Dayr el Kamar--Palace of Btedýn--The Shaykh
Beshýr--Mukhtâra--The Shaykh Beshýr’s wife--His palace---
Rivalship of the Shaykh Beshýr and Emir Beshýr--Horns worn
by the Women--Mercenary hospitality of the Emir--Drûzes
eat raw meat--Butrus or Pierre--Mr. B. attempts to see
a Khalwa or place of worship of the Drûzes--Shaykh el
Okal--Cure for rabid animals--Libertinism punished with the
bastinado--Mr. B. goes to Aleppo--Aleppo bouton--Departure for
Damascus--Presents distributed--The Cury Marûn--Sedition at
Damascus--Siege of the Citadel--Disdar Aga strangled--River
Ewely--Village of El Barûk--Ayûn el Bered--Chokadar sent
to escort Lady Hester--Turkish harým travelling--View
from the summit of Mount Lebanon--River Letanus and
plain of the Bkâ--Palma Christi oil--Jub Genýn--Gebel es
Shaykh--Anti-Lebanon--Springs--Sepulchres--Vultures--Village
of Demâs--Chalky soil--Rocky plain--Distant view of
Damascus--Garden walls--Salhéah--Damascus--Courtyard
of the palace--Haym’s brothers--Simple manner of doing
business--Ejectment of a family from their house--European dress
not seen at Damascus--Danger for a woman to go unveiled--Lady
Hester’s entry into Damascus.
We remained at Dayr el Kamar until the 26th of August. During this time
Lady Hester paid a visit to the Emir at his palace at Btedýn. Great
preparations were made for her reception. When there, the whole day
was taken up in viewing the apartments, drinking sherbet, smoking, and
eating. The palace is destitute of beauty. It is new, but irregular,
having no two parts alike, and built by additions made as fancy or
convenience suggested, and money and leisure permitted. The Emir
presented Lady Hester with a handsome horse, richly caparisoned.
A visit was next projected to the Shaykh Beshýr, a Drûze by birth,
and in consideration not inferior, among his own sect, to the Emir
himself.[84] He dwelt at Makhtâra, a considerable village, distant
three or four hours from Dayr el Kamar, in a district abounding in
vines, olive, fig, and mulberry trees, tobacco, &c. He possessed the
power of life and death, emanating nominally from the Emir, but in
truth totally independent of him.
He was married to a beautiful woman, and had by her some very pretty
children. It would naturally be supposed that the chief of the Drûzes
must be enrolled among the âakel, seeing that they claim a superiority
over the jahel. But it was not so; nay, he was even excluded from
their body by the duties of his situation, which obliged him to drink
coffee, smoke tobacco, use money raised by taxation, (which in the code
of the âakels is not permitted) and to partake in many more worldly
indulgences than they allow. His wife, not called to the exercise of
public duties, was a rigid âakely: but, although there was so wide a
difference between the supposed piety of these two, still I did not
find that the family harmony was interrupted by it. His palace, like
that of the Emir, was new, and of his own building. It stood in a
very conspicuous situation, and may be seen some miles off in several
directions. It was particularly celebrated for its fountains, and
streams of crystal water, which traversed every apartment, giving a
most agreeable freshness in the hot months of the year. This water
was brought from the river Ewely, almost close to its source, by an
aqueduct of the Shaykh’s construction.
He generally ate and drank, even at his own table, of such things only
as he knew to be prepared particularly for him. Poisoning is often in
the thoughts of Eastern chieftains, no doubt; for they cannot but be
an object of jealousy to their rivals, who are scarcely their superiors
in power and influence.[85]
The Drûze women affect a singular ornament, worn on the head, and
called by travellers the horn, though not made of that substance. The
Arabic name of kern is sometimes used for it, as also that of tontûra
and of tassy. I endeavoured to learn the origin of this ornament,
but was obliged at last to satisfy myself with an etymological
signification drawn from my own conjectures. Tassy signifies a
drinking-cup, and a drinking-cup in the East (for water, at least)
is generally shaped like an English decanter-stand, and is made of
silver or tinned copper. A cup inverted, of precisely this shape, is
worn in some places (as in Sayda, Beyroût, &c.,) on the women’s heads,
and is possibly the original and old-fashioned form, which the fancy
of some might have changed for a deeper cup, when we should have the
resemblance of a large tumbler or the tontûra. In process of time,
this, by continued elongations, would be brought to its present shape;
or an intermediate generation might effect the change to a bell form,
as worn still by the women of Botrûn. I have said the tassy is made
either of silver or tinned copper, and by the very poor of pasteboard.
When of the long sort, it is fastened on by a handkerchief, that goes
under the chin, and by another round the forehead. The women sleep
with it on, and only pull it off when in the bath or when combing
their hair, which is but rarely. In some villages the horn is worn
perpendicularly, in some horizontally, in others at an angle between
the two. But this is not done indifferently; for the Catholics, it is
said, affect one way; the Maronites, another; and the Drûzes, whose
distinguishing emblem it more properly is, another. No traveller, who
passes hastily through the mountain, can get a woman to show her horn
to him: as it is a greater breach of decorum to unveil the horn than it
is the face. Nothing can look more ugly than it does without the veil;
but, with it on, the appearance becomes graceful.
[Illustration: DRUZE WOMEN.]
The dress of the Drûze women generally consists of a blue gown, open in
front (excepting where it is buttoned at the waist) and ill-concealing
the neck and bosom, which, so industriously covered by European women,
are here shown with the utmost indifference. The horn, if of silver,
is more or less chased, or even studded with precious stones. It seems
contrived to hang the veil upon, which is, in some districts, white, in
some black, and of linen or silk according to the wearer’s means. It
gives great beauty to the folds of the veil, and adds much majesty to
the figure. From the hair behind fall down three silken cords, to which
are suspended three silk tassels, about ten inches or a foot long, red
or black or blue or green according to the custom of the district. A
pair of embroidered trowsers, a shift hanging out of the trowsers, and
a pair of yellow shoes, make up the costume, which is both graceful and
(saving the horn) convenient. A woman of respectability, instead of a
blue gown, wears satin and over it a cloth vest.
Our table was entirely supplied by the Emir, one of whose cooks was
established in a house adjoining our residence; and nothing necessary
to housekeeping was allowed to be bought. It was hinted, however, by
one of his emissaries, that he expected at Lady Hester’s departure
a present equivalent to all the expenses he had been at. This
insinuation, according to the usages of the country, was neither to
be considered unreasonable nor indecorous. Hospitality on so large a
scale has something princely in it: but it loses all its merit in an
Englishman’s eyes from the dishonourable sentiment which is rooted in
every inhabitant of Turkey, from the Grand Signor down to his lowest
subject, that they may look for a return of the same or of greater
value than any favour which they confer: and, shameless on this point,
where it is not given, they fail not to demand it. We have been
somewhat circumstantial on this subject, because Eastern hospitality
has become proverbial, and is, by most persons, supposed to be
gratuitous; we shall often have occasion to show that it is not always
so.
There was nothing which engaged Lady Hester’s attention more than
the peculiarities of the Drûzes: and, among other things, she was
desirous of verifying what she had heard of their feeding on raw flesh.
Accordingly, on an appointed day, a sheep was bought, and notice given
that such Drûzes as chose to partake of it would be welcome. A spot
was fixed on for this extraordinary feast about half a mile from the
burgh, and the time appointed was at the close of the day, when the
inhabitants of Eastern countries generally make their fullest meal. I
accompanied her ladyship. The sheep was killed, blown, skinned, and cut
up: and, whilst yet reeking, was placed before the people assembled.
As they knew wherefore they were invited, they probably added a few
grimaces of pretended voraciousness to their customary manner: but the
fact was well established before us that they eat mutton raw as we do
when roasted. It may be observed that the sheep was of the large-tailed
breed; and the tail itself, although a mass of fat, was cut into
mouthfuls, and swallowed with the same avidity as the fleshy parts.[86]
My servant Jachimo, bearing in recollection the flesh-pots of Egypt,
had been induced by the Mamelukes to accompany them back. On my arrival
at Dayr-el-Kamar, a thin, lively, dirty-looking man had offered himself
to replace him. He was named Butrus Abu Ayûb. In the early part of his
life he had made a voyage to Marseilles, where he had learned Provençal
and cooking: and he now presented himself as a person equal to the
multifarious functions of a cook, valet, and interpreter, and dubbed
himself Pierre. As this man was more or less a servant in the party for
seven years afterwards, it is necessary to premise thus much concerning
him. Among the various scenes of his motley life, he had been an
under-interpreter, and then a subaltern officer, in Buonaparte’s Syrian
army, and knew more anecdotes, he said, of that great man than he
chose to tell me--enhancing the value of his communications that they
might attract the notice of Lady Hester, who was so much amused with
him that she soon afterwards took him for her cook.
Mr. B. had resolved in his own mind to obtain a sight of the secret
worship of the Drûzes: and, one day, in riding out, he contrived
to approach very near to a khalweh. There was some danger in the
experiment, and he had been warned of the jealous seclusion of
that people when in prayer. The event justified the caution. The
Drûzes, who, as it is customary, were hanging about the precincts
of the building to keep watch, immediately drove him off, with many
expressions of dissatisfaction at his intrusion.
I went one evening to the only bath there was in the place. During my
ablutions, the Shaykh El Aâkal arrived for the purpose of bathing also.
He is the chief of the initiated Drûzes, and is held in much veneration
by his sect, as his learning and exemplary life alone procure him his
elevation, which is founded on no positive titular rank, but solely
on consideration. He would not enter the vapour chamber until I had
quitted it, for he would have been defiled by so doing.
The Mountain occasionally produces men and women who acquire
considerable celebrity for the cure of diseases. At this time, there
was a woman at Kilfair, near Hasbeyah, who had an antidote for the
bite of rabid animals. The Emir in conversation had said that on
the Mountain grew a plant, called Abu Mensheh, which was entirely
efficacious as a cure for the bite of a mad dog. A Turk in 1815 died of
hydrophobia at Sayda: I saw him just before his death; but the virtues
of the plant, Abu Mensheh, were not relied on in his case.
I was one day entreated by a Christian in the service of the Emir to
go and look at his favourite mare, dying, as he said, of the cholic. I
found her lying down, and occasionally, by violent kicks, groans, and
pitiable looks towards her belly, denoting the severity and place of
her sufferings. The remedies usual among the Syrians, and mentioned in
the case of Selim’s horse, which died on the road from Nazareth, had
been ineffectually tried: I bled her in the neck, and ordered repeated
clysters (both these remedies being not in use in farriery, among the
Syrians), and I succeeded in curing her.
Once, when at dinner, soon after our arrival, we were alarmed on
hearing the loud cries of a man beneath the window of the room where
we were sitting. It overlooked the market-place; and a culprit was
undergoing the chastisement of the bastinado. He made frequent appeals
to her ladyship’s pity, whom he knew to be within hearing, by the
epithet of _meleky_ or queen, a title she now generally went
by. The dragoman, M. Bertrand, strongly solicited her interference
to suspend the punishment, and to obtain his pardon, which, by the
received usage of Eastern nations, could not be denied to a guest. But
Lady Hester immediately told him to desist from asking such a thing:
for, she said, she saw no merit in interrupting the course of justice
anywhere, and least of all where she was not acquainted with the nature
and degree of the man’s crimes. We afterwards found that he had been
detected in visiting too frequently, and at unseasonable hours, a woman
whose character was stigmatized as disreputable: and it appeared that
the Emir exerted unusual severity in guarding the morals of the women.
Mr. B. resolved, about this time, to make a journey to Aleppo. It was
not unlikely that the fear of the Aleppo bouton[87] deterred Lady
Hester from going also: the more especially as she rejected a second
and more favourable opportunity for visiting this beautiful city. Her
avowed reason was her dislike to Levantine Franks, a race of people
neither Turks nor Europeans, and against whom she always inveighed
with much acrimony. But my own conviction as to the real motive of Lady
Hester Stanhope’s route to Damascus at this time was, that she had
already formed a scheme of visiting, by herself, the Bedouin Arabs,
and which she afterwards put into execution. It will be seen that, at
Damascus, she contrived a plan for keeping me away also, and threw
herself on the protection of the robbers of the Desert, alone and
unescorted.
Mr. B., accompanied by his dragoman, M. Bertrand, set off by the direct
road for Aleppo; and, a day or two afterwards, being the 27th of
August, we departed for Damascus. Her ladyship previously distributed
presents to the different persons who had been employed in her service
during her stay at Dayr-el-Kamar. Of these presents, it may be well
to enumerate a few, to exemplify the manner of paying for one’s
entertainment in a gentleman’s house in Syria. To the Emir himself were
sent 2,000 piasters in money, equal to £100, half of which he kept
and returned half; to his chief secretary, the efficient director of
the detail of most of his measures, a piece of Aleppo brocade, worth
about 200 piasters; to his deputy, a stuff of less value. The maître
d’hôtel, cook, and other servants, had their vails, each according to
his station. There was one person, whom I have omitted to mention, who
yet was a chief actor in all transactions during our stay here. On the
day of our arrival, this gentleman was deputed to receive us at the
mansion-gate, and signified that he should be always in attendance
to execute Lady Hester’s commands. He was a respectable-looking
Maronite priest, who had been educated at Rome, and spoke Italian with
considerable purity and fluency. As he was often at a loss how to
dispose of his time, I was indebted probably to his ennui for frequent
conversations in my room, to which he came to loiter away the day. The
information which he gave me chiefly regarded the people and country
around us, and is already embodied in this journal.
We were four days on the road to Damascus, a journey generally of two:
for, besides the advantage of seeing more leisurely the country as we
proceeded, we were anxious to assure ourselves of the tranquillity of
the city before we entered; news having reached us that civil warfare
was raging between a newly-arrived pasha and a rebel disdar aga, or
commandant of the garrison. Sayd Sulimàn, formerly Selictár Aga or
sword-bearer to Sultan Selim, had been appointed pasha of Damascus,
and had recently arrived to take possession of his new dignity. The
military commander, I know not upon what grounds, refused submission to
his new master, and, throwing himself into the castle with the troops
under his command, assumed a posture of defiance.
So weak was the citadel, as scarcely to deserve to bear the name. Its
chief protection was a ditch, and the want of cannon on the part of the
assailants. We were told that three six-pounders were the artillery
planted to batter in breach. Persons accustomed to the scale of warfare
in European countries will laugh at these pigmy sieges; but it is of
use to detail them, as illustrative of the politics of the country, and
to show, when heretofore Buonaparte advanced with such rapid strides
through Syria, what were the castles that retarded his progress.
As little resistance was made on the part of the besieged, who were
picked off as fast as they appeared on the battlements, the citadel was
taken, and on the following morning the aga was put to death. It was
said that, from some fear of resistance on his part, he was strangled
by throwing a noosed cord over his head, conveyed unperceived behind
him through the gratings of his prison window; the end being drawn
tight by two soldiers placed ready on the outside for that purpose.
It will not be out of place to mention here that the notions
entertained in Europe, of the manner of putting to death by the
bowstring, are extremely erroneous. It is supposed that a condemned
person submits to his fate without a murmur, and kisses the sentence
that announces to him his doom. But repeated inquiries lead me
to affirm that it is otherwise, and that Mahometans seldom die
magnanimously by the hand of an executioner: they often utter piercing
cries, or else, a prey to despair, become insensible: the executioner
generally stabs or shoots them first, and then, if not quite dead,
strangles them with the shawl snatched from his head, or with the
girdle from his waist, or with the first rope at hand.
We left Dayr el Kamar on the 27th of August, and, uncertain of the
tranquillity of Damascus, our journey was far from a hurried one. The
road lay along the sides of the mountains, sometimes approaching to
the tops, sometimes descending towards the valleys. After an hour’s
march we came to the edge of a precipice, at the bottom of which is
a deep valley, well planted with mulberry-trees, through which runs,
with considerable rapidity, the river Ewely, of which mention has
been already made as emptying itself at Sayda. Farther on we passed a
village, beyond which our course, hitherto north-east, took a northerly
direction, and we kept along the edge of a valley until we reached El
Barûk.
El Barûk is a populous village, situated about 300 yards from the
sources of the river Ewely, which, rising in four or five springs,
form immediately a stream capable of turning a mill. This stream runs
through a small valley, entirely embosomed among the mountains, so
that, on every side, the view is bounded, at the distance of two or
three hundred yards, by precipitous rocks. This valley, unlike the
other parts of the mountain we had passed through, is of a fine soil,
and not stony: numerous rivulets, sometimes directed for the culture of
the ground, sometimes running neglected along, increase the fertility
and beauty of the place: melon plants were crawling across the very
road on which our horses trod, and fruits of all the sorts that were in
season at the time were hanging luxuriantly around: but, as this spot
is much elevated above the level of the sea, we found few of them as
yet ripe. The village, built a few yards up the mountain, overlooks the
plantations. Its inhabitants are chiefly Drûzes, with a few Christians
and some Moslems. Vineyards surround the village. Colonel Boughton, an
Englishman, had left some recollections of his passage through this
place, and the villagers spoke much of him.
The cold and crystal sources of the river Ewely have obtained a name
for themselves independent of that of the river, being always spoken of
as Ayûn el Bered, or the _cold springs_. The evening air was very
chill: our tents were pitched close to the springs on a green plot of
ground which the dampness of the spot and the fogs of the mountain keep
in perpetual verdure--the situation was altogether picturesque.
In a general view of that part of Mount Lebanon over which we had
passed, it appeared to me, that the summits and sides of the different
chains of which it is composed were for the most part arid, rocky,
and thinly studded with trees; whilst in the valleys, and more
especially in those which had a river running through them, there was
much fertility and verdure. But the mountaineers seemed not to choose
these valleys, however fertile, for the sites of their villages,
but to prefer the slope or summit of a mountain; the reason for
which I conceive is, that the great heats of summer are tempered by
the constant breezes from the sea; besides, that their commanding
situations, sometimes very difficult of access, serve them as a means
of defence in troublesome times.
Scanty as the soil was on the heights, the mountaineers had, by their
industry, turned it to great advantage. The population of a given
number of square miles, taken anywhere on it, was not exceeded by the
number of inhabitants, on an equal space, in the plains; the cause of
which was owing, in a great measure, to the protection which Christians
enjoyed from the Emir Beshýr, who, if not himself a Christian, which
some dared openly to affirm, made no distinction between them and his
Drûze or Mahometan subjects.
I had forgotten to mention that, previous to quitting Dayr-el-Kamar,
Lady Hester had written to apprize the pasha of Damascus of her
purposed visit to his capital. In answer, she had received a courteous
invitation; and a chokadàr, or page, the bearer of it, was commissioned
to be our conductor to Damascus. He was shivering with cold at this
place, as he sat smoking his pipe, cross-legged on his carpet, in
front of his tent. He nevertheless wore two pair of thick cloth
breeches, two pelisses, and other clothes in proportion. He was however
good-humoured, and amused us.
On the following day, we mounted by a very zigzag path to the summit
of Lebanon. For three hours the ascent continued with different degrees
of acclivity over a stony and rocky soil. Nearly at the top, we met
with a Turkish harým, or, in other words, the female part of a Turkish
family. The order of their march, and the manner of their equipage,
will give a general idea of the mode that women adopt in travelling in
this country. First of all, upon two mules, covered with saddle-bags or
wallets and small carpets, sat astride two female black slaves, veiled.
A leathern bottle of water hung down by the side of each of their
pack-saddles: two muleteers walked by the side of them. Next followed a
stout mule; on each side of which was suspended an oblong box, tilted,
large enough to hold one person seated with his legs doubled under
him. In one of these sat the lady, and in the other her two children,
squatting on their hams, and whose weight seemed to balance hers. Each
step of the mule gave a vibrating or swinging motion to the boxes, and
the sensation must have been that of a rickety boat on a short sea.
Behind came several mules with luggage; and the whole was closed by a
chokadàr, or confidential servant, who generally accompanies the women,
and is most times an elderly man.
We gained the summit of the mountain; and, after traversing a somewhat
level surface for a couple of furlongs, with little patches of snow
lying here and there wherever they were sheltered from the southern
sun, we began to descend. At this part, the mountain was thinly
covered with low firs. Suddenly we came upon a glade, where the
extensive view of the plain of the Bkâ broke upon us, bounded to the
east by the Anti-Lebanon, whose bare and craggy sides ran parallel
to the mountain on which we were. Before us was the lofty summit of
Gebel el Shaykh, covered with everlasting snow. The fertile plain
beneath our feet presented a surface variegated with yellow and green;
having low hamlets scattered about, and now and then a considerable
village. Throughout its whole length, but nearer the Lebanon than the
Anti-Lebanon, ran the river Casmia (the ancient Leontes, or Letanus),
which takes its rise beyond Baâlbec; towards whose ruined temples we
turned our eager eyes, and indistinctly beheld them, although at thirty
miles’ distance, as they reflected the rays of the luminary in whose
honour they had been erected.
Having halted at noon, after a rest of four hours, we renewed our
journey, descending by a rapid zigzag path. The cook, with his horse,
fell over a small precipice, but without sustaining any injury. When we
had reached the plain, we came to the village of Keferea. We conceived
ourselves to be still on very high land, as we had descended from the
summit in so short a time in comparison with that which it required to
ascend it. We quickened our pace to reach the village of Jûb Genýn,
where we were to encamp that night. Here for the first time I beheld
the Palma Christi, or castor-oil plant, cultivated in fields as we sow
beans in England, and now about two or three feet high. The berries
were nearly ripe, and, as I learned, would soon be harvested for the
purpose of extracting the oil; which is done by roasting them in the
same manner as coffee, and afterwards boiling them. The oil floats on
the surface of the water, and is skimmed off. This oil is used for
lamps only, its medicinal properties being, nevertheless, not unknown
to the natives; but when called into use it is customary to administer
one berry in substance, which acts as a most violent and uncertain
purgative.
After one hour’s march from the foot of the mountain, we reached the
village of Jûb Genýn, and encamped on a spacious greensward, close to
a bridge which crosses the river. On the opposite bank is a piece of
ruinous masonry, which is called a caravansery. The village itself is
beautifully situate at the distance of half a mile or more from the
bridge, and on a rising ground, at the foot of Gebel el Shaykh. The
village looked somewhat large and respectable, and excited my curiosity
so much as to induce me to go and examine it. It proved to be half in
ruins, from the effect of pillage and desertion, to which it had been
subjected more than once in the contentions between the Emir of the
Drûzes and the pasha of Damascus. The greatest part of the plain of
the Bkâ belongs to the Emir of the Drûzes; so that we were yet within
his territory, and consequently his officers caused provisions of all
sorts to be brought to us.
We departed next day in the usual manner; and, in the afternoon,
reached the foot of Anti-Lebanon, into which we entered, by a winding
path and by a very gentle ascent, through valleys surrounded by low
mountains: and, in two hours and a half from the time of our departure,
we encamped at the village of Ayta, noted for its pottery. The village
might contain about fifty families, who wore the appearance of squalid
poverty.
On the 30th of August, early in the morning, I quitted the party,
accompanied by one of the chokadàr’s soldiers and my groom, Ibrahim,
in order to precede Lady Hester by a day and prepare a house. For two
hours I continued still winding through the mountains, which by degrees
became lofty, totally uncultivated, and very abrupt. At the distance
of one hour from Ayta there is a small spring of water, and three
hours farther there are two or three springs, which unite and form a
rivulet. Close by the rivulet are the ruins of a caravansery, and, on
the adjoining mountain, some patches of a wall that once, apparently,
belonged to a castle. Excavations in the rocks mark out, likewise, the
mansions of the dead of earlier times. A flock of vultures, perched on
the pinnacles of the rocks, testified who were the present tenants of
this wild spot. Caravans sometimes, as we could see by the traces they
had left, had been tempted to make this place a station, and might have
enlivened the scene with momentary bustle: but now a mournful silence
reigned around.
A little further on, we passed close by the village of Demás, on our
left. The small stream, which took its rise near the caravansary, had
continued its course to Demás, where it was diverted into trenches to
irrigate several gardens. The mountains now changed their appearance,
and the soil, from a sandstone, became chalky. Demás looked like
a miserable village. Some women, who were coming out of it, were
remarkably tall.
At a quick foot-pace, we pursued our way, and, in fifteen minutes,
entered a plain, which proved to be about six miles across, totally
rocky and barren. At the extremity of it was a rivulet, and here
commenced the orchards and gardens of Damascus. Throughout the whole
plain the rock had been of a gray stone: the soil became again chalky,
and the gardens, with the stream running between them down the valley,
formed by their verdure a singular contrast with the whiteness of the
hills. Following the course of the stream, we came soon afterwards to
a river, where the adjoining grounds were in a still higher state of
cultivation. Upon its banks stood a small village, called Dymmásh. Here
we crossed a rickety bridge about a dozen feet over, close to which was
a water-mill, and now began to ascend a mountain, whence my guide told
me I should see the city of Sham.[88] At the summit stands a sanctuary,
built in memory of some holy Mahometan, and by it is a spring of water,
which is said never to fail. I was somewhat amazed at this my guide’s
assertion, when I saw that we were some hundred feet above the plain,
and on the ridge of a mountain: but I was less surprised, when, on
looking around, I beheld another mountain top, still higher, at no
great distance, communicating by a sloping ridge with that on which I
was.
It was on the 30th of August, in the afternoon, that, as we came upon
the brow of the mountain which overlooks Damascus, the view of that
beautiful city and its environs broke upon me. I was much struck at
the sight. The plain of Brusa had hitherto dwelt upon my memory as
the richest scenery I had ever beheld: but I now did not hesitate to
consider this far beyond it. Descriptions, when best painted, although
they may come home to the imagination, must necessarily be fallacious:
I shall therefore forbear enlarging upon it.
Having indulged a short time in the pleasure which the view afforded,
I descended the mountain, and soon arrived among the orchards and
gardens. These are all enclosed by mud walls, of considerable thickness
and durability, which would have made the road somewhat monotonous,
but for the overshadowing branches of the fig, mulberry, apricot, and
other fruit-trees, with here and there rich festoons of vine-branches
clustered with grapes, which most agreeably diversified it.
In a large suburb, called Salhiah, were the first houses we approached.
A broad paved road, evidently Roman remains, gave an impression of
grandeur to the entrance of the city, which the streets, upon advancing
farther, were not calculated to maintain. They were narrow, mean, and
unpaved, obstructed with filthy puddles and unseemly ordure.
I came to the quarter of the city where the Christians live, and
alighted at the house of a gentleman to whom I was recommended. He
told me I must go in person to the serai, or governor’s palace, where
I should immediately be furnished with an order for a house. But his
tribulation was excessive when he heard that I intended to present
myself to the governor without a benýsh, or coat of ceremony.[89] He
begged me to wear one of his, and dwelt much on the necessity of not
appearing before him in a dusty riding-dress: but, as I was not then
acquainted with the extreme punctiliousness of the Turks, I declined
his offer.
Accompanied by my guard, I rode strait to the palace, and entered a
spacious courtyard. Neighing steeds were picketed in a row on one side
of it: and gaily dressed officers and attendants were smoking in the
corridors above them. Busy faces were seen crossing and re-crossing the
area of the court, whilst everything argued the presence of a viceroy.
I dismounted at the door of the seráfs, to whom the letter I bore
was addressed. These seráfs, or bankers, were Jews, the brothers of
that Mâlem Haÿm Shäaty, of whom so much has been said, under the head
of Acre. I was shown into a little room, about twelve or fourteen
feet square, where I found Mâlem Rafaël, squatting, cross-legged,
with an inkstand only before him, transacting the affairs of a large
province. The apparatus of desks, tables, records, journals, and all
the necessaries of a public office in England, is here almost unknown;
nor are books and papers lying in confusion round an official person a
necessary mark of business. Mâlem Rafael despatched some other matters,
and then took my letter and read it. He said some civil things, and
told me to follow him. We went into an adjoining office, a larger room,
where sate the kakhyah, Ibrahim Pasha, the pasha’s prime minister. We
stood before him for a while, when the Jew desired me to be seated,
and remained standing himself. Some discourse, in a low tone, passed
between him and the kakhyah, after which the Jew beckoned me to follow
him out. We returned to his own room, and he desired a servant to lead
me to a house in the Christian quarter, which was destined fur us.
I here left my guide, the soldier, telling him to come in a day or
two, and claim his reward for his trouble. The house was a very good
one: indeed one of the best in the Christian quarter. Being very much
fatigued, and it being now late, I dined, and retired to rest.
As I was furnished with an order for turning out the inhabitants of the
house, they saved me the pain that such a proceeding must necessarily
cause, by removing themselves and such little articles as they wished
to take with them to an adjoining street, not without expressing much
discontent.
September 1.--I rode out of Damascus to meet Lady Hester.
The reader is aware that, throughout the East, women, above the level
of peasantry, dare not go unveiled. It is therefore always with
sentiments of contempt that European ladies, who may chance to visit
or to reside at the seaports of the Ottoman Empire, are beheld by the
natives when they are seen unveiled out of doors. But the protection
afforded by consuls, on the one hand, and the necessity of being on a
good understanding with the Frank merchants, from whom they gain so
much, on the other, together with other causes, induce them to tolerate
the custom. It is not so in the interior, where the intercourse is
less; and it was an opinion then current in the Levant that no man even
could venture to appear at Damascus, the inhabitants of which place
were considered as most bigoted, in European clothes. Lady Hester,
therefore, needed no little courage to undergo the trial that awaited
her. A woman, unveiled, and in man’s attire, she entered in broad
daylight one of the most fanatic towns in Turkey.
From the moment of quitting Dayr el Kamar, the Turkish chokadàr had
once or twice hinted to Mr. Bertrand, the interpreter, that it would
be necessary for her ladyship to veil herself on entering Damascus,
otherwise the populace might insult her. Mr. Bertrand, moved by his own
terrors, did not fail to back the chokadàr’s opinion, and was utterly
dismayed when he understood, from her own mouth, that she should brave
public opinion, dressed as she was, and by day. I think it was at this
time that she began to wear a fine Bagdad abah, or mantle, which Mrs.
Rich[90] had sent her. About four in the afternoon the cavalcade which
consisted of fifteen or eighteen horsemen and as many loaded mules,
reached the suburbs, where I met it as it advanced. The people gazed at
us, and all eyes were turned towards her ladyship. Her feminine looks
passed with many, without doubt, for those of a beardless youth. More
saw at once that it must be a woman; but, before they could recover
from their astonishment, we had passed on. Thus we arrived, followed by
a few boys only, at the Christian quarter of the city, and went to the
house which had been prepared, as above mentioned, for her reception.
ADDITIONAL NOTE.
“Reached Bebec.”--p. 85.
As soon as Lady Hester was comfortably established in her suburban
villa, which placed her in the same relation to Constantinople that
a house at Putney would to London, Mr. B. projected an excursion to
Adrianople, in company with Mr. Frederick Douglas. When they had
reached that city, Mr. B. wrote the following lively description of it.
_Mr. B. to ----._
Adrianople, July 23rd, 1811.
My dear ----,
You will no doubt be surprised to receive a letter from me
dated from this place, but I cannot let slip an opportunity
of a ship which takes its departure in a few days from Onos
without returning you my most sincere thanks for your very noble
and generous conduct to my friend Lord Sligo, and for which, I
assure you, he feels most grateful.
I left Constantinople about eight days ago, in company with Mr.
Douglas, a nephew of Mr. North’s, and whom you have no doubt
seen at Malta. We performed the journey in four days and a half,
and passed through the towns of Selebrya, Chomlon, and Brurgos,
and over a country which bears every appearance of having been
desolated by the merciless troops which go and return from the
war; very different indeed from the description which is given
by Lady Wortley Montague--of fields enamelled with flowers and
smiling with plenty. I by no means, however, wish to impeach the
veracity of that lady, as a century produces a great change, not
only in the manners and customs of a nation, but likewise in the
face of a country.
The town of Adrianople is beautifully situated in a rich and
cultivated plain, which is watered by three rivers. The Marepa
(the ancient Hebrus), which takes its rise in the mountains
near Philipopoli; the Toungi, whose source is near the Black
Sea; and the Lardi. These three rivers join a little below
the town, and lose themselves in the sea at Onos. The city
is eight miles in circumference, and its population eighty
thousand souls--consisting of forty thousand Turks, twenty
thousand Greeks, six thousand Armenians, and the same number
of Jews. Since the province of Bulgaria has been ravaged by
the Turks, many of the poor inhabitants have taken refuge in
this place, which has very much increased the number. Like all
other Turkish towns, (Turkey in Europe) the houses are built
of wood, and the streets are excessively narrow and very badly
paved. From a distance, the irregularity of the houses, with
the interspersion of trees, and the mosques, with their lofty
minarets, produce a very picturesque and fantastic appearance.
Adrianople boasts, however, of many magnificent buildings--the
mosque built by Selim the Second is a noble structure, and, in
my opinion, far surpasses Sophia, Sultan Achmet, or any of the
others which I have [seen] at Constantinople. It is, I am told,
one of the truest specimens of Turkish architecture. It consists
of two courts, surrounded by porticoes, which are supported by
large and massive columns of porphyry and verd-antique. The
roof is composed of several cupolas--the interior appeared to
be spacious and magnificent, and has one prodigious dome. I am
unable, however, to give you a minute description, as I was
only allowed to have a hasty glance. The Turks do not wish it
to be profaned by the eyes of an infidel. Not very distant from
Sultan Selim is another mosque, which was formerly the church
of the Trinity, and is now called by the Turks “Utchirif,”
which, I believe, is nothing more than a translation of the word
“Trinity.” It is a very handsome building, but very inferior
to the other. There is likewise another mosque, which is near
the Hospital for Idiots. We found there many noble columns of
porphyry and verd-antique, and likewise a statue of the European
Adrian; at least they say so. It is very much trunculated, as
it has lost its head and arm. The dress, however, is certainly
Roman, and is the one which was generally worn by the Emperor.
The English consul, who was my guide, and who is a very worthy
and hospitable man, told me a very ridiculous, but, in my
opinion, not an untrue story relating to this statue, which at
once proves the ignorance and superstition of the Turks. The
statue is very near the hospital for idiots. The master of the
hospital had a great number of chickens, but, unfortunately, one
night, the greater number were stolen. The poor Turk thought
that Adrian had devoured them; so, in revenge, he cut off his
head, and threw [it] into the river Marepa.
Formerly there were many valuable remains of antiquity to be
found in this city, but they have been almost all destroyed by
the merciless and unrelenting Turks. Many of the columns have
been employed in building their houses, but the greater part, I
am told, have been buried under the foundation of Sultan Selim.
The Turks respect neither the sanctity of religion, nor the
genius of man. There are in the town two very fine Besisteens.
The largest was built by Ali Pasha, and is of a prodigious
length. It consists of three hundred and sixty-five shops, in
which every sort of merchandize is exposed for sale. The other,
which is called “Arasta,” is smaller, and is more particularly
appropriated to the sale of shoes. They are both built of solid
masonry, and have a beautiful appearance.
Adrianople, as you well know, is celebrated as being the first
capital of the Turks in Europe. Mahomet the fourth and Mustapha
the first lived here entirely, which occasioned so much jealousy
among the Janissaries of Constantinople that they rebelled and
deposed those two monarchs. Achmet the third, not dismayed by
the fate of his two predecessors, was very partial to this
city, and continued [to] live here a considerable time. It was
here that he received Mr. Wortley Montague, the husband of Lady
Mary. There is here an Imperial Palace, which is agreeably
situated on an island formed by the river Toungi. It is of
considerable extent; but, like all other Turkish buildings, very
straggling and irregular. The greater part is going rapidly to
decay. The audience-chamber and the throne, under which the
Sultan sat when he received the ambassadors of foreign nations,
are in a tolerable state of preservation. I have now, my dear
general, finished a very long and, no doubt, very tedious
description of the city of Adrianople, but you may always make
it as short as you please by throwing it into the fire.
You have no doubt already heard of the retreat of the Russians
and the capture of Ruschuk. The Turks, led on by the new Grand
Vizir, attacked the town in seven divisions. They were at first
repulsed with considerable slaughter. The Russians, however,
finding themselves too weak to defend their position any longer,
demolished the works, set fire to the town, and crossed the
Danube. Ibrail, Sistof, Sylistria, Necropolis, and the other
fortresses which were in their possession, have met with the
same fate. Nothing can exceed the cruelties which they have
committed. Desolation has marked their footsteps.
I must beg pardon for this very long and tedious letter. Mr.
Douglas, who is with me, begs me to present you his compliments,
and believe me,
My dear ----,
Your most sincere friend,
M.B.
END OF VOL. I.
Frederick Shoberl, Junior, Printer to His Royal Highness Prince Albert,
51, Rupert Street, Haymarket, London.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] These were principally the death of Mr. Pitt, her uncle, with whom
she had resided for several years, and of her half-brother, the Hon.
Charles Stanhope, who was killed at the battle of Corunna.
[2] Mr. Michael Bruce will be known to most readers as the gentleman,
who, conjointly with Lieutenant-General Sir Robert Wilson and the Hon.
Mr. Hutchinson, effected the escape of Lavallette from prison on the
eve of his execution.
[3] Captain Whitby was distinguished by his active service in the war
of America, and, subsequently, by his gallant conduct in a severe naval
engagement up the Adriatic.
[4] As we say Furnival’s Inn, Lincoln’s Inn, &c.
[5] The advantage of these stone walls and floors was exemplified in an
accident which occurred whilst I was at La Valetta. I was attending,
professionally, on Viscount Ebrington, the present Earl Fortescue, who
was indisposed in bed, when his servant, in holding the candle, set
fire to the musquito net. His lordship jumped out of bed, and the net
blazed and was consumed, without any other apprehension for the result
than the personal inconvenience and danger caused to a sick man by
sudden exposure to cold.
[6] Afterwards Sir Hildebrand Oakes.
[7] Now Dr. Fiott Lee, of Hartwell.
[8] Lord Sligo spent two days with his Highness, who manifested the
pleasure he experienced in the visit, as well by splendid presents, as
by the manner in which he treated his lordship. At one dinner eighty
dishes were served up for his Highness and the marquis only. He sent a
polite message to Lady Hester to express his regret that he should not
see her, as he had been called by the Porte to the army, then marching
against Russia.
[9] A long mantle used to hide the person out of doors.
[10] The Lawsonia, Lin.
[11] Lasso papavera collo.
[12] Mr. Galt, the novelist.
[13] Now Sir Stratford Canning.
[14] M. de Maubourg, chargé d’affaires at Constantinople.
[15] Cherries sold at a farthing per pound, and walnuts in the season,
I was told, at ninepence per bushel.
[16] Now Hydrographer to the Admiralty.
[17] Things are much changed since that time.
[18] For her turban and girdle she bought two handsome cashmere shawls,
each at £50. Her pantaloons, most richly embroidered in gold, cost £40;
her waistcoat and her pelisse £50; her sabre £20; her saddle £35. Other
articles necessary for the completion of the costume amounted to £100
more. Mr. B.’s dress was equally expensive; his sword more so, as he
purchased it at 1000 piasters, at the exchange of 21, making about £50.
[19] A Mameluke saddle and bridle alone, without the rider, pistol,
gun, or sword, weigh 17 rotolos, 3 oz., equal to 43½ lbs. English. A
Turkish saddle and bridle, with the rider’s carbine, pistols, sabre,
cartouch-box, brogues, and cloak, weigh about 53 lbs. English. A common
Turkish saddle weighs 34 lbs. English.
[20] That the learned reader, however, may not be deprived of a
description of this kind of dancing, which was so much talked about
during the trial of Caroline, the queen of George IV., we will
insert that which is given by Emanuel Martin to his friend J. A. Not
recollecting whence this extract was made, I am unable to say precisely
who Martin and his friend were, but will vouch for the correctness
of the delineation, which is quite graphic. “Nôsti saltationem illam
Gaditanam, obscenitate suâ per omne œvum famosam: atqui ipsammet hodii
per omnia hujus urbis compita, per omnia cubicula, cum incredibili
astantium plausu, saltari videas. Nec inter Æthiopos tantem et obscuros
homines, sed inter honestissimas fæminas ac nobili loco natas.
Saltationis modus hoc ritu peragitur. Saltant vir et fæmina, vel bini
vel plures. Corpora ad musicos modos per omnia libidinorum irritimenta
versantur. Membrorum mollissimi flexus, clunium motationes, micationes
fæmorum, salacium insultuum imagines, omnia denique turgentis lasciviæ
solertissimo studio expressa simulacra. Videas cevere virum et cum
quodam gannitu crissare feminam eo lepore et venustate ut ineptæ
profecto ac rusticæ tibi viderentur tremulæ nates Photidos Appuleianæ.
Interim omnia constrepunt cachinnis: quin spectatores ipsi, satyricæ
Atellanæque ορχκεσεως furore correpti, in ipso simulatæ libidinis campo
leni quodam gestu nutuque vellicantur et fluctuant.”
[21] I was likewise shown a more complicated machine, invented by one
of the workmen at the English Consul’s dairy. A perpendicular axis,
passing through the floor of the ceiling, and set in motion by a
wheel in an upper room or underneath, had a certain number of stout
cogs projecting from it horizontally, but wedge-shaped, so that the
edge which takes the end of the hammer handle is sharp at first, and
grows broader; consequently, as it passes round, will press down the
short end of the hammer: and, as the idea was ingenious for such poor
machinists as the Egyptians, I made a sketch of it. Thus one yoke of
oxen might set to work eight or ten pestles, and much room be saved.
[22] These rushes were shown to Sir Joseph Banks, who pronounced them
to be not the papyrus.
[23] These coffers are covered with web-cloth, girted with cords: they
are extremely useful in travelling; and, speaking from six years’
experience, it may be averred that, though apparently so rickety and
fragile, they resist longer than any other species of travelling-trunk
of Turkish manufacture, and have the advantage of peculiar lightness.
They will not certainly bear a comparison with English leather trunks:
but I would still recommend every one who visits Turkey to leave behind
him as much as possible what is not in the fashion of the country,
for fear of exciting the cupidity of the natives, who are too apt to
imagine everything strange to be valuable.
[24] I afterwards saw this same Iachimo, in the year 1819, in the
service of some English travellers in Syria. He was by this time
exalted to the rank of dragoman.
[25] Our party was made up of the following persons: Lady Hester
Stanhope, Mr. B., Mr. Pearce, and myself; Mrs. Fry, Lady Hester’s
maid; a cook, two valets, both Cypriots, and Iachimo, the Ragusan, my
servant. There was likewise an akkam, or tent-pitcher.
[26] As these men had now been in the country twelve or fourteen years,
they spoke the language, and were acquainted with the character of the
people, so that they could serve in the double capacity of guards and
interpreters.
[27] These porters, who carry burdens under which an English porter
would sink, are provided with a cushion made of old sacking stuffed
with rushes. This hangs a little below the shoulder-blades, and on
it their burden rests; it is kept steady by a long cord which goes
round the forehead. As they walk under their load, they bend the
body forward, the trunk forming almost a right angle with the lower
extremities.
[28] The two which Mr. Damiani owned were let at 4000 piasters per
annum, as he said. It is true, they were very large, and well stocked
with lemon, orange, almond, peach, pear, apple, pomegranate, and other
trees. But these trees were yet young; for, in the invasion of the
French, the orchards were destroyed for fire-wood. This was now a
period of fifteen or sixteen years before; and there can be no greater
proof of the fertility of the soil, and of the quickness of vegetation,
than the rapid growth of these orchards.
[29] Of the Mamelukes of the Pasha el Gezzàr there were yet alive
six--Solyman, Pasha of Acre; Mohammed, Governor of Jaffa; Musa,
motsellem of Gebâa; Khalyl, motsellem of Nabatéa; Solyman Effendy,
motsellem of Sayda; and Hossayn Aga, collector of the customs at
Latakia.
[30] I would apologize for inserting routes so often described, if
it were not that I feel I may be able to rectify some errors both in
distances and in the names of places, which are found in the books of
many travellers, owing to their ignorance of the Arabic language, and
the consequent difficulty of acquiring correct information. Routes
are, no doubt, uninteresting to most readers; as much, therefore, as
possible has been thrown into the appendix.
[31] Pococke.
[32] It is not to be imagined that pulling off the turban is like
pulling off the hat: it is more than that, as those who wear turbans
have the head close shaved, and consequently expose a bald pate when
they take it off: a Turk never would do it. We took off our shoes also.
[33] Kowass means an archer; the name being still preserved, although
the weapons are laid aside.
[34] The Augey or Awjey was the boundary of the country of the
Philistines, which extended north and south from below Gaza to this
river.
[35] This name has since struck me as fictitious, as it signifies
merely “The Sands.”
[36] Probably the site of Antipatris--“Then the soldiers, as
it was commanded them, took Paul and brought him by night to
Antipatris.”--Acts xxiii. 31.
[37] Abulfeda speaks of Cæsarea as having been a flourishing city, and
marks it in his time as in a ruinous state. It is sixty-two miles from
Jerusalem, thirty from Joppa, thirty-six from Acre. For the frequent
mention made in Scripture of Cæsarea, consult the Acts of the Apostles,
x. 24; xxi. 8; xxvi; xxi. 10; ix. 30; xviii. 22.
[38] Yet Josephus (Antiq. Jud. xv. c. 13., and de Bell. Jud. 1, xxi.)
describes an extraordinary port made by Herod.
[39] The Crocodilon of Pliny.
[40] “The persons to whom I applied the most for information were the
shepherds, who lead their flocks into all parts of the country, and see
more of it than other men.”--Morier’s Second Journey through Persia,
&c. p. 73.
[41] They also fetch water at sunset on account of the coolness which
the water acquires by standing all night. In ch. xxiv. Genesis, v. 11,
we read, “And he made his camels to kneel down by a well of water, at
the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.”
[42] Probably the ancient Sycaminos, as the distance will be found
between it and the promontory of Mount Carmel to be four leagues; and
so it is laid down in d’Anville’s map of Palestine.
[43] Pococke says, that this castle was built by the Greek emperors to
repel the attacks of the Saracens.
[44] Erroneously, on most maps and by most travellers, spelt Caifa, on
account of the deep aspiration of the Arabic h, which Europeans seldom
are able to pronounce. In some authors it is called Hepha or Kepha. It
would seem to be the ancient Porphyrion.
[45] Perhaps the ancient Calamon. It seemed to abound in olive and fig
trees.
[46] The Kishon was the boundary of the tribe of Issachar, to within
three or four leagues of the sea.
[47] This son, Mr. Louis Catafago, was the gentleman who afterwards
accompanied H. R. H. the Princess of Wales to Jerusalem. The father of
the nephew, named Fathallah Carali, had been beheaded at Aleppo for
mixing in government intrigues, he being a merchant.
[48] The antient Belus.
[49] Jer: c. xxii. v. 15. He shall be buried with the burial of an
ass--drawn and cast forth beyond the gates.
[50] Many years afterwards, I saw one of these, named Andréa, at
Larnaka in Cyprus, where, with the money he had scraped together in
Syria, he had established himself as a small shopkeeper.
[51] Mr. Burckhardt calls him Haÿm Farkhy, p. 327.
[52] A katib is generally known by his inkstand, which he wears in the
girdle of his vest. The form of the inkstand seems designed to answer
this purpose. A great man or katib like Mâlem Haym has his of silver:
for common persons they are made of brass. In Ezechiel we read, ix.,
2--“And one man with a writer’s inkhorn by his side;” alluding to this
custom; but the translators have substituted the word horn. Horn,
however, is never used for this purpose; indeed, the shape of the
instrument would render it impossible.
[53] It might be asked how this bath is supplied with water. There is
an aqueduct raised on arches, which conveys water from the foot of the
adjoining mountains. Abulfeda speaks of a fountain, for which Acre, in
his time, was celebrated, and calls it _Ayn el bakr_: perhaps its
spring was now converted to the use of the New Bath.
[54] See Bruce’s opinion on this subject in the sixth volume of his
Travels, 8vo. edition. See also the first book of Samuel, x. 27:--“and
they despised him, and brought him no presents.” Maundrell says, “It is
counted uncivil to visit in this country without an offering in hand.
All great men expect it as a kind of tribute due to their character and
authority, and look upon themselves as affronted, and indeed defrauded
when this compliment is omitted. Even in familiar visits amongst
inferior people, a flower, an orange, or some such token of respect to
the person visited is offered: the Turks in this point keeping up the
ancient Oriental custom frequently mentioned in Sacred History.”
[55] The Levantine custom of dining at noon and supping at sunset gave
way to coffee and tea breakfasts, and dinner at three or four, for the
sake of walking in the cool of the evening.
[56] The baths of Tabariah are called [Arabic], Hamam el damakyr
(which is the largest), and [Arabic], Hamam el lulu.
[57] The conclusion of this affair will be related hereafter at
Damascus. Mr. B. likewise purchased a horse of Mr. C.’s brother-in-law
for £35.
[58] One for 200 piasters, or £10; one for £4, a serviceable beast that
I afterwards left in Syria, still well and hard working. Lady Hester’s
retinue consisted now of the following persons: Giorgio filled the
place of interpreter; Mr. Catafago made over to her his own cook, a
Cypriot, marked with all the characteristic filth of his island. Mr. B.
hired a good-natured Akáwi, or native of Acre, a barber by trade, named
Hanah, or John, whose recommendation consisted principally in knowing a
little Italian. My Ragusan sailor still remained with me.
[59] The _tarbûsh_ is a red skull cap worn by females: round it
the handkerchief which forms the turban is attached. _Sereah_ is a
white slave or concubine.
[60] This bulta or balta, a kind of battle-axe, was the emblem of
authority which El Gezzàr generally bore about with him. It is said
that upon the retreat of the French from before Acre, El Gezzàr, to
show his sense of Sir W. S. Smith’s success, gave this balta into the
hands of the gallant commodore, and said to him--“You now represent
myself: exercise for twenty-four hours the power with which you are
invested, in what acts you please.” Sir Sydney ordered the prison doors
to be thrown open, and gave the prisoners their liberty.
[61] Squires of the bed-chamber.
[62] Governor.
[63] II. Samuel, c. xx. v. 3. And David took the ten women, his
concubines, whom he had left to keep the house, and put them inward,
and fed them, but went not in unto them: so they were shut up unto the
day of their death.
[64] Zyb is the ancient Ecdippa.--Poc.
[65] There is reason to believe that pay-gates and toll-bars were of
frequent occurrence in Judea and Palestine. Capernaum, in the New
Testament, is no other than a compound of Guffer and nâam.
[66] Since that time, I have traversed this same road five times, and
on every occasion I have observed some persons so alarmed at the danger
to which they were exposed as to choose to lead their horses over
rather than to remain mounted.
[67] I measured the largest of these basins or reservoirs on the top,
and found its circumference to be eighty paces. It was much damaged by
time and use, but seemed, when perfect, to have been of a heptagonal
or hexagonal form. This reservoir alone supplied water to four pair of
mill-stones, which were rented at the rate of 2500 piasters (£75) a
year each pair.
[68] The Kasmia would seem to be the ancient Leontes, as marked on
d’Anville’s map of Palestine.
[69] Upon the hills above these grottoes is the village of Adlûn, which
Pococke calls Adnou.
[70] Cousin to Damiani of Jaffa.
[71] Khudder is an appellative of St. George, but why he is considered
a holy man by the Mahometans I am ignorant.
[72] This spring is named by Pococke Sakat Elourby. Saka is a
watercourse, and Elourby is mistaken by him for El Kharby, a ruin. His
muleteers, ignorant of the real name, probably answered him, when he
asked what do you call this? This? why, this is the watercourse of the
ruin, and so it was entered in his note-book. We shall have occasion to
remark several errors of this sort, regarding names of more consequence
than of a spring, and the more dangerous in such a man, inasmuch as he
has always been considered a good Arabic scholar.
[73] This reservoir Pococke calls Elborok, meaning to say El Burky,
the reservoir, which he should designate as such, otherwise the name
obtains a place in a map as that of a village or town.
[74] This river Pococke calls the Torrent Ezuron.
[75] This custom exists in the north of Scotland. In Galloway, for
example, in 1798, on the estate of Kironchtree was found, under a cairn
of stones which was removed to build a dyke, a sepulchre, within which
was an urn. The cairn had been heaped up precisely in the same way as
that of Sayd el Abd.
[76] The Kûrds are a ferocious people inhabiting a part of Mesopotamia.
They pass into Syria as mercenaries, and are often selected as
executioners.
[77] Nahr Burgût is mis-named by Pococke Barout.
[78] Beled Suffad, of which Suffad is the capital, extends from Calâat
Sâas to Geser Benàt Yacûb and to Khan el Minny between Tabariah and
Suffad. Calâat Sâsa lies in a strait line from Suffad to Acre.
[79] For Sayda, see likewise Nub Geogr. A. iii. S. v. p. 135. Prin.
ed. Ar. Also Gen. x. 15.; xlix. 13. Joshua, xi. 8; xix. 28; Judges, i.
xxxi.; Strabo, xvi. p. 757; Plin. Nat. Hist. v. 17; Il. Hom. xxiii.
744, _et passim_, Σιδονες πολυδαιδαλοι.
[80] Their father, a Frenchman, had been a doctor at Sayda, but
had educated these his children as merchants, until the overthrow
of the French trade in the Levant necessitated them to convert the
counting-house into an apothecary’s shop.
[81] Pronounced Joon; afterwards for many years the residence of Lady
Hester, and where also she died.
[82] The reader is referred to a recent work, called “The Modern
Syrians,” for a learned dissertation upon them.
[83] Âakel, masculine; âakely, feminine.
[84] To prevent confusion, it may be as well to explain the difference
of two names sometimes confounded from the supposed resemblance in
the term Beshýr. The appellation Beshýr is what we should call the
Christian name. Thus we will suppose two persons bearing the same name,
George--the one will be emir George--the other shaykh George. So we
have here two persons called Beshýr, and one is the Emir Beshýr--the
other the Shaykh Beshýr. In this instance, the Emir and the Shaykh are
of two different families. The Shaykh is of the house Jumbalat. At the
time this work goes to the press, the Emir Beshýr must be 86 years of
age. He is of venerable appearance, has met with many adversities, and
has yet so often extricated himself from them that it would not be
surprising if he again recovered his principality.
[85] There were three families among the Drûzes, which were more
especially remarkable for their influence and antiquity: these were the
house of Jambalat (Beyt Jambalat), the house of Amád (Beyt-el-Amád),
and the house of Neked (Beyt Neked.)
[86] Hadj Aly assured me that his wife, who was a Metoualy woman, made
no scruple of eating raw meat; and that, when mincing mutton to make a
_farce_ called _cubby_, she often ate so much as to spoil her
dinner. It is plain that the Israelites did the same. Exodus ix. 12.;
“Eat not of it raw.”
[87] The Aleppo _bouton_ (in Arabic the one-year tetter) is a
solitary, sanious, scabby ulcer, about the size of a sixpence, which
breaks out once, and once only, on almost all persons indiscriminately
who reside at, or visit, Aleppo. No part of the body is exempt from
it; and perhaps the face is oftener attacked than any. Its duration
is about twelve months, and hence its name. No remedy has yet been
discovered for it; and it generally gives least trouble when let alone.
The cicatrix, which it always leaves, resembles that of a vaccine pock,
or of an issue dried up: and, when, for example, it has chosen the tip
of the nose for its seat, it much disfigures the face.
[88] The Arabic name of Damascus.
[89] This benýsh is of cloth in winter, and of thin woollen stuff in
the summer. It is made to envelop the whole body, excepting the face.
[90] The wife of our consul there.
Transcriber’s Notes:
1. Obvious printers’, punctuation and spelling errors have been
corrected silently.
2. Where hyphenation is in doubt, it has been retained as in the
original.
3. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have
been retained as in the original.
4. Italics are shown as _xxx_.
5. Superscripts are represented using the caret character, e.g. D^r. or
X^{xx}.