the route, which was rocky and mountainous, I observed only three
villages in the space of as many hours; but the vales are full of
olives, fig trees, and vines, and even the rocks are shaded with a
variety of verdure. Having passed the mountains of Naplosa, (_Ebal_
and _Gerizim_,) we came to an extensive plain of excellent land, which
however after rain is almost inundated. Near its northern extremity
is seated a small fortress, which repulsed Jezzar Pasha at the head
of five thousand men, and some pieces of artillery: it displays
seven or eight small round towers, and has two gates. The peasants
of Samaria are hardy and warlike, and generally go well armed.
Sebasté or Samaria is now a miserable deserted village. Ginæa is
a decent town, half way between Naplosa and Nazareth. The latter
is a pleasant village, seated on an easy slope, with a respectable
convent: most of the inhabitants are Christians. While I was there,
the Samaritans had made an inroad, and carried off some cattle: the
Nazareens armed themselves, and made reprisals of seventeen oxen. In
the neighbourhood is Mount Tabor, whence there is a delightful
prospect, and which is noted for the absurd doctrines it gave name
to in the ecclesiastical disputes of the Greek empire.
CHAP. XXIII.
GALILEE — ACCA.
_Improvements by Jezzar — Trade — Taxes — White promontory,
and river Leontes — Tyre — Seide — Earthquake — Kesrawan
— Syrian wines — Beirût — Anchorage — Provisions — River
Adonis — Antûra — Harrîsé — Tripoli — Ladakia — Journey
to Aleppo or Haleb._
Galilee is here divided from Samaria by a ridge of hills. Six hours
were employed in passing from Nazareth to Acré, by the Arabs
more properly termed _Acca_. At a village on the route observed
a sarcophage, now used for watering cattle, and some scattered
fragments of columns. But few villages appear between Nazareth and
Acré, though the land be fertile.
Acré is fortified with a wall of very moderate strength, having
only one gate. It is a pretty large town, but many of the houses are
empty: yet the population may be estimated between fifteen and twenty
thousand. There remains part of a double fosse, which extended round
the town, but is daily dilapidated for modern erections. There is
no castle nor other relique of antiquity.
The whole face of the city has been changed, being enlarged and
adorned with the improvements of the celebrated Achmet Pasha,
who has built an elegant mosque and baths, two markets, a palace,
and reservoirs for water. There are three Khans, or places for
receiving goods, answering the purpose at once of a warehouse and
inn. There are also five or six mosques, a small establishment of
the Franciscans, and a Greek and Armenian church. In one of the
Khans the Europeans lodge.
A mean tomb has been erected by the Pasha, to the memory of the
celebrated Shech Daher, close to the sea, and at a little distance
from the northern extremity of the wall.
Acré stands on a promontory, near a small gulph, and has no
haven. Vessels anchor in favourable weather near the shore, but the
European ships anchor opposite Haifa, a small place at the foot of
Mount Carmel, where the water is generally smooth. The trade of Acré
is pretty considerable; the Europeans bring broad cloth, lead, tin,
and a variety of other articles, and export cotton in return. From
Egypt there are large imports of rice. The soil of Egypt is not very
proper for cotton, which is a staple commodity of Syria.
The long reign of Achmet Pasha _el Jezzâr_[56], accompanied
with immense influence and great wealth, might naturally lead to
conceive, that, blending his interests with those of his subjects,
he would have exerted his authority in promoting their happiness. On
the contrary, the large plain near Acré is left almost a marsh,
and marks of idle magnificence have been substituted for the useful
cares of agriculture. A striking contrast arises between his conduct
and that of the Shech Daher, his predecessor, who raised Acré from
a village to a large town, and doubled the population of the district.
Jezzâr was the first governor in the empire who laid a tax
on articles of consumption, as wine, grain, and the like. Even
meat and fish are materials of impost. He has erected granaries,
a laudable design, but deficient in the execution; for the grain
being ill preserved, and the oldest served out first, it is not only
disagreeable as food, but unprolific when distributed for seed to the
peasants. These imposts form the peculiar revenue of the Pasha; the
other resources arising as usual from the tax on land, which amounts
to about a twentieth of the rent, the capitation tax on Christians,
and the customs; which last in this government are arbitrary, and
neither regulated by the rules of the Porte, nor the capitulations
entered into by Europeans. Nevertheless, the chief source of the
riches of Jezzâr is the Pashalik of Damascus, which, by means of
the usual largesses at the Porte, he contrived to add to his former
government, a precedent very unusual in the Othman empire. His
military force was once computed at twelve thousand; but, at the
time of my visiting Acré, did not exceed four or five thousand.
Till the year 1791 the French had factories at Acré, Seidé, and
Beirût. At that period they were all expelled from the territory
of Jezzâr by a sudden mandate, which allowed them only three days
to abandon their respective habitations, under pain of death.
Passing over the common, but just rule of supposing, that in a quarrel
of this magnitude neither party was perfectly free from error, it may
be fit to inquire what motives induced this ignominious expulsion,
when a simple dismission, to be signified by various other means,
would have answered the same purpose.
To this it can only be answered, that the character of Jezzâr is
impetuous, and even capricious, on all occasions. Sometimes a warm
friend, and then suddenly a bitter enemy, equally, to all appearance,
without any adequate reason. As to the conduct of the French,
themselves and the other nations in the Levant accord so ill, that
I have never obtained a very accurate statement of it. It seems to
have originated in the behaviour of a drogueman of the nation, who
having in some way offended the Pasha, was by his order summarily
strangled or hanged. The French remonstrated, and threatened him
with an application to the Porte, which he did not greatly fear,
and he punished, _as he termed it, their insolence_, (in asserting
their undoubted right, according to the capitulations between them
and the Porte,) in this concise manner. Many complaints were made,
subsequent to this period, by the ministers of the Republic at the
Porte, but to no purpose: that court in fact was otherwise engaged,
and it may be doubted whether it could have punished the Pasha. The
events that followed suspended the prosecution of those claims,
which, as the merchants thus suddenly banished had lost much, it
appeared they had a right to prefer: but at length Aubert du Bayet
sent a young officer of the name of Bailli to the Pasha to demand
redress in a tone perhaps rather too high.
This gentleman, on arriving at Acré, April 1797, wrote a letter
in French to the Pasha, which he had the bizarre idea of finding
some Levantine drogueman to translate, _verbatim_, in the presence
of that personage. The terms, it seems, in which this letter was
conceived were so bold, that none could be found to present it,
and the Pasha, under one pretence or other, refused to see the
agent. On this Bailli retired to Yaffé. The answer Jezzâr sent to
the claim of the Republic was, that private merchants were at liberty
to settle under his government on the footing of any other nation,
but that he would acknowlege no consul, nor consent to offer them
any indemnification for the losses of the late factory.
Jezzâr had early conceived an enmity against that nation, which
was probably increased by those who rivalled them in commerce.
On the 2d of April 1797 I set out from Acré to Seidé. The road
runs near the sea-side, through a track overgrown with thorns
and thistles. The shore is abrupt, and, as usual, accompanied
with deep water. Some remains of antiquity present themselves,
but so much injured, and so scattered, that it is impossible to
guess their destination. I slept in the house of the Shech in a
small village on the South of the White Promontory. The villages
between Acré and Seidé are thinly scattered, and the population
apparently small. We met several parties of the Pasha’s troops,
both infantry and cavalry, which seemed in excellent order.
On the following morning we passed the White Promontory, a sublime
and picturesque mountain. The road is occasionally cut through the
rock of calcareous stone, as white as chalk. On the right the rock
is covered with bushes: the left is a perpendicular precipice to
the sea, which was calm when I passed; but when it rages the scene
must be tremendous. The tradition of the natives ascribes this road
to Alexander the Great.
We passed the Leontes, now an inconsiderable stream, and easily
fordable: but after rain it swells to a rapid torrent, as is the
case with most of the rivers that fall from the Syrian mountains
to the sea. After crossing four small clear streams, running over
their beds of pure gravel, and the dry courses of some rivulets,
we arrived at Tyre, enchanted with the beautiful, verdure and varied
scenery of the adjacent country.
The magnificent city of Tyre, now corruptly called _Sûr_, is reduced
to a few miserable huts inhabited by fishermen, situated in the
northern extremity of the isle. The isthmus, which joins it to the
continent, is about three quarters of an English mile in length;
the isle itself is of an irregular form, at the broadest part not
exceeding half a mile, and the circumference of the antient city
could not exceed a mile and a half. Except three fragments of granite
columns nothing of antiquity appeared. The isle is now desert and
rocky, destitute even of shrubs and grass. It appears that the port
which is on the North of the isthmus might be restored, though a back
water be wanting. The few peasants or fishermen who frequent the spot
seemed quite unconscious of the classic ground on which they trod.
On the land-side, a little to the South of the isthmus, observed
remains of an aqueduct, which formerly conveyed water to Tyre. Under
its low arches was a considerable quantity of stalactites grown to
a large size. There is also a cistern, somewhat resembling those
of the _fons signatus_ above mentioned, but smaller. The fountain
rises with such force as to turn a mill a little lower down. Here
are a few fruit trees, and a place where coffee is sold.
From the White Promontory to Seidé, antiently Sidon, extends a
narrow plain by the sea-shore. North-east by East appear the summits
of the mountains of Kesrawân, covered with snow. Arrived at Seidé
near sun-set.
Seidé is a larger town than Acré. The situation is good and the
air salubrious. There are many Christians and some Jews. The sea here
encroaches on the land. The castle, built by the noted Fakr-el-dîn,
is surrounded by the water. There was formerly a small, but convenient
port, formed by a ridge of rocks, which was filled up by order of
that Emîr, to prevent the Turkish vessels from entering, he being
at war with that power. The castle, styled of St. Louis, which from
an adjacent height on the South commands the city, still remains, as
does a part of the city walls. There is but one gate of the latter;
it fronts North-east. The magnificent palace, built by Fakr-el-dîn,
in the Italian manner, is now ruinous.
An earthquake which destroyed Ladakia in 1796 was felt here, but not
so violently as that which happened in the year 1785, in which many
persons perished, and which was succeeded by a plague which almost
depopulated the place.
A large tessellated pavement of variegated marbles, representing a
horse, festoons, &c. and in some places tolerably perfect for ten
feet in length, remains, close to the sea, on the northern extremity
of the city; a proof of marine encroachment. Many antient granite
columns are worked into the walls, and some stand as posts on the
bridge leading to the fort. Near the gate of the city is a small
square building, which contains the tombs of such of the Emîrs of
the Druses as died when Seidé was in their possession.
Seidé is surrounded with gardens, in which grow a number of mulberry
trees, silk being the chief commodity. The rent of houses and the mode
of living are cheaper than at Acré, and the government more mild
and regular; so that strangers are not liable to insult. Formerly,
there was a considerable commerce carried on with Marseilles, but
since Jezzâr banished the French it has ceased.
On the 6th of April 1797 I left Seidé to visit the district of
Kesrawân, where we arrived in four hours, on horseback, after
travelling through a rugged road, continually ascending, till we
reached the convent of _Mochaulus_, delightfully situated half way
up the mountain, in a romantic country. On passing a bridge over
_Nahr-el-aweli_, observed several fine falls of the stream. In
Kesrawân is also _Mush-Mushé_, a convent of Maronites, which we
reached next morning, after three hours riding. The mountains in
the neighbourhood are covered with fir trees, some of them of large
growth. The vales, and part of the mountains, are planted with vines,
producing excellent wine, white and red. There are also many mulberry
trees, which furnish plenty of good silk, but the natives have not
the common skill to form it into thread. Corn and lentils also abound.
The botanist and florist may find in this part of the mountain full
employment, as it is covered with innumerable herbs and shrubs, many
of them odoriferous, and adorned with flowers of various tints. Myrtle
and lavender grow wild in great quantities on the mountain, and the
rose of Jericho embellishes the vales and banks of the rivulets. From
this convent are seen Seidé, the sea and the adjacent coast.
As Kesrawân and Mount Libanus produce the best wines of Syria, it
may not be improper to offer a few remarks on that topic. The white
wine made at Jerusalem has a sulphureous taste, and is very strong;
the red somewhat resembles Tent, and is comparatively mild in its
effects. The wines of Syria are most of them prepared by boiling,
immediately after they are expressed from the grape, till they be
considerably reduced in quantity, when they are put into jars or
large glass bottles, (_damesjans_,) and preserved for use.
There is reason to believe, that this mode of boiling their wines was
in general practice among the antients. It is still retained in some
parts of Provence, where it is called _vîn cuite_, or cooked wine;
but there the method is to lodge the wine in a large room, receiving
all the smoke arising from several fires on the ground-floors; an
operation more slow, but answering the same purpose. The Spanish
Vino Tinto, or Tent, is prepared in the same way.
The wines thus managed, are sometimes thickened so much as to lose
their transparency, and acquire a sweetish taste. Numerous are the
kinds made in Syria; but the chief is the Vino d’Oro, or _golden
wine_ of Mount Libanus. This is not boiled, but left to purify
itself by keeping; the quantity produced is small. It is, as the
name implies, of a bright golden colour, and is highly prized even
on the spot.
There is little reason to doubt, that if the wines of Syria were
properly managed, they would equal any that France or Spain produces.
In Kesrawân the Christians are so much more indulged than in
other places, that they can here enjoy their favourite amusement
of deafening each other with bells. The monks of _Mush-Mushé_
serve themselves in every thing, and are of course not idle, however
fanatically inclined; they are cooks, bakers, butchers, carpenters,
taylors, gardeners, husbandmen, each having his distinct province. I
met here _Hassan Jumbelati_, who is of one of the most powerful
families among the Druses, and at this time holds an office
under the _Emîr Beshîr_. He is a great drinker, but appears
not unintelligent. He was very inquisitive as to the motives and
history of the French Revolution, and the present religious creed
of that nation; on hearing the detail of which, he however made no
interesting remarks.
From Kesrawân we returned to Seidé. On the 9th of April set
out for Beirût, the antient _Berytus_. The route was through
a deep sand, and after passing two rivers, the _Nahr el aweli_
(before mentioned,) and the _Damer_ or antient Tamyras, we arrived
at Beirût, the approach to which is, even now, grander than that of
any other town on the Syrian coast, though the fine groves have been
neglected since the death of Fakr-el-Dîn, Emîr of the Druses, its
munificent improver. A grove of pines, planted by his orders, is now
reduced to half its former bounds. No trace is found of the statues,
which his residence in Italy had enabled him to collect; nor of the
gardens and apartments which he had formed on the European taste.
Beirût is a small place, and was not even walled till the Russians
bombarded it; and Jezzâr, on getting possession, built the walls to
give it a more formidable appearance. There are several towers, but
the walls are thin and of no strength; the flatness of the situation
is also a disadvantage. There is, however, a commodious wharf.
The suburbs are almost as large as the city itself, consisting of
gardens, with a house for the owner in each; and these interspersed
among the numerous fruit-trees, (especially olives and figs,)
which this fertile soil supports, give the whole a picturesque and
beautiful appearance.
Most of these gardens belonged to Christians, till the Pasha, by his
exorbitant demands, obliged them to sell their possessions. Here
it may be observed, that Christians may hold land in this place,
which is not permitted at Acré. The streets of the city, like the
others in this part of the world, are narrow and irregular.
The high tower, which Maundrel mentions as standing North-east of
the city, was first destroyed by Jezzâr, as he thought an enemy
might use it in offence; but he afterwards rebuilt it, with smaller
stones and in a less substantial manner, as a place-d’armes for
his own soldiers.
European vessels, in the summer, anchor near a small point of land
which runs into the sea before the city, and is called Beirût Point;
but in the winter, they cast anchor to the North, in a kind of gulf,
which is sheltered from the North and East wind by the mountain, and
is said to be very secure. The staple commodity of the country is raw
silk, which is carried to Kahira, Damascus, and Aleppo, and part of
it to Europe. They also fabricate a kind of jars and jugs in earthen
ware, which, from the peculiar nature of the clay in the adjacent
country, are highly esteemed, and carried to all parts of the coast.
Provisions are generally dear; the fish is more valued than that
of Seidé, as the sea has here a rocky bottom, while at Seidé it
is sand or mud. The red wine of Libanus which is brought here, is
palatable, but cannot be transported from the mountain without a
licence from the custom-house, so that it is dearer than formerly;
yet the present price is only forty piasters the _cantar_, or about
four pounds sterling the hundred weight.
From Beirût, on the 22d April, I went to _Antûra_ on Mount Libanus,
distant about four hours. In the way passed the _Nahr Beirût_,
and after the _Nahr el Kelb_, the largest stream in this part of the
country. The former is the noted river of Adonis, famous for vines,
so exquisitely described by Milton.
_Antûra_ is a pleasant village, surrounded with mulberry trees,
but presenting nothing remarkable. Not far from this place is a
convent of nuns, where Mr. Wortley Montague lodged his wife[57]. The
dress of the Christians in this quarter seems unrestrained; they
wear turbans adorned with various colours, even green; and they
are freely indulged in the exercise of their religion: so natural
is despotism to this clime, that those who live under their own
Christian shechs or governors, are almost equally oppressed with
those subject to Turks. The shechs fleece the poor people, and
Jezzâr fleeces the shechs.
I afterwards visited _Harrîsé_. Here the Maronite patriarch resides,
who exercises an authority almost regal over the Christians of that
rite. From _Harrîsé_ returned to Beirût.
As in consequence of a dispute between Jezzâr and the Pasha of
Tripoli it was become unsafe to travel there, I joined a party of
disbanded soldiers, and proceeded to Tripoli in their company. Our
journey being quick, I had few opportunities for observation on
the road.
This part of the country is noted for producing the best tobacco in
Syria. That plant is cultivated in several districts, particularly
in the neighbourhood of Tripoli, Gebeilé, and Ladakia.
On the third day arrived at Tripoli, about ten o’clock in the
morning, having slept as usual in the open air.
Tripoli is a city of some extent, situated about a mile and an half
from the sea. Vessels moor near the shore, and are sheltered by a
ridge of rocks, but the situation is not extremely secure.
The air is rendered unwholesome by much stagnant water. The town is
placed on a slight elevation, the length considerably exceeding the
breadth. On the highest ground, to the South, is the castle, formerly
possessed by the Earls of Tripoli; it is large and strong. Hence is
visible a part of Mount Libanus, the summit of which is covered with
snow. The gardens in the vicinity are rich in mulberry and other fruit
trees. The city is well built, and most of the streets are paved.
It is the seat of a Pasha, who at present is the son of Abdallah,
Pasha of Damascus.
Here is found a number of Mohammedan merchants, some of the richest
and most respectable in the empire. Silk is the chief article of
commerce. Five or six French merchants escaped hither from Acré[58].
Antiquities I observed none. The history of Tripoli during the
crusades must be known to every reader. The present population I
should be inclined to estimate at about sixteen thousand.
The _miri_, or fixed public revenue paid by Tripoli to Constantinople,
is only about a thousand pounds sterling, twenty purses, a-year. Syria
at present contains only four Pashaliks, Damascus, Aleppo, Acré,
and Tripoli; the last of which is the smallest in territory and power.
On the 30th of April proceeded towards Ladakia, the antient Laodicea,
built by Seleucus Nicanor in honour of his mother. We arrived on
the third day at night. The first appearance of this city was most
melancholy, as presenting all the ravages of the earthquake, which
in the preceding year (1796) had laid a great part of it in ruins,
and destroyed numbers of the inhabitants. Ladakia has a convenient
but very small port, across the mouth of which is a bar of sand. The
place is situated in a plain, extending on the North and South as
far as the eye can reach; but bounded by hills towards the East. It
has no walls, and only a part is paved; but the streets are clean,
the air is salubrious, and refreshed by the fragrance of surrounding
gardens. Water is scarce. The snow-capt summits of Libanus now vanish
from the eye.
In the town are eight mosques. It is governed by a deputy of the
Pasha of Tripoli.
On the 5th of May departed for Aleppo, in a small caravan, consisting
only of Citoyen Chauderlos, the French consul-general, two Turks, and
myself. On the second day passed through one of the most picturesque
countries which I had ever seen. Lofty rocks and precipices, shaded
with luxuriant foliage, of various form and character, but of the
most lively verdure, and flowers of the most diversified hues and
the strongest odours, alleviated the task of climbing by rugged
and difficult paths the steep ascent of the mountain, and torrents
wandering through the valleys in their stoney channels, or dashed
from the rocks in sheets of foam, filled the ear with their soothing
murmurs, the eye with their untaught meanders, and the imagination
with some of the most agreeable images that delight in the works of
the poet.