may be noted that constructed by Sultan Selim, for the reception
of strangers; though his munificence have been since diverted into
other channels. The building consists of a vast quadrangle, lined
with a colonade. It is entirely roofed in small domes, covered
with lead. The mosque is grand. The entrance supported by four
large columns of red granite. It is covered with a cupola, and has
two minarets. A handsome garden lies adjacent. The apartments are
numerous, and the kitchen or _mutbach_, on the side opposite to the
mosque, is suited to the grandeur of the establishment.
The celebrated Asad Pasha, mentioned by Niebuhr and Volney, left
an only daughter, of whom, on her marriage with Mohammed Pasha Adm,
sprang the present Pasha Abdallah. Mohammed Pasha Adm was preceded
by Osmân, and succeeded by two of his own brothers successively,
the last of whom, named Derwîsh, was expelled by the intrigues of
Jezzâr, who gained his office, and married the daughter of Mohammed
Pasha Adm. This marriage of ambition, not of affection, terminated
in a divorce a year after. Among other instances his bad treatment
of this lady, it is recorded that Jezzâr, meeting her one day in
the house, where she happened to have _cab-cab_, or Arabian pattens
on her feet, pulled a pistol from his cincture, and fired it at her,
saying, “Art thou the wife of an Arabian peasant? dost thou forget
that thou art the wife of a Pasha?”
Jezzâr retained his ill-won pashalîk of Damascus only a few years;
his government was a continual scene of oppression and cruelty, and he
is supposed to have extorted from the people not less than twenty-five
thousand purses, or about a million and two hundred thousand pounds
sterling; and to have put to death near four hundred individuals,
most of them innocent. His own misconduct and suspicious designs,
when leading the caravan to Mecca, conspired with the machinations
of his enemies at the Porte to deprive him of his office: but
living monuments of his cruelty remain, in the noseless faces and
earless heads of many of the Damascenes. Thus driven from Damascus,
he returned to his former pashalîk of Acré and Seidé, where he
remains. This government, which he held along with that of Damascus,
he has retained upwards of twenty-seven years.
Jezzâr was succeeded by the present Pasha Abdallah, whose
administration, though eminent as before observed for equity, is
yet liable to the charge of mismanagement of the public revenue,
and of an indecorous timidity. Under the energetic sway of Jezzâr,
the sacred caravan had met with no obstructions on its route;
but that of the present year, not only found the reservoirs for
water destroyed or damaged, so that many camels perished for want
of that indispensable article, but even the pilgrims were insulted
by the Arabs, probably incited by the arts and malicious revenge of
Jezzâr. By dint of bribes, however, at the Porte, Abdallah prevented
his expected deprivation.
In the province of Damascus there are no taxes upon commodities
of any kind, so far as I could discover. The land-tax, and the
capitation-tax on Christians, constitute the only resource, except
contingencies; as fines, and _avanias_, or arbitrary exactions. The
_miri_, or public revenue, may amount to ten thousand purses, or
half a million sterling.
Meat is at present sold for thirty-six paras the rotal, or four-pence
sterling the pound Avoirdupois. A quantity of bread, sufficient for
a meal for four persons, might be purchased for a para. It is very
white and good, and remarked to be best when the Janizary Aga, who has
a censorial power over the bakers, is not in the city. Grapes, of the
finest flavour, the rotal three or four paras. Fish, from the river,
is to be had at a moderate price, but not remarkably good. Milk,
cheese, and butter, very cheap. Wild-fowl abounds on Mount Libanus,
and partridges, in the season, are sold for five paras the brace. Tame
fowls for four or five paras each, pigeons, a pair for the same sum.
The air or water of Damascus, or both, are supposed to operate
powerfully against that loathsome disease the leprosy (_borras_). The
inquiries I had occasion to make tended to prove, that if the disease
were not too far advanced, it was always stopped in its progress,
while the patient remained there.
The whole expense of the sacred caravan from Damascus to Mecca
used formerly to amount to four thousand five hundred purses,
and an increase has since taken place. The Pasha carries with him,
exclusively of this, one thousand purses for his own use. Jezzâr was
accustomed to take two thousand for the purpose of buying coffee,
which he resold to vast advantage. The 4500 purses are deducted
from the imperial treasury (_chosné_), and the Pasha is rendered
accountable for the safety of the caravan. He receives the Senjiak
Sherîfî, or Ensign of the Prophet, from the governor of the castle,
giving an acknowlegement in writing, before witnesses, in which he
solemnly pledges himself to bring it back. Similar forms are observed
on restoring it to its place. As soon as the Pasha arrives near the
city on his return, a messenger is dispatched to Constantinople,
who is obliged to perform the journey in twenty-five days. He
carries water from the famous well Zem-zem, near Mecca, and some
dates from Mediné, which are presented to the Emperor on his visit
to the mosque. After this, the Wizîr presents a list of the Pashas
for the ensuing year; the Sultan reads it, and if he object to any
name, affixes to it a mark, after which the firmâns are made out
in due form.
CHAP. XXVI.
_Journey from Damascus to Balbec — Syriac language — Balbec —
Recent discoveries — Zahhlé — Printing-office — Houses of
Damascus — Return to Aleppo._
On Thursday the sixteenth of August 1797, set out from Damascus for
Balbec or Heliopolis, attended only by the owner of the mule I rode
on. Arrived at the convent of _Seidnaia_, which commands a fair view
of the city of Damascus, and the plain. Vines and fig-trees adorn the
country through which I travelled. The wine has less flavour and body
than that of Kasrawân, but is esteemed more grateful to the stomach.
From _Seidnaia_ I proceeded to _Malûla_, a village situated
in the mountain, where is a convent, said to be of the time of
Justinian. Thence went to _Yebrûd_, the antient _Jabruda_, a place
higher up the mountain, in a romantic situation; the inhabitants are
chiefly Mohammedans. I met there a Greek bishop, who was going to a
place near Balbec, an intelligent and curious man. We proceeded in
company till we came to Balbec.
Soon after arrived at _Mara_, a small town on the North of the
road. It is remarked that at this town and at _Malûla_ alone the
Syriac still continues to be a living language; descending from
father to son, without the use of books. Two of the muleteers I
observed to converse together more willingly in that language,
than in the Arabic, which in sound it nearly resembles.
On the 19th passed under _Dahr-el-chûr_, supposed to be the highest
summit of the Anti-Libanian chain of mountains. The following day
having set out four and a half hours before day-break, the muleteers
lost the road, and we were obliged to wait for sunrise, chilled with
the intense cold of these high mountains, which we felt severely
in our hands and feet. Arrived at Balbec about noon the same day,
after descending for nearly three hours through a ravine, or deep
glen in the mountain, a rugged and, in some places, a steep road.
From the high grounds we had a perfect view of Balbec, and went
to seek our lodging under some walnut-trees, on the North of the
castle. Some precaution was necessary against the _Metaweli_,
Mohammedans of the sect of Ali, who once formed a powerful and
ferocious tribe; even now, though crushed in a great degree by the
exertions of Jezzâr, they continue to persecute strangers, who have
often suffered from their predatory disposition.
The antiquities of Balbec have been often described, and I did
not observe any thing particular to add on that topic. Proceeded
to _Zahhlé_, a pleasant town among the mountains. Observed the
Lombardy poplar in abundance. At _Zahhlé_ met with a young man,
a Druse, who informed me, that near Balbec, two or three years ago,
in digging, the body of a man was found, interred in a kind of vault,
having a piece of unstamped gold in his mouth; near him was a number
of leaden plates, marked with characters to them unknown; they were
sold and melted. In another place was discovered a small statue, very
perfect, but I could not learn where it had been deposited. _Zahhlé_
is a large town, chiefly, if not solely inhabited by Christians; it
sends forth seven hundred men fit for war. The town is divided into
five districts, each having its separate Shech, who pays tribute to
the Emîr of the Druses; they complain of oppression; and the state
of the place, and the adjacent country, shews that their complaints
are not void of foundation. The town is sheltered by mountains,
but the locusts are very destructive. Tobacco is one of the chief
articles of cultivation. A rivulet rolling from the rocks turns the
mills and waters the grounds; air salubrious and never tainted with
excessive heat.
Near _Zahhlé_ saw what is called the _tomb of Noah_, a long
structure, seemingly part of an aqueduct. It extends about sixty feet,
the stature of Noah according to Oriental tradition. The pilgrims who
came formerly to worship in the mosque near it were very numerous;
and the religious revenue is said to amount to three hundred purses
annually.
Among the mountains the people have an air of health not observable
in the cities. Magic is still credited, and several are accused
before the bishop for incantations, producing love or enmity. The
pious antipathy between the Greeks and Catholics reigns here in all
its fury.
After a journey of two days, through a rugged route along the
ridge of the mountain, arrived at the convent of St. John, where
the printing-office is. Paper being dear, and no demand for books,
the press is stopped. Arabic books alone were edited.
On my return by _Zibdané_ observed there a gate of Grecian
architecture. Passed through a rich vale, watered by the _Baradé_,
formerly the Chrysorrhoas, to Damascus.
So numerous are the fruit-trees in the vicinity of this city,
that those which die and are cut down, supply it with abundant
fire-wood. They are also used for building, together with the
walnut-tree and Lombardy poplar. The houses in Damascus are
remarkably large and commodious, and well supplied with water;
of many the furniture is worth from one to five hundred purses,
or from five thousand to twenty-five thousand pounds, in divans or
large sophas, of the richest silk, embroidered with pearl, Persian
carpets, mirrors, &c.
The _melingana_, a species of the solanum, is consumed here in
such quantities as a common vegetable, that fifty hundred weight is
estimated the daily supply of the city.
Returned from Damascus to Aleppo, 7th October 1797, a journey of
twelve days. Almost every town or village on the route has its market,
so that there is no occasion to prepare provisions; the caravanserais
are in a ruinous situation.
On visiting the castle of Aleppo, observed a remarkable fact
considering the populousness of the city. There were only eighteen
prisoners, eight of whom were confined for debt, and the remainder
on account of the riot between the Janizaries and Sherîfs. The
debtor is not permitted, in the whole Turkish empire, to be confined
above one month; during which term, according to the Mohammedan
doctors, his property must appear, if he have any, and if none,
they consider it unjust to detain him. But this mild regulation is
sometimes frustrated; for if a claim lie for four thousand piasters,
for example, the creditor may first proceed against him for five
hundred, and bring a fresh charge at the end of every month till
the whole be paid, or till the debtor have remained in prison one
month on every distinct process.
CHAP. XXVII.
_Journey from Aleppo towards Constantinople — Route — Aintâb
— Mount Taurus — Bostan — Inhabitants, their manners and dress
— Kaisarîa — Angora — Walls and antiquities — Angora goats
— Manufactures — Topography — Journey to Ismît — Topography
— General remarks concerning Anatolia or Asia Minor._
On the 21st of October 1797, set out from Aleppo on my journey through
Anatolia to Constantinople. I had a horse for myself, and another
for an Armenian servant; seventy mules carried the merchandize of
the caravan.
The direct road lies by Beilan and Adene, Konia, Kutahia, and
Bursa, but _Kutchûk Ali_, the Pasha of Beilan, being in a state
of rebellion, we were constrained to turn to the North-east by an
unusual route, through the cities of Aintab, Kaisarîa, and Angora.
Between Aleppo and Aintab the country is well watered, and, though
somewhat stony, capable of being cultivated in a threefold degree.
On the 30th arrived at Aintab, a large town or city, inhabited
by Mohammedans and Christians, both Armenian and Greek. It has a
fortress and a garrison of Janizaries. Here the Turkish language
first becomes general. The chief commerce is leather and raw hides;
skins of goats are dyed red and yellow, into what is called Turkey
leather. The houses are built of stone, which is very cheap; there are
five principal mosques; through some of the streets devolve streams
of water, and the air is salubrious. On the South side is a large
burying ground, which at a distance seems an extensive suburb. On the
North is the castle, apparently coëval with that of Aleppo, built on
an artificial elevation. The city however is entirely commanded from
the adjacent hills. It is governed by a _Mitsellim_, appointed by the
executive power at Constantinople. The Janizaries and Sherîfs are
here as riotous as at Aleppo. Staple commodities are, the leather
above mentioned, cottons for their own use, and various-coloured
woollens, of which jackets are made, and sent to other parts. It also
produces _dips_, a confection made of the grounds of wine and almonds.
After travelling for several days, ascended Mount Taurus, now called
_Kurûn_. The ascent and descent occupied three days. This is a chain
of high rocky mountains, running from East to West, the inhabitants
are chiefly Kûrds; and the Turcomans retire here in the summer from
the plain of Antioch, as before mentioned. Many thousand acres abound
with cedars of great size and age; savines and junipers cover some
of the brows. The cedars throw around a delicious odour. Some of our
company, when they wished to warm themselves, the air being cold to
excess, would set fire to the dead trees by kindling a little dry
grass, which would instantly seize the branches, and soon consumed the
whole tree. The bases of the mountains generally consist of tufa. Most
of the hills are divided by rapid rivulets of the purest water.
On commencing the ascent of Mount Taurus, observed several roads
leading to the right; one of them conducts to the copper mines of
Tokat, which are very rich, and yield a considerable revenue to
the emperor.
After descending Mount Taurus, arrived in the extensive plain of
Bostân, which consists of fertile soil, is watered by the river
formerly called _Sarus_, and surrounded with mountains.
Bostân is a town rather of small size, and presenting nothing
memorable. Here I first observed little two-wheeled carts, drawn
by two oxen. The wheels are solid, and the axle turns with them,
so that their progress is sufficiently vociferous. Market poor. The
inhabitants, like those of Anatolia in general, form a striking
contrast to the more polished natives of Syria. They inspected us
with stupid curiosity, and without the usual tokens of salutation
practised by the Arabs. The common dress a short jacket and fringed
turban. The women here are of fair florid complexion, and wear
on their heads broad flat pieces of metal, to shelter their faces
from the sun and rain. These resemble common eating plates, and are
fastened with strings under the chin; the rich have them of silver,
others are copper. Their persons and motions are uncouth and destitute
of the lascivious mincing, the _motus Ionici_, of the Egyptian and
Syrian women.
From Bostân to Kaisarîa the country is plain, but ill cultivated and
thinly inhabited. Near the city there are however several productive
fields, and watered by the river _Yermok_. This river we had passed
a day’s journey from Kaisarîa, running to the South. Near that
city the Lombardy poplar again appears in abundance.
Kaisarîa is distinguished at a distance by two remarkable hills,
one of them lofty, and at this time covered with snow. This is West
of the town. The other, which is to the South, is round and isolated,
but not so high. The town is on the south side of a fertile plain,
well watered by the _Yermok_ and some rills, and contains a good
number of inhabitants. They are now ploughing. In entering the town
I observed numbers of the shaggy, strong, and large camels, which are
bred by the Turcomans. The black buffaloe, like that of Egypt, is very
common here. Kaisarîa is governed by a _Mitsellim_, who is appointed
from Constantinople. The city belongs to the Reis Effendi. It is
surrounded by walls, now in bad repair. Great quantities of timber are
brought here from the mountains, and transported to various quarters.
Angora is eight days’ journey nearly North-west from Kaisarîa. On
the fourth day passed a plain, watered or rather inundated by the
river _Tumm_. On the eighth day passed a bridge, over a rapid but
apparently shallow river, one of the branches of the Halys, at a
spot where it makes its appearance from betwixt abrupt rocks. Route
variegated with hills, but on the whole rather plain.
Reached Angora on the 22d of November, two hours before sun-set. This
city is visible at some distance, being in a lofty situation. It
has a striking and agreeable appearance. It is situated on a small
river. The castle is very antient, and in former times may have
appeared impregnable, being raised on a high perpendicular rock. There
is a chain of outworks to a considerable extent, occupying all the
high ground.
The city has been surrounded by a substantial wall, in some places
apparently double. Marks of a ditch also are visible. I passed three
gates, and was told there were three or four more. Fragments of Greek
inscriptions may be observed on two of the gates. On the North-west
are said to be remains of an amphitheatre, which circumstances
prevented me from visiting.
In the city are the ruins of a magnificent _Curia_, erected in the
time of Augustus. The architecture is Corinthian, and parts of the
inscriptions are well preserved, complimentary to that emperor.
The stones which form the walls are durable, and of an excellent
quality. The city must have been strong, being commanded by no
adjacent height. Market well supplied, especially with honey and
excellent bread. The people are the most polished I have yet seen
in Anatolia.
The trade is chiefly in yarn, of which our shalloons are made, and
their own manufacture of Angora stuffs. Of the latter I am told they
make yearly from fifteen to twenty thousand pieces, of thirty Stambûl
pikes each, or nearly twenty-two yards. The breed of goats they say
is on the decline. There is however a great extent of country which
is capable of supplying food to their flocks; so that the number
might be easily augmented. Each goat produces on an average from two
to three hundred drams annually. The hair is taken from the whole
body, and not the belly alone. They are shorn once a year, the sheep
twice. The wool of the latter is particularly fine and long. Of the
goats’ hair they have, it is reported, made shawls here, equal
in quality to the Kashmirian, and as wide. They cost the maker one
hundred piasters a-piece; but the manufacturers were unable to work
flowers in them. They have also made good cloth; but the fabric was
abandoned for want of encouragement. A special regulation constrains
them to work the shalloons with double thread, otherwise they might be
made much finer. The best of the Angora stuffs, worked by the piece,
stands the manufacturer in about seventy _paras_ the pike, or two
thousand (= 3l. 10s. or 3l. 15s.) the piece. I should observe that
in the manufacture of camlets no wool is used. Wax is exported, and
in this part of Anatolia are cultivated large quantities of _opium_.
The Angora cats are confined to the same district with the goats. The
soil is a fine red marl; but there is no peculiarity so striking in
the site, soil, or air, as to offer any probable induction concerning
the origin of those two remarkable breeds of animals, so dissimilar
from those of other regions of the East.
Angora is one of the neatest cities I have yet visited. The streets
are paved with large granite, but without foot-paths. Wax is produced
in the neighbourhood, to the value of two thousand piasters a year;
one fourth of which quantity is generally consumed in the city
itself. It is surrounded by mountains, but there are numerous gardens
near it, producing much fruit, especially excellent pears, which
are sent for presents to Constantinople. The esculent plants barely
suffice for the city, and the corn is brought from other places,
the land being employed most profitably in the pasturage of the goats.
On the 16th of November 1797 proceeded towards Ismît or Nikmid, the
antient Nicomedia, a maritime town, distant ten days. On the first
day of our route saw the river of Angora running north through the
plain. Two days after met fifty camels laden with fuller’s earth
for the manufacturers of Angora. The 30th of November observed in
the side of a hill a most beautiful appearance of strata, to the
number of nine or ten in the breadth of eight feet, the widest
of them grey chalky stone, then a wide one of red earth, or marl,
then narrow ones of red earth and chalk alternately, each about four
inches wide; surface gravel.
December 7th, set out from Kostabec three hours before sun-rise,
and did not reach Tourbali till about one in the afternoon. The
general face of the country is a rocky forest of pines and oaks. We
kept mostly in the valley, till half past nine in the evening, when
we ascended a very high mountain, which we also in part descended
before we reached Tourbali. Several small streams descend both to the
North and the South; one in particular, forming the river that runs
by Angora. This part of Mount Olympus must in course be very high.
I found grapes in almost all the towns, after leaving Angora, but
those of Teracli were the best I had seen since leaving Damascus; they
are white, and of a fine flavour, and some of them of very large size.
December 5th, after passing Yeywa, came to a long well-built bridge
over the considerable and rapid river, which disembogues into the
Black sea, called _Sakaria_: a long bridge leads over the marshy
lands to _Ismît_, a large town, extended in length, built on the
side of a hill to the east of the plain. The mountains near it are
lofty, and become visible long before one arrives there. Ismît
is paved, but dirty, and built of wood. Most of the houses have a
garden attached to them. The khan is neat, but not very large—Few
remains of antiquity. A great number of Greeks resides here.
On the 7th left Ismît, and after passing along the shore to Scutari,
where we arrived in the morning of the 9th, proceeded immediately
to Constantinople.
Some general remarks arise concerning Anatolia, formerly Asia
Minor. The parts through which we passed have more of the wild
and romantic[62] than of the cultivated aspect; soil very various,
but a deep clay is the most prevailing. Wheat and barley, and the
yellow durra, _Holcus Arundinaceus_, form the chief, if not only
products of agriculture. The whole is pervaded by hordes of Kurds and
Turcomans. Numerous mendicants. The little security there is arises
from the superior ferocity of a few Pashas, which allows of no robbery
save their own. The depopulation is gradual, constant, and infallible,
and indubitably arises from the extreme badness of the government,
than which nothing more wretched can well be conceived.
CHAP. XXVIII.