and, at three miles distance, very rugged and intersected by a number of
dry watercourses. The landscape was enlivened not only by our own
caravan, composed of so many heterogeneous elements, but also by some
other parties who happened to be coming down the slope: first, the
Kaimakám of the Jébel, then a slave caravan, consisting of about sixty
of these poor creatures, of whom the younger, at least, seemed to take a
cheerful interest in the varied features of the country. The Wadi Bú
Ghelán, where the ascent commences, is here and there adorned with
clusters of date-trees. In about an hour the first camels of our party
reached the terrace of Beni ʿAbbás; and till the whole had accomplished
the ascent, I had leisure to dismount from my tractable Bú-saefi, and to
sit down quietly under a fine olive-tree near the chapel of the Merábet
Sámes, watching them as they came up one by one, and cheered by the
conviction that the expedition was at length in full train. The country
was here hilly, and the path often very narrow and deeply cut in the
marly soil. Further on, Overweg and I, together with our shoush, turned
off a little to the right from the great caravan-road, and, passing
through fine corn-fields interspersed with flowers of different kinds,
reached the village Gwásem, lying at a short distance from the eastern
foot of Mount Tekút, where we were treated with sour milk by a friend of
our companions. When we had overtaken our caravan, I found time to pay a
visit to the Roman sepulchre[33], and ascertained that the base measured
24 ft. in every direction, the principal body of the monument,
containing the sepulchral chamber, having fallen in entirely. From this
point we began to ascend the second terrace, and reached the level of
the plateau at two o’clock in the afternoon. The country had now a much
more interesting appearance than when I was here two months before,
being at present all covered with green corn. Having started in the
direction of the castle, we descended, a little before reaching it,
along the shelving ground towards Wadi Rummána, and encamped on the spot
where the troups usually bivouac.
Here we remained the following day, when, in order to settle formally
the demands of our camel-drivers, we had all our things accurately
weighed by the officials of the castle. The little market did not grow
busy till ten o’clock. The chief articles for sale were three head of
cattle, one camel, some sheep and goats, a few water-skins, some barley,
a few eggs, and sandals; but at noon it was moderately thronged. In the
afternoon we paid a visit to several subterranean dwellings, but were
disappointed in not getting access into an entirely new structure of
this kind, formed of a much harder sort of clay. Our cheerful friend Mr.
Warrington, in order to treat our party before he separated from it for
a length of time which nobody could foresee, got an immense bowl of
kuskus prepared, seasoned in the most savoury manner; and our whole
party long indulged in the remembrance of this delicate dish as a luxury
beyond reach. The site of our encampment was most pleasant: below us the
wadi, rich with varied vegetation; while towards the north the Tekút,
with its regularly-shaped crater towering proudly over the lower
eminences around, formed a most interesting object.
[Sidenote: Friday, April 5th.]
Though busy at an early hour, we did not get off till late; for many
things were still to be settled here. We separated from Mr. Warrington;
and of the three travellers I was the only one whom he was ever to see
again.
Our path was at first very winding, as we had to turn round the deep
indentation of the Wadi Rummána, after which it took a straighter
course, passing through several villages, with their respective olive-
groves, till we reached Bu Sriyán, where the cultivation of the olive-
tree ceased entirely for some distance, and the country became more
open. Here we made another considerable deviation from our southerly
direction, and followed a wide valley with much cultivated ground.
Having reached the village Sémsa, situated upon an eminence to our
right, we turned off eastward into a very pleasant ravine with an olive-
grove, and then began the steep ascent towards the height Kuléba[34],
which forms the passage over this southern crest of the plateau. While
the camels in long rows moved slowly onwards, with their heavy loads, on
the narrow and steep rocky path, I, allowing my camel to follow the
rest, ascended directly to the village, which is situated round the
eastern slope, and is still tolerably well inhabited, although many a
house has fallen to ruin; for it has a considerable extent of territory;
and owing to its situation as the southernmost point of Ghurián, the
inhabitants are the natural carriers and agents between the northern
districts and the desert. On the highest crest, commanding the village,
there was formerly a castle; but it has been destroyed by the Turks.
Having descended a little into the barren valley, we encamped, at two
o’clock in the afternoon, on the slope of the western hills, near the
last scanty olive-trees, and not far from the well, from which we
intended to take a sufficient supply of water to last us till we reached
Mizda. While our people, therefore, were busy watering the camels and
filling our water-skins, Overweg and I, accompanied by two of the
inhabitants of the village, who had followed us, ascended a conspicuous
mount, Jebel Toëshe, the highest in the neighbourhood, on the top of
which a village is said to have existed in former times. We took several
angles; but there is no very high point about Mizda which could serve as
a landmark in that direction.
[Sidenote: Saturday, April 6th.]
The country through which we were marching, along irregular valleys,
mostly of limestone formation, exhibited scattered patches of corn for
about the first three miles, after which almost every sign of
cultivation suddenly ceased, and the “Twél el Khamér,” stretching from
N.W. to S.E., about two miles distant on the right, formed, as it were,
the northern boundary of the naked soil. On its slope a few trees of the
kind called radúk by the Arabs were seen from the distance. We then
entered desolate stony valleys, famous for the bloody skirmishes which
are said to have once taken place there between the Urfílla and the
Welád Bu Séf, in the time of ʿAbd el Jelíl. Refreshing, therefore, was
the aspect of Wadi Ranne, which, extending from E. to S.W., was
overgrown with green herbage, and had two wells.
A little beyond, near the hill, or rather slope, called Shʿabet el
Kadím, the latter part of which name seems, indeed, to have some
reference to antiquity, we found the first Roman milestone, with the
inscription now effaced; but further on, Mr. Overweg, who went on foot
and was far behind the main body of our caravan, succeeded in
discovering some milestones with inscriptions, which he regretted very
much not being able to show to me. Hereabouts commences the region of
the batúm-tree, which, with the fresh green of its foliage, contributes
a good deal to enliven and adorn some favoured spots of this sterile,
gravelly tract. To the left of our path were some remarkable basaltic
cones, starting up from the calcareous ridge. The ground was strewn with
numerous flint-stones. About four o’clock P.M. I went to look at a
curious quadrangular and regularly-hewn stone, three feet in breadth and
length, but only eight inches thick, which was standing upright at some
distance from the caravan. It was evidently meant to face the west; but
no trace of an inscription was to be seen. About a mile further on we
encamped at the foot of the western chain, which rose to a height of
about 300 feet, and formed a narrow cleft with the eastern chain, which
at this point closes upon it. In this corner (which collects the
humidity of two valleys), besides several batúm-trees, a little corn had
been sown. Panthers are said to be numerous in this region.
The next day we directed our march towards the pass, crossing the dry
beds of several small torrents, and a broader channel bordered by plenty
of batúm-trees. After an hour’s march, we had reached the summit of the
pass, which now began to widen, the heights receding on each side, and a
more distant range bounding the view. We found in the holes of the rocky
bottom of Wadi Mezummíta, which we crossed about half-past eight,
several pools of rain-water, affording us a most refreshing drink; but
it was quite an extra treat, owing to recent heavy rains which had
fallen here, for in general the traveller cannot rely on finding water
in this place. The ground becoming very stony and rugged, our progress
was excessively slow—not above half an English geographical mile in
seventeen minutes. The hills on our right displayed to the view regular
layers of sandstone. Another long defile followed, which at length
brought us to a plain called Wadi Lilla, encompassed by hills, and
offering several traces of former cultivation, while other traces,
further on, bore testimony to the industry of the Romans. A small herd
of goats, and the barking of a dog, showed that even at present the
country is not wholly deserted. In our immediate neighbourhood it even
became more than usually enlivened by the passage of a slave-caravan,
with twenty-five camels and about sixty slaves, mostly females.
After having passed a small defile, we at length emerged into the north-
west branch of the valley of Mizda, called here Wadi Udé-Sheráb, the
channel of which is lined with a considerable number of batúm-trees.
Crossing the stony bottom of this plain, after a stretch of three miles
more we reached the western end of the oasis of Mizda, which, though my
fancy had given it a greater extent, filled me with joy at the sight of
the fine fields of barley, now approaching maturity—the crop, owing to
the regular irrigation, being remarkably uniform—while the grove of
date-trees encompassed the whole picture with a striking and interesting
frame. So we proceeded, passing between the two entirely-separated
quarters, or villages, distinguished as the upper, “el fók,” and the
lower, “el utah,” and encamped on the sandy open space a little beyond
the lower village, near a well which formerly had irrigated a garden.
People going to Tripoli encamp at the other end of the oasis, as was
done by a caravan of Ghadamsi people with slaves from Fezzán, on the
following day.
Mizda, most probably identical with the eastern “Musti kome” of Ptolemy,
appears to have been an ancient settlement of the indigenous inhabitants
of North Africa, the Berbers, and more particularly of a family or tribe
of them called “Kuntarár,” who even at present, though greatly
intermixed with Arabs, have not entirely forgotten their Berber idiom.
The oasis lies in the upper part of Wadi Sofejín, or rather a branch of
it, stretching out from SW. to NE., which has in some parts a great
breadth. The natural advantage, or productive principle, of the locality
seems to lie in the circumstance that the humidity carried down by the
Wadi Sheráb is here arrested by a hill, and absorbed by the clayey soil.
This hill is of a lengthened form, and consists entirely of gypsum. From
its summit, which affords the best prospect of the whole locality, I
made a view of the western village; while from a more elevated height
further west, called Madúm, I made the accompanying sketch of the whole
locality.
[Illustration: Drawn by J. M. Bernatz, from a Sketch by Dr. Barth.
M. & N. Hanhart, lith. et impt.
MIZDA.
April 8th. 1850.]
The wells have little depth, and the water is drawn to the surface by
means of oxen; but there being at present only three specimens of this
precious animal in the place, the wells are far from being made use of
to the extent which is practicable and has been once practised, as may
be concluded from the pillars which extend to a considerable distance on
the plain. The town, as I said, consists of two distinct quarters or
villages, of which the western one, situated at the eastern foot of the
hill, is by far the larger; it is built exactly in the character of the
ksúr of the Algerian Sahara, with high round towers decreasing a little
in width towards the upper part, and furnished with several rows of
loopholes. The wall, purposely built with a great many salient and
retiring angles, is in a state of decay, and many of the houses are in
ruins; but the village can still boast a hundred full-grown men able to
bear arms. The chief of this village always resides in it, while that of
the other generally lives at some distance under tents. The
circumference of the village, together with the palm-grove attached to
its eastern side, and consisting of about 200 trees, is 2260 paces.
[Illustration]
The lower or south-eastern village, the circumference of which is 600
paces, is separated from the former by an interval of about 400 paces,
and has at present no palm-grove, all the gardens having been destroyed
or ruined by neglect, and only twenty or thirty palm-trees now remaining
scattered about the place. About 100 paces further down the declivity of
the valley, is a group of three small gardens surrounded by a wall, but
in bad condition; and at about the same distance beyond, another in the
same state. The only advantage peculiar to this quarter is that of a
large “zawíya,” the principal articles in the inventory of which are
eight holy doves. But this also has now become but an imaginary
advantage, as, according to its learned keeper’s doleful complaints, it
is very rarely visited. In this as well as in the other quarter, all the
houses are built of gypsum. As Mizda is a very remarkable feature in the
country, I thought it worth while to make a particular sketch of the
oasis also from this side.
This oasis is very diminutive; but two caravan-routes, one from Murzuk
and one from Ghadámes, join at this point. The inhabitants are of a mild
disposition, and enjoy the fame of strict honesty. Everything is here
considered as secure; and the camels which cannot find food in the
neighbourhood, are driven into the green valley at four or five miles’
distance, and left there without a guardian. I make these statements
advisedly, as reflections of a different kind have been made on their
character. The people seem to suffer much from sore eyes. When we asked
them about the most remarkable features of the road before us, they
spoke of a high mount, Teránsa[35] which, however, we did not afterwards
recognize.
[Illustration]
In the afternoon I made an excursion with Overweg to Jebel Durmán,
situated at the distance of a mile and a half south-east. It is rather a
spur of the plateau jutting out into the broad valley, and, with its
steep, precipitous, and washed walls, nearly detached and extremely
narrow as it is—a mere neck of rock—looks much like a castle. Upon the
middle of its steep side is a small zawíya belonging to the Zintán. The
prospect from this steep and almost insulated pile could not, of course,
be very extensive, as the mount itself is on the general level of the
plateau; but we obtained a fine view over the sea of heights surrounding
the broad valley and the several tributaries of which it is formed.
Night was setting in, and we returned to our tent.
Having heard our Zintáni make frequent mention of an ancient castle with
numerous sculptures, and situated at no great distance, I resolved to
visit it, and set out tolerably early in the morning of the 9th of
April, accompanied by the Arab and one of our shoushes.
We had first to send for one of our camels, which was grazing at about
three miles’ distance, in the sandy bottom of the wadi S.E. from our
encampment. It was only on this occasion that I became aware of the
exact nature of the valley of Mizda, and its relation to the Wadi
Sófejín; for we did not reach this latter wadi until we had traversed
the whole breadth of the sandy plain, and crossed a mountain-spur along
a defile called Khurmet bu Mátek, at the distance of at least eight
miles from our encampment. This is the famous valley mentioned, in the
11th century, by the celebrated Andalusian geographer El Bekri[36], and
the various produce of which the Arabs of the present day celebrate in
song:—
rás-há e’ ttín ú merjín
ú wost-há bazín
ú ghár-há ʿajin.
Figs and olive-trees adorn its upper part, which is said to stretch out
as far as Erhebát, a district one day and a half beyond Zintán; barley
is cultivated in its middle course, while wheat, from which the
favourite dish ʿajín is made, is grown chiefly in its lower part near
Tawárgha. The valley seems worthy of better fortune than that to which
it is reduced at present; for when we marched along it, where it ran S.
20 W. to N. 20 E., we passed ruins of buildings and water-channels,
while the soil exhibited evident traces of former cultivation. I
listened with interest to the Zintáni, who told me that the valley
produced an excellent kind of barley, and that the Kuntarár, as well as
the people of Zintán, his countrymen, and the Welád Bu-Séf, vied with
each other in cultivating it, and, in former times at least, had often
engaged in bloody contests for the proprietorship of the ground. When I
expressed my surprise at his joining the name of his countrymen with
those of the other tribes hereabouts, he gave me the interesting
information that the Zintán had been the first and most powerful of all
the tribes in this quarter before the time of the Turks, and held all
this country in a state of subjection. Since then their political power
and influence had been annihilated, but they had obtained by other means
right of possession in Mizda as well as in Gharíya, and still further,
in the very heart of Fezzán, by lending the people money to buy corn, or
else corn in kind, and had in this way obtained the proprietorship of a
great number of the date-trees, which were cultivated and taken care of
by the inhabitants for a share of the produce. Formerly the people of
Zintán were in possession of a large castle, where they stored up their
provisions; but since the time of the Turkish dominion, their custom has
been to bring home the fruits of their harvests only as they want them.
In Wadi Sháti we were to meet a caravan of these enterprising people.
While engaged in this kind of conversation we entered a smaller lateral
valley of Wadi Sófejín, and reached the foot of a projecting hill on its
western side, which is crowned with a castle. Here it was that I was to
find marvellous ancient sculptures and drawings; but I soon perceived
that it would be as well not to cherish any high expectations. The
castle, as it now stands, is evidently an Arab edifice of an early
period, built of common stones hewn with some regularity, and set in
horizontal layers, but not all of the same thickness. It forms almost a
regular square, and contains several vaulted rooms, all arranged with a
certain degree of symmetry and regularity. But while we pronounce the
main building to be Arab, the gateway appears to be evidently of Roman
workmanship, and must have belonged to some older edifice which the Arab
chieftain who built this castle probably found in the place,—a
conjecture which seems to be confirmed by several ornamental fragments
lying about.
[Illustration]
It is a pity that we know so little of the domestic history of these
countries during the period of the Arab dynasties, though a step in
advance has been made by the complete publication of Ebn Khaldún’s
history; else we should regard with more interest these relics of their
days of petty independence. This castle, as well as another, the
description of which I shall subjoin here, though it was visited some
days later, is called after a man named Khafáji ʿAámer, who is said to
have been a powerful chief of great authority in Tunis no less than in
Tarábolus (Tripoli).[37]
[Illustration]
The other ruin, related to this one as well by name as by the style of
its workmanship—but in many respects more interesting, having been
evidently once a place of Christian worship—stands on a narrow and
detached neck of rock in the Shʿabet Um el Kharáb, and, from its whole
plan, appears to have been originally and principally a church about
forty-three feet square, sufficiently large for a small congregation,
and with more art and comfort than one can easily suppose a Christian
community in these quarters ever to have possessed. Hence greater
interest attaches to this building than it would otherwise deserve. It
closes with a plain apsis, in which there are two openings or doorways
leading into an open room stretching behind it and the side-naves, and
is divided into three naves, the middle one of which is eight paces, and
the lateral ones six and a half, wide. The naves are divided from one
another by columns with differently-ornamented capitals supporting
arches, all in the so-called round style of architecture. I made
purposely a sketch of two different capitals, in order to show their
designs; and I think they are very characteristic. But it is curious to
observe that the walls also appear to have been originally painted on
stucco, though at present but a small piece of it remains near the
corner; hence I conclude that the date of the painting was later than
that of the erection of the church.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
The front of the building has suffered in some degree from the
depredations of the Arabs, who are said to have carried away a great
many sculptures from this place—as much, indeed, a man from Mizda would
have made me believe, as fifty-five camel-loads. However exaggerated
this statement may be, it is evident that the whole layer over the
entrance was originally covered with ornamental slabs, while now only
two remain to the left of the doorway; and these, though in the same
style of sculpture as the capitals, would rather seem to have been taken
from another edifice. There are many debatable points involved in the
consideration of this building. The first fact clearly shown is the
existence of a Christian community or a monastery in these remote
valleys, as late as the 12th century at least, under the protection of a
powerful chief; and this is not at all improbable, as we know that
Mohammed expressly ordered that zealous priests and monks should be
spared, and as we find so many monasteries in several other Mohammedan
countries. That it was not merely a church, but a monastery, seems
plainly indicated by the division into apartments or cells, which is
still clearly to be seen in the upper storey. Attached to the north side
of the church was a wing containing several simple apartments, as the
ground-plan shows; and on the south corner of the narrow ridge is a
small separate tower with two compartments. Near this ruin there is
another, which I did not visit, called Ksaer Labayed mtʿa Derayer, while
a third, called Ksaer el Haemer, has been destroyed.
[Illustration]
[Footnote 31: Unfortunately the minimum and maximum thermometers were so
deranged that Mr. Overweg was unable to repair them. We had no
barometer, and the only aneroid barometer with which we had been
provided, and which had been under the care of my companion, was damaged
on our first excursion; so that nothing was left to us but to find the
elevation of places by the boiling-point of water. I will here mention,
for the use of future travellers, that I always wore not only my
azimuth, but even my chronometer in my belt, and found this an excellent
precaution against accidents of any kind.]
[Footnote 32: The place probably derives its name from the _Ruta
tuberculata_, “Mejníneh.”]
[Footnote 33: See above, p. 45.]
[Footnote 34: “Kuléba,” or “kelúba,” is a term of frequent occurrence in
these districts for a high mountain-top. In some respects it seems to be
identical with the term “thníye,” used in other districts.]
[Footnote 35: Mount Teránsa, if it be identical with the Teránsa
mentioned above, must be to the east, along the north side of Wadi
Sofejín.]
[Footnote 36: There cannot be the least doubt that this valley is meant
in the passage cited in “Notices et Extraits,” vol. xii. p. 453.;
compare Journal Asiatique, série v. tom. i. p. 156.]
[Footnote 37: For this statement there may be, indeed, some historical
foundation. We know that, from the year of the hejra 724 (1323 A.D.)
till the year 802 (1399), there reigned in Tripoli a dynasty of the Beni
ʿAámer (Haji Khalfa’s Chronological Tables, p. 167.), who most probably
were related to the dynasty of the same name which for a long time
maintained its dominion over Tripolis in Syria.]
CHAP. V.
SCULPTURES AND ROMAN REMAINS IN THE DESERT. — GHARÍYA.
[Sidenote: April 11th.]
We lost the best part of the morning, our men not being able to find
their camels, which had roamed over the whole wadi. Our road was almost
the same as that by which I had returned the previous day; and we
encamped in the Wadi Sófejín, on a spot free from bushes. From this
place, accompanied by the Zintáni, I visited, the next morning, the
castle or convent in Shʿabet Um el kharáb, which I have described, and
thence struck across the stony plateau in order to overtake our caravan.
It was a desolate level, rarely adorned with humble herb or flower; and
we hastened our steps to reach our companions. Here I heard, from the
Zintáni, that his father came every year about this season, with his
flocks, to the valleys east of our road, and that he would certainly be
there this year also. He invited me to go thither with him, and to
indulge in milk to the extent of my wishes; as for myself, I declined,
but allowed him to go, on condition that he would return to us as soon
as possible.