes or upwards; but such as are of the largest breed, and have
been fattened, will sometimes weigh above thirty rotoloes, and the tails
of these ten; a thing to some scarce credible. These very large sheep
being about _Aleppo_ kept up in yards, are in no danger of injuring
their tails; but in some other places, where they feed in the fields,
the shepherds are obliged to fix a piece of thin board to the under part
of the tail, to prevent its being torn by bushes, thistles, _&c._ as it
is not covered underneath with thick wool like the upper part; and some
have small wheels, to facilitate the dragging of this board after them;
whence, with a little exaggeration, the story of having carts to carry
their tails.
This thin skin on the under part of the tail is much used by the natives
for pains and swellings of all sorts, being applied warm to the part
affected, and allowed to remain on till it stinks abominably; and as
they are very often applied to the head and abdomen in fevers, this last
circumstance makes them prove generally detrimental: and indeed I have
seldom, if ever, seen much benefit received by their application, except
in some old rheumatic pains.
[Illustration: _Facing Page 52_
_J. Mynde sc._]
They have also two kinds of goats; one that differs little from the
common sort in _Britain_; the other as remarkable for the length of its
ears, as the sheep above mentioned for the largeness of their tails. The
size of the animal is somewhat larger than ours; but their ears are often
a foot long, and broad in proportion. They are chiefly kept for their
milk, of which they yield no inconsiderable quantity; and it is sweet,
and well-tasted. Great numbers of them are brought to the city about the
beginning of _April_, and are drove through the streets every morning,
and their milk sold as they pass, till _September_. The other part of
the year they are generally supplied with cows milk, such as it is; for
as they are commonly kept at the gardens, and fed with their refuse, the
milk generally tastes so strong of garlick or cabbage leaves, as to be
very disagreeable. Besides the milk of the goats, their kids add some
part to the diet of the inhabitants, a few being killed in the spring and
autumn.
Butter and cheese, both of which are bad, are made indiscriminately of
the milk from cows, buffaloes, sheep, or goats: and the city is supplied
with these things, as well as with cattle of all kinds, by the _Arabs_,
_Rushwans_, or _Turkmen_; all of whom place their wealth, or at least
derive their subsistence from those animals, and travel about the country
with their flocks, much in the same way as the patriarchs did of old.
Leban[335] is brought in great plenty to the city during the winter and
spring, and is a favourite dish with the inhabitants.
The country round _Aleppo_ abounds with antelopes; which are of two
sorts: that which is called the mountain antelope is the most beautiful;
its back and neck are of a dark brown colour: the antelope of the plain
is not either so swift or well-made, and is of a much lighter colour.
Both sorts afford no small diversion to the sportsmen; but are so
extremely fleet, that the greyhounds, though very good, can seldom take
them without the assistance of a falcon, unless in soft deep ground.
In the sporting season they are lean, but have a good flavour. In the
summer, when fat, they may vie even with our venison in _England_.
But this is to be understood of such as are caught abroad, for those
that have been fattened in the houses are not so delicious. From this
account it will easily be conceived, that such dainties only make their
appearance at the tables of the _Europeans_, and a few of the more
considerable _Turks_.
Hares are in great plenty, and also afford good sport; but the natives
are not fond of them, except the _Arabs_, whose method of dressing them
is particular, and said to be very good. They dig a hole in the earth,
which they fill with such light brushwood as they can pick up, and set
it on fire: when thoroughly lighted, the hare, the flue, the entrails,
and all together just as it was taken, is thrown into it; and, after the
flame has ceased, they cover the hole up with the loose earth that had
been dug out of it, and which at first had been laid round the verge of
the fire, so as to grow hot: thus it is left till they judge it to be
sufficiently roasted, when throwing a quantity of salt over it, they eat
it without any further dressing.
A few tame rabbits are kept in the city, chiefly for the tables of the
_Europeans_; and now and then a wild hog is brought from abroad, which,
though seldom fat, yet is esteemed by us, as it is a rarity.
The country also affords a few porcupines, which are sometimes, though
seldom, ate by the _Europeans_; and land-turtle and frogs in great
abundance, which furnish a dish for the _Franks_ of the _Romish_
religion, and for many of the native Christians, in their lents.
These are the animals which are commonly dressed for food by the
inhabitants of _Aleppo_; for the camel, though reckoned a delicious
morsel by the _Arabs_, makes no part of their diet. This creature,
however, is of the utmost consequence to them in transporting from place
to place every thing for which they have occasion; there being no such
thing as a wheel-carriage in all this part of the country, except a very
clumsy machine, now and then used for bringing large pillars, or other
stones of great weight, from the quarry.
There are four sorts of camels known here, _viz._ the _Turkman_ camel,
the _Arab_ camel, the dromedary, and the camel with two bunches on its
back.
The _Turkman_ camel is much stronger, larger, more woolly or hairy, and
of a darker colour, than any of the others. Their common load is 160
rotoloes, or 800 pounds; but sometimes it carries much more. This animal
cannot bear heat, and therefore they never work it in the months of
_June_, _July_, and _August_.
The _Arab_ camel is much smaller than the former, of a lighter colour,
and not so hairy. This seldom carries above 100 rotoloes, but can bear
the heat and thirst much better than the _Turkman_; nor is there any need
that the _Arab_ camel be fed with barleyflour and chopp’d straw; for the
dry thistles, and other plants which grow on the desart, are almost all
it requires, and it feeds as it goes along with its burthen. I remember
an instance, where, in a caravan from _Bussorah_, the camels which were
of this sort travelled without water for fifteen days; but the quantity
they drank as soon as they could come at any, proved fatal to many of
them.
The dromedary, by all I could ever discover, is nothing but a high breed
of the _Arab_ camel. The only distinction observed is, that it is of a
lighter and handsomer make; and, instead of the solemn walk to which the
others are accustomed, it paces, and is generally esteemed to go as far
in one day as the others do in three.
The camel with two bunches on its back is of _Persian_ breed, and, except
a few that come in the caravans from _Bagdad_ and _Bussorah_, is but
seldom seen here. The only distinction between it and the _Arab_ camel
seems to be its having two bunches, whereas the other sorts have but one.
In mentioning their beasts of burthen, the ass ought not to be omitted:
of which they have two sorts; one very large, with remarkably long ears;
the other small, and much like ours in _England_; both of no contemptible
use in carrying all lighter burdens to and from the parts adjacent to the
city.
Formerly this part of the country was famous for fine horses; and
though many good ones are still bred here, it may be said they are much
degenerated. Those of the _Arab_ breed are slight, and not very handsome,
but esteemed for their fleetness. The _Turkman_ horses are larger, of a
stronger make, and more sightly appearance; and therefore more valued by
the people of fashion among the _Turks_, whose large furniture does not
show to advantage upon a small horse. They are for the most part very
well broke, and particularly taught to go off in full speed at once, and
stop as quickly; so that in the space of a few yards the rider can lay
them out at full stretch, and stop and turn them. Far the greater part
are stone-horses, but in general not vicious; and it is observed of most
of their animals, that they are exceeding gentle and familiar with the
human species.
Among the rocky hills there are hyænas; but they are not so large as
those which are found in the mountains[336].
If this animal could formerly imitate the human voice, and learn some
of the shepherds names, so as to call them out and devour them, as some
writers have reported, it is more than they do at present, being, so
far as I can learn, fonder of the flocks than of the shepherd. However,
though they will not attack men but in their own defence, or through
excess of hunger; yet they still retain the character of robbing
sepulchres when they have an opportunity.
Wolves and foxes are found in the champaign, but smaller than those in
_Europe_; and jackalls are in so great plenty about the gardens, that
they pass in numbers like a pack of hounds in full cry every evening,
giving not only disturbance by their noise, but making free with the
poultry and other provisions, if very good care is not taken to keep them
out of their reach.
I might be excused from mentioning their dogs, which abound in the
streets without any owner, were it not that I think it worth observing,
that though they live upon the most putrid substances, have but little
water, and in so excessive hot a climate as this is in the summer, yet no
instance has been known of any of them running mad. Their wolves however
seem to be subject to madness; for the rusticks talk much of an animal
called a _sheeb_, which they imagine to be generated between a wolf and
a dog; but, from their description of it, _viz._ that it is so like a
wolf as not to be distinguished from it; that it attacks every person or
animal that comes in its way, all of whom die raving mad, _&c._ I think
it would appear that this animal is no other than a mad wolf.
Their greyhounds are of a very light, slender make, and remarkably fleet.
Their ears are longer than ours in _Britain_, and, as well as their tail,
covered with a long, soft hair, which adds very much to their beauty.
Though _Mount Taurus_, near to _Maraash_, gives shelter to the ounce,
and some few tygers are found in most of the high mountains, the lion
on the _Euphrates_ between _Bagdad_ and _Bussorah_, and the jerboa on
the desart, and perhaps on examination many other animals in the same
places; yet my present purpose only comprehending the parts adjacent to
_Aleppo_, what I have already said on this subject may perhaps be thought
sufficient.
As to reptiles, insects, _&c._ time would not permit me to be minute;
so that I shall just mention such as are hurtful or of use to the
inhabitants, and a few of those that are most commonly met with. Of the
first sort are the serpents of various kinds, with which the country
abounds, many of them of the most venomous nature; but as they all fly
from man, and the barrenness of the fields in summer, the only season in
which they are abroad, prevents either their being surprised, or people’s
treading upon them undesignedly, no great number of accidents happen. In
the houses there are often found large white snakes; but I never knew
any one bit by them. The scolopendra and scorpion however very often
sting the natives in their houses, causing pain for several hours, but
attended with no farther bad consequences.
Of the noxious kind may well be reckoned the locust, which sometimes
arrive in such incredible multitudes, that it would appear fabulous to
relate, destroying the whole of the verdure where-ever they pass: but
though there are always in the spring and summer some of two or three
different species to be met with about _Aleppo_, yet none of these
destructive flights of them appeared during my stay there. It may not be
amiss to mention that the _Arabs_ eat this insect when fresh, and also
salt them up as a delicacy.
Of insects for use, we have only the bee, which produces excellent honey,
and the silk-worm, now sufficiently known all over _Europe_, as well as
the method of managing them in order to procure the silk; of which there
is but very little made nigh _Aleppo_: though that being the market to
which it is brought from all parts of _Syria_, great quantities are sent
from thence yearly to _Britain_.
Various sorts of lizards are found in great abundance over the whole
country, and in the gardens a few tree-frogs[337]. It is worth observing,
that toads are scarce ever seen here, though common enough upon the coast.
The view with which these sheets were composed, it is hoped, will
sufficiently apologize for beginning the account of the feathered tribe
with such as are used for food by the inhabitants. Of domestic fowls,
they have in their markets, the dunghill cock and hen[338]; the _Bagdad_
fowl which is of a large breed; the rumkin[339], or cock and hen without
rumps; the turkey[340], goose[341], and duck[342]. Of game there are
on the river in winter, the water hen[343], water rail[344], wild
goose[345], plenty of common wild duck and mallard[346], several kinds of
widgeon[347], coot[348], spoon-bill[349], and various sorts of teal[350],
with which the tables of the _Europeans_ are plentifully supplied, and
some ate also by the natives.
In the winter there are also plenty of wood-cocks[351]; spring and autumn
produce abundance of quails[352] and rails[353]. In the last mentioned
season the witwall[354] and becca figos are both in season, and (the last
in particular) esteemed as delicacies.
[Illustration: _facing page 64_ _Pl: 9._]
In the months of _May_ and _June_ great numbers of a bird, called by the
natives _kata_ (which are also to be met with at all seasons, though
not in so great plenty), are brought to market, and much ate by them;
but their flesh is so black, hard, and dry, that the _Europeans_ never
touch them. As this bird has not as yet been described, a figure and
description of it are annexed[355]. Other game in the neighbourhood
are, the bustard[356] of two kinds; red-legg’d partridge[357];
frankolin[358], the flesh of which is delicious, but this bird is not
to be met with at less than a day’s journey from the city; common
sky-lark[359], wood-lark[360], crested lark[361], calandra[362];
hortulanes[363], and citrils[364], chiefly ate by the _French_;
snipe[365], gird or jack snipe[366], song-thrush[367], wind-thrush[368],
turtle-dove[369]; a brown-coloured dove, which builds in the windows,
_&c._ of the houses in the city; and another much like it, only
speckled on the neck and pinions, which is very common when the corn
is ripe, but disappears as soon as that is reaped; wild pigeon, wood
pigeon[370]. They have also variety of tame pigeons, and particularly
the carrier[371], formerly made use of by the _Europeans_ for conveying
expeditiously the news of a ship’s arrival at _Scanderoon_; but this
practice has been disused for many years. The pigeon thus employed was
one that had young at _Aleppo_. Upon enquiring into their method of
training them, some asserted, that they were sent down to _Scanderoon_
in an open cage, and, as soon as let go there, would fly directly to
_Aleppo_. But I am more apt to believe what others affirmed, that
the bird was brought to this by first letting it return from shorter
distances on the _Scanderoon_ road. All agree, that if the pigeon had
been a fortnight at _Scanderoon_, it was not afterwards to be trusted to
fly back, lest it should have forgot its young, and consequently not be
so eager to get home. A small piece of paper, with the ship’s name, day
of arrival, and what else material could be contained in a very narrow
compass, was fixed so as to be under the wing, to prevent its being
destroyed by wet. They also used to bathe their feet in vinegar, with a
view to keeping them cool, so as they might not settle to drink or wash
themselves, which would have destroyed the paper. And I have heard an
_English_ gentleman, who remembered that practice, say, that he has known
them arrive in two hours and an half.
Shooting, as a sport, is rarely followed by any of the natives, though
many practise it to gain a livelihood; but the diversions of coursing and
hawking are in great esteem among the people of fashion. They have both
in great perfection; but the latter exceeds any thing of the kind that I
have ever met with. The falcons bred for taking hares and antelopes are
the _Baraban_ and _Sefy_, both large falcons; and, though caught wild,
they train them in a few days to fly at their prey.
For antelope-hawking, they chuse such of these hawks as they find to be
fierce, and eager to seize their prey; and they are taught to fix upon
the cheek of the animal, which retards its motion, so that the greyhounds
come in.
Though the falcons used for hare-hawking will sometimes, when very
hungry, strike the hare dead at once; yet for this sport they prefer
such as are not disposed to fix upon the animal, but who, by repeated
buffetting on the head with their pounces (rising in the air between
each blow), retard the hare, till an ordinary greyhound can come up and
seize it.
For bird-hawking, they use a large falcon, with long legs, somewhat like
the goshawk, which they call _espeer_; and two smaller falcons, stiled
the one _zanous_, and the other _shaheen_. This latter must be taken
out of the nest, for when old they cannot be trained, and is so fierce
that it will fly at any thing. If there were not several gentlemen now
in _England_ who can attest it, I should scarce venture to mention, that
with the _shaheen_, which is about the size of a pigeon, they often take
the largest eagles, of which in this country there are plenty. They
formerly were trained to seize the eagle under the wing: and so depriving
him of the use of that part, they fell to the ground together: but their
present method, as I am informed, is to seize him on the back between the
two wings, which has the same effect, but brings him down more slowly,
and so gives the falconer time to come in to his hawk’s assistance; in
which if he is not very expeditious, the hawk is in either case speedily
destroyed.
They have also a small hawk, which they train to fly at quails; it much
resembles the spar-hawk.
Besides those already mentioned for food and sport, the country produces
the black vulture[372], some few pelicans[373], the kestrel[374], white
stork[375], black stork[376], great eagle-owl[377], several other kinds
of smaller owls, the crane[378]; another beautiful sort of crane[379],
called by the natives _querky_, which they have often tame in their
houses or court-yards; the common heron[380], the flamingo[381] at some
seasons, the cormorant[382], the stone curlew[383], the raven[384], the
_Royston_ crow[385], the common or carrion crow[386], the jackdaw[387],
the magpye[388], the night raven[389], the starling[390], the common
blackbird[391]; a kind of jay, whose feathers are beautifully variegated
with blue, green, and a sort of brown; as also in the summer the locust
bird[392].
The black caps[393], a sort of gull, are in great numbers about the city
all the winter, and so tame that the women call them from the terraces,
throwing up pieces of bread, which these birds catch in the air. The
house-swallow[394], martin[395], and swift[396], of which, besides
the common, there is one with a white belly, come about the end of
_February_; and having hatched their young, disappear about the end of
_July_. The swallow returns again the beginning of _October_, but stays
not above a fortnight. The hopooe[397] and bee-eater[398] come in the
spring, and remain all the summer and autumn.
[Illustration: _facing page 71._ _Pl: 10._
_J. S. M. del et. Sc:_]
Of small birds the following are what I have observed. The
house-sparrow[399], the chaffinch[400], the goldfinch[401], the common
linnet[402], the field-fare[403], the white water-wagtail[404], the
cuckow[405], the king-fisher[406], the greater spotted wood-pecker[407],
the stone-chatter[408], the wren[409], a _Brasilian_ bird a-kin to the
king-fisher[410], green plover[411], grey plover[412]; and abundance of
nightingales[413], which not only afford much pleasure by their song in
the gardens, but are also kept tame in the houses, and let out at a small
rate to divert such as chuse it in the city; so that no entertainments
are made in the spring without a concert of these birds.
There are also several other birds, which I could not determine from any
books I had, and my occasions did not allow me to preserve; besides which
I doubt not there are many others which escaped my searches: so that I
can only add a remarkable sort of bittern[414], and a bird somewhat like
a lapwing[415], with a remarkable spur in its pinnion: the figure and
description of both which are annexed.
From the _Euphrates_ and _Orontes_ in the winter, particularly the Lent
of the Christians, are brought a sufficient quantity of fish for their
consumption; but the _Turks_ seldom eat any: and indeed most of them
taste so muddy, that they are disagreeable.
[Illustration: _facing page 72._ _Pl: 11._]
[Illustration: _facing page 73._ _Plate 12._
_F. Perry Sculp._]
The different kinds that I have observed are carp[416], Mystus Niloticus
Bellonii[417], barbel[418], nasus[419], tœnia cornuta Schonfeldii[420],
eel[421]; and there are likewise some other sorts that I had not an
opportunity of examining; but none are in such abundance as what are
called the _black fish_, with which the markets are plentifully supplied
from the entrance of the winter till the beginning of _March_; when they
are esteemed out of season. As this fish, to the best of my knowledge,
is of a genus not yet described, a figure and description of it are
inserted[422].
Besides the fish which we have mentioned, most of those that are found in
the _Aleppo_ river, are likewise brought from abroad, and known in town
by the same names.
The sheat fish[423] is also sometimes to be met with, and is caught in a
lake near _Marash_.
I did not imagine, from the appearance of the river _Coic_, or indeed
from what is commonly met with at the tables of the inhabitants, that
our list of fish caught there would have swelled to any thing worth
mentioning; and yet, upon examination, they were found to amount to no
less than seventeen, and even some of these not yet described. They are
in general very small, occasioned in part by the assiduous industry of
the fishermen; for at _Hylan_, and the _Fountain of Fish_, where they
remain unmolested, they grow to larger sizes, though very rarely so
large as in other parts of the world.
The loche[424] is the most common; the barbel is less than those brought
from abroad. The bleak[425] is known by two names; that is, there are
two sorts of fish that appear to agree in every characteristic with
the bleak, which nevertheless are esteemed different; the first called
_mirmeed_, seven or eight inches long; the second, _tiftaf_, is not
above one and a half or two inches, and, they say, never exceeds.
Chub[426] are plenty; roches[427] seldom large; gudgeons[428] of three
sorts; the first is much spotted on the back, and called _tuckle_; the
second, _kureety_, has fewer spots; the third, _kalloor_, scarce any,
and is smaller than the other two. The mugilis[429] I am less certain of
than the rest, but yet it agrees tolerably well with the description;
dace[430], carassius[431], the phoxinus[432]; also a fish called by
the natives _simak il inglese_[433], from a corruption, I suppose, of
_anguilla_, as it has been commonly imagined to be a kind of eel; though,
upon examination, it is found to be a genus hitherto undescribed; and two
species of mystus[434][435]: of which three, as I have met with nothing
like them in other authors, I have given descriptions and drawings. There
are also, on the banks of the river, crabs in abundance, which are much
eat by the native Christians, and which often furnish the tables of the
_Europeans_ with a delicate dish.
[Illustration: _facing page 76._ Pl: XIII.
_F. Perry Sculp._]
The inhabitants of _Aleppo_, though of different religions, yet seem
to be much the same people. I wish I could say that those who profess
Christianity were better than their neighbours. The number of souls in
the city and suburbs is computed at about 235,000, of whom 200,000 are
_Turks_, 30,000 _Christians_, and 5000 _Jews_[436]. Of the Christians,
the greater number, are _Greeks_; next to them the _Armenians_, then
the _Syrians_, and lastly the _Maronites_; each of whom have a church
in the suburbs called _Judida_; in which quarter, and parts adjacent,
most of them reside. The language generally spoke is vulgar _Arabic_.
The _Turks_ of condition use the _Turkish_. Most of the _Armenians_ can
speak _Armenian_, some few _Syrians_ understand _Syriac_, and many of
the _Jews_ _Hebrew_; but scarce one of the _Greeks_ understand a word of
_Greek_, either ancient or modern.