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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Deposited by the
Linonian and Brothers Library
1895

A JOUKNEY TO THE EAST.

G. WOODFALL, angel court, skinner street, London.

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DAMASCUS AND PALMYRA:

A JOURNEY TO THE EAST.

WITH A SKETCH Or

THE STATE AND PROSPECTS OF SYRIA, ,

UNDER IBRAHIM PASHA.

BY CHARLES G. ADDISON,
OF THE INNER TEMPLE.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.

LONDON :
RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET ;
^ublfefier in ©rUtnarg to ?^er JWajestg.
1838.

CONTENTS OF VOL. II.

CHAPTER I.
Page
Coast of Syria — Mount Lebanon — Beirout — Quarantine  Laza
retto — Sunset — A wild Turk — Greek and Druse Women— St.
George and the Dragon — Suleiman Pasha — Antiquities— Mosaics
— Streets of Beirout — Cemetery — Mourners — Mulberry Groves —
Fountain — The Emir Beshir — Disarming of the Druses — Journey
to Deir el Kammar — Ibrahim Pasha — Bteddin — Emir Beshir's
Castle — The Emir's Court — Stud — Harem — Horses — Baths —
Egyptian Soldiers — The Druses— The Maronites— Monastery of
Kanobin — Metualies — Beirout — Idiot — Seizure of Mules — Scenery
— Harbour — Governor — Muleteer  1
CHAPTER II.
Beirout— Departure — Curious Cavalcade — Ascent of Libanus —
Moonlight Scene — Encampment — Druse Women — Khan — Descent
of Libanus — Zahle — Tomb of Noah — Coelesyria — Circular ruined
Temple — Baalbec — Its Origin — -Worship of Baal — Gigantic Stones
— Ruins — Temples — Grand Portico — Temple of the Sun — Archi
tectural Ornaments — Smaller Temple — Ruined Corridors — Cavalry
Review — Arab Funeral Lamentation — The Corpse — The Grief of
the Women — Village of Baalbec  42
CHAPTER III.
Excursion to Mount Lebanon — Monumental Column — Cedars of
Lebanon — Baalbec — Vaults — Cisterns — Quarries — Anti -Libanus
— Arabs — Scenery — Village of Surgawich — Arab Visitors — Arab
Women — Zebdeni — Its Environs— River Barrada — Wady Barrada
— Scenery of the Wady — Souk— Souk Barrada— Djissr Dumar
— Sheikh's Tomb— First View of Damascus — The rich Foliage—
The Rivers of Damascus— Entrance of the City — Bazaar — Blind
ness—Fruits — Convent  74
CHAPTER IV.
Damascus — Convent — Bath of Musk — Hall of Preparation —
Bathing Scene— Bathing Process— Women's Bath— Great Mosque
roi.. n. b

VI CONTENTS Page
— Bazaars — Pastry Cooks— Arabian Nights — Book Bazaar— Koran
— Convent — Saddle Horses — Environs of Damascus — Behairat el
Merdj — Lanterns — Ramble in the Dark — Characteristics of the
People — Apathy of the Damascenes — Oriental Scenes — Shop
keepers —Village of Salahieh — Country Villa — The Consular Resi
dence—Damascus — The Great Cemetery — Extraordinary Scene —
Female Mourners — Eastern Ladies — The Country Villa —Hospital
of Lepers — Saul of Tarsus— The Djereed — The Meadow of Damas
cus  . 100
CHAPTER V.
Damascus — Street called Straight — Mosque of the Dervishes —
Khan of Hussein Pasha — Scene in a Khan — Conclusion of a Bar
gain — Bagdad Caravan — Bedouin Women — Military Divan —
Streets — Cafes — Gate of Tombs — Funeral Procession — Hired
Mourners — Mussulman Superstition — Salahieh — Scenery — Blind-
ness — Ophthalmia — Amusing Anecdote — Mistake of the Guard —
Mosques — Imauns — Muezzins — Environs of Damascus — Oriental
Scenes— Sunset — The Call to Prayer— Mussulman Prayers — De
votion — Night Call to Prayer . . .... 136
CHAPTER VI.
Damascus — House of Assab Pasha— Grand Saloon — Internal Mag
nificence — House of Ali Aga Kazini Katibi — The Crystal Chamber
— Politeness of the Proprietor — Damascene Houses — The Gardens
of Damascus — The Place of the Separation of the Waters —
The surrounding Scenery — Ride through the Gardens — Salahieh
— Arrival of the Bedouin Arabs— The Sheikh and his two Re
lations — Their Visit to the British Consul — Their Mode of Salu
tation, Dress, and Conversation — Their Reception as the Guests of
the Author and his Friends — Salahieh — The Women of the Harem
— Bedouin Arabs— Preparation for Dinner — Purification — The
Prayers of the Bedouins — Explanation of the Prayers — Extracts
from the Koran — The Mussulman's Paradise — His Idea of a fu
ture State — Termination of the Prayers — The Dinner — The vo
racious Appetites of the Bedouin Guests — The Scene at Midnight
— A Morning's Walk into Damascus — Oriental Scenes — Quarrel
ling Arabs — The Sugar Merchant's Shop — Scene at the Shop —
The Damascene Wag confounded — The Preparation of the De
parture for Palmyra— Account of the present State of the Desert
— (Eneze Tribe of Arabs— The Mode of Life of the Bedouins—
The Bedouin Sheikh .... • • • . 162

OF VOL. II. Vll
CHAPTER VII.
Departure for Palmyra— Mounting Dromedaries — Activity of the
Ai-ahs— Halt for the Night— The Ghouta of Damascus— Bedouin
Encampments— Wild Scenery — Desert of El Hammad— The Flocks
and Herds— Filling the Water-skins— The Arming of the Be
douins—Bedouin Arms— Bedouin War-cry— Sham Combat-
Contest between the two Sheikhs— Beautiful Training of the
Horses — Entering the Desert— Singular Prospect from the Moun
tains — Arrival at Nebk — Arab Villagers — Ignition of Phosphoric
Matches— The Astonishment of the Arabs — Departure from Nebk
— The Sheikh and his Brother— Their extreme Civility — Route to
Palmyra— The Plain of Salt— The Encampment of the Bedouin
Sheikh— The Tents— The Salutation of the Arabs— The Bedouin
Women — Dromedaries— Feast in the Sheikh's Tent— The Mode of
Life of the Bedouins — Preservation of antient Customs — State of
Society among them— The Authority of the Sheikhs — Descrip
tion of the Desert— The Vegetation of the Desert— The Flocks
and Herds of the Bedouins — The Migrations of the Tribes — The
Arab Horses — Scene after Supper in the Sheikh's Tent — The Ap
pearance of the Arabs congregated round the Fire . . . 197
CHAPTER VIII.
Bedouin Camp — Scene at Sunrise — Dromedaries — The Morning
Prayers — Some Account of the Bedouins— The Arabian Horse —
Breakfast in the Sheikh's Tent — Making Presents to the Women
of the Tribe — Dress and Appearance of the Women — Fondness of
the Bedouins for Sugar — Their Delight at the sight of an English
Drawing of a Party of Bedouins — Bedouin Music —Departure — ¦
Journey in the Desert — Halts during the Day — The Cerastes or
Horned Snake — Halt at Cariatein — Mounting a Dromedary —
Route from Cariatein to Palmyra — Appearance of the Desert — The
Djerboas — Bedouins of the Bagdad Caravan — The Method of
kindling a Fire in the Desert— Scene at Sunset — Visit to the
Bedouins of the Bagdad Caravan — Coffee and Spices of Bagdad
— Romantic Scene by the Light of the Fires — The Beauty
of the Heavens — An Arab at Prayer — Continuation of the
Journey by Moonlight — An unruly Dromedary — Night March
across the Desert — Beauty of the Moonlight— Romantic Appear
ance of the long Caravan— The Night Encampment — The im
mense Fires — Continuation of the Journey at Sunrise -Halts in
the Desert — The Scenery— View of the Mountains of Palmyra-
Arrival at the Valley of the Tombs— Arrival at the Citadel of
Palmyra and the Village of Tadmor  223
b 2

Vlll CONTENTS
CHAPTER IX. Page
History of Palmyra— Tadmor in the Wilderness — Its Foundation
by Solomon — The Name changed by the Greeks — The Prosperity
and Magnificence of Palmyra accounted for — Odenatus the Palmy-
rene— His Victories over the Persians — His Assassination byMso-
nius — Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra — Her Beauty and Accomplish
ments — Her Victories over the Romans — Her Conquest of Egypt
— March of Aurelian against her — The Battle of Immai — The
Capture of Antioch — The Battle of Emesa— The Siege of Pal
myra—The Flight and Capture of Zenobia — The Execution of
Longinus — The Destruction of Palmyra — The Triumph of Aure
lian— The Fate of Zenobia  253
CHAPTER X.
Palmyra— General Aspect of the Ruins — The Great Desert — The
peculiarly wild and solemn Scenery — Description of the Ruins—
The Grand Gateway — The Grand Avenue of Columns — Ruined
Gateways and Colonnades — The small Temple — The Entrance to
the Citadel — Greek Inscriptions — The Double Colonnade in the
Interior of the Citadel — The Temple of the Sun — The orna
mented Chambers — The Zodiac  284
CHAPTER XI.
Palmyra — Valley of the Tombs — Sepulchral Monuments — Greek
and Palmyrene Inscriptions — Tomb of Iamblichus — Tomb of Ela-
belus Maueeus — The Saracenic Castle — Singular View from the
Mountains — Antient Aqueducts — Ancient Stone Doorway — ¦
Slaughter of a Camel — Monumental Columns — Antient Baths —
Palmyrene Inscriptions — The Magnificence of the Citadel — The
Grotto of Hot Water — The Thunder Storm — The wild Appear
ance of the Desert and of the Ruins — The Lightning — Excursion
into the Desert— The Plain of Salt— The Great Desert— The Vil
lage of Tadmor — The Arab Hostess — Arab Villagers —Bedouin
Arabs— The Arab Girl— The present Appearance of the Village of
Tadmor . .  304
CHAPTER XII.
Palmyra— Departure— Last View of the Ruins— Scene over the
Desert— The Night Encampment — Antelopes— The Hunt— The
Gazelle— Cariatein— Arab Women — Well of Water— Arab Girl-
Arab Women drawing Water— The Sheikh of Djeroud— His Ara-

OF VOL. II. IX
Page
bian Horse — The Dromedary — The Arrival at Djeroud — The
Sheikh's House — The Supper — Departure at Sunrise — The Mush
room of the Desert — The Merdj of Damascus — The Disarming of
the Bedouins — The Approach to Damascus — Scene at Sunset —
Eastern Sunsets — Arrival at Salahieh — The Bedouin Arabs—
Their Moral and Social Condition — Comparison between the Civil
ization of the Bedouins and that of the Mass of the British Popu
lation  337
CHAPTER XIII.
Damascus — The Gardens — The Fruits — The Bazaars — The Da
mascene Tailor — The Great Mosque — The Gate Bah Girun — The
Bedouin Sheikh  His Conversation at Dinner — Bedouin Kind
ness to Horses — Damascene Manufactures — The Working Jewel
lers — The Sabres — Ladies' Costume — Damascene Grandees — Da
mascene Girl — Elegant Costume — The Ladies of Damascus— Su
perstition — The Evil Eye — The Saddle Bazaar — The Nargilla —
The old Castle of Damascus — The Walls of Damascus — The Wed
ding  Procession to the Bath — Arabian Nights — Mosques of Da
mascus — Damascene Fever — Ophthalmia — The Population of Da
mascus  Grottoes in the Mountains  368
CHAPTER XIV.
The History of Damascus — Its Antiquity — Its Revolutions — The
Saracenic Invasion — The Fall of Bosra— The Siege of Damasous —
The Prowess of Caled — The Siege raised — The Sally of Peter and
paul  The Heroism of the Saracen Women — The Valour of Derar
 The Ambuscade — The Battle of Aiznadin — Reinvestment of Da
mascus — Thomas of Damascus— The Saracen Widow— The Sur
render of Damascus to Abu Obeidah — The Assault by Caled— The
Dispnte— Capture of the City— The Damascene Fugitives— Jonas
and Eudocia— The Damascene Lover— Pursuit of the Fugitives-
Death of Eudocia— Slaughter of the Fugitives— Fate of Jonas—
Saracenie Enthusiasm  392
CHAPTER XV.
The Caliphs of Damascus— Moawyah, First Caliph of Damascus
— The Caliph Yezid— His Slaughter of Hosein the Schehadat— Mo
awyah Ben Yezid— The Caliph Valid— Soliman Ben Abdalmalek—
The Caliph Omar— His Goodness— His Murder— Yezid Ben Ad-
dalmalek— His beautiful Concubines— Haschem Ben Abdalmalek—

X CONTENTS OF VOL. II, Page
Yezid Ben Valid Ben Abdalmalek— The Caliph Mervan— De
struction of the Ommiades — Massacre at Damascus — Elevation of
the Abassides to the Caliphate— Removal of the Caliphate to
Bagdad — Conquest of Damascus by the Turcomans — The Sultan
Noureddin — His Justice — The Sultan Saladin — His Death at Da
mascus — Destruction of Damascus by Timour Beg — Fanaticism of
the Damascenes — Capture of Damascus by Ibrahim Pasha — Esta
blishment of a British Consul  429
CHAPTER XVI.
Past and present State of Syria — Its former Wealth, Power, and
Opulence — The present Desolation and Impoverishment — Causes
of its Decline— The numerous Wars — The Successive Conquests —
The Violence and Rapine of the Conquerors — Saracens and Turks,
Military Adventurers— State of Syria under the Sultans of Con
stantinople — How affected by Mohammed Ali's Conquest — Causes of
Ibrahim Pasha's Success — Ibrahim Pasha's Addresses to the People
— Their sanguine Expectations of Protection from the new Govern
ment — How disappointed — The Ambition of Mohammed AU — His
love of War — His want of Soldiers — The Conscriptions in Syria —
The Insurrections — The . Population disarmed by Ibrahim Pasha
— Account of the late Events in Syria — Renewed Conscriptions to
supply Soldiers for the War in the Hedjaz — Exactions on the People
—Heavy Taxation — Effect of Mohammed Ali's Government on the
Country — Its present Tranquillity— How secured — The present
State of the Country — Its continued gradual Decline — The
Beirout Merchant's written Statement of the Effect of Ibrahim
Pasha's Rule — The increased Taxation — The vast Drain on the Po
pulation for Soldiers — The arbitrary Acts of the Government —
The Monopolies — The present State of Commerce— The enormous
Expenditure of the Government — The Insecurity of the Pasha's
Position— The Necessity of a large Military Establishment — The
Country sacrificed to the Ambition of its Rulers — The Effect of the
late Measures— The Insecurity of Person and Property — The De
struction of Industry ......... 452

A JOUKNEY TO THE EAST.

ERRATA.
Vol. II.
Page 5, line 2, for "were" read " was."
184, Latin quotation, for "perellis" read "puellis.'
287, line 5, for "strikes" read " strike."
341, line 17, for " eastern" read ''western."
402, line 6, for "were" read " was."

A JOUKNEY,

ETC., ETC.

CHAPTER I.

COAST OF STRIA.  MOUNT LEBANON.  BEIROUT. — LAZA
RETTO. — GREEK AND DRUSE WOMEN. — EMIR BESHIR — DIS
ARMING THE DRUSES. — DEIR EL KAMMAR.  IBRAHIM
PASHA.  EMIRS' CASTLE AND COURT. ¦ — DRUSES.  MARON
ITES.  METUALIES.

" Libanus frondosa cacumina turget." RUFUS AVIENUS.
1835. Sept. 19th, six, a.m. — I was called to come
on deck, as we were in sight of land, and looking
along the water, I exclaimed, where? You are
looking too low, said the captain, smiling, and lift
ing his hand into the heavens, he bade me mark
the pointed summits of Mount Lebanon towering
above the distant blue haze, and appearing of gi
gantic altitude. It was the grandest scene ima-
VOL. II. b

2 MOUNT LEBANON. — BEIROUT.
ginable ; the bases of the mountains were invisible,
nought but the blue peaks and waving ridges
could be seen towering aloft, behind which the
sun was rising in a flood of splendour.
Ten, a.m. — We are nearing the shore rapidly,
and can observe the trees along the sloping sides
of the range of Lebanon with the telescope; —
very hot, and a dead calm.
Eleven, a.m. — Close alongside the mountains ;
there appear to be some magnificent firs on the
summit, groves of trees, and a little village, seated
on one of the loftiest ridges.
At twelve o'clock we cast anchor in the bay of
Beirout, in front of a long promontory rising gra
dually from the water, covered with a luxuriant
vegetation, above which rose the minarets and
towers of the town, surrounded by gardens and
groves of mulberry trees. A boat with a guard
putting off from the shore, informed us we were
in quarantine, and forbad any of us to land.
Three, p.m. — The Pasha's aide-du-camp has
come off with the pleasing intelligence that we
have been condemned to pass seven days' quaran
tine, as we have come from places lately infected
with the plague.
Five, y.m. — We rowed in a boat to the Laza
retto, situated on a lofty rocky promontory, con-

LAZARETTO. 3
sisting of inclosures, and stone buildings lately
erected by Ibrahim Pasha. We chose two rooms
en suite, opening upon a fenced court, with earthen
floors and mere bare walls. Just after sunset a
rich crimson glow gradually spread over the
whole western horizon, against which, in strong
relief, about two miles distant, appeared the som
bre towers of the castle and the masts and rigging
of the ships at anchor, while two long rays or
pyramidal columns of light, tinged with the faintest
purple, shot upwards nearly to the zenith.
Sept. 20th. — We had a glorious sunrise, and
several of us jumped off the paddle-box into the
sea, not without some apprehension, on my part,
of the sharks.
Three, p.m. — We took our last dinner on board
and bade adieu to some of our old friends, who
were going on to Alexandria and to the sandy
deserts of Egypt. At sunset we proceeded to take
up our quarters at the Lazaretto. There was a
heavy swell, and we missed our way. After
rowing among breakers and rocks for some time,
with the white foam glistening around us, we
arrived at the landing-place, and after a parley
with the guards about the lateness of the hour,
were allowed to land, surrounded by officers with
sticks, who, with loud shouts, warned us from
b 2

4 LAZARETTO.
touching the infected merchandize that was piled
up on either hand. We mustered eight English
men, besides servants, a large and formidable party
for exploring the country.
On arriving at the Lazaretto, we found a
cheerful fire blazing in our court, and the servants
busily prepared in cooking suppers. Our carpets
were spread on the ground, our travelling beds
laid down on them, musquitto curtains unpacked,
trunks arranged for seats, and in an hour the bare
miserable rooms were made to assume a great air
of domesticity and comfort.
Sept. 21st, seven, a.m. — We plunged from the
rocks into the sea, which was clear as crystal, and
filled with large fish. The Lazaretto commands
the most glorious scenery ; to the west we see the
minarets, the towers, the gardens, and mulberry
groves of Beirout rising over the waters ; to the
north the wide expanse of the Mediterranean ; and
to the east the lofty and picturesque chain of Le
banon. There is a large circuit of ground attached
to it, and those who cannot afford to pay for
rooms are obliged to pitch tents.
Sept. 23d. — We had a glorious scene this
morning at sunrise ; the summits of the range of
Lebanon were wreathed round with snow white
morning mists, above which, here and there, a

A WILD TURK. 5
blue peak appeared, while the vast range of
mountains were thrown back in deep shade ; and
on the opposite side the sunbeams sparkled on the
waters, and shone on the minarets, castle, and
houses of the town. In the course of the morning
we received a visit from the captain of the steamer
and the rest of our friends on board, who deter
mined to wait and take pratique, finding that if
they do not, they will not be allowed to land at
any of the other ports.
A young wild Turk, who came into quarantine
with us, and remained in a corner of our court
yard, often amused himself with firing a brace of im
mense pistols, and as the boat containing the captain
and our friends pulled past the rocks, he discharged
a pistol containing four balls directly at them,
and one ball, passing through the whole party in
the boat, lodged in the stern sheets, just between
the captam's legs, who was steering. Our party
immediately assembled, and in great indignation
demanded that punishment should be inflicted on
the body of the offender according to the laws of
the country. Here, however, a great difficulty oc
curred ; for the impudent rogue being in quaran
tine, none durst touch him except those of our party
who had the same length of quarantine to pass
that he had. Under these circumstances, we wer •

6 GREEK AND DRUSE WOMEN.
obliged to content ourselves with ejecting him
from our quarter, with abusive epithets, sticks,
and stones, &c.
Sept. 24th. — Bathed as usual. Several Greek
and Druse women, dressed in a costume similar to
the indoor costume of the Turkish ladies, came to
pray at a little Greek church on the confines of
our ground of exercise. They had wide flowing-
trousers of a rich figured pattern, loose robes
trailing behind, with the vest open at the bosom,
loose sleeves lapping down, richly embroidered, a
shawl wound round their waists, and long hair
hanging down their backs nearly to their heels.
There were some very pretty young girls among
them ; they had veils, but as they were left to
fall back over their shoulders, and no attempt was
made to conceal their faces, we had a good oppor
tunity of studying their countenances. Near the
Lazaretto is shewn a small mosque, where it is
said St. George killed the dragon ; likewise a stain
on the plaster of the wall made by the soap-suds
wherewith the saint washed his hands after the
victory ! The Christians make St. George contem
porary with Mahomet, and a dispute once occurring
on the subject, the affirmative parties asked their
opponents if they would be convinced by a mi
racle. The reply being favourable, a gentleman

LAZARETTO. w
of Beirout went in the night and buried a goat's
skin full of water on the spot, but the pigs came
and rooted it up, and the next morning, when a
large concourse assembled to witness the experi
ment, the trick was exposed, to the horror of the
affirmatives, and the opposite party immediately
claimed the victory.
Sept. 25th. — News have just arrived from Bei
rout, that the soldiers have all marched off to the
mountains to reinforce Ibrahim Pasha, who fears
an insurrection of the Druses. We are to go out
of quarantine to-morrow, and the doctor has just
been to look at us ; he made us stand in a row
about three feet from him, and put out our tongues
for him to examine.
The weather is heavenly, and the nights are
most lovely; we are obliged to get under cover
during the middle of the day, and creep under our
musquitto nets to escape the flies, which are
troublesome, but the mornings and evenings are
delicious. Upon a wicker bench that has been
placed in front of our court-yard, we sit and
watch the bright sun sinking into the glowing
waters of the Mediterranean, and the stars as they
successively rise from behind the eastern moun
tains, or disappear in the dusky bank of fog that
gradually gathers along the western horizon.

8 BEIROUT.
What a deep silence and settled tranquillity reign
always along sea and shore, and what a balmy
softness pervades the air !
Sept. 26th. — Left the quarantine early in the
morning, and walked to Beirout along the sea
shore, through luxuriant hedges of the cactus or
Indian fig, and amid gardens riant in the beauties
of eastern vegetation, and shaded by trees of pe
culiar foliage ; — wild flowers in places decked the
banks, and on each side of the road were seen
the beautiful blossoms of the squill plant, used in
England for colds. We entered the town through
a narrow arched gateway guarded by Egyptian
soldiers, and wandered through crowded bazaars
to a very tolerable inn kept by an Italian.
Beirout is for its size superior in point of archi
tecture to the Turkish towns I have seen ; the
streets are much cleaner, and are not encumbered
with the pools of filth usually met with in them.
The principal houses are built of stone, something
similar to Rhodes. In the evening we went up
to the palace of Suleiman Pasha, a French colonel
of Napoleon's army, an exile from his country.
He has abjured his religion and turned Mussul
man, and has obtained the pashalik of Beirout,
having been for some time an efficient officer in
Ibrahim Pasha's army. The scenery from this spot

ANTIQUITIES. 9
and from all the eminences around, is most lovely.
The undulating ground covered with green mul
berry-trees slopes down to the sea, and across a
wide gulph is seen the lofty range of Lebanon,
the two highest points of which have exactly the
appearance of snow-mountains, — I suppose from
the colour of the soil at the summit. At sunset
the most beautiful purple tint was spread along
the whole chain.
Near this spot two antient mosaic pavements
have been lately discovered and barbarously de
stroyed by the European consuls, who attempted
to remove them ; some of the fragments which I
saw, appeared similar to the mosaics of Pompeii.
There have also lately been found in this neigh
bourhood some fine sarcophagi and some valuable
coins and gems. Close to the Pasha's castle are
ruins of a substantial wall, supposed to be of the
time of Herod the Great, and some small frag
ments of shattered columns may be seen scattered
about on the hill, — remnants of the antient Bery-
tus. Very few women are to be seen in the streets,
which have a very dull appearance from the
gloomy stone houses of which they are formed,
and from the scarcity of shops. There are a great
many Franks to be seen, missionaries, and mer
chants ; and the sight of round hats and short

10 BEIROUT.  CEMETERY.
coats always sadly destroys the oriental charac
ter of a place.
Sept. 27th. — Outside the gates, close to our
hotel, is a large burying-ground, running along the
cliffs that overhang the sea ; a most lovely spot,
commanding a fine view of the town, its rich envi
rons, the wide expanse of water, and the long
line of mountains. In the centre stands a large dark
sombre tree, and some solitary females may gene
rally be seen hanging over a tomb, or placing sprigs
of myrtle and flowers on the graves. On one
stands a little pot of myrtle, and in the marble
covering of another are small holes grooved, in
which are placed evergreen plants and sweet-
smelling flowers. Here the Moslem women re
sort on Fridays, the day of their sabbath, and
seat themselves on the graves of their husbands
and relations, bringing with them these interesting
offerings, and keeping alive the remembrance of a
long-cherished affection.
We went to see the manufactory of silk sashes,
which are much esteemed, and are exported to dif
ferent parts of the east. They are worn round the
waist and are a great support to the loins in these
hot enervating climates. In the evening, we
walked by different winding footpaths through
the mulberry-groves that encircle Beirout, these

MULBERRY GROVES. — FOUNTAIN. 11
are all young and not more than ten or eleven feet
high, being constantly cut down, as the tender
and juicy leaves on the young twigs afford the
best nourishment to the young silk worms ; nume
rous houses are scattered through the grove, at
the doors of which were women spinning, and
fine children with long braided hair were playing
among the trees. By the side of the fountain
were crowds of girls with their water-pitchers
on their heads, and men with donkeys loaded
with skins, waiting to fill them with the precious
element. A fine fountain or well is indeed a
treasure in these hot thirsty countries; it is usually
made a pleasant place of resort, where the wo
men lay aside their general reserve, and letting
slip the veil from their faces, laugh and talk with
out restraint ; while the men, softened by the
sociability of the moment, puff clouds of smoke
from their pipes, and civilly salute the Frank
traveller as he passes.
We continued onwards through a labyrinth of
paths intersecting each other, through lanes
bordered by enormous cactuses bending over and
forming a canopy above, and arriving on the
summit of the hills, we looked over a rich screen
of foliage, on the deep blue sea, and on the

12 BEIROUT. — DRUSE WOMEN.
glorious view that spreads around in every direc
tion. We returned through a large open space
planted with trees, outside the walls, filled with
picturesque groups. There were men in white
turbans and gay scarlet dresses smoking under
the trees ; women wrapped up in embroidered
muslin veils, and some with their features con
cealed in a sort of long bag, hanging from the
face down to the girdle. The Druse women are
the most striking, as they have a long silver horn
projecting from the forehead, from a foot and a
half to two feet in length, supporting a veil that
falls down on each side of the face. We passed
some ruined arches and a picturesque Saracenic
tower. Sept. 28th.— -This morning we received a visit
from Suleiman Pasha's aide-du-camp, who brings
us the news of Ibrahim Pasha's sudden and un
expected arrival at Deir el Kammar, the capital
of the Druse country in the vicinity of Beirout,
for the purpose of disarming the Druse and
Christian population of the mountains, under the
jurisdiction of the Emir Beshir, at Bteddin.
The Emir Beshir is of an old Arab family,
which has for some time past reigned over the
mountain population of Lebanon. He possesses

THE EMIR BESHIR. 13
great influence over the Druses, and has frequently,
from the number of armed mountaineers that he
can bring into the field, rendered himself nearly
independent. At a distance from the central government, his
friendship has been sought by rival Pashas. On
the breaking out of the war between the Sultan
and Mohammed Ali, he was induced from policy
to join himself to the winning party, yet his con
duct has always been doubtful, and he has been
considered to have a leaning towards the Sultan.
Soon after Ibrahim Pasha had established him
self in Syria, to render his authority more secure,
and to repress the lawless disposition of the peo
ple, which indisposed them to settled government,
he caused the whole Syrian population to be
disarmed, and forbad weapons of any kind to be
carried about the person. After some resistance,
this was effected; but the whole Druse and
Christian population of the mountains, the hardiest
and most warlike of the people, still remained with
arms in their hands ; and the Emir Beshir could at
any time collect ten or fifteen thousand armed men
from the villages and towns among the mountain
districts. As these men and their prince were
doubtfully affected towards Ibrahim Pasha, the ne
cessity of disarming them was evident ; and it only

14 DISARMING OF THE DRUSES.
remained a question of time, to avoid the opposition
of the Emir, and an insurrection, which once
excited, might in the discontented and unsettled
state of Syria, be productive of serious conse
quences. Ibrahim Pasha had spent the summer
at Antioch, and on the northern frontier, strength
ening his posts and quelling local disturbances.
Syria was tranquil, and he was on an amicable
footing with the Emir. Suddenly, he dispatches
orders to some newly arrived regiments from
Egypt, and to all the garrisons in Syria, to march
on Bteddin, the residence of the Emir Beshir, and
Deir el Kammar, the capital of the Druse country,
about two miles distant from each other. He
sends to the Pashas of Damascus, Beirout, and
Acre, to meet him there with the forces under
their command, and so arranges his orders, that
16,000 men are assembled in one day at Deir el
Kammar, in the heart of the Druse country.
The Pasha first, however, writes to the Emir,
ordering him to disarm the Druses, then shortly
afterwards sends a message saying that he is
coming himself to assist him; and before the
poor Emir, taken by surprise, has had time to
deliberate, he finds himself surrounded by an over
whelming force, and all resistance hopeless.
News of these events have just arrived in

JOURNEY TO DEIR EL KAMMAR. 15
Beirout, and have created great sensation ; many
are prophesying a general insurrection, saying
that the Druses are too spirited tamely to submit,
and that the rest of Syria will rise, now that the
troops are drawn off to the mountains. We are
determined to go to the scene of action and see
the Pasha.
Sept. 29th. — Our party, with the exception of
invalids and their attendants, left Beirout at sun
rise, and the following is a sketch of the expedition.
We crossed the plain, and stopping under
the shade of a tree to breakfast, were startled
by a horseman, apparently Turkish, riding up;
who asked in English to partake of our fare. It
was an English engineer in the service of the
Pasha, just returned from Bteddin.
We ascended the mountains by a succession of
terraces, which formed quite a staircase; the
scenery was very striking, and the secluded Druse
villages among the mountains very romantic.
The mountains here are cut into terraces, to pre
vent the soil being washed away by the rains, and
many parts are well and carefully cultivated.
We met strings of donkeys laden with the arms
of the poor' Druses being sent into Beirout; arms
that had descended as heirlooms from father to
son, and were almost as much cherished as life

16 DEIR EL KAMMAR.
itself. It was a beautiful evening, and at sunset
a warm brilliant colouring was spread over the
landscape. We slept at a miserable house among
the mountains, and in the middle of the night
about 1000 soldiers arrived, and by their noise
deprived us of all rest.
Sept. 30th. — We arrived at Deir el Kammar
after a short journey through the mountains. The
village, or town, is situated on a declivity at the
top of the valley, and the country round about
was covered with tents and soldiers bivouacking.
We sought out the quarters of Suleiman, Pacha
of Beirout, and were presented to him by our
friend, his aid-du-camp. He received us in the
oriental fashion, placing his hand upon his breast,
spoke to us in French, apologized for there being
no chairs in the room, and manifested all the
politeness and vivacity of a Frenchman. Pipes
and coffee were brought in. He asked the latest
news from Constantinople, spoke of the prospects
of Syria, and remarked, that if the European na
tions would leave Ibrahim Pasha alone, he would
remodel the whole Ottoman empire.
Our party afterwards proceeded to seek out Os-
man, or Omar Effendi, a young Arab who had been
sent to Cambridge by Ibrahim Pasha, and had there
formed an acquaintance with one of our friends.

IBRAHIM PASHA. 17
He spoke English with perfect fluency, ordered
in pipes and coffee, and said that the Pasha was
then asleep, but that as soon' as he awoke the
object of our journey should be communicated to
him. After some time it being announced that the
Pasha was ready to receive us, we walked to a
small house and were ushered into a mean looking
room, at one end of which, in a low chair, sat
Ibrahim Pasha ; by his side were Suleiman Pasha
of Beirout, and Schereef Pasha of Damascus ; se
veral officers in the Nizam dress, and some slaves
were standing around.
Ibrahim is a short man, inclined to corpulence,
with a large head, scanty whiskers, grey mousta-
chios, and he is pitted with the small-pox. Putting
his hand on his breast he saluted us, and motioned
us to be seated. There was a remarkable plains
ness and simplicity in every thing about him. His
attendants were dressed in the usual military
costume, and he himself was attired in Mamlouk
trousers, with a closely buttoned vest and loose
jacket, perfectly plain, without embroidery or
jewels, and with a red tarbouche on his head. He
appears about forty, and has a remarkably piercing
eye, which he half closes, casting round the room
a keen searching glance, which seems to read the
VOL. II. c

18 IBRAHIM PASHA.
very soul. Coffee was handed round, and Omar
Effendi acted as interpreter.
The Pasha inquired the object of our travelling,
commented on our arrival in a steamer, spoke in
high terms of the mode of conveyance, but com
plained of the jarring sensation. He said he
should be happy to assist us in attaming the
object of our travels ; and on our expressing a
wish for a Firman, he ordered one to be made out
commanding all governors to protect and assist
us, and to furnish us with an eseort of soldiers in
case of need. He said, if he arrived in Damascus
before we quitted it, he would be happy to see us
again, and would send us across to Palmyra with
some troops whom he was going to despatch
thither ; advised us not to think of going to
Djerash without taking an escort, as he could not
answer for our safety any where on the other side
of the Jordan.
Coffee being handed round, we understood it in
the oriental sense as a permission to depart.
It was curious to see so great and powerful a
person as Ibrahim Pasha, with the rulers of three
great pashaliks trembling at his nod, living in
mean quarters in a private house of the village,
while the old Emir Beshir remained in his hand
some Saracenic castle at Bteddin, surrounded by

EMIR BESHIR'S CASTLE. 19
oriental pomp, too much neglected by Ibrahim
Pasha, say the Syrians, who, instead of moving
at the slow pompous march so agreeable to the
inflated dignity of orientals, flies over the country
with one or two attendants, now here and now
there, sleeping in hovels with a carpet wrapped
round his body, and appearing when he is least
expected, so that he is called Lightning by the
native Arabs.
We had expressed a wish before Ibrahim
Pasha to see the Emir Beshir in order to sound
him, fearing lest the visit might not be agreeable
to him, but he immediately approved of it, and
ordered his secretary to write out a small note,
which we were to present.
Leaving Deir el Kammar, we perceived the
whole country covered with tents and troops
bivouacking. The situation of the Saracenic
Castle of the Emir, on a bold eminence at- the
end of the valley, about half an hour's walk from
Deir el Kammar, is most romantic. It is placed
amid the solitude of the mountains, between two
of which a lovely burst is obtained of the sea far
below. The irregular buildings and domes, the
courts, arcades, and pointed arches of the palace,
suddenly broke upon the eye from their com
manding situation with the greatest effect. We
c 2

20 THE EMIR BESHIR.
entered a wide quadrangle paved with marble^
cooled by a large fountain, and surrounded by
buildings and courts, bordered by arcades and
porticos. Attendants in rich dresses and richly ca
parisoned Arab horses were standing about. After
delivering our letter and waiting a short time, we
were conducted up a staircase to an open corridor
or verandah, supported by slight painted columns
and ornamented with arabesque paintings and
lattice work, and were shortly introduced by some
gaily dressed attendants through an antechamber,
into a long saloon paved with" marble and sur
rounded by rich figured divans. The floor of the
upper part of the room was raised and covered
with rich carpets, and at the end, on a handsome
divan, sat the Emir. The lower portion of the
apartment was filled with officers and attendants
in flowing oriental dresses.
A more patriarchal, venerable, and majestic
figure than the Emir Beshir can scarcely be ima
gined. He is a fine old man, near ninety years
of age, with long white whiskers flowing down
on each side of his face, and terminating in a snow
white beard of great length. His air and manner
were most princely and court-like ; placing his
hand on his breast he bent to us all round, and
requested us to be seated.

THE EMIR'S COURT. 21
Black slaves in scarlet dresses presented pipes,
placing one hand on their breast and making a
low obeisance with their bodies as we took them;
they were adorned with magnificent amber mouth
pieces set in jewels. Cups of sherbet were handed
round by slaves, from which we had no sooner
drank than our mouths were wiped with em
broidered napkins — then came coffee.
A more strikingly oriental scene can scarcely be
imagined, — the walls of the saloon were orna
mented with paintings in arabesque, and in the
corners of the apartment rills of water trickled
down from marble fountains. Officers of the
household, in light blue dresses, girt with scimitars ;
attendants in different rich costumes, with daggers
and poignards stuck in their belts ; and secretaries
in long robes, with silver writing materials in
their girdles, and paper in the little pockets of
their vests, were grouped together in the lower
part of the room, the raised part being appropriated
solely for the Emir and his friends.
It was a scene of great interest, — there was
a kind, fatherly manner, and a calm, settled
dignity about the Emir which astonished us, and
must have been sadly at variance with his real
feelings at this time, lying as he was at the mercy
of Ibrahim Pasha, his palace and capital sur-

22 THE EMIR BESHIR.
rounded by troops, and companies of soldiers
penetrating in every direction through his moun
tains, disarming his people. The Emir was hand
somely attired in a rich robe edged with sable,
his waist was girt with a Cashmere shawl, in
which stuck a dagger covered with diamonds, and
his fingers were clothed with rings. In his hand
he held a long pipe, the bowl of which rested on
the carpet, and the large amber-headed mouth
piece was covered with jewels. The Emir is cele
brated for the number and magnificence of his pipes.
The princely air and the venerable figure of
this old patriarch, riveted our gaze the whole time
we remained. The chief, and almost the only
topic of conversation was Sir Sidney Smith, with
whom the Emir was very intimate when Sir Sidney
was stationed off this coast during the war; he
calls him a good man, a very fine fellow, and ap
pears greatly to admire him. He asked us if we
would like to see his horses, and an attendant
secretary making a low obeisance, drew a paper
from his bosom and wrote a few words on it.
This was presented to the signet bearer, who drew
forth from his vest a small seal attached to a
chain, and the paper being duly stamped, was
handed to us as the signal for departure. The
Emir again laying his hand on his breast, bent all

EMIRS CASTLE.  STUD. 23
round to us, and we withdrew This oriental
mode of salutation is very graceful and very beau
tiful. On one side of the large quadrangle are the
apartments of the Emir, and his harem, to which
there is a smaller private court, paved with mar
ble and cooled with fountains. On the two other
sides are small detached buildings and courts for
his retainers and officers of the household; and
towards Deir el Kammar the quadrangle is open
to the country, being merely bounded by a low
wall ; thus affording a view of the valley, and a
lovely peep of the sea between the mountains.
Proceeding to the stables, we saw some highly
esteemed Arab horses, with flowing manes and
tails, for which we were told the Emir would
take no price. There were some small grey horses
of exquisite symmetry, which were admired greatly
by the whole party. They are remarkably docile,
free from vice, and playful as kittens.
We were afterwards conducted to the Emir's
baths, celebrated for their beauty. They consist
altogether of five apartments, with vaulted ceilings
stuccoed and painted, and floors inlaid with dif
ferent coloured marbles representing flowers and
stars. The first room was fitted with divans and
carpets. Here was a messenger of the Emir's sent

24 emir's baths.
to invite us to take a bath, and who, moreover,
told us, that a room and supper would be pre
pared in the palace, where it was hoped we would
pass the night. Boys, naked with the exception
of a napkin tied round the waist, assisted to un
dress us, a large towel was then wound round
our loins, another was bound round our heads, in
the shape of a turban, and another let fall over
our shoulders. Slipping our feet into a high pair
of wooden pattens, we walked into the bathing-
rooms, the temperature of which increased until
we arrived at the last chamber, which was suffo
catingly hot, causing a profuse perspiration to
break out all over the body. The floors of these
rooms were of marble, inlaid in compartments, and
furnished with white marble slabs for reclining
on, where we were soaped and scalded, and
kneaded, and pounded by boys, in the true oriental
style. We were afterwards shewn into the apartment
allotted us, and carpets and cushions were brought
us to rest upon; From the window looking into
the quadrangle, we saw the Emir Beshir, at sun
set, mount his horse to proceed to the serai, or
palace of his wife, built by him about a mile from
Bteddin, a small country house, at which he al
ways sleeps. His sons likewise mounted their

EGYPTIAN SOLDIERS. 25
horses and rode to their different residences, close
at hand among the mountains.
A supper was brought in on a round tray. In the
centre was a huge pilaff of rice, and around it several
small dishes of stewed meats, grilled bones, sour
clotted milk called yaoort, bits of meat roasted, with
slicesof apple and artichoke, pickles,andboiledfowl,
&c, and round the edge thin cakes of unleavened
bread, and ivory spoons. A large napkin was spread
over our knees, and after we had finished, a sil
ver ewer and basin was brought ; the latter had
a perforated lid, through which the water ran
as it was poured upon the hands. We reposed
upon cushions laid down on the floor ; the room
contained no furniture, and we were much dis
turbed by vermin during the night.
Oct. 1st. — We were awakened by the sound of
military music, and saw two regiments of Egyp
tian troops, parading in the court-yard below, who
went through their manoeuvres with a precision
and steadiness that would have done credit to
many an European regiment. The bands played
with spirit some lively airs ; Egyptian officers
in the Nizam dress were bustling about, and
shouting to their men ; attendants of the Emir in
picturesque costume were gazing on the novel

26 BTEDDIN.
spectacle, and some were leading out Arab horses
for their morning's exercise.
We walked out to the cantonments of the
troops, who quickly gathered round us, examining
and criticising our dresses and appearance, laugh
ing heartily with each other, but in a good-natured
way which was far from impertinent. They
testified a lively curiosity, civilly saluted us as we
approached, and followed us about, showing none
of that insolence with which they are said to
treat Franks.
On the Emir's arrival from his wife's serai, we
sent to request an audience of leave, which was
instantly granted, and we were received with the
same parental air of kindness and dignified cour
tesy as before. . Were we asked to point out the
finest specimen of an old man, and the most per
fect gentleman in address, it would be the Emir
Beshir. If natural ease, and dignity of manner,
distinguish the address of a gentleman, modern
aspirants to fashion in Europe would do well to
come and study the bearing and carriage of these
Easterns. Finding the Emir busily engaged with various
individuals, we tendered him our grateful thanks
and acknowledgments and took leave. The only

DEIR EL KAMMAR. 27
disagreeable part of the whole entertainment was
now to come, as the different attendants flocked
around expecting to be paid liberally, according to
custom, for the hospitality that had been shewn
us. Their eager importunity created an unplea
sant feeling ; but as we had been highly amused
we satisfied them all.
On arriving at Deir el Kammar, we went to
take leave of Suleiman Pasha and Osmar Effendi.
On one side of a court-yard extending in front of
the house occupied by Ibrahim Pasha, were the
quarters of Suleiman Pasha. As we passed
through this court, the door of Ibrahim Pasha's
room being left partly open, we saw him within
the chamber, on his legs, haranguing three or four
officers in rich dresses, having the star and crescent
worked in silver on their breasts. Ibrahim was
plainly attired, without any ornament, and was
speaking with great vehemence and stamping the
floor violently. In the centre of the room was the
bed on which he had passed the night, composed
of boards resting upon some loose bricks and
stones which served for legs, and on which had
been placed a mattress and coverlid.
It is not the practice in this country to undress
at night. People lie down to sleep in their clothes,

28 DISARMING THE DRUSES.
which, as they make frequent use of the bath, is
not so revolting as it may appear to us at first
sight. Their store of clean linen is small ; and
their shirts, which consist of thin transparent silk
or cotton, are seldom changed. None of it is dis
played about the person, as the under-jacket but
tons close round the neck, except at the sleeves ;
where, indeed, only wealthy people exhibit any
vestige of a chemise, poorer men dispense with it
altogether. Omar Effendi, who was found just returned
from an excursion of disarmament, gave the follow
ing description of the strict and arbitrary measures
pursued. Parties of soldiers are despatched from
the head quarters to all the villages in the moun
tains. When they arrive, proclamation is made
to the inhabitants to bring in their arms and pile
them in the street, on pain of death, and a certain
time is allowed for that purpose. These parties
are accompanied by guides who know pretty well
the number of inhabitants, and if suspicion is ex
cited that arms have been concealed, the most
rigorous search is made. As yet the inhabitants
have all been taken by surprise, and no resistance
has been offered ; nor is it likely to be, for the
communication of the mountaineers with the Emir

DRUSES. 29
has been cut off, and no time has been allowed for
combination. Ibrahim has gained his point, and
has rendered the Emir powerless at a blow.
Besides the Druses, these mountains are inha
bited by Christians of different sects, Maronites,
and Latin and Greek Christians, who possess nu
merous monasteries, and are animated with the
bitterest rancour against each other, particularly
the latter sects, who would prefer the triumph of
Islamism rather than that of the Christian sect
opposed to them.
The Druses are a most extraordinary people,
their real religion, if they have one, remains a
mystery ; though, from all I can hear, it should
seem that they have no creed at all. They are
every thing as it suits their convenience, Christians
among Christians, and Mussulmen among Mussul-
men. They here consequently mostly profess
Mahometanism, although in private they are said
to break through all the rules of the Koran, feast
when they ought to fast, and even eat hog's flesh.
Those living among the Maronites or any Christian
sect of the mountains, send their children to be
educated with the Christian children, and attend
the Christian place of worship without believing
in the Christian doctrine. Their morality is as
questionable as their religion. They appear to be

30 DRUSES.
given to the most vicious practices, from the in
dulgence of which they are only restrained by the
principles and opinions of the people among whom
they live. Brothers, with them, are allowed to
marry sisters, and according to Burckhardt, who
more than any other traveller had an opportunity
of observing these people, —
" Examples are not wanting of their assailing
the chastity of their mothers, and towards their
sisters such conduct is so frequent, that a father
never allows a full grown son to remain alone
with any of the females of his family."
They appear too to be as cowardly as they are
vicious ; for it is said that a Druse will tamely
receive an insult, a kick, or a blow when nobody
is by, but if an observer be at hand, a sense of
shame impels him to resent the injury.
The tie of marriage is so slight that the so called
husband often dissolves the contract by word of
mouth, and orders his wife out of doors to seek a
lodging among her friends. Men and women too
are said by Burckhardt to eat raw meat, and this
I have heard is really the case when they are
fortunate enough to get it, which is not often, as
little meat is eaten by the population, who live
chiefly upon vegetables. And it is the religion of
these people which has formed a subject of specu-

DRUSES. — MARONITES. 31
lation and of curious inquiry among learned tra
vellers ! Lamartine, after some conjectures upon
the subject, says that their religion is a mystery ;
and it is likely to remain so, as they appear to
have none. They have no external forms of de
votion, but they adopt any as it suits their interest
and convenience, acting upon the wise principle of
squaring their conduct to suit the opinions and
prejudices of their neighbours. The Maronite
Christians are the most powerful party among the
mountains, and it is said that the Emir Beshir
caused himself to be baptized, to attach the Ma
ronites more firmly to his authority. It is averred
that the Emir is Christian, and that his wife has
been baptized, although he preserves the outward
forms of Mahometanism. He appears somewhat
like the conscientious Druses, Maronite to-day and
Turk to-morrow.
The Maronites derive their origin, in the words
of Gibbon, from " Maron," a saint or savage of the
fifth century, who displayed his religious madness
in Syria. " The rival cities of Apamea and
Emesa disputed his relics ; a stately church was
erected on his tomb, and 600 of his disciples united
their solitary cells on the banks of the Orontes."
The peculiar tenets of this sect became the sub
ject of persecution.

32 MARONITES.
" The son of the orthodox Constantine pursued
with pious hatred a people of soldiers, who might
have stood the bulwark of his empire against the
common foes of Christ and of Rome. An army of
Greeks invaded Syria ; the monastery of St. Maron
was destroyed by fire, the bravest chieftains
were betrayed and murdered, and 12,000 of their
followers were transplanted to the distant frontiers
of Armenia and Thrace ; yet the humble nation
of the Maronites has survived the empire of
Constantinople, and they still enjoy under their
Turkish masters a free religion and a mitigated
servitude. Their domestic governors are chosen
among the antient nobility. The Patriarch in his
monastery of Canobin, still fancies himself on the
throne of Antioch ; nine bishops compose his
synod, and one hundred and fifty priests, who re
tain the liberty of marriage, are intrusted with the
care of 100,000 souls. Their country extends from
the ridge of Mount Libanus to the shores of
Tripoli, and the gradual descent affords in a nar
row space each variety of soil and climate, from
the holy cedars, erect under the weight of snow,
to the vine, the ' mulberry, and the olive-trees of
the fruitful valley." " In the twelfth century, the
Maronites, abjuring the Monothelite error, were re
conciled to the Latin churches of Antioch and

MARONITES. 33
Rome, and the same alliance has frequently been
renewed by the ambition of the Popes and the
distress of the Syrians. But it may reasonably be
questioned, whether their union has ever been
perfect or sincere, and the learned Maronites of
the college of Rome, have vainly endeavoured to
absolve their ancestors from the guilt of heresy
and schism."*
These Maronites inhabit the most elevated part
of the range of Lebanon, from Beirout northwards
to Tripoli, and numerous monasteries are scattered
over the mountains in lonely and picturesque situa
tions, some elevated even to the borders of almost
eternal snow. Around their scattered villages,
the soil washed down by the mountain torrents is
preserved in terraces, formed along steep precipi
tous descents, and presents an industrious and
careful cultivation, strongly contrasting with the
neglected state of the rich plain between Lebanon
and Anti-Lebanon.
All questions of a religious nature are decided
by a patriarch, elected by the bishops and con
firmed by the Pope, who has a legate residing
at the monastery of Kanobin. All civil matters
are carried before the Emir Beshir. The priests
* Gibbon.
VOL. II. D

34 MONASTERY OF KANOBIN.
are all allowed to marry, and have in gene
ral numerous families. The monastery of Ka
nobin, the residence of the patriarch and of the
Pope's legate, is situated in a wild and solitary
altitude of Mount Lebanon, almost inaccessible in
winter, from the snow that covers the ravines
and gorges of the mountains. It is about half a
day's journey from Tripoli on a steep rock over
hanging a deep romantic glen, watered by torrents
from the melting of the snows. It was founded
by Theodosius the Great, and is surrounded by
several monasteries and the grots and cells of
hermits, now deserted.
About three miles distant from this monastery
of Kanobin, is the ruined convent of Bekerke,
founded by a female called Hindye, a religious im
postor accused of the greatest crimes and debauch
eries. Atrocities are said to have been com
mitted in the convent, nuns murdered and violated,
and when a party of soldiers, dispatched by the
Emir Youseef, found a nun in a dungeon at the
point of death, atrocities were disclosed which
made the hair stand on end.
The next considerable sect to the Maronites and
Druses inhabiting the range of Lebanon, are the
Metualies of the Shite sect of Mahometans, i. e.
followers of Ali, the sect dominant in Persia. By

METUALIES.  EMIR BESHIR. 35
them Ali and Hossein and their descendants are
considered the true caliphs, descendants of the
Prophet, while the Turks cling to Omar, and the
greatest rancour exists between them ; the Turks
calling themselves Sonnites or orthodox Mussul-
men, and their opponents Shites or Sectaries. The
Metualies, like the Persians, think every thing
defiled that has been touched by a person not of
their religion. Originally they possessed Baalbec^
but were driven thence into the mountains.
The Emir Beshir, who reigns over the different
sects composing this mountain population, is ac
cording to Burckhardt, of the antient Arab family
Shebab, which derives its origin from Mecca, and
its name has record in the history of Mahomet ; he
is the son of the Emir Hassan, who commanded
in these mountains, and a descendant of the cele
brated Abdallah, well known for his gallantry
and death under the walls of Damascus, in the
time of Abubeker.
The Emir Beshir succeeded to the command at
an early age, and after being dispossessed of and
restored to his power through the intrigues of
his rivals and relations, he was at last confirmed
in his command by the influence of Mohammed
Ali. Deir el Kammar, the capital, is a sort of
large, straggling village, said to contain a popula-

36 BEIROUT.  IDIOT.
tion of some thousands ; the name signifies in
Arabic " the convent of the moon," so called from
a convent dedicated to the virgin which once stood
there. The virgin is represented by the Christians
in Syria with the moon under her feet.
Oct. 2d. — I was this morning, in the principal
street of Beirout, startled by the revolting sight of
a man quite naked crawling along on his hands
and knees. I was told that he was an idiot, and
as such regarded with a superstitious veneration
by the Moslems, who suppose all idiots to be
under the peculiar and especial care of God, and
deem it therefore sinful to interfere with them or
any of their inclinations.
We find that this morning a general seizure
has been made of every beast of burthen in and
around Beirout to transport corn to the troops
at Deir el Kammar, and the greatest confusion pre
vails. Old men are tearing their beards in despair,
and young men are venting curses at their horses
and mules, which have just brought goods from
the country into the town to market, having been
seized and taken away for two or three days to
come. We were likewise sufferers, as nineteen
horses and mules which we had engaged to carry
us to Baalbec had been seized with the rest, so
that we were obliged to defer our journey.

SEIZURE OF MULES. 37
It was sad to see the treatment the poor mule
teers, and proprietors of horses got from the local
authorities, if they in any way resisted the seizure
of their property. Tall figures with white canes
in their hands, administered the " argumentum
baculinum" over the heads of all such daring
and impertinent scoundrels with great effect. The
government, it is true, pays, or professes to do
so, but at a very low rate, and totally dis
regards the injury and inconvenience which it
may occasion.
There are in Beirout a great many American
missionaries, who have schools, and educate a few
Armenian, Druse and Maronite children ; some one
or two they have converted to Protestantism, but
such proselytes are rare.
They have some excellent houses in the environs
of Beirout, and were remarkably kind to a sick
friend of ours.
Protestant service in English is performed every
Sunday at the British Consulate.
The principal ruins of the antient Berytus ex
tend along the promontory to the west of the town
close to the sea shore, and about a mile from the
western gate, where the foundations of massy
walls may be seen stretching out into the sea,
covered with the white spray of the breakers.

38 BEIROUT.  SCENERY.
The coast is bold and wild, and the mountain
scenery bounding the waters very grand.
Along the quay, and in the harbour, are great
evidences of the magnificence of Berytus.
Rowing round the harbour, many fragments of
fine columns may be seen, broken to serve the
purposes of the Turks or Saracens, sad monuments
of their barbarism. All around Beirout too, in
different directions, lie fragments of fine columns
partly buried in the sandy soil.
When the great heat is passed, before the breeze
has died away and all nature has become hushed
into the calm tranquillity of a southern evening,
it is very delightful to take one of the small Arab
boats, miserable as they are, and sailing away on
the dancing waters, to observe the fine panoramic
view of mountains, winding shores, and bold
scenery that stretch on every side. The waves
dash their white vapoury spray high aloft into
the air, or against the dark rocks along the western
side of the roadstead ; the green sloping shores are
covered with mulberry trees, behind which rise
the dark buildings and minarets of the town, and
the long range of Lebanon, mountains piled upon
mountains, and rocky peaks shelving down rapidly
into the blue waters, darkened by a swiftly passing-
cloud, or gleaming brightly in the broad, full, cheer-

HARBOUR.  GOVERNOR. 39
full sunbeam, present a scene which must ever leave
an abiding image upon the mind of the beholder.
It is a great disadvantage to Beirout, that there
is no secure harbour; near the Lazaretto, how
ever, are a curving bay and tolerably good
anchorage. There was antiently an artificial port
formed by a mole, which was destroyed, with
other Syrian harbours, by the Saracens, to prevent
their affording refuge to the crusaders.
Oct. 3rd. — We can procure no horses or mules,
none having been brought near the town since the
report of the press has gone abroad. We have
therefore determined to go in person to the go
vernor with the Pasha's firman, and try and get
the horses that had been hired for us, and
seized for Ibrahim Pasha's service. Attended by
our dragoman, myself and another individual, as a
deputation from the whole party, proceeded to a
large court-yard surrounded by buildings ; in the
centre some large trees overhung a fountain, and
under their shade the governor, as is always the
case in the East, was holding his court in the
open air. He sat upon a raised platform covered
with cushions, upon which his secretary and per
sons of rank were seated, while the promiscuous
crowd remained standing below.
An Englishman commits a great mistake, if in

40 BEIROUT.  GOVERNOR.
going before any of these local authorities, he pays
them any deference which may imply a sense of
inferiority in himself, as he will in that case gene
rally be treated with neglect and arrogance ; the
deference we pay to each other is not understood
here, where every one exacts the degree of con
sideration he fancies himself entitled to from those
around him. Consequently if a man proudly neg
lects to offer you a seat, you must take one. If he
offers you coffee before the chibouk or pipe, you
must send it away, and order the pipe. You will
then find that his opinion of you is vastly height
ened, and he will be ready afterwards to show
you all manner of respect, that his own dignity
may not be compromised by your taking of your
own accord what he has neglected to offer; a
piece of presumption which he knows not how
to resent. When we arrived, therefore, at the
governor's platform, we mounted the steps with
out hesitation, and seated ourselves on the divan
beside him, making the usual salaam, which he
returned courteously enough, and we then ordered
our dragoman to approach and interpret.
The Pasha's firman was read with due re
verence and attention, and we then told the go
vernor that we wanted eighteen or nineteen horses
and mules to go to Damascus.

GOVERNOR. — MULETEER. 41
Not a word was uttered in reply, and we sat
in silence for a minute, when the secretary, shak
ing his head and stamping a paper with the go
vernor's signet, on which were cut his initials,
called to a gaily dressed character with a long
cane in his hand, who quickly brought a muleteer
charged to execute our orders. The man asked
an exorbitant price for his mules, and we appealed
to the governor, who informed us that the firman
merely ordered him to procure the beasts, but
gave him no orders about their price, and, there
fore, that he had nothing to do with it. The over
charge no doubt went into his own pocket.
Many of the houses of Beirout present marks of
the cannon balls fired at the place when the Greeks
landed during the last war. The present popula
tion, I am informed by a resident merchant,
is about 12,000, of which full one half are
Christians.

CHAPTER II.
BEIROUT. — DEPARTURE. — ASCENT OF LIBANUS. — SCENERY.
— ZAHLE.  NOAH'S TOMB.  COSLESYRIA. — BAALBEC. 
GIGANTIC STONES.  MASSIVE RUINS. — IBRAHIM PASHA'S
CAVALRY.  DEAD BODY.  ARAB LAMENTATION.

IcaioXKriha., » te Aij3avoc xa\ i 'AvT*>ii(3aivo;, ^ixpov virsgQtv rris
STRABO, LIB. XVI.
Oct. 4th. — We have been preparing all the
morning for our departure. The awkwardness
and stupidity of the Arabs are most annoying.
It is now one o'clock, and there is no probability
of starting for another hour ; two or three men
are occupied at a time in loading a mule, one ap
pearing to undo what the others have just done ;
the court-yard is strewed with rope, hay, boxes,
and trunks, and the screaming and shouting are
distracting. Two, P. M. — We are at last all mounted, and

BEIROUT.  DEPARTURE. 43
present a long and very curious cavalcade. The
van is composed of seven strong baggage mules,
well laden ; the centre of our eight respectable
selves, mounted on broken down chargers and
mules ; and the rear is brought up by various
grotesque figures; a very fat Maltese servant,
in a round brim straw hat, on a tall, lean, broken-
kneed charger with a high wooden saddle ; a
pale sickly looking Arab dragoman, in a white
turban and long flowing robe, on a mule ; a hand
some little Greek boy ; a black African of Senaar,
wheeling about on horseback, with a double-
barrelled gun slung on his back and a scimitar at
his side; and last of all, the large English bull-dog,
sewed up in a panier, and held on a mule by an
Arab, to be kept out of mischief.
As we passed through the gate, the Arab guard
drew up, the crowd collected, and when the bull
dog, with his tongue hanging out, covered with
white foam, was first seen closing the procession,
an universal shout of astonishment was echoed on
all sides, and the whole guard turned out to wit
ness the extraordinary phenomenon, having never
seen so strange an animal before. This bull-dog,
having traversed the whole of Russia, through
the Caucasus, Circassia, the north of Persia, Tur
key, and Syria, fighting dogs, seizing cattle and

44 BEIROUT. — DEPARTURE.
sheep, and going through a variety of adventures,
at last died at Jerusalem, and was magnificently
interred by his kind master under the walls of
that city, where an inscription was placed to his
memory. We had three muleteers; two were on
foot, and the third, who appeared to be the cap
tain of the band, was mounted on a little frisky
donkey, and preceded the caravan, regulating its
pace. He was dressed in a sort of blue petticoat
garment, with a voluminous sash wound round his
waist, a dirty turban on his head, and a short
cherry-stick pipe in his mouth. His head and
legs were constantly in motion, and his high
shoulders, long beard, and round face gave him a
most original aspect.
The sun was already fast declining in the west.
The bright glare from the lofty eminences was
gradually softening into the mellow light of even
ing, and the women, one by one, were beginning
to emerge from the houses, each with her ac
customed water pitcher, as we left the shady mul
berry groves that surround Beirout and crossed
over the rich plain to the south-east of the town.
The lofty range of mountains, thickly studded with
villages, presented a most picturesque appearance.
We shortly commenced the ascent of the chain,
enjoying delightful views of the sea and of

ASCENT OF LIBANUS. 45
secluded Druse villages surrounded by a few
vineyards, and veiled by thin curling wreaths of
white smoke.
We had ascended to a great height, and com
manded an immense expanse of ocean and a wide
sweep of mountainous coast, when the sun set in
great splendour over the water. The air was
perfectly calm and tranquil, and the broad expanse
of sea blending itself with the blue sky far away
in the distance, and the varied tints on the shore,
presented a most lovely scene. At the same mo
ment, the moon, in the opposite quarter, was seen
rising behind the eastern mountains, and gradually
blending her soft and mellow light with that of the
departing day. The stillness in these mountain
regions, the deep winding ravines and glens,
the scanty Druse villages here and there perched
on projecting eminences, or scattered in the depths
below, the deep shade thrown by rugged rocks,
and the picturesque long cavalcade, now disappear
ing in the shade and then again advancing into
the increasing moonlight, were altogether most ro
mantic. From time to time the occasional bark
of a shepherd's dog or the tinkling of a sheep
bell was heard high aloft among the rocks. We
rode for two hours by moonlight, and then took

46 MOUNT LIBANUS.  ENCAMPMENT.
up our quarters for the night at a small khan,
situated in a very elevated region.
Our cavalcade of nineteen horses, and a small
caravan from Damascus with one hundred more,
with the muleteers and travellers kindling their
fires and cooking their suppers, and a few wild
figures rolled up in rough capotes lying on the grass,
or around the flickering flames of the fires, would
have formed a fine subject for a painter. There
was a small house in which some of us managed
to find shelter, and the others, wrapped up in their
cloaks, reposed on the flat terrace above.
Oct. 5th. — When the first streak of morning light
was seen stealing along between the bends of the
mountains, we were awakened by the muleteers ;
but the sun had arisen ere our numerous cavalcade
was in train for starting. We continued ascending
the mountains, and at one time enjoyed a superb
view of Beirout and the vast expanse of sea far be
low. We passed several Druse villages, surrounded
by neat vineyards and well cultivated land ; the
men appeared a hardy and healthy race, and the
women with the tantoura, or large horn of silver or
copper gilt, projecting from their foreheads, had a
strange look. This custom of wearing a horn is
probably of Hebraic origin, from the frequent al-

DRUSE WOMEN.  KHAN. 47
lusion to horns in the scripture. " Lift not up
your horn on high, speak not with a stiff neck."
Psalm lxxv. 5. — " Arise and thrSsh; 0 daugh
ter of Zion, for I will make thine horn iron,"
&c. Micah, iv. 13. — " These are the horns
which have scattered Judah, so that no man did
lift up his head ; but these are come to fray them
to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted
up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it."
Zechariah, i. 21.
At noon we halted for two hours at a khan,
where we were joined by two Egyptian officers,
whom some of our party unluckily invited to par
take of a ham, for they quickly caused it to disap
pear. Travelling in this country with much
baggage is very tiresome, and yet, to travel com
fortably* a great deal is required. You have a
restive mule which starts away at a gallop or be-^
gins to kick, and in the next moment your boxes
and trunks are seen rolling down the mountain ;
sometimes a spirit of emulation arises between two
mules, who begin to trot. You run after them to
check the acceleration of their pace. This how
ever has just the contrary effect ; away they go,
glasses, bottles, and crockery begin to shake and
rattle, and are heard to perish in rude contact with
each other ; the perverse four-legged brute all the

48 DESCENT OF LIBANUS.
while increases his pace, till at last the cords re
lax, and down comes the whole load with a tre
mendous crash. Just after one of these catas
trophes, when we were surveying with vexation
of spirit a heap of baggage lying in the road,
with no muleteer present to replace it, one of
the party observed a long dark coloured liquid
trickling down the rocks, and to our horror we
observed that it proceeded from a case of cog
nac brandy which was lying under the packages,
all the bottles in which were smashed.
At two p. m. we began rapidly to descend the
mountains, and saw the long flat plain inclosed
between the parallel ranges of Lebanon and Anti-
Lebanon, the antient Coelesyria, extended like a
map below. It appeared bare and arid, devoid of
foliage, habitations, and water, and possessed a de
serted melancholy appearance. We passed a few
scanty villages surrounded by clumps of poplars,
containing a population of a few families only, and
at seven o'clock we arrived at a khan and a few
wretched houses, watered by a small swift stream,
called the Bahr Babouini, which flows from the
range of Lebanon. Within a quarter of an hour's
walk, on the mountain, was Zahle, one of the
principal towns of the Emir Beshir. Zahle is
said to contain between three and four thousand

•ZAHLE. 49
inhabitants, but I should think half that number
much nearer the mark ; they are chiefly Maronite
Christians, and have a bishop, several churches,
and a monastery. It is a place of some trade, and
various manufactured articles are sold there to the
peasantry, who flock in from the mountains. The
long blue cotton shirts or gowns, manufactured in
the place, shoes, pipes, cloth, silk, &c, are ex
changed for divers products of the country. We
slept on some straw under sheds, in a large yard
belonging to Ibrahim Pasha.
Oct. 6th. — The weather is very lovely, but
very hot in the middle of the day. The autumnal
rains have not fallen as yet, and the parched dusty
soil of the plain is split into innumerable fissures.
It was fresh and lovely as we left the village,
and the clear limpid water, as it rolled between
its green banks, presented a delightful contrast to
the yellow dusty track we were about to follow.
The environs of Zahle are watered by this river,
and produce very fine radishes. We passed some
low mud huts, filled with a squalid population of
old men and miserable children, with their eyes
disgustingly covered with flies.
Beyond the village of Kerak a Turk shouted to
us, and asked us to come and see the Tomb of
Noah, a sight not to be resisted; so we pushed our
VOL. II. E

50 TOMB OF NOAH.
horses on over a heap of sand, and dismounted at
a long building. We entered the court of a ruined
mosque and crossed to a door, where we were
made to take off our shoes* and entering in, we
were shewn a long narrow raised structure, about
sixty feet in length, covered with blue cloth, which
the Moslems call the Tomb of Noah ! It is held
in the greatest reverence by Mussulmen, who re
count various miracles connected with it. We
saw a few small villages on the right of the road
near the small river Litane, which flows through
the valley. The continuation of our journey was
through a perfect desert ; we traversed a wide
plain bordered by mountains, and far as the eye
could reach there was neither cultivation, habita
tion, nor green thing, only the parched cracked
earth, scantily covered with dead grass,— dreary
and endless. Yet all this vast district, the Ccele-
syria of the Greeks, possesses a fine soil, capable of
cultivation during the rainy season, and a consi
derable portion might be irrigated by the river
Litane, which flows through it, could the inhabit
ants feel due security and protection under the
government, and be for the future secure from con
fiscations and depredations of rival Pashas, who
have for ages desolated the country. Tranquillity
does indeed now reign, and the remnant of the

CIRCULAR RUINED TEMPLE. 51
inhabitants, instead of being the prey of marauding
Pashas and successful freebooters, are now at the
mercy but of one ; but they are borne doAvn by a
heavy and oppressive hand. Confidence and se
curity are not restored, nor are they at all likely
to be so.
After a fatiguing march, blinded by the dazzling
glare of the sun from the white plain, parched
with thirst and suffocated with heat, we hailed
with rapturous joy a line of green relieving the
dusty horizon in front, above which might be
seen towering the grand and majestic columns of
Baalbec. We passed a small circular temple in the plain,
of modern construction, and probably of Saracenic
origin. It is an odd building, of the worst taste.
The columns supporting the architrave appear to
have been fine antient columns, barbarously divided
into two pieces, as their diameter is out of all pro
portion to their length. Weary and thirsty we rode
under the walnut trees, and through the scanty
gardens of Baalbec, to the beautiful octagonal
Roman temple of the Corinthian order, and letting
down a bottle between huge blocks of stone, we
drew up some clear cold water from a fine stream
that gushed through an aqueduct below, we then
took up our quarters at a Greek bishop's, who
E 2

52 BAALBEC.  ORIGIN.
gave us two rooms with mud walls and earthen
floors. " Also he (Solomon) built Beth-horon the upper
and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with
walls, gates, and bars :
" And Baalath, and all the store cities that So
lomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities
of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to
build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and through
out all the land of his dominion." — 2 Chron. viii.
5, 6.
The great and mysterious ruins of Baalbec are
referred by tradition among the Arabs to Solo
mon, whose name is familiar to them as a mighty
king and magician. He was assisted, say they,
in the construction of these magic buildings by
genii and devils. It is an interesting fact con
nected with this spot to remark that the ancient
and original name, Baalbec, always preserved
among the native fellahs and cultivators of the
soil, has of late prevailed over the more modern
appellation of Heliopolis, given to the place by the
Greeks and adopted by the Romans, which name
has failed to survive the occupation of the country
by those two nations. The name'Heliopolis given
by the Greeks is a mere translation into their lan
guage of the ancient name Baalath, pronounced

WORSHIP OF BAAL. 53
probably, or corrupted into the word Baalbec, city
of Baal, or of the sun, which great luminary was
here anciently worshipped, having been introduced
from Egypt, as we learn from several ancient
authors. The worship of the sun, antiently pre
valent among the Syrians and Chaldeans, is called
the worship of Baal in Scripture. The term Baal
in the eastern languages is said to signify Lord or
Master, and as such is applied to the sun as the
head of the starry host. The worship of " Baal,"
" the host of heaven," the sun, moon, &c, is fre
quently alluded to in Scripture as the same wor
ship. " And the king commanded Hilkiah the high
priest, and the priests of the second order, and the
keepers of the door, to bring forth out of the tem
ple of the Lord, all the vessels that were made for
Baal, and for the grove, and for all the host of
heaven : and he burned them without Jerusalem,"
&c. " And he put down the idolatrous priests whom
the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense,
&c, in the places round about Jerusalem, them
also that burned incense unto Baal, and to the
Sun, and to the Moon, and to the Planets, and to
all the Host of Heaven."— 2 Kings, xxiii. 4, 5.
Whether any part of the ruins here can be re-

54 BAALBEC GIANT STONES.
ferred to the ancient city of Baal, is matter of
opinion ; the only portion of them likely to create
any doubt upon the subject are the gigantic stones
along the north and west wall of the platform on
which the temples stand. They are double the
size of any known hewn stones in the world, pre
senting such an extraordinary result of human
labour and perseverance, as might well give birth
to the idea, among ignorant people, that none but
devils or a magician could have placed them there.
These truly gigantic stones, the great wonder
of the place, form part of the foundation of a large
raised platform, or citadel, on which the subsequent
and more modern ruins have been erected. On
the west side ; the lowest range of these blocks
resting on a foundation of rough stones consists of
eight in number, the smallest of which is thirty-one
feet long, and the largest thirty -eight feet long, eleven
feet broad, and thirteen feet high ; and the range
above, resting upon these, contains three single
stones, measuring together one hundred and ninety
feet in length, being severally of the enormous di
mensions of from siMy-three to sixty-four feet in
length. On the north side there are ten gigantic stones,
but much smaller than the above, the largest
being about thirty-two feet in length and the

GIGANTIC STONES. 55
smallest about thirty, they are thirteen feet
high, and ten feet and a half thick ; these
likewise rest upon a basement of rough stones,
which would be called enormous any where but
here ; and the vast masses are so beautifully
joined together, without cement, that the point of
a penknife cannot be inserted between them.
These last stand quite away from the citadel^
forming a huge wall of single stones in front of it ;
through the solid mass of one, a door has been cut,
by which we passed into a sort of fosse between
them and the exterior wall of the citadel, planted
with a few fig trees ; and by means of some
stones and rubbish fallen from above at one end,
we managed to climb up to the top of the last
range of these " giant stones," and paced up and
down the wide terrace on their top, lost in asto
nishment. They have a darker and more time-
worn appearance than the walls of the citadel
behind. A projecting angle of the more modern
walls has been brought across the line of these old
stones, and a stupendous vault has been turned
over and rests upon them. Dr. Richardson re
marks, that " these stones are cut with the
bevelled edge, exactly like the stones in the sub
terranean columns of the Haram Schereef at
Jerusalem, which I have stated to be of Jewish

56 BAALBEC-RUINS.
workmanship," and he also remarks, that a new
surface has been cut on the old stones, to assimilate
with the new masonry added to them ; some of
the stones being left only half finished.
It is indeed strange that so wonderful a mass
of building as this should be veiled in such
obscurity, and that no notice should have been
taken by antient writers of these, the largest
hewn stones in the known world, when much less
remarkable buildings have been the subject of co
pious and tedious description. The quarries from
Whence they were cut are still visible, and in
them there still exists a stone larger than any
seen here, hewn out but not carried away.
Nothing at all either, strange to say, is known
of the magnificent temples and ruins built on the
vast platform or citadel resting upon these walls,
by some referred to the Phoenicians, but with
more reason to the time of Antoninus Pius, when
the Corinthian order was much in fashion among
the Romans. They are not described by any
antient author, nor even alluded to, and the only
ground upon which they have been ascribed to
Antoninus Pius is the single testimony of John of
Antioch, surnamed Malala, in Hist. Chron. Lib. ii.,
who says, " iElius Antoninus Pius built a great
temple to Jupiter at Heliopolis, near Libanus in

TEMPLES. 57
Phoenicia, which was one of the wonders of the
world." — Some Roman medals have been found,
upon the reverse of which is a representation
of buildings something similar to these temples,
with the inscription " Colonia Heliopolitana
Jovi optimo Maximo Heliopolitano."
There appear to me to be three successive eras:
1st, The gigantic hewn stones, which may perhaps
have belonged to some antient building dedicated
to the worship of Baal, or the sun and the heavenly
host, which are so beautiful in this climate. 2d,
The Roman temples and ruins of the time of
Antoninus Pius. And, 3dly, The Saracenic walls,
and towers raised upon these, at the time when
the place was converted into a fortress by the
Kaliphs. The Roman temples present some of the finest
specimens of the Corinthian order in existence, and
possess a wonderful grandeur and majesty, from
their lofty and imposing situation.
The most prominent object from the plain is a
lofty portico of six columns, part of the great
Temple of the Sun, and the walls and columns of
another ruined temple, a little below, surrounded
by green trees.
Oct 7th. — Soon after sunrise we ascended a
circuitous path alongside the vast and beautiful

58 BAALBEC. — GRAND PORTICO.
stone basement upon which the smaller temple
stands, over vast fragments and capitals of columns
that had rolled down the steep declivity from
above ; and, on arriving at the summit of the
platform, the majestic columns and porticos, and
the vast scene of shattered ruins that suddenly
burst upon the sight, are, I think, as striking as the
first interior view of the Acropolis of Athens.
On an elevated basement of large stones in
front stand six majestic columns, supporting a
richly carved entablature and frieze, the shafts of
which alone, without base or capital, are fifty-
eight feet in height and fifteen feet eight inches in
circumference, and, including base, capital, and
entablature, seventy-two feet in height ! The base
ment on which they stand has an elevation of
near twenty feet, so that the total height from
the ground to the top of the portico is not far off
from one hundred feet.
Immediately on the left is the smaller temple,
tolerably perfect ; of the fifty pillars which it once
possessed, twenty entire columns only are now
standing, of which eleven on the north side still
support a richly carved arched roof of stone,
covering the peristyle court between the columns
and wall of the temple ; this roof is divided into
diamond compartments by rich carvings, in which

TEMPLE. 59
are sculptured various busts of mythological
figures; among them is Leda being caressed by the
swan, Ganymede being carried off by the eagle,
&c, &c. We examined some of the enormous
blocks which had fallen from above, and were
surprised at the depth and smoothness of the
carving. The scattered fragments of cornices and
the prostrate capitals are all beautifully sculptured
and deeply cut ; the under parts, protected from the
weather, possess a sharp edge and a smoothness as
if just finished, and the acanthus leaves lap over
and stand out with a boldness and high relief that
excite the strongest admiration.
The effect of the Corinthian order depends as
much on the execution of the sculptured details, as
in harmony and correctness of proportion; and the
miserable specimens we have about London, with
a stunted capital and a few cramped projections
called acanthus leaves, would not be known as the
same order of architecture by the side of these
bold, free, airy, and majestic masses of building.
The shafts of the columns consist of three pieces,
and some one or two of two pieces each, riveted
firmly together by immense iron pins worked into
a socket in the centre of each stone, the largest
of the pins is near three feet in circumference,
and they unfortunately afford an inducement

60 BAALBEC-RUINS.
for the spoliation of the buildings to the
Arabs and neighbouring Pashas, who have been
known to knock down columns to get at the
iron. No cement or mortar is used in their construc
tion, but the large square stones are neatly adjusted,
and so closely fitted as to render the joining almost
invisible. Of the pieces forming the shafts of the
columns the shortest is fifteen feet in length and
two and a half feet in diameter, and the largest
more than nineteen feet in length and seventeen
feet in circumference. One of the rich sculptured
blocks, forming the roof of the peristyle court, rest
ing on the columns, and which has fallen from
above, measures sixteen feet in length.
Passing onwards from the small temple, a suc
cession of ruined chambers and walls are seen
running all round this vast area of ruins, orna
mented with rich cornices and niches for the re
ception of statues ; they appear to be ruins of
the side walls of vestibules, corridors, and por
ticos, of which the columns are all gone, and
the statues taken away. One may seek the world
through, and not find a more striking picture of
decay and desolation.
The great temple, and evidently the most antient,
stood upon an elevated basement, and contained

TEMPLE OF THE SUN. 61
ten columns in front and nineteen in flank, of
which six are now standing, forming the before-
mentioned majestic portico ; in a line with them,
are the pedestals of three others, which were
standing in 1751, and at intervals, all round a
vast oblong, may be traced almost all the pedestals
of the other shattered columns. The basement
and the pedestals on the eastern side are entirely
gone, and the ground appears to have sunk, either
from the effects of an earthquake, or by the giving
way of one of the vast vaulted passages under
the citadel.
On the northern flank, built into the modern
Saracenic wall erected when the place was convert
ed into a fortress, and parallel with the six columns
and pedestals on the south side, are fourteen
pedestals, upon four of which the broken shafts
of columns still remain. At the end of this line
of pedestals, another line of three pedestals meets
them at right angles, forming what was the
western point of this magnificent edifice ; two of
the vast columns resting on these pedestals have
fallen inwards, while a third, falling outwards, has
carried away the wall of the citadel, and lies
shattered to pieces with a vast heap of ruins in
the fosse below. Some fragments of channelled
Corinthian columns lie scattered about, which

62 BAALBEC-RUINS.
may, as in the other temple, have formed part of
the entrance. The outer columns of both temples
are without channellings.
The smaller temple, which appears built on the
same plan, is still very perfect," and originally
possessed eight columns at either front and fifteen
at either side, counting the corner columns, the
shafts alone of which were forty-five feet in
height and about two feet and a half in diameter:
of these, on the south side, on an elevated stone
basement, and surrounded by green trees, four
columns still remain perfect, and part of the shaft
of a fifth, leaning against the side of the temple,
and which in falling beat in one of the stones,
broke into two pieces, and yet so strongly were
the two stones composing it joined together by the
iron rivet, that they remain unaffected by the con
cussion. The richly carved ceiling of the peristyle
court on this side has all fallen, and lies buried
under the heaps of ruins in the fosse below the
basement. At the west front of the temple remain three
perfect columns, supporting part of a richly carved
entablature, and the shattered shafts of four others,
while vast fragments of the richly carved roof of
the portico encumber the path with their enor
mous masses. Each corner of the temple is

TEMPLE* 63
adorned with pilasters of the Corinthian order,
and all around extends a richly carved frieze. It
is built of large blocks of a species of marble closely
joined without cement.
The arched stone roof of the north peristyle
court, resting on the wall of the temple on one
side and the columns on the other, displays most
elaborate carved work; sculptured lines cut one
another transversely, forming diamond squares,
in which are carved gods and goddesses and
different mythological subjects.
The eastern front, which was the grand front
of the temple, looking towards the rising sun,
possessed great majesty and grandeur, but it is
sadly spoiled by a modern wall built across, ap
parently for the purpose of closing up the entrance,
Of the magnificent double row of sixteen Corin1
thian columns which originally stood there, two
only remain, supporting an entablature and por^
tions of the roof, so richly and floridly sculptured
as to lead us greatly to regret the destruction .of
the rest.
Creeping through a small hole that has been
knocked in the barbarous modern wall built across
the front entrance, we were astonished with the
magnificence of the great gateway, and the beauty
of the interior of the temple, whose walls were

64 t BAALBEC-TEMPLE.
adorned with numerous Corinthian columns and
pilasters, between which were niches for statues,
and circular recesses ornamented with richly
carved borders, cornices, and friezes. The grand
portal, of great width and height, is much choked
up with rubbish. It is composed of nine massive
stones, three at either side, and three at the top,
where the centre stone, dislodged from its place,
probably by an earthquake, has slipped between
the two adjoining stones, and descended about
half a foot, by which the body of an eagle sculp
tured on it has become separated from its wings
and two garlands which hang from its beak.
The gateway is surmounted by a rich cornice
and frieze, ornamented with leaves, flowers, fo
liage and fruit, and surrounded by a richly carved
border, composed of wreaths of vine branches
hung with pendent bunches of grapes, in the bends
of which are placed sporting cupids, executed in
high relief, and displaying great grace and beauty;
but many of them have been most barbarously
mutilated by the stones and hammers of travellers
attempting to knock them off and carry them
away. A border of leaves and wheat-ears, too, runs
round the doorway, and the whole has been most
floridly ornamented.

SMALL TEMPLE. 65
On either side of the portal is a staircase for
ascending to the top of the temple; the one on the
north of the entrance, although partially closed
with stones, can be ascended. It twists round
within a square pillar, and is remarkable for the
beauty of its construction; the stones are worn
and polished smooth by the hands of persons who
have mounted long ages ago. This shews that
the staircase must be pretty old.
The interior of the temple is adorned on either
side by six channelled Corinthian columns rest
ing against the walls, and three pilasters support
ing a broken entablature, displaying a rich frieze
of foliage, resting on the heads of satyrs, bulls,
horses, &c. About twenty feet in front of the
wall at the western end of the temple, are the
broken shafts of two fluted Corinthian columns,
supposed to have supported a canopy under
which the statue of the god was placed.
As a proof that the building must be tolerably
antient, it may be remarked that the wall built
across the front entrance is composed of portions
of the temple, which must therefore have been in
ruins at the time that wall was built, and that the
wall itself is not very modern, may be seen from
its ruinous state, and from the shrubs and grass
VOL. II. F

66 BAALBEC.  RUINS.
now growing from between the interstices of the
stones. The total length of the body of the temple is
about 160 feet, and its breadth about eighty.
A little to the northward of this temple, and
parallel with it, is a high basement of stones ; on
the platform at their summit appears to have stood
another temple, if we may judge from part of the
shafts of two columns of red Egyptian granite, and
some other fragments of architecture, which are
scattered about.
Passing on to the eastward of the great temple,
over fragments of Egyptian granite, of cornices
and masses of ruins, you find the inclosed space
surrounded by walls richly ornamented with mould
ings, circular recesses, and niches for statues, which
appear to have formed either the sides of handsome
chambers and galleries, or to have been covered
porticos, of which the columns and roofs are all
gone. The first of these ruined walls "to which we
came, appeared to have formed the three sides of
a saloon, or covered portico, about sixty feet by
twenty, adorned with a rich cornice, and highly
ornamented recesses and niches for statues, the
roofs of which were sculptured in the shape of a

RUINED CORRIDORS. 67
large shell ; the inclosed space was filled with
blocks of stone and broken columns of red Thebaic
granite. These walls are composed of single
blocks of stone four feet thick, and averaging
from ten to twelve feet in length, and five in
depth. The inner faces of the stones, cut and
sculptured, form the sides of the galleries or
porticos. We next came to a circular space, or large re
cess, about eight yards in diameter, surmounted by
a low cupola, open at the top, and ornamented
with cornices and carvings in roses and leaves,
and six Corinthian pilasters, between which are
recesses with shell-shaped roofs ; and then to
another line of wall and niches, similar to the first,
but more ruined and disfigured by the modern
Saracenic repairs for the purposes of defence, and
so on all round the three sides of this vast inclo-
sure; the plan of the buildings on either side exactly
correspond, semicircular rooms being placed op
posite to semicircular rooms, corridors to corri
dors, &c. Passing through a door at the end, we
entered what had been a long and wide room or
passage ; at each end of it was a square room oc
cupying the projecting bastion ; the entrances were
between two Corinthian pilasters, of which the
capitals at the north end, boldly and beautifully
F 2

68 BAALBEC.  RUINS.
executed, preserve all their original freshness. The
floor of one room has given way and tumbled into
the vaults beneath.
These ruins, though so striking and magnificent,
are yet, however, quite second rate when compared
with the Athenian ruins, and display in their de
corations none of the bold conceptions and the
genius which characterize the Athenian archi
tecture. There is a peculiar sameness in the de
corations of the friezes, entablatures, and cornices ;
the ornaments are all alike, and the festoons of
grapes and vine leaves hung on goats' and horses'
heads, the pendent bunches of grapes and cupids,
however rich in appearance and beautifully chi
selled, can never excite such feelings as one small
portion of the Panathenaic frieze of the Parthenon,
or one of the metopes representing the battle be
tween a Centaur and Lapithee. There is a genius
in these latter, a combination of talent, a soul, fire,
and spirit, which are looked for in vain in the
Baalbec remains. The great Panathenaic frieze
of the Parthenon, which extended all round that
temple, with its hundreds of horses and warriors,
its spirited grouping and faithful delineation of
forms and attitudes, and above it the wars of the
Centaurs and Lapithse, possessed a most excitino-
interest, The vine branches and wheat-ears of

CAVALRY REVIEW. 69
the temples of Baalbec, although unquestionably
very beautiful, yet appear tame in comparison, and
cannot certainly be put into competition with
these masterpieces of architectural decoration.
Oct. 8th. — We went by invitation, at sunrise,
to see a review of two fine regiments of Ibrahim
Pasha's cavalry, stationed in the plain of Baalbec,
to be near at hand should any disturbance take
place during the disarming of the mountaineers.
We went accompanied by a French officer in the
Pasha's service, and were much pleased by the
condition and appearance of the troops. They
went through the different cavalry manoeuvres of
charging, wheeling in squadrons, deploying into
line, and various movements such as I have seen
cavalry regiments go through at an easy pace in
England, and in Italy at full gallop ; and their
rapid manoeuvres were extended over a large cir
cuit of country. They charged at full gallop, and
halted without breaking their line — a manoeuvre
which only Arab horses, who are trained to it
from their earliest age, can execute.
The tents of the troops were pitched under the
shade of some trees in the gardens, alongside the
banks of the Litane, which rises in the Anti-Liba-
nus behind Baalbec. None but those who have
been in these climates can tell the luxury of a

70 ARAB FUNERAL LAMENTATION.
stream of water, green trees, and shade. As we
returned to our house, I heard a most fearful cry
ing ; it was the funeral lamentation over an Arab
woman just dead, a practice universally prevalent
among the Arabs, and something similar perhaps
to an Irish wake. I walked to the hut, at the
door of which the melancholy ceremony was
going on.
In the centre of a group of women, sitting round
in a circle, was the corpse, and by the side of it
an Arab woman kneeling, her expressive looks
and gestures manifested that she was speaking to
it ; while the women around kept up an occasional
low chaunt. In a short time she began to talk
very loud to the body. Her gestures were so
peculiarly expressive, that it was perfectly easy
to comprehend every thing that was said, and the
interpretation I put upon her actions I found after
wards substantially correct. You are only asleep,
said she ; wake and comfort us. She recalled the
pleasant hours they had spent together, then ap
peared to chide the dead body for not responding
to her emotions. Fear then appeared gradually
to steal over her ; she looked wildly around ; she
began to beat her breast, then to tear her hair, and
gradually worked herself up to a paroxysm of grief,
which, little by little, stole over the rest, and ex-

ARAB FUNERAL LAMENTATION. 71
tended to the whole circle, who began to shed abun
dance of tears, and make loud and bitter lamentation.
When I first went up, the young girls were
spinning, and seemed much amused and almost
inclined to laugh at the oddity of my appearance.
As, however, the discourse of the old woman be
came more passionate, one by one they laid down
their little spinning apparatus, the tears gathered
in their eyes, and in a short time they all began
to sob and cry most bitterly. The corpse lying
extended on the ground, the old woman supporting
its head and shading the pallid features with her
long gray hair, which she every now and then
frantically tore out by the roots, her wild gestures,
the energy of her manner, and the occasional
mournful touching tones of her voice as she spoke
something in admiration of the deceased, which
drew forth a fresh burst of grief from the sorrow
ing circle of females, altogether presented a scene
so saddening that I was obliged to retire to pre
vent the infection of grief extending to myself.
The little village of Baalbec is situated to the
eastward of the ruins, and is in a sad state of
wretchedness and decay. It is little more than a
heap of rubbish, the houses are built of mud or
sun-burnt brick, and they are covered in with flat
roofs composed of poles, over which are laid the

72 VILLAGE OF BAALBEC.
branches of trees, and then a composition of dry
grass and mud.
The population of 5000, which the town con
tained in 1751, has now dwindled down to barely
200 persons, and the two handsome mosques and
fine serai of the Emir mentioned by Burckhardt
are now no longer distinguishable ; nor does each
house continue to possess its " ten or fifteen cows,
besides goats and sheep, the goats being of an
uncommon species, worth from £30 to £35 a-
piece ! " The grapes, the pomegranates, and the
fruit, at one time so abundant, we inquired for, but
could not obtain.
Land formerly in good cultivation, and watered
by manual labour from the river, is now a portion
of the desert plain ; its decline has been rapid and
constant, and the day may not be far distant when,
like other places, man may cease to exist, and the
jackal and the hyena be the only tenants of the
deserted ruins. Strange it is, one is tempted to
exclaim, that human industry does not avail itself
of a fine soil and plentiful supply of water, and
that the population should thus decay ; but it is
only necessary to recollect the nature of the go
vernment and the state of parties for many years
past to comprehend all. The different wars and
marauding expeditions of the rival Pashas of

VILLAGE OF BAALBEC. 73
Damascus, Acre, and the Emirs of the Druses
have desolated the spot, the successful parties
always laying heavy contributions on the country,
and draining the people of their cattle, corn, and
fruits, and whatever they possessed.
Famine, the pestilence, and the sword gradually
thinned the inhabitants, always destroyed more
easily than restored.

CHAPTER III.

MOUNT LEBANON.  CEDARS.  ANTI-LIBANUS. — ARABS. 
SURGAWICH.  ARAB VISITORS.  ARAB WOMEN.  ZEBDENI.
 EL SOUK.  HUSSEIN. — RIVER BARRADA. — DUMAR.  DA
MASCUS.

A step as fleet, an eye more bright,
Hath Judah witnessed there ;
And o'er her scenes of lost delight,
Inhabitants more fair.
The cedars wave on Lebanon,
But Judah's statelier maids are gone.
HEBREW MELODIES.
Oct. 8th. — At five in the afternoon, as the sun
was declining behind the blue range of mountains,
I accompanied three of our party across the plain
of Baalbec, on the way to the cedars of Lebanon.
The evening was clear and lovely, and a beautiful
blue haze spread itself along the mountain sides.
Mount Lebanon, the highest point, and which
gives its name to the range, is the most beautiful

CEDARS OF LEBANON. 75
feature of the landscape from Baalbec, and when
seen towering aloft behind the foreground of ruins
in a clear atmosphere, with the white patch of
snow on the summit, it presents a grand and
most striking appearance. By the Arabs it is
called Djebel Sannin ; and, on the side of Baalbec,
snow is seen upon it throughout the year, but not
on the other or western side. We command a
fine view of it from the porch of the house of the
Greek bishop in which we reside, and have
often, when oppressed with heat, wished to be
near the sparkling white patch that delighted the
eye by its association with coolness. No rain has
fallen for four months, and the accumulation of
snow must have been very great not to have
melted away in the long drought and heat.
The following is an account of the interesting
expedition of the party of three, which I regret
not to have accompanied the whole way : — .
" We passed the tall monumental column which
rises above the plain, whose origin appears to
be as little known as that of the majestic ruins
and temples of Baalbec, and in three hours we
arrived at the village of Deir el Akhmar, at the
foot of the mountain, where we procured a guide
to conduct us across the summit to the cedars,
which stand on the descent of the opposite side.

76 MOUNT LEBANON.
From hence the road is very steep and difficult,
masses of loose stones and rock cover the path.
About three hours and a half after leaving Deir el
Akhmar, we arrived at the small miserable village
of Ainnete, and from hence to the summit the
ascent took about an hour over a barren tract of
sand and stones, into which we sank nearly knee
deep ; and the ascent was so steep, that we were
obliged to dismount and scramble up on foot.
The moon rose beautifully behind the range of
Anti- Libanus, — there was not a breath of air
upon the mountain. The stars were brilliant, and
Halley's comet was beautifully seen.
" About midnight we arrived at the summit;
the moon was shining brightly, and we could dis
tinguish the outline of a glorious prospect around
and below. The moonlight was sufficiently strong
for us to see the cedars extending along an emi
nence beneath, — they looked like a clump of juniper
bushes, much disappointing us in their appearance.
We passed along the edge of the snow, which
was frozen so hard that we could not break it
with our fingers. The cold was but little felt, as
there was no wind. After descending two hours
we approached the cedars, which now as much
struck us by the magnitude and venerableness of
their appearance as they had before done by their

CEDARS OF LEBANON. 77
apparent insignificance. We could perceive the
venerable old cedars throwing up their leafless
branches above the younger ones, and, as we ap
proached the deep gloom cast by their wide
spreading branches, through which a few solitary
moon-beams trembled, a feeling of awe came over
us. Not a human dwelling was near, and, fa
tigued and weary, we lay down and slept under
one of the largest of the trees.
" Daylight disclosed to us a grove of cedars, ex
tending for near a mile, the only green objects in
sight, and a delicious prospect in this country,
where trees are so rare. In the midst of the
grove may be seen the venerable giant cedars,
now only seven in number, throwing up their
white leafless branches, like wide spreading stag-
horns, above the screen of green foliage that sur
rounds them, interesting as great curiosities of the
vegetable world from their magnitude and age,
as well as from the associations connected with
them. " One hour after sunrise we ascended to the
summit of the mountain over loose stones and
sand ; the eye embraces a grand view of moun
tains, a long winding sweep of coast, and a vast
expanse of sea. We descended again to Ainnete,
and halted at a spring gushing from under some

78 CEDARS OF LEBANON.
walnut trees, where we were regaled by some
Arabs with fresh goats' milk, and we then con
tinued our journey to Baalbec."
These cedars on Lebanon are held in great
veneration by the inhabitants. The Christians
celebrate an annual mass under their shade, and
the Mussulmen hold them in the greatest respect
from traditionary legends concerning them.
It is even said that these trees are contemporary
with Solomon ; this draws rather too strongly on
our credulity, though from the great age to which
the cedar will attain, it is not difficult to suppose,
that these form a portion of the succeeding genera
tion, if their predecessors attained the same vene
rable age which these appear to possess. Their
bare branches shoot up a vast height above the
cedars by which they are surrounded, and the
vast trunk below, is shaded with a spreading
foliage of the deepest green; any one of them,
independent of its situation, would be a great
curiosity as a vegetable production.
It is curious that this is the only grove of cedars
on the whole range, and that trees of any magni
tude, excepting fir-trees, are not met with in this
part of the country ; they are likewise near the
village of Eden. — " And all the trees of Eden, the
choicest and best of Lebanon." Ezekiel, xxxi. 6.

CEDARS OF LEBANON. 79
— And if, as there is reason to suppose, they
were formerly more numerous, and of the same
size as the few specimens of the antient forest
that are left, we need not wonder that they have
been the subject of such frequent allusion in Scrip
ture, and have been spoken of with such admira
tion. " With the multitude of my chariots I am
come up to the height of the mountains, to the
sides of Lebanon, and will cut down the tall cedars
thereof, and the choice fir-trees thereof." 2 Kings.
— " And upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are
high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan."
Isaiah, ch.ii. — " Behold the Assyrian was as a cedar
in Lebanon, with fair branches, and with a shadow
ing shroud, and of an high stature, and his top
was among the thick boughs. The waters made
him great, the deep set him up on high, with her
rivers running about his plants  Therefore
his height was exalted above all the trees of the
field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his
branches became long, because of the multitudes
of the waters which he shot forth. All the fowls
of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and
under his branches did all the beasts of the field
bring forth their young, and under his shadow
dwelt all great nations." Ezekiel, ch. xxxi. —
But year after year these giants of the vegetable

80 CEDARS. — RAALBEC. — VAULTS.
world have been sharing the blighting influence
that blasts the whole country ; and in the words
of Scripture — " The earth mourneth and lan
guished, Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down,
Sharon is like a wilderness ; and Bashan and Car-
mel shake off their fruits."
In the beginning of the eighteenth century,
between thirty and forty of the large old cedars
were counted, by some of our early travellers. In
1750, seventeen are mentioned to have been seen ;
afterwards twelve are described ; now seven only
remain ; and the prophecy of Isaiah appears at last
to be fulfilled, that the time would come, when
" the rest of the trees of his forest should be few,
that a child might write them." — ch. x. ver. 1 9.
Oct. 9th. — This afternoon we explored some
of the large subterranean passages that lead under
the great citadel of Baalbec, immense vaults of
very massive architecture, and beautifully con
structed. They are now used as storehouses and
granaries. The key of the gate leading into them
is kept by the Aga of the village, and at present a
quantity of dry grass and straw belonging to the
cavalry is stored withinside, consequently we
were not allowed to take a light. I have no
doubt, if they were explored, and if excavations
were made, that something interesting might be

CISTERNS. — QUARRIES. 81
discovered within their gloomy precincts. From
an eminence behind Baalbec there is a fine and
extensive view ; and in the rock, at intervals, are
excavated cisterns, something in the shape of a
bee-hive, having a narrow circular entrance at the
top ; they are lined with a beautiful hard polished
stucco. The walls of the antient Heliopolis are
traceable in many directions, and shew that the
antient city must have been of considerable extent.
Oct. 10th. — At noon we left Baalbec, and
halted at the great quarry, about a quarter of a
mile from the village, from whence the large stones
were hewn.
The vast block which we saw and walked
upon, now lying there, smoothed and planed, and
ready shaped, but not carried away, measures
sixty-nine feet two inches in length, twelve feet ten
inches in breadth, and thirteen feet three inches in
thickness. Mr. Wood, the architect, who saw this
stone in 1751, from its admeasurement, computes
that it contains 14,128 cubic feet of solid matter,
and would weigh, supposing it to be of the same
specific gravity as Portland stone, 2,270,000 lbs.
avoirdupoise, or 1,135 tons; and this stone was
hewn out by manual labour, and prepared to be
transported a mile to be built into a wall !
The morning is cloudy, quite a phenomenon,
vol. ii. g:

82 ANTI-LIBANUS.
and we are delighted at being sheltered for a sea
son from the burning rays of the sun. Soon after
leaving Baalbec we commenced the ascent of the
range of Anti-Libanus, and from the eminences,
we had a fine view of the opposite bolder and
more lofty chain of Libanus, at the northern end
of which a few showers flying about, the first
rain for four months, gave great effect to the
scenery, and imparted a delicious coolness to the
air. Whirlwinds of dust rolled from the plain
beneath in tall spiry columns, which every now
and then giving way at the base, left a dense
cloud of dust, careering high in the air.
The scenery, consisting of steep ascents and
descents, was as pretty as it could be, without
foliage, habitations, or water. We passed a
ruined village of mud huts, in which not one soul
existed, nor has the wide prospect we have fre
quently enjoyed from these elevations hitherto
displayed a single village, cultivated tract, or sign
of life, except a few miserable scattered cabins,
and an Arab boy tending a flock of goats.
When will the despicable and scanty remnant
of the inhabitants of these regions assume courage
to shake off the grinding despotism that cramps
their industry and bows their energies to the dust ?
When will they raise themselves from the brute

ARABS. 83
slavery and nothingness into which they are fallen,
and in the words of Pope,
 " teach the tyrant, trembling on his throne,
This world was made for many, not for one."
I am afraid they are too deeply fallen ever to rise
again; and that the reformation, when it does
come, must come from abroad. They have no
spirit, no sense of independence left ; they are un
resistingly struck and kicked by their so called
superiors ; and so completely accustomed are they
to this treatment, that no other consideration very
often will move an Arab, but money or the argu-
mentum baculinum; they are careless, slovenly,
lying, and deceitful, and nothing can moderate
and correct these bad habits but the stick.
I of course here use the term Arab in a confined
sense, meaning the settled inhabitants of Arab
origin, and by no means extend it to the Bedouin
of the desert, who is a far different being. I have
heard Englishmen condemn, and very properly,
their countrymen for lifting their hands against an
Arab, and say, you would not do it if you thought
he would turn again. True, but it is difficult
sometimes to restrain yourself, as the Arab, like
the school-boy, will be ruled by nothing else.
For instance, you hire your horses by the day at
g 2

84 ARABS.  SCENERY.
a good price, and the Arab will never make so
good a bargain again, consequently he will endea
vour to make three days' journey out of two, by
falsifying distances, marching slow, and putting up
for the night at some village, telling abundance of
lies to induce you to go no further. He is obsti
nate, and if you are alone and unaccustomed to
the country, you give way ; finding he has suc
ceeded here, he will try and impose on you still
further the next day. If you offer him money it
acts like magic, but if you seize your stick, and
putting yourself earnestly in a rage, apply it to his
shoulders, he is suddenly transformed into a dif
ferent being, and hastens to execute your orders
with a promptness and alacrity quite astonishing.
At sunset we traversed a steep precipitous de
scent into a deep valley, at the bottom of which
flowed a stream, its course being marked by a
brilliant line of green foliage, for where there is
water there is vegetation, and of the brightness
and beauty of that vegetation none but those who
have been in this country can have an idea. By
the side of the stream far below, like a thread,
extended a winding road, along which a long
string of camels were moving at slow and stately
pace, with the camel bells round their necks tink
ling musically as they passed along.

SURGAWICH. 85
There is something particularly soothing and
pleasing in the tinkling of the camel bell, which is
suspended round the neck of every camel, and I have
often listened to its monotonous music with great
pleasure on a still evening. On the other side of the
valley rose the dark perpendicular cliffs of Djebel
Sheikh, the base of which we soon reached. We
wound along the valley, passed a few houses by .the
river side, and in about an hour we reached some
gardens and groves of trees surrounding the village
of Surgawich or Zurgeia, pleasantly situated in. the
narrow valley along the borders of the stream, and
hemmed in by precipitous mountains. Here our
servants and muleteers soon procured for us the
best house in the place, where we were hospitably
received. On the earthen floor of a large room, the roof
of which was thatched with mud, bushes, and
straw, mats were placed upon which our servants
unrolled the beds, and then kindled a great fire
outside the door to cook the supper. On the ar
rival of every stranger, the first charitable offer
to him is always of a mat and of a pitcher of water;
the first to serve the double purpose of saying his
prayers and resting himself upon, and the other
of washing himself for prayer and quenching his
thirst. After supper, the villagers dropped in, one

86 SURGAWICH. — ARAB VISITORS.
by one, made us the graceful and courteous salaam,
placing one hand on the breast, and then sat
down in a row along the opposite wall, with their
legs crossed under them. They seemed astonished
and amused at our appearance and dress, and
gazed with wonder at our knives and forks, which
they begged to be allowed to inspect.
Wonderful stories were then told by the spokes
man of the party about their use and intention,
with various shrewd remarks upon Frank manners
and customs, to all which they listened most at
tentively; but what confounded them were the
air-cushions belonging to some of our party; they
could not at all comprehend the hissing noise that
the air made on being allowed to escape, and
seemed strongly inclined to think they were talis
mans, or that we had got some evil spirit fastened
up inside.
Oct. 11th. — Six, p.m. The baggage is all strapped
and fastened upon the mules, and we are surrounded
by a crowd of women, who have come to have
their look at us. Some of them are creeping behind
hedges, and shrouding themselves as much as
possible from observation ; their dresses, although
dirty, had a graceful appearance. There was a
remarkably tall, pretty girl, who surveyed us at a
distance from under a tree ; her beautiful long

ARAB WOMEN. — ZEBDENI. 87
braided hair fell down her back; a long white
linen veil fastened to the top of the head, fell down
also over her shoulders behind, nearly to her heels ;
a piece of embroidered cotton in imitation of a
shawl encircled her waist, having a large knot on
one side ; and in her hands she held a stick, on
which she was spinning cotton yarn.
After leaving the village, we as usual took leave
of trees and cultivation, and traversed a bare un
interesting valley, bounded on the left by a bold
range of dark perpendicular cliffs. We passed some
wild, half-naked people on horseback, with long
shaggy hair hanging over their shoulders, and a
tall masculine woman with a child in her arms.
In one hour we descended to the village of Zeb-
deni, situated in a delightful valley, surrounded
by beautiful gardens and rich groves of fruit-trees
and poplars, and watered by the stream of the
Barrada, which, rising in the mountains above the
village we started from this morning, runs through
this valley, and waters the whole plain of Damas
cus. Here at Zebdeni it is joined by a rivulet,
called Moyeh Zebdeni, rising in the mountain
behind the village.
A find stream of water from the river is carried
by a canal along the sides of the mountain, and is
then divided into several small streams, which are

88 ZEBDENI.— -ENVIRONS.
made to flow down through the rich gardens into
its natural bed, thereby irrigating the soil and
causing it to produce abundantly. We halted in
a large square in the village filled with women,
to give the horses some water. It is inhabited
by Arabs, a few Turks, and some Greek
Catholics. Hence we travelled through luxuriant gar
dens inclosed by a hedge beautifully bound to
gether, and amid the overhanging branches of
the walnut, the mulberry, and a forest of fruit-
trees, under which the rich soil was neatly culti
vated with melons, radishes, and vegetables.
Streams of water gushed along the road and
through the gardens, and a cool fragrant air was
diffused under the branches of the trees. This was
too good to last, and we shortly emerged upon a
naked marshy valley surrounded by mountains.
We passed a beautiful spring of water, which
the Arabs pointed out to us as one of the sources
of the Barrada, and about mid-day we halted
under the shade of some walnut trees, to refresh
the horses and cook our dinners. It is very acree-
able gipsying in this way, taking care to provide
fowls, &c, in the different villages, and to store
your provision chests with sundry little delicacies,
which conduce most materially to the preservation

RIVER BARRADA. — WADY BARRADA. 89
of health, and also to the cohtentedness and good
humour of a large party.
At two p. m. we left the walnut-trees, and
passed through the mountains to the banks of the
river Barrada, now much swollen by the junction
of its two branches. We followed its winding
course through a grand pass in the mountains,
hemmed in by dark perpendicular cliffs, through
which the stream rushed sparkling with white
foam. A little further on, it formed a beautiful cas
cade of two falls, tumbling over the rocks, and
numerous surging and boiling streams of water
gushed through the broken and dissevered masses.
Below these falls we crossed the river by a stone
bridge, called Djissr el Souk, at the commence
ment of the Wady Barrada, or Valley of the river
Barrada, and on the right of the road we saw six
chambers excavated in the rock, presenting small
doorways with buttresses between them, inacces
sible without scaling ladders. They are no doubt
very antient, and were constructed either as dwell
ings or tombs; the Arabs ascribe them to the
Franji, who inhabited the country before the
Turks took possession of it.
The valley now expanded a little, and gra
dually lost its wilder and bolder features. In a
quarter of an hour, we arrived at the small Village

90 SOUK. — WADY BARRADA.
of El Souk, surrounded by bright green trees and
refreshed with an abundance of water. Souk signi
fies in Arabic, market, and the name is often ap
plied to the small villages where commodities are
bought and sold.
From Souk the course of the river Barrada was
overshadowed by trees, and marked by a zig-zag
of lively and refreshing green, presenting a charm
ing appearance when contrasted with the white
cliffs and hills on either side. We followed the
course of the river to the end of this delicious little
valley, and then left it for the barren parched
mountains, which we ascended amid glare, heat,
and dust. We shortly, however, descended again
into the luxuriant Wady Barrada, and in less than
an hour arrived at the village of Hussein, where
our Arabs wished to stop for the night, although
we had three hours more of daylight ; and they
thus wished to take two days and a half over a
journey, which is usually performed in one day
and a half. The impudent dogs took us off the
high road into the village, and began to unload
the mules, when seeing by our violent gestures,
menaces, and brandishing of sticks, that we would
not allow the piece of knavery to be perpetrated,
the few articles that had been taken off, were re
placed, and we quietly resumed our route.

SOUK BARRADA. — DJISSR DUMAR. 91
In about half an hour we passed a little to the
west of another village, called Souk Barrada, crossed
a dreary barren district, and nearly lost ourselves
in the dark. We crossed a wild heath, when the
Arabs wished to stop again and disputed as to
which was the right path ; pushing on, however,
through water and swamps, we reached an emi
nence above the village of Eljdide, close to a small
hamlet called Senie, built on the declivity of a hill.
Our muleteers took the horses to the village, and
we encamped under some trees, spreading our
carpets on the ground, and kindling a roaring fire,
as the night was cold.
Oct. 12th. — We started at sunrise for Damascus,
between four and five hours distant, following the
river, whose banks were beautifully clothed with
mulberry-trees and ta?I poplars, and inclosed by
sterile white chalk mountains. We passed the small
village of Dumar, crossed the Barrada by the
Djissr Dumar, a bridge of two arches, and then
took leave of the valley and passed through a
desert region over sterile white chalk mountains,
unenlivened by a green leaf or a trace of vege
tation. After ascending the hills for some time, we
descended to a narrow, winding, rocky path, daz
zled with the glare of the sun, and oppressed by

92 SHEIKH'S TOMB.  DAMASCUS.
heat ; and by direction of our Dragoman, leaving
my horse and climbing up the rocks to a small
cupola supported on columns, the tomb of a Santon
or of a Sheikh, one of the most magnificent pro
spects in the world suddenly burst upon my sight.
Like the first view of Constantinople, it is unique,
and will bear comparison with no other that I
have seen. I called up my companions, and one
after another as they arrived, they stood electri
fied by the charming prospect.
Conceive our sensations after journeying in this
country, through thirsty, dusty plains, across
white sterile mountains, diversified only with
ruined villages and collections of miserable mud
huts, suddenly to find ourselves standing on a lofty
ledge of rocks, and looking down from an elevation
of one thousand feet, upon a vast plain, bordered
in the distance by blue mountains, and occupied
by a rich luxuriant forest, of the walnut, the fig,
the pomegranate, the plum, the apricot, the citron,
the locust, the pear, and the apple, forming a
waving grove more than fifty miles in circuit ; not
such a wood as one sees in France, England, or
Germany, but possessing a vast variety of tint, a
peculiar density and luxuriance of foliage, and a
wildly picturesque form, from the branches of the
loftier tress throwing themselves up above a rich

DAMASCUS. 93
underwood of pomegranates, citrons, and oranges,
with their yellow, green, and brown leaves ; and
then conceive our sensations to see grandly rising in
the distance, above this vast superficies of rich
luxuriant foliage, the swelling leaden domes, the
gilded crescents, and the marble minarets of Da
mascus, while, in the centre of all, winding to
wards the city, ran the main stream of the river
Barrada. White morning mists veiled the eastern end of
the valley, and a light blue vapour hung in curling
wreaths over the city itself, giving a dimness and
indistinctness of outline which added much to the
grandeur of the scene.
We feasted our eyes, as we descended, on the
lovely prospect, and we all agreed that we had
never beheld a view more striking; here and
there, the openings in the trees displayed little
patches of bright verdure, or a glimpse of richly
cultivated gardens ; the whole of the rich tract was
surrounded by a mud wall, beyond which all was
arid and desert.
Descending to a level with the plain, we skirted
the base of the mountains that border it to the
north, passed several ruined tombs of Sheikhs or
Santons, situated just within the gardens, and
leaving the village of Salahieh, we turned to the

94 DAMASCUS.
right along a broad well paved road shaded by
the overhanging branches of immense walnut-
trees, and through the rich gardens of Damascus.
These shady environs, and this abundance of
water, are indeed luxurious in such a climate.
Swift streams tumble through the mud "walls and
run through the gardens in different directions,
diffusing blessings as they flow ; the branches of
the trees form a canopy of green over head, and
below, beds of cabbages, enormous water-melons
and gourds, fruits, radishes, vegetables, and pend
ent bunches of fine black grapes proclaim the
fertility of the soil, and the careful cultivation.
The various large and small streams, conducted
with care to trees and vegetables, and the peculiar
features of the landscape, made me call to mind
the description of the orchard belonging to the
enchanted castle, in the story of the third calendar
in the Arabian Nights.
" This delicious orchard" (says the writer) "was
watered in a very particular manner ; there were
channels so artificially and proportionably cut,
that they carried water in considerable quantities
to the roots of such trees as required moisture ;
others conveyed it in smaller quantities to those
whose fruits were already formed ; some carried
still less to those whose fruits were swelling, and

DAMASCUS. 95
others carried only so much as was just requisite
to water those which had their fruits come to
perfection and only wanted to be ripened. They
far exceeded the ordmary size of the fruits in our
gardens. Lastly, those channels that watered the
trees whose fruit was ripe, had no more moisture
than what would just preserve them from
withering." The writer must surely have studied his de
scription at Damascus.
The vast thickly wooded orchard that sur
rounds the city, is entirely produced by the river
Barrada, which is divided into three or four heads
at the spot where it issues from the mountain;
the centre or main channel runs straight towards
the city, the others diverge to the right and left
along the rising ground on either hand, and are
made to flow in small streams down the gradual
descent, till they are either exhausted by irrigation
or fall again into the main channel, distributing on
each side vivifying streams, without which the
whole would be an arid desert, like the vast sur
rounding plains, where the soil is in parts even
finer than it is here. The gourds, water-melons,
and radishes are of gigantic size, and are indeed
somewhat " larger than the ordinary fruits of our
gardens."

96 RIVERS OF DAMASCUS.
These rivers of Damascus seem to have been as
much valued in the most antient times as they
are at present. We find in the Second Book of
Kings, Naaman, captain of the host of the king of
Syria, when told by the prophet Elijah to wash
himself in the Jordan seven times that he might
be cleansed of his leprosy, replying —
"Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Da
mascus, better than all the waters of Israel ? may
I not wash in them and be clean ? so he turned
and went away in a rage." *
Turning from the broad paved road along which
picturesque groups of men and women, long strings
of donkeys and mules, and a few dromedaries were
passing and repassing, we entered a narrow
lane to avoid the sight of so many Christians
passing through the principal street and the
crowded bazaars at the most bustling period of
the day. We continued for near three quarters
of an hour more riding through the delicious en
virons under the shade of the trees ; we crossed
a large cemetery, containing some very handsome
tombs, and then passed through a low narrow
gateway into a fine lofty bazaar, crowded with
all sorts of strange figures in the wildest and most
* 2 Kings, ch. v.

BAZAAR. 97
picturesque costumes. They stared at our long
cavalcade in silence, six Christian Franks, (two of
our party had left us, on a visit to Tyre and
Sidon,) with their servants and retinue, had never
been seen riding through a bazaar before on horse
back, and the absence of all tumult and insulting-
expressions shews what a wonderful change has
of late been effected in the opinions and fanati
cism of the people. Ten years ago, a Christian
dared not make his appearance within the gates
in a Frank habit, and every inquiring European,
who wished to visit the town, was obliged to put
on the dress of a Syrian Christian merchant or
Bedouin Arab, and slip in as a native of the
place. In the garb of the despised Christian race, he
dared not formerly mount a horse, but was ob
liged to content himself with the humble jackass,
and even to think himself fortunate if he was not
compelled by insults to dismount, and lead his
donkey by the bridle, when passing through the
bazaars, while a haughty Mussulman, curvetting
along on his Arab steed, preceded by black slaves
armed with white sticks, would drive him with
blows and insults from the centre of the road. If,
too, the stranger investing himself in the habili
ments peculiarly appropriated to the Moslems was
VOL. II. h

98 DAMASCUS. — BLINDNESS.
discovered to be a presumptuous Christian, he
would perhaps be fortunate to have escaped with
out suffering gross insult and severe injury, and
without being stripped and kicked out of the town
in a most ungentle manner.
Here and there a scowling look, or a smothered
cry of Yaoor, or " Infidel," after we had passed,
were all the tokens of discontent we perceived.
The late residence of a British consul-general
at Damascus, who speaks Arabic fluently, has
won the respect of the principal people of the
place, is the known friend of Ibrahim Pasha, and
well maintains the dignity of his country among
these fanatics, has in a great measure effected this
change in the sentiments and bearing of the in
habitants towards Christian strangers, assisted
of course by the efficient protection of Ibrahim
Pasha, whose will is law in Syria.
We were struck and astounded, on our imme
diate entrance into the city, by the vast number
of blind and disfigured people, who presented
quite a ghastly sight. Every third or fourth person
that we met was blind of an eye, and sometimes
of both, caused we were told by the ophthalmia,
which prevails here dreadfully, and in all places in
Syria surrounded by land extensively irrigated.
The quantity and profusion of fruit, the piles of

FRUITS. — CONVENT. 99
enormous water melons, pumpkins, radishes, pome
granates, and grapes heaped up on either side, pre
sented a most striking appearance as we passed
along. Threading our way through some narrow
streets, we arrived at the Francescan convent,
the courts of which were filled with enormous
heaps of fine black grapes, which were being
unladen from a string of camels before the door.
The holy fathers seemed busily preparing a fine
supply of wine for the ensuing year.

H 2

CHAPTER IV.

*
DAMASCUS. — BATH.  GREAT MOSQUE .  PASTRY - COOKS. —
ARABIAN NIGHTS.  BOOK BAZAAR.  COUNTRY VILLA. 
SALAHIEH. — CEMETERY.  DAMASCENE WOMEN.  FUNERAL.
 SAUL OF TARSUS. —ORIENTAL SCENES.

ft Edti yap olfjiCti rriv Aio; <jro\U ccXnQui;, x.aii rvx "Euas uTrao-ys
otyda-Xpov, rtiv \ipa.i v.ai piyia-rw Aa.ftcKrH.ov Xiyai, to?; te aTiXoij aip^
iraaw, oiov Upwv aaXXsi, y.cti k&jv fAEytQit, v.aX uipwv Evxaipia xa) irr,yuiv
ayXaia xa) ltoTa.ft.uv TrXriVEi, v.ai yrtc wtpopia. viKwaav."
" It deserved in truth, as I conceive, to be called the city
of Jove, and the eye of all the East; I mean the great and
sacred Damascus, surpassing in every respect both in the
beauty of its temples, the magnitude of its shrines, the
timeliness of its seasons, the limpidness of its fountains, the
volume of its waters, and the richness of its soil."
JULIAN, EPIST. XXIV. p. 392.
Oct. 12th, eleven, a.m. — A jolly friar with a bunch
of keys in his hands shewed us into a long room,
with no other furniture in it but two or three old
bedsteads, some very suspicious looking mattresses,
and an old chair.
We made a general clearance, had the room

BATH OF MUSK. 101
swept, our carpets spread on the floor, and our
beds upon them, the musquitto nets suspended,
and in half an hour the aspect of the old room
was wonderfully changed for the better.
The next and important object was to throw
off our dirty clothes and go to the bath. Here
the proper and delicious custom, so often men
tioned in the Arabian Nights, universally ' pre
vails, of going to the bath before putting on
clean clothes. Every individual makes up his
little bundle of clean things, and sends them
down to the bath by a slave before he presumes
at any time to change his habiliments. After
roughing it in the country, sleeping in your clothes,
and in huts well stocked with fleas and vermin,
it may be imagined the keen delight with which
we packed up our linen and an entire change of
dress,, and forwarded it by our servant to the
bathing establishment.
Preceded by our little bundles, we were con
ducted to the principal bath of the city, called the
Bath of Musk, to which we approached through
a court ornamented with a fountain, which threw
a stream of water twenty feet into the air, pro
ducing a sweet murmuring, and a pleasant cool
ness. We entered through a small door into a
vast circular apartment, surmounted by a large

1 02 DAMASCUS. — BATH.
dome, and paved with marble. In the centre a
large fountain, bubbling over and rolling into a
circular marble basin below, produced a refresh*
ing coolness.
The scene on entering to a novice is very asto
nishing. Around the large circular hall were
raised platforms or terraces covered with carpets
and small beds, on and around which might be
seen the most extraordinary grim figures imagin
able, some rolled up in towels and napkins, lay
extended at full length smoking, others sat up
sipping coffee. Some were divesting themselves
of their garments, assisted by a black slave, and
others were in a complete state of nudity, in the
act of having a towel wound round their waists,
just before going into the bath. They presented
the most extraordinary and comic aspect imagin
able, with their shaven heads and long beard; (the
heads of all Mussulmen are shaved quite bare,
with the exception of a tuft on the very top,
which is left for the angel of the tomb on the day
of judgment, say they, to grasp and carry them up
to heaven by;) besides these, other objects are seen
wrapped up in towels, with black grisled beards
tickling their breasts, and tottering along on a
high pair of pattens or rather stilts, at the im
minent danger, as it appears, of breaking their

HALL OF PREPARATION. 103
necks. They push onwards to the bathing rooms,
while crowds of pale, waxy-faced attendants, all
stark naked with the exception of a towel wound
round their waists, and with shining shaven crowns,
are walking about with bundles of towels, cups of
coffee, pipes, and nargillas. The whole scene,
although a busy one, is silent, ceremonious, and
quite bewildering.
We were allotted a raised recess covered with
carpets, upon which six little couches were quickly
prepared, with cushions and linen sheets spread
over them ; our little bundles of clothes were de
posited by the side, and we commenced undress
ing. A naked attendant stood close at hand with
towels, and as we were successively reduced to
our last garment, he wound a towel round our
waists. Being then completely stripped, a long
towel was thrown over our shoulders, and another
wound in the shape Of a turban round our heads.
As we successively descended the platform, a
pair of pattens, called kabkabs, about a foot or a
foot and a half high, were placed for us to get in
to, to protect our feet from the wet, cold, marble
pavement. I had not taken three steps in these
unlucky machines before I tottered and tumbled,
and should have broken my head if I had not
been caught and steadied by two of the attendants.

104 DAMASCUS. — BATH.
I immediately shook off the detestable kabkabs
and walked on to the door of the bathing-rooms,
where we were confounded by a pack of naked,
tallow-faced, shaven-crowned wretches, with pale
bloodless skins, shiny, greasy-looking, and covered
with perspiration, who rushed upon us, shouted at
us, grinned and chattered, and poked us with
their thin, lanky, white fingers. Not compre
hending the nature of the attack, we were putting
ourselves in boxing attitudes, and should certainly
have shortly astonished them as much as they
did us, had not our dragoman, who was behind,
told us that they were only contesting with each
other which was to have the honour of serving us
in the bath, and that we must each choose our
man, whose services were indispensable inside.
We accordingly made our choice, and entered
the first room, which was moderately warm,
vaulted, and paved with marble, and then passed
on through a suite of rooms, each succeeding one
becoming hotter and more clouded with steam,
through the dense atmosphere of which might be
seen strange unearthly objects. Some lay ex
tended on their backs upon the floor, where wild-
looking naked men with bald heads were pound
ing and kneading them ; some stood up to
their knees in a large circular basin of hot water ;

BATHING SCENE. 105
some were seated on their haunches, covered from
head to foot with soapsuds, which were lathered
over them with an implement like a horse's tail ;
others were being drowned with hot water, which
was poured over them in buckets ; and others sat
quietly smoking or sipping coffee on marble benches,
unmoved by the puffing, ha-aing, washing, and
scrubbing around them, while old men with grey
beards, and young boys without any beards at all,
all equally in a state of nudity, were poking
about, appearing and then vanishing away again
in the fog.
We sat down on a marble bench in the last
room of all, the atmosphere of which was very hot
and oppressive at first. This, however, soon goes
off, when a profuse perspiration breaks out and
trickles down from every pore ; coffee was brought
in and handed round to us, and then pipes. It is
usual to rest about half an hour or longer, accord
ing to fancy, to allow a thorough perspiration to
break out.
After talking and sipping our coffee for some
time, the different attendants we had chosen came
up and made overtures to us to come and be
scrubbed, which we successively yielded to, as
our pipes were finished and our coffee drunk ; and
we were each one of us successively conducted to

106 DAMASCUS.  BATH.
some quarter of this or the adjoining room, under
a cock of hot water. The following is a de
scription of the process : — ¦
The attendant puts on a mohair glove and
commences rubbing every part of your limbs and
body, which are moistened with perspiration, un
til he brings off more dirt than you conceived
ever to have defiled your person ; this operation
lasts about a quarter of an hour or twenty minutes.
The attendant constantly dips the glove into hot
water, and almost brings away the skin by the
hardness of the rubbing. When he can get no
more dirt off your body, he draws a long breath,
uttering an ejaculation of " Taieeb, taieeb!"
(Good, good !) expressive of satisfaction, and then
pushes you down on your back, extending you at
full length on the marble floor. He now pinches,
and squeezes your shoulders, arms, and all your
limbs, then pulling your fingers, he makes the
joints crack with a startling loudness ; he then ap
plies himself to your arms and legs, moving the
bone about in the socket in an alarming manner.
You call on him to stop, but he does not under
stand, or not thinking that he has executed his
duties satisfactorily, he again applies himself with
renewed vigour, swearing at the obstinate limb,
and although frightened, you cannot refrain laugh-

BATHING PROCESS. 107
ing at your companion, on the other side of the
room writhing and resisting the infliction of the
same process upon himself. Now seizing your
shoulders, he pulls you up, and putting his knee
into the small of your back, gives you a twist,
and a crack, that makes you jump, and then clap
ping his hands, shouts " Taieeb, taieeb, taieeb ka-
teir!" meaning to say that the whole thing has
been capitally done. He then places you in a sit
ting posture close under a cock of hot water.
A large bowl, with a bit of soap at the bottom,
and a long wisp of tow are now brought, hot
water is spouted upon it, and in a few seconds a
fine thick lather of soapsuds is formed, which in
an instant is spread all over your eyes, nose, ears,
and mouth, and for five minutes you are soaped
and lathered in style ; you cram your fingers into
your eyes, which smart terribly ; then come
buckets of almost boiling hot water, laded out of
a large marble basin, in such rapid succession, that
you are almost suffocated, and at last get up, nearer
drowned probably than ever you were before.
An attendant now appears and binds a dry towel
round your waist and your head, and another over
your shoulders,as at the commencement, andyouare
led out scarcely able to stand, if it is your first bath,
through the heated rooms, into the cold external

1 0 8 DAMASCUS. — BATH.
hall, where the transition is just as great as that
of a man going out of a warm room naked, on a
winter's night, into the external air when the
thermometer is ten degrees below freezing point;
the temperature of these baths being from 100° to
105°, and the external hall at the time we visited
it 65 ° to 70°. The effect, however, is very different;
cold is said never to be taken, and we never ex
perienced aught but the most pleasant and agreeable
feelings. You are immediately led to your couches,
cups of coffee are brought, then pipes or nargillas,
with which you smoke through water, and an hour
is usually spent in the most delightful manner.
Reclining on these couches you feel younger
and more active, and in the highest spirits. Stiff
ness, pains in the joints, and fatigue vanish
away, and you think of nothing but pleasure and
happiness, enjoyment and satisfaction. The reso
lution you have previously come to, if a novice, of
never taking a bath again now begins to be
shaken, and it is seldom that you are not induced
to make a second trial, after which the habit gra
dually increases, and it becomes at last quite ne
cessary to comfort.
Lying here and smoking, it is most curious to
watch the different strange figures coming in and
going out, to see the barbers going round to those

WOMEN'S BATH. 109
who want their heads shaved, or the superfluous
hairs taken from their bodies by means of a little
preparation which they possess, said to be a mi
neral compound imported from Cos.
Twice a week after mid-day this bath is appro
priated to the use of the women, and no man dare
enter under pain of death. The male attendants
are of course all cleared away, and the whole es
tablishment and its furniture are taken possession
of by females. These assemblages of the Moslem
women at the bath form their greatest enjoyment.
Precisely the same process is undergone by them
as with the men ; they smoke, they drink coffee,
they are rubbed, pounded, and squeezed, &c; but
being more playfully inclined there is much more
noise and romping. Nearly every week there is
a wedding, when the young bride is bathed in
state, and perfumed, and anointed, and led round
the hall and presented to the matrons, from whom
she receives presents, the whole company being
reduced to a state of nature. On these occasions
the whole bath is taken by the bride and her
friends for a certain period, and strangers are not
admitted. When in the bath, the delicate skins
of the ladies are anointed with an ointment brought
from Cos, which makes them white and shining,

110 DAMASCUS. — GREAT MOSQUE.
and their bodies are sprinkled over with the most
delicious perfumes.
The expense of our bath was two shillings each,
including every thing, and we paid four times the
sum paid by the natives.
We returned home by the way of the great
mosque, formerly the Christian church of St. John.
There is a large thoroughfare through the great
court from one bazaar to the other ; on entering
which the Mussulmen take off their shoes and
carry them in their hands. We were about to
enter with the rest, but were rudely stopped by
two individuals, who were apparently worked up
to a great pitch of excitement at the sight of six
infidel dogs profanely daring to cross the sacred
court. They chattered very fast and shewed their
teeth, as if inclined to spit at us ; a crowd quickly
collected, and we thought it better not to attempt
entering, but remained at the door looking at the
interior, whilst the collected crowd looked with
equal intentness at us. The dragoman we had
hired to pilot us about earnestly begged us to come
away, as no Christians, known as such, had ever
been allowed to pass through, and he said the
crowd might shortly insult us for stopping where
we were ; so we made a detour through the ba-

GREAT MOSQUE. Ill
zaars to the opposite gate of the mosque, and like
Agib and the black eunuch in the 115th night,
" passed through the great squares, and the public
places, where the richest goods were sold, and
took a view of the superb mosque of Damascus at
the hour of prayer." It was sunset, and although
we could not get into the mosque, yet we could
see the Moslems preparing to say their prayers in
the court before it, while the muezzin chaunted
the long melodious call from the minaret.
A portico of granite pillars, of the Corinthian
order of architecture, extends round three sides of
the court, and on the fourth side stands the mosque.
The interior is plain ; it is divided into three long
aisles by rows of handsome granite Corinthian
columns, and a large dome surmounts the centre
of the building. It is said to have been erected
by the emperor Heraclius, and there can be little
doubt but that it was in existence as a church be
fore the capture of Damascus by the Saracens,
from the order of architecture. The Turks call it
the Mosque of St. John Baptist.
Oct. 13th. — Some of the party are gone this
morning to pay a visit to Mr. Farren, the British
consul-general of Syria, who resides at the village
of Salahieh, about two miles from Damascus, to
ascertain if it is possible to get across the desert

112 DAMASCUS. — BAZAARS.
to the ruins of Palmyra, and the rest of us have
been lounging with a guide round the different
bazaars. These bazaars are very extensive,
and I think wider and better built than those of
Constantinople. There appears, too, to be more
bustle and a greater degree of business transacted
in them and the adjoining khans ; but they dis
play a less gay appearance, not being adorned
with so many rich goods and costly articles.
From ten to twelve o'clock, while the auctions
are going on, they are dreadfully crowded and
very noisy, from the shouts and Tries of individuals
running about with bundles of old clothes hung
over their arms, flourishing different articles in
their hands, and loudly vociferating the last price
bid. You may walk on interminably through
these passages, lined with goods and piled with
all kinds of fruits, of which there is great profu
sion, enormous water-melons, apples, pears, grapes,
lemons, pistachio nuts, dried apricots, plums, and
all kinds of vegetables. The inhabitants chiefly
live on bread and fruits ; and the usual fare of the
lower orders consists of a thin cake of unleavened
bread and radishes, which last grow to an enor
mous size, and are very cooling and delicious. Here
you see bon bon sellers, their trays hung to their
necks by a strap. They sell sugar, pistachio

PASTRY COOKS. 113
nuts, and sweetmeats ; in their hands they hold
little rods to beat off flies, and they vend their
commodities to the passengers by measure, having
a little scale and weights for that purpose. There
are also all sorts of pastry-cook shops, piled with
pans and kettles, in which hot cakes, stuck with
bits of almonds or parched seeds, sour curds, and
hot tarts are sold ; the number of these pastry
cooks made me call to mind the comic story of
Buddin ad Deen Hussein, the pastry-cook of Da
mascus in the Arabian Nights, who, when Agib
and the black eunuch approached his shop,
thus addressed them : —
" I was making (said the pastry-cook) cream
tarts, and you must, with submission, eat them.
This said, he took a cream-tart out of the oven,
and after strewing upon it some pomegranate
kernels and sugar, set it before Agib, who found
it very delicious  When they had
done he brought them water to wash, and a very
white napkin to wipe their hands. Then he
filled a large china cup with sherbet, and put
snow into it, and offering it to Agib, This, said he,
is sherbet of roses."
Sherbet of roses is the pink sherbet, kept in
tins, and still sold to the thirsty inquirer in round
cups with a lump of snow in it. The piles of
VOL. II. *

114 DAMASCUS. — ARABIAN NIGHTS.
pots and pans too still seen in these shops, call to
mind the scene when the men with sticks, under
the guidance of the black eunuch, and by the
order of Shumsee ad Deen, " broke in pieces the
plates, the kettles, the copper pans, and all the
other moveables and utensils they met with, and
inundated the sherbet shop with cream and com
fits. Was it not you, said they, that sold this
eunuch the cream-tart ? Yes, replied Buddin ad
Deen, and who says any thing against it ? In
stead of giving him an answer, they continued
to break all around them, and the oven itself was
not spared.
" Shumsee ad Deen called for Buddin ad Deen,
and gave orders in his presence to prepare a stake.
Alas ! said Buddin ad Deen, what do you mean
to do with a stake ? Why, to impale you, replied
Shumsee ad Deen, and then to have you carried
through all the quarters of the town, that the
people may have a spectacle of a worthless pastry
cook, who sells cream-tarts without pepper."
Seeing so much around that reminded me of the
delightful stories in the Arabian Nights, I went
into the book bazaar close to the mosque, and
inquired for an original copy of them; at the first
two or three book-stalls I was unsuccessful, and
was told they were very scarce and very dear ;

@®ir m<$)W smwut&m,

BOOK-BAZAAR. — KORAN. 115
but we presently found an old man, with a long
pale face and a long grey beard, who said he
would procure me a copy, beautifully written, on
the following day. We asked about other books,
and then inquired for a copy of the Koran — that
instant his eyes flashed fire, his beard wagged
with indignation, and he shouted at the pitch of
his voice, Yallah, yallah ! " Go, go, get you
gone !" with sundry uncourteous expressions and
rude epithets, among which that of "Infidel dogs"
was more than once repeated.
Finding all further negotiation broken off for
the present, and a erowd gradually collecting, we
made as decent a retreat from the spot as we
were able. It is considered sinful by these Mus-
sulmen to allow the sacred book to be profaned
even by the touch of an Infidel, and no strict
Mussulman, unless bribed, will sell a Koran to a
Frank ; but it may generally be obtained through
a third person, who will buy it for you.
The Koran is written in pure Arabic, and is
not allowed to be written or circulated in any-
other language — nor is it touched with unwashed
hands, or without a solemn obeisance. The purest
Arabic is considered to be that of the Arab tribes
in the neighbourhood of Mecca and Medina ; its
pronunciation varies among different tribes* and
I 2

116 DAMASCUS.  CONVENT.
in the large cities and towns of Syria, it is more
corrupted perhaps by the admixture of other
languages than elsewhere.
We dined in the refectory of the convent, and
were attended upon by some of the good friars,
who are kind hospitable people. These worthy
fathers keep a school, and bastinado the boys with
great effect ; every now and then we are regaled
with the noise of the instrument and the roaring of
some youngster. These boys, I am told, are taught
at the expense of the convent, but those parents
who can afford it are naturally expected to con
tribute towards their education. The quantity of
wasps at present harboured on the premises is quite
terrific. They are attracted by the heaps of grapes
piled upon the pavement ready for wine making.
Attached to this establishment is an old dusty
library, and a tattered, moth-eaten collection of
books in Spanish, French, Latin, and Italian,
chiefly theological. There are some French n>-
mances, and some elementary works in Arabic
for the use of the monks studying that language.
Oct. 1 4th. — The consul has procured us a new
residence — a country villa close to his own house
at the village of Salahieh, to which we are to re
move to-morrow.
I went this morning into a large open space

SADDLE HORSES. — ENVIRONS. 117
surrounded by green trees, fruit-stalls, and pedlars'
stalls, in which a number of horses and mules are
kept for hire and for sale. We found some to
lerable saddle horses, and took a ride in the
environs. Matters are now much changed from what they
were when Maundrell visited Damascus in 1697.
" In visiting these gardens," says he, " Franks
are obliged to walk on foot or ride on asses, — the
insolence of the Turks not allowing them to mount
on horseback. It is apt sometimes to give a little
disgust to the generous traveller to be forced to
submit to such marks of scorn ; but there is no
remedy, and if the traveller will take my advice,
the best way will be to mount his ass contentedly,
and to turn the affront into a motive of recreation,
as we did."
The former insolence of the Damascenes is now,
fortunately for travellers, effectually curbed.
The mud walls that border the roads and lanes
on every side of Damascus sadly interfere with
the prospect of those on foot ; but on horseback
we can look over them into the luxuriant orchards
and gardens on either side, where the cultivators
of the soil may be seen hard at work, gathering
the fruit or sowing the seed.
Green foliage and a beautiful face, say the

118 DAMASCUS. — BEHAIRAT EL MERDJ.
Orientals, are the best antidotes to melancholy ;
and certainly the waving foliage of Damascus, lit
up by the bright Syrian sun, the sparkling waters,
the azure sky, and the distant blue mountains,
present a cheerful delicious aspect, which can
hardly fail to drive away the melancholy of the
most morose. To the northward of the plain
extends a bold range of picturesque mountains,
forming a fine background to the view ; and, as
we approached the outskirts of the shady environs,
the sight of the monotonous lifeless plain extend
ing beyond made us turn away, from its dreary
contrast to the scene behind, and retrace our steps
towards the favoured city with increased delight.
About an hour and a half s ride in an easterly
direction from the town is the marshy bog in
which the river Barrada loses itself after issuing
from the gardens. It is called Behairat el Merdj,
or " the Lake of the Meadow." In the sum
mer and autumn it is a pestilential swamp, send
ing forth pestiferous exhalations, which are no
doubt the chief cause of the intermittent fever
:called the Damascus fever, which prevails so
dreadfully at that season of the year. In the
whiter the circuit of the bog is much increased ;
and the low ground being then flooded by the
river, a lake is formed.

LANTERNS.-— RAMBLE IN THE DARK. 119
Finding this evening, to my great annoyance,
that I had left a valuable gold watch at the bath,
I procured paper lanterns, without which you are
not allowed to walk about Damascus after dark,
and summoning the cicerone, we proceeded into
the dark winding streets. The bazaars were shut,
and the wind greatly endangered our lights; had
they been put out, we should have been locked up
all night by the police. These lanterns are made
of oiled transparent paper, and are constructed so
as to expand or contract at pleasure. Finding the
bath shut, we proceeded to the private residence
of the superior of the establishment, threading our
way through a great variety of narrow dark wind
ing passages and streets. The Damascenes seemed
astonished at the sight of a Christian Frank
wandering about at so late an hour by the light
of a miserable lantern, knocking and hammering
at different doors. Some followed us talking and
surmising, and some said " Look at the unbeliever,"
" Mark the uncircumcised dog." At last we halted
at a low door, and after some loud taps had been
given, a female voice was heard from behind a
lattice, in a trembling agitated tone, in fear pro
bably lest the governor's slaves or some of the
Damascene police had come to take off her hus
band's head. We were informed that the master

120 DAMASCUS. — CHARACTERISTICS OF PEOPLE.
of the bath was entertaining himself with one of
his favourite wives at a kiosk he possessed in
the gardens, where he generally slept in hot
weather, and that he could not be spoken with
until the following morning.
Oct. 1 5th. — Leaving the convent amid bustling
preparations for our removal to the new residence,
I proceeded to the bath in search of my lost watch,
and greatly to the credit of the establishment, it
was immediately produced by their chief, whose
honesty deserves to be recorded.
A traveller, in his observations upon national
peculiarities and characteristics, must be much
struck with the listless apathy that is displayed
by these easterns, — the dreamy state of existence
they seem to lead, and their want of curiosity.
I have heard them frequently express surprise
that an Englishman should come so far from his
own country, and wonder what can be the motive
for giving himself so much trouble ; they them
selves express no curiosity about foreign lands and
distant regions. If you tell them that people in
England have ascended into the skies in a balloon,
or have been whirled along at thirty miles an
hour over the country without horses, they shake
their heads, saying, God is great, and although
they don't dispute your word, yet generally set

APATHY OF THE DAMASCENES. 121
you down in their own minds for a liar ; they
would not take the trouble to investigate the truth
of your assertions, not they, what would be the
use ? When they have seen us running about the
town looking at different objects, they have won
dered why we should take the trouble to walk so
much, when we had divans at home to sit upon
and pipes to smoke. The appearance of so large
a party in the Frank dress, did not excite much
sensation or curiosity in the minds of the people.
When we passed, there would perhaps be some
ejaculation of. God is great! — or God is merci
ful! — Look at the infidels ! — See the unbelievers.
Our appearance in the Frank dress in Damascus
was just as strange to the natives as would be the
sight of six Turks in turbans and scarlet cloaks
walking through, the streets of London. But the
effect upon the minds of the populace in the one
case, was far different from what it would be in
the other.
Damascus is, I think, superior in interest to any
other oriental town I have seen. There is certainly
not so much to strike and astonish one at first
sight as at Constantinople. There are no such
grand and striking points of view in the city itself,
no vessels of war, winding waters, swift swallow-
boats, lovely shores, and groves of cypresses;

122 DAMASCUS. — ORIENTAL SCENES.
these I put aside : but confining one's observation
simply to the interior of the town, to the bazaars,
and the streets and khans, to the crowds wander
ing about, and to the different scenes observable
around, there is, I think, something more peculiarly
oriental, and a style and character more perfectly
original, about Damascus, than about any other
eastern town I have seen.
The assemblage of people whose appearance
and dress is so varied and so strange, the different
articles exposed for sale and piled up on either
side, the vast variety of smells and perfumes that
pervade the air in the different quarters of the town,
and the varied costumes of the Bedouin, or the
Maronite, the Druse, the Turk, or the Syrian, suc
cessively met with in the bazaars, cannot but
strike an European most forcibly with their novelty
and singularity.
It is the most difficult thing in the world, to
find one's way about a populous oriental town
from the intricacy of the streets, and the numerous
winding bazaars, which are dreadfully confusing.
Sometimes you are pinned up in a corner for
several minutes by a long string of camels, who
take up the whole passage between the shop-
boards on which the goods are exposed for sale,
and sometimes you are run down and covered

SHOPKEEPERS.— SALAHIEH. 123
with filth by a string of donkeys, who trot heed
lessly on with noiseless tread over the sandy soil.
The different merchants and shopkeepers who
are vending their wares, appear to be most inde
pendent and luxurious gentlemen ; you see them
reclining on a small carpet, leaning their backs
against a soft cushion, and balancing their nar-
gillas, a peculiar kind of pipe, in their hands, from
which they are puffing clouds of smoke. Their
shoes are neatly placed together at one corner of
.the carpet, and an earthen jar of water stands
close to their elbow, to which they make frequent
applications to slake their thirst ; they serve you
with civility, but dignity, not putting themselves
the least out of the way, or in the slightest de
gree hurrying themselves to meet your wishes.
At two o'clock I walked up to our new resi
dence at Salahieh along the broad paved road,
and amid the waving foliage of the surrounding
gardens. I was guided to the mansion by a little
boy, and found our large party busily engaged in
settling themselves in their new domicile. The
house, Mr. Farren informs us, belongs to a de
scendant of the celebrated Abubeker, and although
in a sadly ruinous and neglected state, possesses
considerable remains of its former magnificence;
richly painted ceilings, inlaid wainscoting, numer-

124 SALAHIEH.— COUNTRY VILLA.
ous apartments, ruined fountains, and remnants of
handsome marbles. In front of it extends a spa
cious court surrounded by buildings and trees, in
the centre of which is a circular reservoir sup
plied by. fountains constantly pouring in jets of
water. Behind the house flows one of the
branches of the river Barrada, and surrounded by
green trees and rich gardens, it presents a most
delightful contrast to our late dwelling, and to the
mud houses, heat, and dust of the town.
A little beyond the house is the village of Sala
hieh, which possesses a considerable population,
several mosques, several villas and gardens, and
a good bath ; directly behind rises a line of bold
rocky mountains, presenting a fine background to
the green foliage and the pretty minarets.
In the adjoining house is the harem of a Da
mascene, and whilst running about the premises
surveying all the wonders of our new dwelling, I
walked on into the adjoining court-yard, and sud
denly popped upon an elderly lady and two
younger ones, who were cleaning rice for their
dinners. Having, for greater comfort laid
aside their veils, they screamed most heartily
when they saw me, and a little boy running out
from the adjoining mansion joined his shrill pipes
to theirs with such effect that I took to my heels,

THE CONSULAR RESIDENCE. 125
in fear lest some black eunuch with a naked
sabre might make his appearance. These ladies
afterwards became more accustomed to us ; and
before we left the neighbourhood, grew so familiar
as to offer to wash our dirty linen.
At five p. M. we dined with the British con
sul, in whose beautiful residence European ele
gance and comfort are tastily combined with the
splendour and luxury of the east. We were re
ceived in a saloon paved with marble, from which
branched off on either side raised floors covered
with Persian carpets and rich divans ; geraniums
and exotics, twined round the open windows,
scented the air with their blossoms ; and the water
from the fountain trickling down into the marble
basin, produced a delightful murmur. Mr. Farren,
who is particularly kind to all English travellers,
told us, he would send a letter to one of the Arab
Sheikhs, with whom he has great influence, re
questing him to give us a safe passage through the
desert to Palmyra.
Friday, Oct. 16th. — Being the Sunday of the
Turks, I strolled through the large cemetery, which
presented one of the most extraordinary and in
teresting sights imaginable. I should think about
seven or eight hundred women were collected
round the tombs, some bearing sprigs of myrtle or

126 DAMASCUS.— GREAT CEMETERY.
young green plants, to place on them ; some
watering a few drooping flowers, some saying
their prayers, some smoking and chatting, and
here and there a solitary woman crying as if her
heart would break over the tomb of a deceased re
lative. In some parts of the cemetery, the de
monstrations of grief from the women on every side,
hanging over the little marble urns, were most
afflicting and heart rending. Nothing was to be
heard but sobbing and crying. Many of them were
sitting with their veils thrown aside and their
eyes filled with tears. I remarked a very young
Woman, quite a girl, sitting on a carpet by the
Side of a tomb, with her hands crossed over her
knees, and her long hair trailing on the ground
behind. Some fresh flowers and young plants
that she had brought to place on the tomb were
lying by her side. A little further on sat two
women, one of whom was leaning against a marble
turban, under which in gold characters was written
the name of the deceased to whose memory it was
erected ; she was crying and recklessly plucking
up the weeds and bits of grass that grew round
the simple monument. Can all this be a mockery
of woe ? Impossible. The number of disconsolate
weepers at first sight induces one to think so ; and
With many, such may be the case; but the

GREAT CEMETERY.— FEMALE MOURNERS. 127
greater part are influenced by deep and genuine
emotion ; and certainly those must be who steal
here day after day, in solitude and silence to give
vent to their sorrows over the tombs of those they
have fondly loved ; fancying as they do, (and is
not the idea beautiful, though erroneous?) that the
spirits of the departed hover round the hallowed
spot, and regard with fond satisfaction these me
lancholy tokens of attachment.
The road was thronged with women, many of
them having their veils hanging loosely down* and
the number of pretty faces and beautiful eyes that
I saw, inclines me to think that the beauty of the
Damascene women has not been exaggerated.
They had mostly fair complexions, with dark
eyes and hair. We wandered about unmolested,
taking care not to appear too narrowly scrutinising
what was going on.
I have heard many instances of the strong af
fection of women in this part of the world for
their husbands. The most erroneous notions are
prevalent among us as to the grievous bondage in
which, as it is called, they are held, and as to the
way in which they pass their lives. From inqui
ries I have made of different Levantine and Frank
ladies in the habit of visiting the harems of the
east, I understand that the fair occupants of them

128 DAMASCUS.  EASTERN LADIES.
by no means covet the degree of liberty claimed
and enjoyed by our European ladies, and think
that a married woman should enjoy no other male
society but that of her husband, that her whole
time should be given up in studying to amuse him,
and in the nursing and education of his children,
which pleasing task they never delegate to an
other. They' seem, it is said, to look upon the very
restraint in which they are kept, and the watch
fulness with which they are guarded, with a feel
ing of pride and satisfaction, thinking it a proof of
the estimation in which they are held, and the
value attached to them by their husbands. Thus,
the most flattering epithet that can be applied to
an eastern lady is said to be that of the " concealed
treasure," " the guarded jewel" " the well watched
angel." The degree of restraint imposed upon them,
however, is much less than is generally imagined.
Wrapped up in their loose walking cloaks, and
shrouded in their veils, they are to be met with
in all public places, shopping at the bazaars, or
paying visits to their friends, undistinguishable
even by their own husbands. They congregate
together and pass their afternoons in the baths,
and unrestrained by the presence of the men, en
joy dancing and music. If a husband possessing

FEMALE MOURNERS. 129
only one wife, which is often the case, be kind
and attentive to her, the strength of affection cen
tered in him is naturally very great. The retire
ment and solitude of the harem afford little of
change, and few worldly amusements, to divert
the mind from the one absorbing passion ; and
when death has separated them from those in
whom they found the greatest enjoyment of exist
ence, the anguish of the mind must be indeed
acute, and the sorrowing mourner attempts to so
lace her wounded spirit by those touching atten
tions to the memory of the dead so universal in
the solemn solitary burying grounds of the east.
Of these marks of affection, how pleasing is the
fond occupation of watering each day a few
flowers planted over the grave of a husband or a
child, or replacing every evening with fresh
blooming blossoms the withered plants of the pre
ceding day, fit emblems of mortal man, " who
cometh up and is cut down like a flower ; " but
the most beautiful and touching of all these tokens
of affection is the one of hanging over the tomb a
cage with a few singing birds, who are fed with
religious care morning and evening, and are sup-*
posed to cheer the spirit of the departed by their
sweet songs.
VOL. II. K

130 DAMASCUS. — CEMETERY.
" Oh 1 snatch'd away in beauty's bloom,
On thee shall press no ponderous tomb ;
But on thy turf shall roses rear
Their leaves, the earliest of the year ;
And the wild cypress wave in tender gloom :
" And oft by yon blue gushing stream
Shall sorrow lean her drooping head,
And feed deep thought with many a dream,
And lingering pause and lightly tread ;
Fond wretch ! as if her step disturbed the dead t
" Away, we know that tears are vain,
That death nor hears nor heeds distress :
Will this unteach us to complain ?
Or make one mourner weep the less ?
And thou — who tell'st me to forget
Thy looks are wan, thine eyes are wet."
HEBREW MELODIES.
Oct. 17th. — Our change of residence is indeed
inost delightful and beneficial ; instead of the hot
confined air and the musquittoes of the town, we
are refreshed by the cool breezes which play
among the foliage, and the constant murmuring
sound of running water. We have no furniture
beside our travelling stock, but manage with
temporary contrivances. We have put into re
quisition old presses and cupboards, inlaid with

SALAHIEH. — COUNTRY HOUSE. 131
different coloured woods and mother-of-pearl,
broken, disfigured, and apparently disused for at
least half a century. The whole house is now
sadly ruinous, but it appears to have been a very
handsome and commodious mansion. We are in
a very retired situation, and can branch off through
lanes shaded by the overhanging boughs of the
trees to the banks of the Barrada, and for miles
onward, amid the gardens of Damascus.
Our next door neighbours are some Damascene
women, who have been occasionally seen wrapped
up in napkins and shawls, appearing for a moment
and then disappearing again. Their lord and
master, rather a fine looking fellow, made his ap
pearance this morning in our court-yard. A little
boy and girl, belonging to the establishment, are
constantly in attendance; the latter is a pretty
delicate child with black eyes and hair, about
nine years old, but very wicked, mischievous, and
amazingly pert and impertinent ; she is an excel
lent mimic, and Whenever we interrupt her in
any of her saucy pranks, she mocks the tone of
our voices, and mimics our peculiarities in a
laughable but rather provoking manner. Through
her instrumentality we have made arrangements
to have our linen washed by the females of the
adjoining harem; and as we have succeeded in
K 2

132 DAMASCUS. — HOSPITAL OF**LEPERS.
purchasing an iron in Damascus, we now intend to
exhibit ourselves great dandies.
Sunday, Oct. 18th. — After hearing prayers and
a sermon at the consular residence, Mr. Farren
mounted us all on Arab horses, and kindly offered
to conduct us to the spot where, according to tra
dition among the Christians, Saul saw the light
from heaven. Accompanied by three dragomen
on foot with long white wands in their hands, we
formed a most respectable procession. Mr. Farren
was himself mounted on a splendid Arab mare,
possessing that peculiar proud neck and fiery eye
which distinguish the thorough bred Arab horse.
We wound round the walls and pulled up on
the outskirts of the city at an hospital of lepers,
into which, after procuring sundry Damascene
youths to hold our horses, we entered. Leprosy
is a most horrible disease, and is still prevalent in
many parts of the east. It first manifests itself in
large white patches which break out in different
parts of the body, and turn to sores. The poor
objects suffering under the malady are generally
shunned ; but it is considered very meritorious by
the Moslems to give them alms, and a duty to treat
them with kindness. The individuals I saw in this
hospital, which was a most wretched establish
ment, did not appear to suffer so acutely from the

' SAUL OF TARSUS. 133
malady as many I have seen sitting by the road
side begging. The disease appears perfectly in
curable; none are now " cleansed of their leprosy."
On the wall is an Arabic inscription, " 0 God, for
the sake of thy leprous prophet, a friend of our
prophet, and for the sake of all the other prophets,
give unto us health and peace." We gave alms
to these poor unfortunates, and turned with pity
from their misery.
Remounting our horses, we rode along the walls
until we came to a part where they were broken
at the top, this was pointed out as the spot where
St. Paul was let down in a basket to escape the
indignation of the Jews, when " the disciples took
him by night and let him down by the wall in a
basket." — Acts, ix.
From hence passing onwards through some
pretty lanes, we came to an open green spot,
surrounded by trees, over the tops of which were
seen the distant summits of Mount Hermon. At
this place we were informed Saul had arrived
when, " as he journeyed, he came near Damascus,
and suddenly, there shined round about him, a
great light from heaven." — Acts, ix. 3.
These localities are pointed out with the greatest
•confidence by the Damascene Christians of all
sects, Catholics, Schismatic Greeks, Maronites, &c„

134 DAMASCUS. — THE DJEREED.
and are held in great veneration ; nor is it difficult
to suppose, that the true localities have been
handed down by tradition from their early
Christian brethren.
It was a lovely evening as we returned to Sala
hieh, making the entire circuit of the town round
the walls. Christians and Jews, Syrians and
Turks, were perambulating the delicious environs
in their respective gay costumes, and a party of
horsemen were exercising themselves at the
djereed. This is a fine manly sport, and when
the riders are mounted on fine horses, and are
well dressed, it is a most interesting and beau
tiful sight ; they gallop round each other, dart
their white javelins, pull their horses up dead,
or twist them round with surprising dexterity,
and the well trained animals seem to enjoy the
sport as much as their riders. When the contest
becomes very keen and animated, a knot of spec
tators is often formed, who applaud the indi
vidual shewing the greatest skill in avoiding the
thrusts of his antagonist.
Riding on through the trees towards the banks
of the river Barrada, we saw picturesque groups
perambulating along the meadow which extends
on either side of the river, and a regiment of
Egyptian soldiers were going through various

THE MEADOW OF DAMASCUS. 135
military manoeuvres with great steadiness and
precision. The variety of costume, the various
coloured turbans and dresses ; the crowds of
Christian women intermixed with a few Moslem
ladies ; the slow and stately walk of many of
the orientals, each bearing in his hand a long
pipe; and the dashing figures in gay dresses
here and there trotting along on horseback, alto
gether presented a striking and most interesting
scene. As this patch of green grass, divided by the
river Barrada, is the only meadow land close to
the walls of the town, and is near the western
gate of the city, it must be the spot alluded to
in the hundred and eleventh night of the Arabian
entertainments. " Shumsee ad Deen arrived at a pleasant mead
a small distance from the gate of Damascus ;
they halted and pitched their tents upon the
banks of a river, which fertilizes the vicinity
and runs through the town, one of the pleasant-
est in Syria, once the capital of the Kaliphs,
and celebrated for its elegant buildings, the
politeness of its inhabitants, and the abundance
of its convenience."

CHAPTER V.

DAMASCUS. — STREET CALLED STRAIGHT. — KHAN OF HUSSEIN
PASHA.  SCENE IN THE KHAN. — BAGDAD CARAVAN.  BE
DOUIN WOMEN.  MILITARY DIVAN. — EGYPTIAN OFFICERS.
 FUNERAL.  HIRED MOURNERS.  ORIENTAL SCENES. 
ENVIRONS OF DAMASCUS.— CALL TO PRAYER. — MUSSULMAN
PRAYERS.

" And there was a certain disciple at Damascus called
Ananias  And the Lord said unto him, Arise and
go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the
house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus." acts, ix. 11.
Oct. 19th. — From our residence to the northern
gate of Damascus is a delightful walk of about
twenty minutes, through the gardens and under
the green foliage of the walnut trees. After
passing through the gateway we come into the
street called Straight, a mile in length, so called
because it leads direct from the gate to the castle
or palace of the Pasha. The house of Judas, to
which Ananias went in obedience to the com
mand of God, is still pointed out by the credulous

MOSQUE OF THE DERVISHES. 137
Christians, who invariably find out a locality for
all the principal occurrences in the New Testa
ment. The house of Ananias also is pointed out
at a short distance from the convent, and the
worthy fathers of that establishment have lately
purchased it of the Turks. A venerable old friar
accompanied us with the key, and introduced us
into an old vault, into which we descended by
several steps. There is an altar, a crucifix, and a
couple of candles, before which the holy fathers
occasionally say mass. The worthy monk told
us that the identity of the spot was indisputable,
and that it had always been held of great sanctity
by the Turks before it came into the possession of
the convent !
We paid a visit to the mosque of the Der
vishes, one of the principal edifices of the town,
and possessing two of the loftiest and finest of the
minarets. There is a central dome, surrounded
by numerous smaller ones, extending round three
sides of an open court. All these domes are very
low and flat, scarcely rising to an arch. A number
of Dervishes are located in this building, who on
Fridays exhibit fanatic tricks, something like the
dancing Dervishes of Constantinople, twisting and
twirling themselves round, and going through a
variety of ludicrous manoeuvres, propagating the

138 DAMASCUS. — GREAT KHAN.
notion that they are inspired ; the other six days
of the week, however, they are happily better
employed, in weaving silk in a silk manufactory
attached to the establishment, and in one single
hour of that period contribute more to the hap
piness and comfort of mankind than in years of
their twirling and twisting. -We visited several
of the khans, establishments appropriated for the
reception of merchandize, and for the barter and
exchange of goods. These khans are peculiarly
interesting, from the strange beings that frequent
them, and the curious costumes that one meets
with from every part of the east.
The Bagdad caravan has just arrived, with
several thousand camels laden with merchandize,
and the bazaars are consequently now filled with
Bedouin Arabs.
In the course of the morning I spent half an
hour in the khan of Hussein Pasha, the largest
and handsomest in Damascus. In the centre is a
fountain, surmounted by a large dome supported
on pillars and arches, and around these runs a
large arcade. On each side of the principal
entrance a stone staircase leads up to a corridor,
running round the whole building, and communi
cating with various small apartments, the counting-
houses of different merchants. Two English mer-

KHAN OF HUSSEIN PASHA. 139
chants are established in this khan, and their
apartments are surrounded by the blue crockery
ware, cutlery, spoons, brushes, sugar, and printed
cottons of England, which are here disposed of
to the Damascene merchants, or transported across
the desert to Bagdad and the banks of the Eu
phrates. The court of the khan is paved with large flat
stones, and the pointed arches, circular roofs, the
Saracenic decorations, and the walls and pillars,
formed of alternate layers of black and white
stone, have a most striking appearance. It an
swers to the London Exchange.
From the upper gallery I enjoyed one of those
true oriental scenes in which Damascus so richly
abounds. The court below was completely filled
with Bedouin Arabs, who had a slovenly, dirty
appearance among the trim, gaily dressed Damas
cenes ; a sort of loose cloak with wide sleeves,
striped white and black, called the abba, decorated
their persons, and a large handkerchief was bound
round their heads and fell down on their shoulders.
A bargain was going on between the principal
•Sheikh of these Bedouins, the principal merchant
of the Bagdad caravan, and two of the principal
merchants of Damascus; the latter were sitting
on a raised divan upon a rich carpet, smoking two

140 DAMASCUS. — SCENE IN A KHAN.
handsome Egyptian pipes covered with silk and
fringed with gold. On their left sat the Sheikh of
the Bedouins, with a bright yellow scarf wound
gracefully round his person ; next to him was the
principal merchant of the caravan, the richest man,
I was told, in the East; behind these sat three
rows of Bedouin Sheik h, and below, in a circle,
stood a large crowd of Arabs.
The haughty gravity of the Damascus merchant
was curiously contrasted with the violent gestures
and earnestness of the Sheikh and merchant of
Bagdad. The anxious crowd of Bedouins below
and around the fountain, upon the agitated waters
of which a solitary sunbeam was playing, and the
masses of dark figures behind, moving about under
the gloom of the arches, altogether jjresented
one of the finest scenes for the painter 1 ever
witnessed. Damascus is a true oriental city, and possesses
much more character than Constantinople. Here
every thing is eastern ; there are no Frank quarters
and shabby beings in black hats and pea-green
jackets wandering about, and no fantastic aping
of Frank dresses and Frank follies by the com
mand of an innovating Sultan. But in the ba
zaars, and in the streets, the wild Arab of the de
sert is seen wanderin j about with wondering eyes,

BAGDAD CARAVAN. — BEDOUIN WOMEN. 141
and merchants of Bagdad, of Persia, of Egypt, and
the farthest India, thread their way through the
crowded thoroughfares, displaying a vast variety
of costume, and a vast peculiarity of physiognomy.
In running about the bazaars this morning we
have been highly amused with the appearance of
the wild Arab women of the Bagdad caravan, the
children of the desert. Some were seen with a
hole bored in their noses, through which a silver
stud was passed, others had a point of silver ex
tending from the forehead to the nose, to which
were attached several beads ; the lips of these
ladies were stained blue, and blue marks imprinted
on their cheeks, their arms, their foreheads, and
their necks, together with their dark swarthy fea
tures, gave them a peculiarly savage appearance.
They were dressed in a long loose blue cotton
shirt : and without veils they gazed wildly and
with astonishment at every thing around them.
An individual who rode out a few miles from
Damascus to see the Bagdad caravan encamp the
night of their arrival, in the Ghouta adjoining the
plain, represents the scene at sunset as most im
posing. The line of camels, several thousands in
number, extended, says he, to the verge of the
horizon; tents were pitched, the merchandize was

142 DAMASCUS. — BAGDAD CARAVAN.
unladen, and guards appointed to watch it. In
numerable fires glittered in every direction, and
around them were seen groups of wild figures
eating their frugal meal, or stretched on the
ground to sleep. Three caravans go annually to
Bagdad and take from thirty to forty days on the
journey. They pay tribute to the chief Bedouin
tribe of the district through which they pass, to
secure the protection of the wild Ishmaelites, and
a safe passage through their desert, to pass which
without the aid of, and in opposition to the Arabs,
would be impossible. The Bedouins, for a stipu
lated price, escort the caravan, find dromedaries
for the transport of the merchandize and pas
sengers, and thus take into their own hands the
whole carrying trade, at a certain duty or toll
imposed. Oct. 20th.— We went this morning with Mr.
Farren's dragoman to a military divan, which was
unfortunately just over ere we arrived. We had,
however, an opportunity of observing several of
the officers, who were handsomely dressed in the
Nizam costume, being that appointed by Mo
hammed Ali for the dress of his soldiers ; it is
more convenient than the loose flowing robes, and
the Mamlook trousers, and being eastern in its

MILITARY DIVAN. 143
style, and containing no copy of detested Frank
habits, no prejudice appears to be excited against
it in the minds of the people.
We were introduced to the apartments of one
of the colonels, a fine handsome young fellow, who
received us with true Asiatic grace and courtesy ;
his easy carriage and smooth way of speaking
conveyed to us the idea of a perfect gentleman.
He congratulated us on our arrival, said he hoped
one day to travel in our country, apologized for
his rooms not being so handsome as those we
might have seen in an English barrack, and re
marked that every thing in Syria was in its youth,
that they had shaken off the decrepitude of age, and
were commencing with new institutions, and that
he hoped in time they would equal France and
England. Pipes and coffee were handed round, and we
took our leave. The room was neat and L clean,
floored with a large mat, and surrounded by a fi
gured divan. This gentleman spoke very slight
ingly of the Sultan, as the Egyptian officers gene
rally do, remarking they would march to Stam-
boul to-morrow and make prey of all the Sultan's
harem but for France and England, who would not
allow that monarch's power to be crushed.
The streets -of Damascus are clean and tolerably

1 44 DAMASCUS.-^STREETS. — CAFES.
paved. Most of those at a distance from the
.oreat thoroughfares are very dull, silent, and
empty. The houses have externally a very mean
appearance, presenting only a dead wall of sun
burnt brick towards the street, with one or two
windows sometimes stuck at one corner of the
building, sometimes at another, and generally co
vered with a thick lattice-work of wooden bars.
There are no glass windows, and the cold air is
excluded at night by a sliding shutter fastened by
a wooden bolt of curious construction. In wet
weather I am told the streets are dreadfully mud
dy, from the heavy rains which wash down the
earthen walls. These would in fact be quickly
consumed did they not take care to thatch them
with bushes and straw to throw off the wet.
Damascus is celebrated for the number and ele
gance of its cafes, sherbet, and smoking shops, and
certainly in that respect it is the Paris of the east.
There are several large establishments of this kind
in various parts of the town, but those on the
banks of the Barrada, and under the shade of the
trees in the outskirts of the city, are the most fre
quented ; and some of them are certainly very
pleasant and agreeable when compared with any
thing of the same kind to be met with in the east.
The first offer on entering is that of a pipe or a

GATE OF TOMBS.  FUNERAL PROCESSION. 145
Cup of coffee; the coffee is poured out in little
cups about the size of half an egg, dark and mud
dy ; the liquid is not allowed to settle before it is
drunk off, and as the Moslems take no sugar, the
mixture is not very palatable to an European.
Returning home through the great cemetery to
the eastward of the town, I observed a funeral
issuing from the gate of the city opening on the
cemetery, aptly called " The Gate of Tombs." It
appeared to be that of a person of some conse
quence, as several horses were led in state at the
head of the procession. Hired mourners beat
their breasts ; a string of old men, mostly blind,
chaunted the customary chaunt of " God is great,"
&c., La-i-la U-la-Allah Moham-madoor ra-soo-loo.
Then followed a string of Dervishes and Santons
bearing the koran, and afterwards the male rela
tions and friends surrounding the corpse ; over the
bier was thrown a large shawl, and a turban was
placed at the head of the coffin ; the numerous
male friends of the deceased congregating together,
vied with each other in paying a last tribute of
respect, by bearing the body a short distance on
its journey towards the tomb. Behind the bier
came the female relatives of the deceased, whose
sorrow was no doubt genuine. " The afflicted
mother," says the Arabic proverb, " who has lost
VOL. II. L

146 DAMASCUS.  HIRED MOURNERS.
her children is not like the woman who weeps
for hire."
The hired mourners frequently make a great
outcry, and shout out the praises of the deceased.
The noisy expressions that they use on going
along, I am told, are generally to this effect. " Oh,
what a fine man he was ! Ob, what a beautiful
turban he had ! Oh, what a fine horse he rode !
Oh, what a kind master he was !" &c, &c. And,
if a woman, " Oh, what a lovely person she was !
Oh, what a soft eye she had ! Oh, what a fine
veil she wore ! Oh, what will her husband do ? "
On arriving at the grave the coffin is taken to
pieces, and sufficient space is always left by arch
ing the grave, or disposing fragments of wood so
as to support the soil, to enable the deceased to
sit upright ; for, say the Moslems, as soon as a
man is quietly located in his grave, two terrible
angels pay him a visit, whom they call Munqueer
and Guannequeer, and putting the soul back into
the body, in the same way as a man putteth on
his shirt, they raise him on his knees, and imme
diately cross-examine him on his past life, when if
his answers are unsatisfactory to the dread mes
sengers, the one immediately knocks him six
fathoms deep into the earth with an iron hammer,
and the other tears his flesh with red hot pincers

SALAHIEH. — SCENERY. 1 47
until the day of judgment ; if, however, the poor
resuscitated man replies to their satisfaction, they
vanish away in smoke, and two divine beings
clothed in white appear to comfort and protect
him until the day of judgment.
The evenings are at present lovely, and the
sunsets most beautiful. From the burying-ground,
and along the bases of the mountains rising ab
ruptly to the north of Salahieh, the most lovely
view is afforded of the domes and minarets rising-
above the vast plain of rich foliage.
As the last rays of the setting sun are reflected
from the mosques, minarets, and buildings, and the
soft mellow tints of evening are spreading over the
landscape, we generally wander along these moun
tains, and survey the lovely prospect, the waving
mass of foliage, and the grand and striking ap
pearance of the town. The tinkling bells of some
sluggish caravan may be heard approaching the
town, and a few solitary women, robed in white,
may be seen wandering among the tombs in the
burying-ground. The village or suburb of Salahieh, contains a
population of some thousands ; it consists chiefly
of one long, narrow, dark street, running parallel
with the mountains and cutting the great road
into the town at right angles. It is seated just on
l 2

1 48 SALAHIEH. — BLINDNESS.
the borders of the rich waving green orchard,
and the houses on the northern side rest on the
bases of the barren parched mountains, and look
out on a dreary, arid prospect of sand and rock,
while those on the south overlook the delicious
gardens and the bright mass of green foliage. On
this southern side are numerous villas and country
houses, the resort of the wealthier Damascenes in
the summer time ; some of them are planted
round with a few cypresses, which do not, how
ever, flourish in Syria, and with various species of
the rich fruit-trees which grow so luxuriantly in
this district.
We have a good bath close to our residence ;
there are several mosques in the village, and an
excellent bazaar, where a great variety of fruit
and many useful commodities may be purchased.
Crowded thoroughfares, however, everywhere in
the vicinity of Damascus, produce a disagreeable
effect upon the mind, from the vast quantity of
mutilated human beings that are seen on every
side, poor miserable objects with only one eye, and
many with no eyes at all, the sad effect of the
ophthalmia, the scourge of the spot. This dis
ease appears to exist everywhere in the East
where the soil is artificially watered. At Damas
cus the havoc that it has made with the eyes of

OPHTHALMIA. 149
the population, is really dreadful. I have asked
many of these poor objects what they conceived
to be the cause of the malady ; many of them
fancy it to be the wind, and a poor tailor, who
could hardly see at all, told me he was sitting in
his shop when a puff of wind came into his face,
his eyes began to smart, and he was laid up for
three months, and only recovered with the entire
loss of one eye and the partial obscurity of the
other. That the disease is owing to the exhalations
from the ground arising from irrigation is manifest,
as whenever you get away from irrigated land it
entirely disappears. The malady is unknown in
the desert ; it is unknown among the mountains,
and in the dry uncultivated plains, where you
may sleep all night in the open air without injury.
In Damascus and in the villages, it is the custom
of the people to sleep on the open terraces of their
houses during the hot nights, which is one very
fatal cause of the complaint.
Oct. 21st. — Our mode of living here at Salahieh
is delightful, and we are in the enjoyment of many
comforts and even luxuries. We are surrounded
on every side by rich waving foliage, and the
swift stream of the Barrada, which rolls under our
windows, would at any time afford us a luxurious

150 DAMASCUS. — MISTAKE OF THE GUARD.
bath, did not the vapour baths of the city, with the
scrubbing and pounding, afford a superior attrac
tion and a more luxurious refreshment. Our
mansion, to be sure, can boast of no other furniture
than one iron bedstead, but we manage to convert
trunks and baskets into seats, and a large deal box
is occasionally turned into an excellent table.
Tolerable mutton is procurable in the town, and we
have hired an Arab cook of great local celebrity,
whose services, however, are seldom required in
consequence of the generous hospitality of the
English consul.
An amusing incident that occurred here not
very long ago, has just been recounted to us.
Mrs. Farren, being fond of riding, shortly after
her arrival accompanied the consul on horseback,
dressed in a handsome blue English riding dress,
velvet cap, &c, and mounted on a fine Arab mare.
The guard at the gate having received orders
to turn out and present arms whenever the British
consul made his appearance, hurried to obey the
orders on the day in question, when the riding
party, preceded by a mounted dragoman, came in
sight. Mr. Farren, who rode first, was allowed to
pass without the slightest notice being taken of
him, but when Mrs. Farren came up in her long
flowing dress, velvet cap, and gold band, much

MOSQUES. — IMAUNS. 151
the most imposing figure of the two, the whole
guard, taking her to be the consul general, pre
sented arms !
By putting on the Mussulman dress, a stranger
may obtain admission to the mosques of the city,
which however possess but little architectural
magnificence. They are always open from day
light until two hours after sunset, but the hour of
prayer should always be avoided by a Christian
visitor, from the circumstance of so many fanatic
Moslems being assembled together at that period.
If he attempts to pass off as a Mussulman he will
assuredly be discovered, from his inability to go
through the different praying ceremonies that are
adopted. There are two Imauns to each of the large
mosques, one who recites the every-day prayers,
and another who acts only on the Friday. There
is no religious establishment, and the Imauns pos
sess no spiritual authority, and are in nowise dis
tinguishable from their fellow-citizens ; they are
chosen promiscuously from among the trades
people, or more generally from among the school
masters, and continue to carry on their respective
occupations and handicrafts during those hours
when they are released from attendance in the
mosque; they are changed or removed at the will

1 52 DAMASCUS. — MUEZZINS.
of the congregation, and the most pious and strict
Mussulman is usually chosen to fill the office.
The muezzins, of whom there are sometimes
more than one, are generally selected for the fine
tone and power of their voices ; they have rather
a fatiguing occupation, as they have to chaunt the
extra calls to prayer in the middle of the night ; in
most of the principal mosques where this is done,
however, there is generally more than one muez
zin. One of the mosques possesses a very fine
tall minaret, entirely cased from top to bottom
with painted tiles. The interior boasts however
of nothing very remarkable, mere white-washed
walls. There are door-keepers to all the mosques,
appointed to light the lamps, sweep the floors,
clean the mats, attend to the due supply of water
in the fountains, and to kick out all Christian dogs
who may presume to enter.
The weather still continues very lovely, and
while the surrounding deserts are cracked, parched,
and dusty, we are here surrounded by the fresh
fragrant air that always plays among shady groves
and a luxuriant vegetation. Very tolerable horses,
with gay saddles and crimson housings, are pro
curable close to Salahieh, and the rides in the
lovely evenings about different parts of the envi
rons, present beautiful points of view, and most

ENVIRONS. — ORIENTAL SCENES. 153
interesting oriental scenes. As the sun is declin
ing in the west, you see little caravans of drome
daries, or a few mules slowly emerging from the
gloomy gateways of the town, to gain a few hours'
march to some neighbouring village in order to com
mence their journey in earnest at an early hour on
the morrow. From your horse you see over the mud
walls, which impede the view of the foot passenger,
into the different gardens, where donkeys with a
basket slung on either side of them are being
loaded with enormous radishes, gourds, and water
melons, grapes, pomegranates, and different spe
cies of fruit, according to the season, about to be
transported into the town. By. the side of the
donkeys stands a grim figure with one eye, and
with a long white stick in his hand pointed with
iron, at the first movement of which, the donkeys
start off headlong with their load of vegetables,
clearing away right and left, and upsetting people
in the dust unless they make a timely retreat,
from their silent arrival, which is often unobserved
from their soft tread on the sand. A little farther,
you observe a string of dromedaries, some tired
muleteers, and a party of tottering weary travel
lers, exhausted by the heat of the sun and parched
with thirst; a woman, perhaps, with a young
child screaming with thirst, is nodding to and fro

154 DAMASCUS.  EASTERN SCENES.
in a takh-tar-a-van, or species of cradle fastened on
the hump of a dromedary and covered with a tilt;
they have made a long journey, and their counte
nances beam with joy as they gaze around on the
refreshing foliage, and pull up with rapturous
eagerness at the first flowing stream they come
to, to get a draught of water. Soon they dis
appear among the trees, and then spurring along
on an Arab charger, may be seen a gay figure in
a scarlet cloak, preceded by attendants with long
white sticks, running on either side of his horse's
head. He is the Aga or the Sheikh of some neigh
bouring village, who has been to town for the
purpose of paying his contribution into the coffers
of the governor, or to order himself a new scarlet
robe. You wander about wherever you please,
unmolested and unattended. You may ride into
some neigbouring village and smoke a pipe with
the Sheikh, who will be most happy to see you,
and whom you will find seated in the open air at
the door of his house ready to hear the complaints
of those under his jurisdiction, and equally ready
to impose a fine or administer a bastinado.
As you approach the city at the hour of sunset,
you hear from some neighbouring mosque, the
wonted call to prayer from the gallery of a
minaret, La ilia ilia Allah Mohammed re sul Allah,

SUNSET. — THE CALL TO PRAYER. 155
&c, &c. " There is but one God, and Mahomet
is his prophet ; come to prayer, I summon you with
a loud voice." I never hear this long melodious
chaunt breaking upon the soft stillness of the
evening without emotion. Some of the muezzins
have remarkably fine voices, and the long cry,
when pitched in a high key, is most musical.
You then see those Moslems that happen to be
near a mosque, gathering within its walls to obey
the summons ; those that are in the gardens, ap
proach the banks of the stream and plunge their
bare arms into the water to purify themselves ; —
"the body," says Mahomet, "appears before God as
well as the soul, it must therefore be cleansed from
all stain before the performance of any religious
act." You see them kneeling down under some
tree, or along the edge of the highway ; the soft,
mellow, subdued light of a Syrian evening is
gradually diffused over the surrounding landscape
— the warm flush of the western horizon is seen
at intervals through the spreading foliage — the
rocky mountains are tinted with deep blue —
the stillness of night is gathering around — and
you gaze upon groups of human beings, kneeling
upon the ground in the attitude of prayer.
The extreme beauty of the autumn sunsets in

156 DAMASCUS. — SUNSET.
these southern climes, as the rich evening flush
gradually fades away along the distant hills, and
all nature is hushed to silence and repose, must
ever excite an holy and absorbing feeling in the
mind of the beholder. And with what a touch
ing and thrilling effect at this soft silent hour, this
" melancholy pause of nature," does the clear deep
chaunt of the muezzin from the lofty minaret of
the mosque strike upon the ear ; or under an Italian
sky, the deep tone of the village bell from the
steeple of the distant church tolling the Ave Maria,
 " l'ora che volge '1 disio,
A' naviganti e 'ntenerisce il cuore
Lo di ch' han detto a 'dolci amici addio,
E che lo nuovo peregrin d' amore
Punge, se ode squilla di lontano
Che paja '1 giorno pianger che si muore."
DANTE'S PURGATORY, CANTO VIII.

" When the last sunshine of expiring day
In summer's twilight weeps itself away,
Who hath not felt the softness of the hour
Sink on the heart as dew along the flower ?
With a pure feeling which absorbs and awes
While Nature makes that melancholy pause,
Her breathing moment on the bridge where Time
Of light and darkness forms an arch sublime!

SUNSET. — THE CALL TO PRAYER. 157
Who hath not shared that calm so still and deep,
The voiceless thought which would not speak, but weep,
A holy concord — and a bright regret,
A glorious sympathy with suns that set ? "
MONODY ON THE DEATH OE SHERIDAN.
It is the hour of all others in these clear un
clouded climes that most disposes to devotional
feelings and religious contemplation, when we are
passing with the rapidity which characterizes the
transition in these southern regions from the light
of day to the darkness of night ; when we observe
the sun rolling away from our hemisphere to
gladden with life and light the opposite half of
the globe, and some solitary star just appearing
above the eastern horizon, the harbinger of the
coming night.
There are certainly fewer public demonstrations
of religion in England than are met with in most
countries. Our churches, instead of being open
like the mosques or the churches in Catholic coun
tries, from sunrise to sunset, and filled at stated
hours of the day with humble suppliants, are
mostly closed from week's end to week's end. We
have no call to prayer shouted from our steeples
in the cold grey of the morning or at the dead
hour of midnight. We are not reminded, like the
poor Catholic amid the solitude of his mountains

158 DAMASCUS. — MUSSULMAN PRAYERS.
or the wild scenery of his rocky glens, by the
sound of the village bell at sunset, of the duty
and of the necessity of prayer.
Our religion appears a cold and formal religion ;
it is not the religion of the heart, nor so bound up
with our every day existence as I have seen reli
gion elsewhere. If we regard the aspect of the
congregation, in too many of our churches, you
would think the major part of them went there
more from habit than a feeling of duty; and never
have I experienced those emotions in an English
church, amid a congregation boxed up in wooden
partitions fortified with locks and keys, that I have
felt in a large Catholic cathedral on seeing two or
three thousand people of all ranks kneeling side
by side on the cold marble pavement, — the Italian
brunette in her robe of silk and the Tuscan pea
sant in his wooden shoes, the noble and the ple
beian side by side, — while the swelling tones of the
organ reverberated the hymn of praise through
the long aisles; or in the court of the Mussulman's
mosque, under the shade of the green tree or by
the side of the flowing stream, where all seem intent
upon one occupation, — heedless alike of place or
circumstance, — that of prayer. I have seen the
solitary Mussulman on board ship, amid the howl
ing of the storm, drenched with rain and by the

DEVOTION. — NIGHT CALL TO PRAYER. 159
spray of the shattered billows, kneeling at his de
votions at the accustomed hour of prayer, while
English sailors have laughed and jeered at the
conscientious discharge of his duty.
We experience in England few of those touch
ing emotions which call the mind away from the
busy occupations of life and dispose us to serious
meditation. Religion appears with us to be quite
a secondary consideration, and with how many of
us is not a fear of ridicule more potent than a
feeling of religious duty? We all profess to believe
in a future state of existence, but how few short
fleeting moments of our long day of twenty-four
hours are spent in the recollection of the existence
of God and of the immortality of the soul.
There is another period of the twenty-four
hours in these eastern climes well calculated to
excite a novel and powerful emotion in the mind
of the European stranger — when the night call to
prayer is chaunted from the minaret at dead of
night. At some mosques a muezzin is appointed
to deliver two of these additional calls during the
hours of darkness between sunset and sunrise ;
and more than once since I have been in the
country of the Mussulman, whilst lying in bed
heated and restless, with the lattice opened to
admit a fuller stream of cool air, have I heard the

160 DAMASCUS. — NIGHT CALL TO PRAYER.
simple arid solemn melody of the deep prolonged
chaunt of " Prayer is better than sleep" pitched
in a high key, stealing upon the silence of night,
followed, perhaps, by the admonition, " There is
no God but God, the living, the self-subsisting,
who hath created the heavens and the earth, and
ordained light and darkness. To him belongeth
dominion : he giveth life and causeth death : unto
him is owing whatsoever happeneth by night or
by day : it is he who heareth and knoweth. Say,
shall we take any other protector but God, who
feedeth all and is not fed by any ? This present
life is no other than a play and a vain amusement,
but the future mansion shall be for those who fear
God. God delivereth us from grief of mind, from
the darkness of the land and the terrors of the sea.
When we call upon him humbly, he will direct
us in the right way. How are the true believers
happy, who humble themselves in prayer, and
eschew all vain discourse. 0 thou wrapped up,
arise to prayer and continue therein during the
night ; verily, rising by night is more efficacious
for stedfast continuance in devotion; for in day
time thou hast long employment."
I first heard the night call to prayer from the
minaret of the mosque of Boujah in Asia Minor,
and I have heard it many a time since. The

NIGHT CALL TO PRAYER. 161
burthen of the call has been explained to me ; it
varies according to the good pleasure of the indi
vidual chaunting, as passages from the Koran are
frequently introduced and chaunted out, admoni
tory of the duty of attending to the call.

VOL. II. M

CHAPTER VI.

DAMASCUS.- — HOUSE OF ASSAB PASHA. — HOUSE OF ALI AGA
KAZINI KATIBI.  PLACE OF THE SEPARATION OF THE
WATERS.  ARRIVAL OF THE BEDOUIN ARABS.  PRAYERS. 
DINNER.  DAMASCUS SUGAR MERCHANT.  DEPARTURE
FOR PALMYRA. — BEDOUIN ARABS.  THE jENEZE TRIBE. 
THE BEDOUIN SHEIKH.

" Mother-of-pearl, and porphyry, and marble
Vied with each other on this costly spot ;
And singing-birds without were heard to warble ;
And the stained glass which lighted this fair grot
Varied each ray ; but all descriptions garble
The true effect, and so we had better not
Be too minute, an outline is the best, —
A lively reader's fancy does the rest." DON JUAN.
Oct. 22nd. — Accompanied by Mr. Farren's prin
cipal dragoman, a most gaily dressed shewy young
Syrian, who speaks English beautifully, we pro
ceeded to pay a visit to Assab Pasha, one of the
principal men in Damascus, for the purpose of
inspecting his very handsome house. When we

HOUSE OF ASSAB PASHA. 163
arrived at the front of the mansion, we were sur
prised at the meanness of its appearance — at the
walls of sunburnt brick, and the few miserable
windows, stuck here and there without order or
arrangement, possessing no glass, but covered in
with a thick lattice formed of cross bars of wood.
Great, however, was the contrast between the ex
terior of the house and the scene that presented
itself when we passed through a door opened by
a slave. We saw, to our surprise and pleasure, a spacious
and magnificent court, paved with Dutch tiles and
marble. In the centre of it was a large fountain,
bubbling over into a cool, clear, circular reservoir
of water filled with pet fish. Around this court
extended a range of buildings one story high, of a
pretty fantastic style of architecture, decorated
with Moorish or Saracenic ornaments. At the
upper end of the court was a grotto, or alcove,
floored with various coloured marbles opening
on the spacious area, but elevated three steps above
it. A rich figured divan extended around the walls,
and the little secluded spot presented a cool and
delightful smoking retreat, from whence the large
court and the murmuring fountain were most
agreeably surveyed.
Seating ourselves on the soft luxurious divan.
M 2

164 DAMASCUS.  HOUSE OF ASSAB PASHA.
we were served with coffee. Some black slaves
in scarlet dresses, with long white wands, then
came to conduct us to see some of the apartments
of the mansion and of the harem, the ladies of
which were absent at a summer villa in the
gardens. The buildings on the western side of
the court contained a succession of detached hand
some rooms ; the floors were covered with a thick
matting, and the ceilings were painted in a beauti
ful manner and with great taste. The walls
were adorned with rich carving and gilding, and
all around them, raised about a foot and a half
from the floor, extended a divan covered with the
rich figured mixed silk and cotton stuff of Damas
cus manufacture. The grand saloon or reception
hall, on the ground floor, on the northern side of
the court, in which strangers and visitors are re
ceived, was by far the finest apartment of the
place. We first came on to a square floor paved
with different coloured marbles, having a fountain
in the centre, and over head a handsomely painted
and gilded ceiling. From this first floor we
ascended by steps to other raised floors, paved
with marble and covered with a very handsome
matting;. Scrolls and different devices were
painted around the walls, something in the
Chinese style, and divans extended all around

HOUSE OF ALI AGA KAZINI KATIBI. 165
the apartment, placed against the wall ; all per
sons before stepping on to these divans slip off
their shoes, and the ladies themselves recline on
them either with bare feet, or clothed in purple
embroidered velvet slippers. Whenever they step
off these luxurious couches, they put on a species
of high patten, the same as that used in the bath,
but made of costlier materials, very frequently of
ebony inlaid with mother-of-pearl ; from long
habit they are enabled to run about in these
things, and even up and down stairs, with the
greatest agility without falling.
After satisfying our curiosity we proceeded
with the dragoman to the beautiful house of Ali
Aga Kazini Katibi, which possessed the usual
plain sun-burnt brick exterior. We knocked at
the gate, and were admitted by a black slave into
two handsome courts paved with marble, and sur
rounded by low buildings, ornamented with Ara
besque paintings and fretted work. In the last
court we found Ali Aga Kazini Katibi in the
midst of brick, dust and mortar, superintending the
construction of a new range of buildings. We
were presented to him as friends of Mr. Farren,
desirous of seeing his celebrated and beautiful
new room. He received us in the most conde
scending manner, and forthwith conducted us into

166 DAMASCUS. — ALI AGA's NEW ROOM.
a most gorgeously ornamented apartment opening
upon the last court, the fittings up of which Ali
Aga told us cost him upwards of 200,000 piastres,
more than £2000 sterling.
The ceiling was formed of a species of gold
carved tracery, resting upon a ground of crystal,
or rather glass, producing a most splendid effect.
The walls, a short distance below the ceiling,
were gaily painted in the form of buildings, fan
tastic porticoes, and columns, through which in the
distance were glimpses of the sea, and blue
mountains, and here and there foregrounds of the
weeping willow and the cypress, painted by artists
from Stamboul. Below these were recesses with
folding doors, richly inlaid with different coloured
woods, and ornamented with light tracery and
figured work. Around them were scroll patterns
of clusters of arms and weapons, and portions of
the walls on each side were richly inlaid with
tortoise-shell and mother-of-pearl.
A rich figured divan of yellow silk extended
round the room, on which we seated ourselves,
and surveyed to the satisfaction of Ali Aga this
most gaudy apartment. Gilded bowls of sherbet
were handed round, with slices of lemon and
chopped almonds floating in it ; then came a
black slave, who held in his hands an embroidered

COFFEE. — DAMASCENE HOUSES. 167
handkerchief, which he just pressed to our lips
when we had ceased drinking. The presence of
the slaves was commanded by clapping the hands,
as mentioned in the Arabian nights. Cups of coffee
were then handed round, which according to
custom were first presented to Ali Aga, who
waved them away with a graceful motion of the
hand to his visitors.
Ali Aga most politely pressed us to stay and
eat with him ; he said his repast would be shortly
ready ; but being much too large a party to tres
pass on his hospitality, we withdrew greatly
pleased with what we had seen.
The rich decorations in the interior of these
houses astonished us much, after what we had
heard of the exactions of the government and
of the poverty of the people. There are also a
number of other houses, though inferior to these,
yet richly and expensively decorated, and hundreds
that present a striking contrast inside to their ex
ternal humbleness and meanness. In a large
capital like Damascus, with a dense industrious
and mercantile population, public opinion must
have some force, and the government must feel
itself restrained in the exercise of gross oppression,
by the likelihood of dangerous insurrection. Su
perior knowledge and power of combination gives

168 DAMASCUS.  THE GARDENS.
increased strength, and checks to a certain extent
the grinding and arbitrary oppression that desolates
the provinces.
Oct. 23rd. — We mounted on horseback and rode
along the gardens to the beautiful spot called
" the separation of the waters," at the gorge of the
mountain from whence the river Barrada issues,
and where it is divided into different branches; a
most delightful journey through the rich gardens,
the shadowy trees, and the green lanes. Having
arrived near the end of the valley, we dis
mounted, and leaving our horses with some
Arabs, we walked through the gardens to the
river side, and were oftentimes greatly puzzled
to get across the fine streams of water that rushed
along in different directions. Here and there, em
bowered in trees, was a lovely secluded patch
of green, sheltered by the wide spreading branches
of the walnut, or screened by the denser foliage
of the pomegranate and the orange. It is won
derful to see the luxuriant fertility of the soil,
although covered by the interweaving branches
of thickly planted trees.
The river where it issues from the mountains is
hemmed in by lofty perpendicular rocks, which
appear to have been burst open, as if to afford the
water a passage right through the mountain chain.

THE SEPARATION OF THE WATERS. 169
It is curious to observe that the road from Baalbec
follows the side of the river, along the Wady
Barrada, until it meets the chain of mountains,
when leaving the refreshing banks of the stream,
it passes over their bare and arid surfaces, while
the river on the other hand, as it were disdaining
the impediment, bursts through the dissevered
rocks, and flowing down a deep confined gorge,
to the bottom of which the sun scarcely ever
penetrates, suddenly advances into the plain of
Damascus, and is divided into four branches,
which water the whole luxuriant district. This
is the favoured resort of the Damascenes, the much
admired " separation of the waters."
From the supposed agreement of this spot with
the Bible description of the river that watered the
garden of Eden, the Damascenes have ventured
to assert, that their favoured plain was the Para
dise of our first parents.
" And out of the ground made the Lord God to
grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and
good for food 
" And a river went out of Eden, to water the
garden ; and from thence it was parted and be
came into four heads." — Genesis, ii.
The subsequent description does not, however,
at all agree with these four rivers.

170 DAMASCUS. — SEPARATION OF THE WATERS.
But climbing up the rocks, and surveying on
one side the dark gloomy pass, the black waters
of the river far below, and on the other the
wide expanse of rich, waving foliage, the slender
poplars, and the tall cypresses, the flowing
streams, and the light tapering minarets of Damas
cus, bounded by the blue peaks of far off mount
ains, and lighted up by the brilliant sun and
cloudless skies of this " clime of the east and land
of the sun," who can wonder that the enchanted
beholders should, in the exultation of their hearts,
have called it, the noble, the beautiful, the perfect
Eden, the terrestrial Paradise ?
On a patch of green grass, under the shade of
some trees by the brink of the stream, a group of
women had spread out a carpet, and were in
dulging themselves in the luxury of a pipe. We
pushed onward at random through the gardens, at
every turn meeting with a fine gushing stream of
water.  " fuimi cristallini
Vanno inaffiendi per diversi rivi,
Un numero infinito dei giardini
Non mai di fior, non mai di fronde privi."
On returning to the house, we found that a large
party of Bedouin Arabs had arrived with their
Sheikh, and two of the Sheikh's relations, with six

ARRIVAL OF THE BEDOUIN ARABS. 171
horses, and six dromedaries, to conduct us across
the desert to Palmyra ; and that they had just
gone round to pay their respects to Mr. Farren.
I ran through the garden, and arrived before
them. When they came to the raised part of the
room, the post of honour, covered with a rich
carpet, the Sheikh and his two relations threw
off their shoes, stepped on to the carpet, stood
still for a moment, placing their left hands upon
their breasts, they then advanced to the consul,
bent one knee, touched his breast with their right
hand, and then their own breasts and forehead,
uttering an ejaculation of, Salaam aleikoom, " Peace
be with you," which was replied to by Aleikoom
salaam, " To you be peace," and without saying
anything else, they went and sat down on the
divan, crossing their legs under them ; then they
ejaculated, Alek toi, " I hope you are well," to
which the reply was, Taieeb, " Well."
The Sheikh was small in status slight, active,
and well made, with lively piercing black eyes,
a soft expression of countenance, and a peculiar
mildness of manner. The conversation between him
and Mr. Farren, who speaks Arabic with fluency,
soon became very animated, and I was astonished
and charmed with the sweetness, the ease, and
benignity of manner of the wild Bedouin, so

172 SALAHIEH. — BEDOUIN ARABS.
different from what I had expected in the fierce
robber of the desert.
These Bedouins sat on the divan with bare feet,
their shoes being left on the marble pavement be
low ; they were habited in a loose unbleached
cotton shirt with wide sleeves, this was fastened
at the waist with a leathern girdle, and over it
was worn the abbah, a sort of loose wide short
cloak. Around their heads was bound the keffie,
an embroidered handkerchief or shawl, fastened to
the top of the head with a cord of camel's hair,
the end being left to fall gracefully down on the
shoulder. Arrangements were made for their re
ception and accommodation at our mansion, and
after conversing with Mr. Farren, they withdrew
to look after their dromedaries and horses, and to
make preparations for the ensuing journey, on
the understanding that they were to join us at
dinner at sunset.
As they were to be our guides and protectors
across the desert, we were of course anxious to
shew them every attention in our power ; and
knowing well what stress the Bedouins lay upon
the due and proper exercise of the rites of hos
pitality, we were anxious to shew them to the
best of our ability, that hospitality which they so
generously and honourably bestow upon every

BEDOUIN ARABS. — PILAFF. 173
stranger. A room was therefore prepared for
them ; inquiry was made among those parties most
likely to be acquainted with the peculiar habits
and tastes of the Bedouins as to the description of
food that was most palatable to them, and a large
increase of dinner, consisting chiefly of an immense
pilaff, was ordered, and sundry directions were
given to the cook.
A pilaff is a composition of boiled rice well
seasoned with mutton fat, and if made delicately
and luxuriously, long strips of mutton are inter
mixed with the rice. The great art in manu
facturing the composition, consists in keeping the
grains of rice separate and unmashed. It is the
favourite dish of the Arabs, and also of the Syrian
population generally.
In our ante-room or reception-hall, as it had
been in by-gone times, preparations were made for
the feast. An old door was quickly taken off its
hinges, and some bricks being piled up, it was
soon converted into a table, and sundry trunks,
boxes, and baskets were arranged around it for
seats. The rooms were swept, a mat was pro
cured for the Bedouins, and we were all to meet
at the appointed hour of sunset to receive our
guests in state. In the mean time hurrying off to
the quarters of our female acquaintances in the

1 74 SALAHIEH. — HAREM.  WOMEN.
neighbouring house, on business connected with
clean linen, I penetrated in my eagerness rather
farther into the sancta sanctorum of the mansion
than usual ; and was gratified by the sight of a
new, youthful, and rather pretty face uncovered,
being that of a young lady who was assisting the
old beldame with whom we generally communi
cated upon subjects of business, in various little
domestic occupations. There was great squalling
and screaming at my appearance, and cries of
Shoof !— Shoof !— Yallah !— Yallah !— and of "0
my misfortune !" and "0 my sorrow !" In which ex
clamations the old beldame, who had often spoken
to me before unveiled, was the loudest, thinking,
I suppose, that having a new face present, she
was bound to shew due horror at the dreadful in
trusion. I kept my ground, however, and tried
by sundry ejaculations and signs to make them
understand what I meant, when they both burst
into a laugh, shouting and screaming to me to re
tire ; and a little boy and girl making their ap
pearance, ran towards me in such warlike attitude,
and the latter made such demonstrations of using
her nails, that I was obliged to beat a retreat
and dispatch one of the servants to explain my
wishes. The sun was now retiring behind the waving

BEDOUIN ARABS. — PURIFICATION. 175
foliage of the gardens, and we were all assembled
expecting the arrival of our Arabs. The whole
party very shortly made their appearance walking
into the court-yard at slow and stately pace with
the Sheikh at their head, attending whom was his
nephew, and a great African slave, six feet high
and black as Erebus. They mustered six in
number, and as they approached we rose to re
ceive them ; numerous were the salaams, the
taieebs, and the salutations on the occasion. We
motioned them to come into our hall or vestibule
and be seated, but they preferred congregating
round our large circular reservoir of water in the
centre of the eourt, and curious was the scene
that shortly ensued.
Plunging their arms up to the elbow in the
water, they began to wash and scrub themselves
with great gravity ; they then set to work with
their beards, washing and combing them through
with their fingers; they then dashed the water
into their faces with the palms of their hands,
sniffed it up their noses, and then putting their
mouths over the gushing water-cocks from whence
the water was wont to spout high up into the
air, they squirted the water from their lips in all
directions, with great energy and with strange

176 SALAHIEH. — BEDOUIN ARABS.
noises ; — you would have thought them a pack of
school-boys at their gambols, but for their age and
the gravity of their appearance.
After watching their proceedings for some
time, in hopes they would come and be seated, in
order that we might have dinner, we were as
tonished to see them leisurely begin to wash and
scrub their feet, — but enough. We at last got
them into the room, and safely brought to an
anchor on the mat, after much bowing and
scraping, and placing of hands upon the breast,
&c, and orders were immediately dispatched for
the dinner to be brought in.
Taking our seats on trunks, boxes, and baskets
around the old door which we had converted into
a dinner table, we anxiously awaited the arrival
of the repast.
The sun had just set, and at this moment the
Muezzin from the neighbouring mosque of Sala
hieh chaunted the first adan or call to prayer, and
up got our Arabs, — their abbahs or loose outer
cloaks were taken off and cast upon the ground,
and then a discussion arose as to where was the
east, and which was the direction of Mecca ; this
point being settled, they turned their faces the
right way, placed their bared feet close together,

BEDOUINS AT PRAYER. 177
folded their hands with grave and composed
looks, in front of them, and began to mutter seve
ral pious ejaculations.
In the mean time, the dinner arrived, and we
all sat in silence anxiously regarding them, and
much chagrined to see that the dinner was likely
to get cold, and that praying instead of eating
was, for the present, to be the order of the day.
They held up the palms of their hands before
their eyes, looking at them stedfastly and com
posedly for a short period ; they then put them
up to their heads, spreading the palms out on
either side, and keeping their thumbs close to
their ears, muttering to themselves, then stooping
down and placing their hands upon their knees,
they ejaculated with more energy ; thus they con
tinued slowly rising and stooping, now lifting
their hands to their heads, now placing them again
on their knees. After sundry obeisances in this
fashion, our Arabs went down upon their knees
one by one, and successively touched the ground
with their foreheads ; they then sat back upon
their heels, folded their hands, and seemed lost in
a fit of religious meditation.
Not knowing how long this would last, some of
the party suggested the propriety of beginning
dinner before the meat was cold. This, however,
VOL. II. N

178 SALAHIEH. — BEDOUIN ARABS.
was overruled by the more prudent, who re
marked, that we were entertaining a Bedouin
Sheikh, a man of consequence and authority
among his own people, and with whom we were
to live, and under whose protection we were to
remain for the next fortnight, and therefore^ that
we should be particularly cautious of doing any
thing that might appear a slight to him ; they
judiciously remarked, that the Arabs were very
punctilious on points of hospitality, and therefore
that we had much better put up with some in
convenience, and be too ceremonious rather than
otherwise, as the treatment we should get at their
hands in the desert would mainly depend upon
that which they might receive at our hands as
our guests at Damascus ; besides, remarked the
principal speaker, I should like to give them as
favourable an opinion as possible of the British
nation. This last argument Was unanswerable.
So we continued quietly to pull our bread to
pieces, and pick up the crumbs, sometimes venturing
to tear off a green leaf from a lettuce, four passer
le temps, gazing the while upon the praying Arabs.
Now they one after the other bent down, placed
the palms of their hands on the ground, and
touched the dust lowly and reverently with their
foreheads ; then throwing themselves back again

BEDOUINS AT PRAYER. 1.79
upon their heels, they rested their hands upon
their knees, and repeated their prayers with in
creased loudness. Some of the party rattled the
dishes, thinking the association of ideas might
hasten them a little in their operations, but there
was not the slightest wandering of the mind or
the eye, they were entirely and very properly
wrapped up in the performance of their duty.
Thus they continued to throw themselves back
wards and forwards, muttering and ejaculating,
and we continued to keep our seats, as it is con
sidered sinful to pass close before a Mussulman at
prayer ; and if we had ventured to interrupt them
or to address them, we should have been ten
times worse off, as they must have begun again
from the beginning and have repeated the whole
ceremony. I have since obtained information of the mean
ing of their different motions, and the general
tenor of their proceedings, which consist chiefly
in ejaculations of prayer and praise, and in repeat
ing passages taken out of the Koran.
When standing erect they pronounce various
ejaculations of praise and admiration, such as
" God is great !" "0 absolute glory of God !"
" Abundant praise be to God !" " Praise be to
God," &c, &c, or something to that effect ; then
N 2

180 SALAHIEH.  MUSSULMAN PRAYERS.
when they stoop down and put their hands upon
their knees, "May God hear those who praise
him !" And thus they go on^first saying something
in praise of God, then stooping and saying, " May
God hear those that praise him," &c, &c. When
they have got down upon their knees, and are
touching the ground with their foreheads, they
utter aloud, " I proclaim the glory of God, — the
Most High,— the Most Merciful,— the Most Boun
tiful, — the Most Mighty, — the Creator, — the
Forgiver," &c, &c, touching the ground every
time they pronounce any one of the attributes,
High, Mighty, &c.
When they sit back upon their heels, they re
peat supplicatory passages taken from the Koran,
frequently commencing with the first chapter,
which begins thus : —
" Praise be to God, the Lord of all creatures,
the most merciful ; the King of the day of judg
ment. Thee do we worship, and of Thee do we
beg assistance. Direct us in the right way ; in
the way of those to whom thou hast been gracious ;
not of those against whom thou art incensed, nor
of those who go astray." Or —
" Praise be to God who hath sent down unto
his servant the book of the Koran, and hath not
inserted therein any crookedness, but hath made

THE KORAN.  MUSSULMAN PRAYERS. 181
it a straight rule, who hath not sent down the
Koran unto us, that we should be unhappy, but
as an admonition unto him who feareth God."
Ch. xx. and xviii.
Some of their invocations of the Supreme
Being, as I have since heard them explained, are
most beautiful, all of course taken from the Koran.
" 0 God, who formed and exalted the heavens, and
spread out the earth over the watery ocean, who
shifteth the night and the day, who driveth for
ward the clouds, and gathereth them together and
layeth them in a heap, and maketh the rain to
fall from the midst thereof, to revive the dead
country. " 0 thou who reignest in darkness vigilant,
and rulest the night and the day ; thou who de-
creest the length of life, and determinest the hour
of death; who givest life to all that breathe,
and hast numbered and appointed the destiny of
all, be merciful unto us and gather us together
at the day of resurrection.
" Thine anger is as the stormy cloud from
heaven, fraught with darkness, thunder, and light
ning, sharp as the edge of the sword, like unto the
lightning, swift to destroy. Alas, our sins are many,
but God hath prescribed unto himself mercy.
" It is God who hath created man out of the

182 SALAHIEH. — MUSSULMAN PRAYERS.
miry clay, and hath prefixed his term of life — God
who hath spread out the heavens above him and
made the rivers to flow under his feet. Unto
whom belongeth whatsoever is in earth, but unto
God ? With him are the keys of the secret things,
he knoweth that which is on the dry land and
that which is in the sea ; there falleth no leaf but
he knoweth it, neither is there a single grain in
the dark parts of the earth nor a green thing but
it is written in the perspicuous book. He sends
punishment to us from above or brings it from
under our feet. He destroyeth man in his sins
and raiseth up other generations after him. He
taketh away life and bringeth the dreary dark
ness. Alas, our sins are many. But the mercy
of God is most abundant. Let us be constant in
prayer and give alms, that we swallow not down
into our bellies the consuming fire."
After numerous ejaculations in honour of God,
and the repetition of various passages from the
Koran in illustration of the attributes of the Su
preme Being, they put up various petitions for
happiness in the next world in the Jannat Fer-
daws, the Garden of Paradise, and Jannat Aden,
the Garden of Eden ; the length and number of
which are in proportion to the piety of the sup
pliant, and are couched in language according

THE MUSSULMAN'S PARADISE. 183
with his peculiar taste and ideas as to the merits
of the numerous delights shadowed forth in Ma
homet's paradise.
They call on God to make them smell the sweet
smells of the garden of delights and not the unsa
voury odours of hell — to extend shade to them in
that day when there shall be no shade for God's
enemies — not to blacken their faces when he
blackens the faces of the unbelievers, &c.
All their happiness, it will be observed, is sim
ple sensualism. The Mussulman in his heaven
hopes to be entertained with the ravishing songs
of the angel Israfil, and the melodious voices of
the daughters of paradise ; to listen to the bells
which hang on the boughs of the trees, and are
put in motion by wind coming from the throne of
God. He hopes to travel onwards for a thousand
years amid the golden trees loaded with rubies
and pearls, which produce the sweetest music as
they clash together on the pendent branches ; to
revel in the shady groves, to repose by flowing
streams, to be caressed by dark-eyed damsels, the
Hur al oyun, who live secluded from public view
in pavilions of hollow pearls; to inhale the sweetest
perfumes, to be washed, and bathed, and pounded,
and squeezed, by dark-eyed amorous virgins
beautiful as the hyacinth ; to repose in marble

184 SALAHIEH.  MUSSULMAN PRAYERS.
palaces on silken carpets, or amid flowery mea
dows and crystalline rivers ; to be clothed in the
gorgeous garments of paradise ; and, reclining on
velvet couches, to be regaled with delicate viands
and rosy nectar, &c, &c, &c.
" Ipsa Venus campos ducet in Elysios ;
Hie chorese cantusque vigent passimque vagantes
Dulce sonant tenui gutture carmen aves;
Fert casiam non culta seges, totosque per agros
Floret odoratis terra benigna rosis.
Hie juvenum series teneris immista perellis
Ludit, et assidue prcelia miscet amor."
TIBULLUS. ELEG. LIB. I. 3.
The duration of the prayers depends entirely
upon the piety of the individual and the religious
fit that may be on him at the time. With the
mass of the people it appears a mere routine ; yet
a great gravity and sincerity, and a due sense of
the duty which they are discharging, seems fully
impressed upon the minds of all whom I have seen
at their devotions.
To return to our Bedouins. At the expiration
of about a quarter of an hour we were delighted
to observe that their prayers were finished, and
to see them gathering around the pilaff, which
had been brought in an immense cauldron about

BEDOUIN ARABS. — THE DINNER. 185
the size of a small copper, and which was placed
on the raised part of the floor close to our tempo
rary table ; the six Bedouins immediately squatted
round it with their legs under them, and without
waiting for grace or any signal of commencement
to be given by us, thrust their hands into the pot
and shortly buried their arms in the rice almost
up to the elbow, stirring the composition round
and round, when their eyes being attracted by the
httle bits of meat mixed up with the rice, a demur
immediately took place about the appearance of the
flesh, and we were made acquainted with a sus
picion that had arisen in their minds that we had
put pork into the composition, which being in
their estimation unclean, would have defiled the
whole, and they began to look blank at the very
idea, fearing lest they should lose their dinner.
On being positively assured however to the con
trary, six enormous handfuls rose in the air, and
being well squeezed and matted together were
rolled round into a ball and popped into their
mouths. The stirring, pounding, and squeezing
of the rice went on till all disappeared, when our
guests looked at the cauldron and then at their
fingers in the most expressive manner. We hur
ried off a messenger into the kitchen, knowing
well that among the Arabs themselves it is, and.

186 SALAHIEH. — BEDOUIN ARABS.
very properly, the greatest disgrace if a guest is
allowed to remain hungry ; the individual at whose
tent such a dreadful occurrence has taken place
being ever after jeered at as the man who allowed
his guest to lie down hungry to rest.
It was to our great satisfaction, therefore, that
an enormous dish of mutton cutlets made their
appearance, die half of a sheep that had just been
laid in by the cook for the next two days' pro
vender, and a large basket full of bread. The
cutlets seemed to excite infinite admiration and
amusement ; and after being surveyed for some
time, and turned round and held up between them
and the light, and smelled at, to see that they
were not pork, a sudden dart was made at the
bread, and these too entirely disappeared. We
began now to feel rather uneasy, but happily
bethought ourselves of an omelet, for which the cook
was celebrated, and sent into the kitchen for a
large basket of eggs that had been purchased in
the morning to be put into requisition, and mes
sengers to be dispatched for any others that could
be procured in the village. This, too, made its
appearance with unexpected rapidity, (the Arab
cook having estimated the appetites of our guests
much more correctly than ourselves.) Two
minutes, however, sufficed to make a complete

BEDOUIN ARABS. 187
finish of the omelet, and in utter amazement, we
hurried off servants to purchase whatever pro
visions they could find in the bazaar of Salahieh,
who shortly returned with a large basket of grapes
and radishes and piles of bread; upon this fare
we choked them off, and before the grapes were
finished they one by one began to lick their fingers
and look satisfied.
These Bedouins appeared all to be on a per
fect equality. The Sheikh was in nowise dis
tinguishable from the rest but by his dress ; and
they all, including the Sheikh's black African slave,
ate together.
Pipes and coffee were put into requisition, and
the Sheikh gave us the gratifying intelligence,
through the mouth of the interpreter, that he and
his Arabs had never before eaten so much to their
satisfaction. Towards bedtime they were ushered
into a large old empty apartment, surrounded by
shattered wainscoting, ruined fountains, and pos
sessing a handsomely carved ceiling in a sad state
of neglect and decay.
Just as I had extinguished the candle in my
own room and was retiring to bed, I was startled
by a strong bright light that came through a
recess at the further end of the apartment, and
rushing to the spot in the act of calling out fire, I

188 SALAHIEH. — BEDOUIN ARABS.
found that the recess, which I had never before
examined, opened upon a gallery looking down
into the room allotted to the Bedouins, who were
seen squatted in a circle round a large fire they
had kindled on the floor in the centre of the
apartment, holding up their hands to the fire or
poking the embers with a long stick, and talking
with the greatest animation. Their black shining
eyes, long hair, their swarthy features and strange
dresses, now brightly seen and now lost in ob
scurity, as the flames brightened up or died away,
altogether presented the wildest and most pictu
resque scene imaginable. They looked around
them, from side to side, above and below, and I
fancied that these children of the desert, who live
in tents and never abide in one place, were insti
tuting comparisons between the advantages at
tendant upon their mode of life as compared with
that of the settled householder.
Oct. 24th. — We were all busily preparing from
an early hour for our departure, and immediately
after breakfast I walked down with an Arab
servant into Damascus, to purchase some neces
saries for the journey. It was a lovely brilliant
morning, and we stole along under the shade of
the wide spreading walnut trees to the gate of the
town. There were strings of donkeys going into

DAMASCUS. — QUARRELLING ARABS. 183
the city laden with fruit, others were coming out,
adorned with scarlet and embroidered housings,
bearing along women in loose flowing silk dresses,
holding their children in their laps in front of them.
Strings of dromedaries were moving along at slow
and stately pace, and a party of women, attended
by a black slave, were venturing out on foot to
breathe the morning air. Near the gate were
some beggars, in humble and suppliant posture,
asking for alms in the name of the most merciful
God ; and in a narrow street there was a quarrel
and loud talking between two Arabs, whose two
donkeys, with a panier on either side of them
filled with radishes, were jammed together in the
narrow way between the houses, and both strug
gling in opposite directions, remained immovably
fixed by the entanglement of their loads. The
two men continued to shout and to quarrel and
growl at each other, making a vast deal of noise,
but taking care never to come to blows. To see
two Arabs quarrelling, you would think they
were going to tear each other's eyes out ; but it
all ends in talk, — he that can talk fastest and
loudest generally appears to be the conqueror.
I was commissioned to purchase some sugar,
plenty of which, imported from England, can be
bought in the bazaars. The Arabs are very fond

190 DAMASCUS. — SUGAR MERCHANT.
of it, and we were advised to take a quantity
for making presents to the Bedouins and their
children. I pulled up at one of the gayest shops, and
asked for some sookhar. Some small loaves, done
up in the well known blue paper, were handed
me to inspect ; but as I was not at all pleased
with the colour, the master of the shop told me
he had a fresh batch just arrived in his warehouse,
only five minutes' walk from his shop, and that if
I or the dragoman would stop and mind his goods
till he came back, he would run and fetch it.
Being rather tired, I mounted to the carpet on
the elevated board which the little sugar merchant
had just quitted, and seating myself on his cushion,
I directed the attendant in the meantime to march
off for something else, which was to be bought
near at hand, with injunctions to return to me
at the sugar shop ; and in the mean time
I laid hold of the merchant's pipe, which he
had left burning, and pour ni'amuser began to
smoke. The sight of a Christian in the Frank dress,
seated all alone quietly smoking his pipe upon the
shop-board of a Damascus sugar and spice mer
chant in the middle of the bazaars, soon excited a
good deal of speculation and curiosity among the

Sill JIM feW KK'JCJc^m.

SUGAR MERCHANT'S SHOP. 191
passers-by, who successively stopped to ruminate
upon the strange occurrence ; " God is great !" said
some—" Praise be to God!" said others — and " God
is merciful!" cried a third stroking his beard and
looking very wise. "What is that infidel?" — "Who
is the unbeliever ?" with questions of the like pur
port I could plainly perceive were put to the
neighbouring shop-keepers ; and I heard the word
Inglees or Indjeleis successively bandied from one
to the other with a look of quiet indifference. At
last some wag or impertinent Damascene, thinking
it a good opportunity to have a joke, or to fling a
jeer at the infidel, came up and pretended he
wanted to purchase some articles, and apparently
intended by his manner to abuse me. Not being
able to answer his questions, I made him a polite
bow, and handed him the pipe I was smoking to
take a puff, one of the greatest compliments you
can pay, and one of the most polite things that one
man can do to another in the east. This simple
and involuntary act on my part seemed to pro
duce a great sensation among the bystanders, and
to draw forth great manifestations of satisfaction
and approbation ; the expression of their counte
nances changed instantly, and I could hear the
words, Taieeb, taieeb kateir! with remarks, as I
understood them, that I had behaved very pro-

192 DAMASCUS.  SUGAR MERCHANT'S SHOP.
perly on the occasion, while the Arab who had
accosted me seemed confounded by this piece of
politeness : however he put his hand on his breast,
made me a low bow, thanked me most civilly, and
immediately dropped all his impertinence, and the
rest of the time that I remained, the greatest har
mony and good feeling prevailed between me and
the bystanders who endeavoured to talk to me,
and make me comprehend by signs and motions
what they meant.
Tired of the non-arrival of the servant as well
as of the merchant, I laid down my pipe to
see the hour, when to my horror I perceived a
flea skipping about over my white trousers. I
leaped from the cushion on which I had been
seated down into the bazaar, upsetting half-a-
dozen old sabres that stood in my way, and
greatly astonished the worthy people around,
who seemed to think I was suddenly possessed
with an evil spirit or was gone daft ; when how
ever they understood the cause of the sudden
movement, their merriment was great, and they
wanted to convince me it was nothing to be dis
turbed at by drawing up the sleeves of their
dresses, in order to shew me, as I suppose, that
they tolerated the existence of such vermin with
perfect resignation and sang froid, and to prove to

DEPARTURE FOR PALMYRA. 193
me that I need not feel alarmed or disturbed at
their presence as they were nowise dangerous.
On arriving at Salahieh, I found the whole
party busily preparing for the journey ; there was
Mr. Farren's showy and handsome dragoman in
animated conversation with the Bedouin Sheikh,
impressing upon his mind the care he was to take
of us, and telling him how that quick as lightning
— terrible as the thunderbolt — with several other
oriental similes and expressions, would be the
punishment on his head and that of his devoted
followers, if any harm came to us ; every sentence
being enforced by a loud clap of the hands at the
end of it. The Sheikh all the while sat com
posedly .upon the ground, leaning with his back
against the wall looking very patient and submis
sive, and only ejaculating every now and then
taieeb ! taieeb ! " very well, very well."
The black slave came to know at what time
the horses and dromedaries were to be brought to
the door, and we arranged to sleep at a neigh
bouring village about three hours from Damascus.
It is a very favourite plan of the Arabs to com
mence their first day's journey late in the day, to
travel only for an hour or two, and then to rest
and prepare in earnest for the coming journey.
The Sheikh and his nephew went again to take
VOL. II. o

194 THE BEDOUIN ARABS.
leave of Mr. Farren, and received strict charge and
exhortation to attend to our safety and comfort on
the journey. The influence that Mr. Farren pos
sesses with this Bedouin Sheikh is a strong in
stance of the gratitude with which these Arabs
universally repay a benefit conferred.
The Arabs of the great iEneze tribe inhabiting
the desert of El Hammad, which borders upon the
eastern frontier of Syria, when the pasturage in
the desert is burnt up and wasted by the drought
and heat of summer, take up their head quarters
close along the cultivated land of Syria, where
pasturage and water is more plentiful, and encamp
all along the vast plain of the Haouran.
During the dominion of the Sultan over Syria,
and during the first year of Ibrahim Pasha's reign,
they were in the habit of exacting tribute from
the frontier villages, and were universally dreaded
from their strength and numbers. Since, however,
a stronger and more settled government has been
dominant in Syria, and since Ibrahim Pasha has
taught them in some hard fought battles, that
their valour and enthusiasm cannot prevail over
the discipline and regular array introduced into
his army from Europe, they have felt the ne
cessity of controlling their depredatory incursions,
and even of submitting to pay tribute for pastur-

^ENEZE TRIBE. 195
ing their cattle, and pitching their tents in the
Haouran, and along the eastern Syrian frontier.
It is manifest, that the governor of Syria, when
unopposed by rival Pashas, can with a strong body
of forces, and some good cavalry, always convert
the Bedouins from enemies into faithful allies,
from the impression he can make upon all that por
tion of the desert within a day or two's march
of the frontier, the portion most necessary and
valuable to them during the summer months.
Consequently, an alliance has been formed be
tween the great Sheikh of the iEneze tribe, and
Ibrahim Pasha, the former of whom has. agreed
that his people shall refrain from marauding ex
cursions to the Syrian villages, and shall pay
tribute of so much per tent to Ibrahim Pasha,
for being allowed peaceably to pasture their nu
merous flocks and herds in the vast plains
bordering the Syrian frontier, which can be at
any time penetrated by the Pasha's troops. The
Pasha's friends are moreover to be the friends of
these Bedouins, and vice versa.
The great iEneze tribe is divided into several
bodies, and these again into smaller tribes, who
have each a Sheikh at their head. It is the
Sheikh of one of these tribes under whose pro
tection we are to proceed to Palmyra, and this
0 2

196 THE BEDOUIN SHEIKH.
Sheikh, through the interest of Mr. Farren with
Ibrahim Pasha, has lately been invested with a pe
lisse, and appointed to collect the tribute from the
different Arab tribes who in summer pasture
their herds in the desert adjoining Damascus, and
between Damascus and Palmyra.
After his appointment he came to thank Mr.
Farren for the service he had done him, and re
quested, that if ever he could be of the slightest
use to him or to his friends, he hoped he would
command his services. Consequently, on our
arrival, a messenger was dispatched to his camp
in the desert, requesting him to guarantee us a
safe passage to Palmyra, which he answered by
presenting himself and a portion of his tribe,
with dromedaries and horses to carry us thither
and to bring us back ; announcing that he would
himself accompany us and guarantee our safety ;
and when once the stranger has accepted the
hospitality of the Bedouin, or the Bedouin that of
the stranger by, in the simple expression of their
language, eating bread and salt with him, he is
equally protected by his host and by the whole
tribe.

CHAPTER VII.

DEPARTURE FOR PALMYRA.  MOUNTING DROMEDARIES. —
BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENTS.  SHAM COMBAT.  BEDOUIN WAR
CRY. — NEBK.  ARAB VILLAGERS.  DESERT.  BEDOUIN
CAMP. — SHEIKH'S TENT.  SUPPER. — BEDOUIN ARABS. —
THEIR MIGRATIONS.

" Arabes  malefici omnes "
STRABO, LIB. 16.
 " gli Arabi avari,
Ladroni in ogni tempo e mercenari "
LA GERUSALEMME LIBERATA.
Oct. 24th. — At three o'clock in the afternoon,
under the shade of the trees outside the house,
we found the dromedaries ready arranged for the
journey; they were lying on their bellies, twisting
their heads from side to side, and grunting when
any one approached them. The Bedouin Arabs
were busily engaged with ropes and packing ap
paratus ; and the great beasts made strange noises

198 MOUNTING DROMEDARIES.
as our slight provision of food and baggage was
placed on their backs, and the water-skins, which
had been just purchased new at Damascus, to carry
our water across the desert.
Soon after three o'clock we all mounted on
horseback, and were highly amused at the fright
of the Maltese servant preparing to vault into
the saddle, stuck on the hump of a dromedary,
the Bedouin Arabs pressing all the time with their
whole weight upon the legs of the animal to
prevent his rising, and recommending the poor
Maltese, who was a very fat man, to be quick,
and hold fast to the saddle before and behind ;
as unless great care is taken, when the huge
animal springs up with his forelegs, he will in
evitably tumble you off over his rump, which if
you escape, you have the same chance of being
pitched over his head when he afterwards brings
up his hind legs to gain his proper erect posi
tion. Away went the hat of the poor Maltese, down
he came upon his back, and the instant after, was
pitched over on his stomach ; but clinging fast, he
saved himself from falling. The other servant,
who was an Arab, managed better. Our long
procession, with the Sheikh at its head riding
an Arab mare, and the different Bedouins, excited

BEDOUIN ARABS. 199
quite a sensation as we passed through the village
of Salahieh. The afternoon was lovely, and we skirted along
the edge of the luxuriant orchard and gardens, and
admired the light, elegant minarets and domes
rising above the dense waving line of green
foliage. No horses can be got at Damascus, even for a
day's journey into the desert, without a deposit of
the full value of the animal, from the great risk
that is run of their being seized by the Bedouins ;
and the only way of making the journey is under
their protection, and with their own horses.
It was wonderful to see the agility of the
Arabs, in leaping onto the dromedaries; they merely
placed the ball of the foot upon the projecting
bone of the dromedary's hind leg, and leaped on to
his back as he was walking. They sat with their
legs doubled under them, as they would upon a
divan ; two or three leaping on to the same dro
medary, one behind the other.
After passing through a grove of very fine
olive trees, and crossing a fine stream of water,
we arrived for the night at a small village on
the: outskirts of the cultivated land that surrounds
Damascus, having made a short journey of

200 ROUTE TO PALMYRA.
three hours only, and were immediately taken to
a friend of our Sheikh's living in the village, in
whose house we were allotted mattresses ; but
being located in a dark, confined room, with no
windows to it, we passed rather an uncomfortable
night. Oct. 25th. — We departed at sunrise.
After leaving the environs of the village, we no
longer feasted our eyes on a verdant green, and
a riant cultivation, but a flat arid plain covered
with clumps of withered grass extended around
us, bounded on the left by a line of mountains.
We were leaving the Ghouta or Merdj or
Meadow, as it is called, of Damascus. Above the
level flat in front, rose several blue mountain
peaks, and beyond lay extended the continuous
blue outline of the desert of El Hammad. Further
on the right, was the waving ridge of the Djebel
Haouran ; and from the plain rose numerous
spiral columns of smoke from different Bedouin
encampments, driven in from the interior of the
desert by the aridity and drought of summer,
being then always obliged to encamp near pools
and wells, to procure water for their large flocks
and herds, who pasture for several hours round
the encampment under the care of shepherds. In

BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENTS. 201
winter, when the grass and plants are juicy and
covered with moisture, the flocks are made to do
without water.
Immediately after the first rains, we were told
that these different encampments would break up
and retire into the interior of the desert, towards
the Euphrates; an event that might be daily ex
pected. They carry with them a provision of corn and
barley for the winter, bought by the produce of
their butter and the sale of their sheep, goats,
and horses, milk, and charcoal.
For pasturing here, they pay an annual tribute
of so much per tent to the Pasha of Damascus, no
longer having it in their power to impose tribute
on the villages.
It was now beginning to feel hot, and we
stopped at a stream to fill our water-skins, when
the Sheikh, with his black slave, left the party and
galloped off to a village on the right, where the
Bedouins had left their arms, not being permitted
to carry them into Damascus. We traversed the
bare solitary plain in the direction of the moun
tains, at the base of which we were overtaken by
the Sheikh on his mare, and his black slave on a
dromedary bearing the arms, which consisted of
long spears made of bamboo from Bagdad, pointed

202 BEDOUIN WAR-CRY.
at each end with iron, and at the smaller end
ornamented with a large tuft of ostrich feathers —
an old matchlock, clubs loaded with iron, daggers,
&c, &c. The Sheikh was accompanied by another
Bedouin Arab on horseback, who was said to be
the Sheikh of one of the neighbouring encampments,
come to keep our chief company on his journey.
They appeared delighted to clutch their arms
again, and feel that they were once more free
upon the borders of their boundless home. The
Sheikh's black slave raised himself on the drome
dary, and lifting his lance shook it until it vibrated
with the most rapid motion, and then screamed
the war-cry of the Bedouins, the most fearful
screech that ever was heard ; other Bedouins ad
vanced with their lances, all quivering them in
the same way, dodging and retreating, and going-
through a mock combat, all screeching fearfully ;
but the black slave beat them hollow — I never
heard such a loud frightful cry as he uttered. One
Bedouin, seated on the hump, guided and urged
the dromedaries, while another behind him, seated
on the animal's rump, manoeuvred his weapons.
The sport being finished, they turned laughingly
round to us, shouting taieeb, taieeb, — as much as to
say, isn't it well? And now the two Sheikhs
ahead, catching the life and spirits of the rest,

SHAM COMBAT. 203
put themselves into battle array, and charged each
other with their lances, now galloping furiously
towards each other, then dodging and turning
sharp off to avoid the thrust of the spear, and
turning and whisking their horses round in the
most beautiful manner with a mere halter, keeping
them in perfect command without either bit or
bridle. I never saw any thing to equal their
management of their horses — they turned them
sharp round at full gallop, then pulled them up at
a dead stand, and then made them dodge about
with all the activity of dogs at play. The beau
tiful creatures seemed to understand every look
and gesture, and to be as much interested in the
sport as their masters who were riding them,
while the Bedouins shouted and clapped, and be
stowed tokens of applause upon him who shewed
the greatest degree of skill and activity.
Our dromedaries, too, snuffed the air, and
quickened their pace into an ambling trot, with
an instinctive consciousness of their approach to
their wide native plains ; and the whole party
was buoyant in the extreme, — we, animated by
the novelties around, and the still greater ones in
expectation, and the Bedouins by their return to
the wild fearless independence of their native
deserts.

204 ROUTE TO PALMYRA.
We crossed a chain of barren mountains, a
portion of the Djebel Ruak, which runs towards
Palmyra, and from the eminences enjoyed a most
striking and singular view, — to the southward
extended the long blue wavy ridges of the moun
tains of the Haouran, at our feet lay a vast flat
desert plain, from one or two parts of which a
thin wreath of smoke from a Bedouin camp curled
upwards, and to the eastward extended the vast
blue flat expanse of the Great Syrian Desert. We
continued marching over a wild solitary unin
habited country, and at four o'clock in the after
noon, after a nine hours' march, we arrived at the
village of Nebk, surrounded by a few green
trees and some scanty gardens. We were obliged
to dismount to pass through a low narrow gate
way, built purposely small to protect the villagers
from the sudden incursions of the Bedouins, and in
passing through it my water-bottle, slung to the
pommel of the saddle, was unfortunately broken,
so that I had now no other resource but that of
applying to the dirty unsavoury water contained
in the goat-skins.
We entered a narrow lane, bordered on either
side by miserable mud huts, and stopped at the
house of the Sheikh of the village, who allotted us
a long room to sleep in, and wished to give us a

NEBK. — ARAB VISITORS. 205
supper, but we preferred having it cooked by our
own servants, and ordered an immense pilaff.
The door of our apartment opened upon a large
terrace on the top of the house ; and, shortly after
our arrival, visitors from all quarters made their
appearance, who gazed with astonishment at our
persons and figures, never having seen Franks in
Frank dresses before. Each man brought his pipe,
and as they arrived they seated themselves in
rows, with their legs crossed under them, around
the Sheikh, the master of the house, whose guests
we were.
Most of them were remarkably fine looking
men, good natured, pleasing, and lively in their
manners, and appeared amused and astonished
beyond measure at the strange spectacle of so
many Franks. They, in a respectful way, came and
examined our dress, asked the use and the name
of every thing, and were delighted beyond measure
with our buttons, which they wished to cut off
and keep. Here we had a little dispute with our
Bedouin Arabs as to their being fed at our expense,
and made an arrangement which was satisfactory
to them.
The Sheikhs we invited to eat with us, and
the greater part of the pilaff which remained for
the servants' dinner had scarcely left the door on its

206 ARAB VILLAGERS.
way to the kitchen, when the Arab visitors made
a dead set at the dish, to the great dismay of our
two servants, and quickly cleared it of its con
tents. It was a lovely starlight evening, and we lit
our pipes, and walked upon the terrace. I hap
pened to have brought with me from England a
large box of the latest improved phosphoric
matches, consisting of a small wax taper, with a
glass tube containing the acid which ignites the
phosphorus. When the Arabs came round poking
and peering at my dress in the dark, I suddenly
popped one of the matches into my mouth, bit the
glass tube asunder, and immediately the bright light
showed all our faces, white, swarthy, and black,
in the most curious and striking contrast. The
Arabs shouted and screamed with astonishment ;
they called to their companions above and below,
and some stretched out their hands to take the
little wax taper, which was still burning brightly,
and they handed it round from one to the other,
petrified with astonishment. Some rushed down
to communicate the news to their distant friends,
and in a short time the whole village was in
greater commotion than on our first arrival. They
clamorously called for a repetition of the miracle,
and all the remaining time we spent in the village,

THE VILLAGE SHEIKH. 207
I was constantly pestered for some of the magic
candles. One man had got a wife who would die
of disappointment unless she obtained one, another
wanted to take one and shew it to his old father,
and a third wanted to know at what price I
would consent to part with only one.
Oct. 26th. — We rose at five o'clock in the morn
ing, but were detained until nine waiting for
barley which our Sheikh had bought and wished
to take to his encampment in the desert, at which
we were to spend the night.
Our hospitable host, the Sheikh of the village,
and his brother, when we departed, ordered their
horses to be saddled, and insisted on accompanying
us part of the way on our journey : they were
most agreeable and pleasant fellows, and we left
the village most favourably impressed by the kind
ness and gentleness of its inhabitants. A hundred
yards after quitting the village all cultivation
ceased, and we passed along a solitary parched
valley bordered by mountains, affording a scanty
herbage of dried plants and thistles for the goats,
numerous herds of which were seen winding
along the plain. After accompanying us three
miles on our route, the Sheikh and his relation left
us with many respectful salutations of Salaam
aleikoom, or " Peace be with you."

208 ROUTE TO PALMYRA. — SALT PLAIN.
Ten, a.m., we came to a marshy district, and a
pool of brackish water, at which the dromedaries
drank, and afterwards to a plain of salt, the dry
bed of a salt lake, the water of which had been
evaporated by the hot summer's sun ; the crystals
were very large, and of an arrow-headed appear
ance. We walked our horses across the salt, and
continued our journey through a wide solitary
plain bordered on each side by a bold range of
blue picturesque mountains; the soil was good and
covered with long dry grass and camel's thorn; it
appeared only to require water to be capable of
producing anything. The ride was very mono
tonous, not a living being besides ourselves was in
sight the whole day, and the same unvaried life
less plain extended around us until sunset. The
two Sheikhs always rode some distance ahead of
the party, and at midday chose the spot for
halting by sticking their lances upright in the
ground, at the sight of which the different Be
douins and stragglers concentrated themselves to
that one spot, kindled a fire with dry camel's
dung, lighted pipes and produced food.
An hour before sunset, the Sheikh dispatched
one of the Bedouins on a dromedary in the di
rection of the mountains, and we were told he was
gone off to the Sheikh's flocks to fetch a kid to be

BEDOUIN CAMP. — SHEIKH'S TENT. 209
killed in honour of our arrival. At sunset he re
appeared with a poor kid suspended to the drome
dary's saddle, with its throat cut. As soon as it
became dusk, we could perceive in the distance,
numerous twinkling lights, which marked the site
of a Bedouin encampment, and after another
hour's march over undulating ground, as we
ascended a slight hillock, the wild solitude sud
denly became enlivened by a line of bright flicker
ing fires, the barking of dogs, the indistinct forms
of dromedaries and herds grouped together, and
shadowy rows of dusky tents. It was the en
campment of our Bedouins; they uttered a shout of
joy, the dromedaries trotted down the declivity,
and in an instant we pulled up at the door of the
first tent ; it was the Sheikh's, who was already
dismounted, and at the door of the tent prepared
to bid us welcome with Bedouin hospitality.
The Sheikh's tent is always the first tent of the
encampment, and is placed in the direction that
strangers are generally supposed to come, in order
that he may have the first opportunity of dis
pensing hospitality. At the door of the tent, the
Sheikh's lance, with its nodding plume of ostrich
feathers, was stuck in the ground, and in front, the
horse he had lately rode was tied up and carefully
fed. A carpet was spread for us on entering, and
VOL. ii. p

210 BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT.
a fire was immediately kindled of dry camels'
dung and shrubs.
The tent was supported in the middle by three
poles fixed strongly in the ground, and on either
side were three other poles supporting the tent
covering, which was stretched firmly across them
by means of ropes fastened to stumps driven into
the ground ; the sides of the tent were covered in
by strips of cloth, which were suspended from the
upper tent covering, and fastened to the side poles
by iron hooks, forming side curtains which could
be removed at pleasure. The side from whence
the wind came was thus covered up, while the
other was left open, and around the open side a
crowd of Bedouin Arabs shortly assembled, kin
dled a blazing fire, and collected in a large circle,
pipe in hand. The Sheikh's black slave seemed to
be a great favourite, and appeared to be giving
them a history of all that had taken place since
they parted. The meeting and salutations of these
Arabs one with another were most affectionate ;
they kissed each other on either side of the cheek,
touched the palms of their hands together, and then
laid one hand on each other's breasts. The tent was
divided in the centre by a curtain, which sepa
rated the women's apartments from that of the
men's, and several of these dark ladies, unable

BEDOUIN WOMEN. — DROMEDARIES. 211
to restrain their curiosity, were seen peeping
over the top of the curtain to get a look at the
Frangi. They commenced roasting and pound
ing coffee, and as supper was not ready, I went
out and strolled through the encampment.
A line of dusky tents extended towards the
mountain, before most of which a fire was brightly
flickering. In front of them a rope was stretched
along the ground, fastened to stumps, to which
were tied some young dromedaries and colts ;
other horses were pasturing about with their two
fore feet chained together, or fastened to a stump
driven into the ground. Some strings of drome
daries had just returned from pasturage, and as
they successively arrived, they laid themselves
down for the night in lines around the tents,
while flocks and herds, driven in by the
shepherds, presented a most interesting pastoral
scene. After the first novelty of the thing is worn
off, this mode of life appears comfortless, monoto
nous, and irksome ; its only charm is its perfect
freedom and independence in a part of the world
where all others are slaves. The tents appear
disorderly and cheerless ; the floor is deep in
dust, the wind draws through in every direction,
and water-skins, goats' hair sacks, leather buckets,
saddles, and other rubbish, piled round the centre
p 2

212 BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT.  SUPPER.
tent poles, incommode and inconvenience the occu
pant. Shortly after we had returned to the Sheikh's
tent, an immense wooden bowl made its appear
ance, filled with the kid, which had been torn into
small fragments and was swimming in butter and
gravy ; our appetites were too keen to be parti
cular, so we all gathered round in a circle, and
the Sheikh plunging his hand in, tore asunder
several choice morsels, presented them to us, and
then licked his fingers with delight. Piles of hot
thin cakes of unleavened bread, baked upon the
hot ashes, and tough as leather, were brought in ;
and being placed on our knees, they served the
treble purpose of plates, napkins, and food. Water
being a scarce commodity, we unfortunately could
procure none to wash our fingers after this greasy
repast. The cooking, the baking, and all the pre
parations for the feast had, as is always the case,
been duly performed in the women's apartments,
where fires had been blazing, meat hissing and
cracking, and pots and pans rattling ever since
our arrival. The simple manners and customs of
these nomadic tribes, afford an exact counterpart
of what we read of in the lives of the first pa
triarchs. These wild unconquered children of the
desert, the descendants of Ishmael, still preserve

BEDOUIN CUSTOMS. 213
intact their original and simple customs, and un
moved amid the changes of modern society, afford
a most interesting subject of observation to the in
quiring traveller.
In the eighteenth chapter of Genesis, we find
Abraham, perceiving, as he thought, three men
standing at the door of his tent, thus address
ing them : —
" Let a little water I pray you be fetched, and
wash your feet, and rest yourselves.
" And Abraham hastened into the tent, unto
Sarah, and said, make ready quickly three
measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes
upon the hearth.
" And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetched
a calf, tender and good, and gave it unto a young
man, and he hasted to dress it. And he took
butter and milk, and the calf which he had
dressed, and set it before them."
We had an immense kettleful of coffee in
addition to that which the Sheikh offered us,
made by our servants, handed round in cups and
tins and distributed to the whole party. The two
Bedouin Sheikhs only sat in the tent, while the
rest of the Bedouins formed a large circle outside,
and we spent the few remaining hours before
bed-time stretched round the fire smoking our

214 BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT.
pipes and sipping coffee in the most delightful
manner. These people present a far different character
from the settled inhabitants or Fellahs of Syria
and the Turks. Their wild, free, airy independ
ence is marked in their outward demeanour; they
appear like a family of brothers, manifesting a
gentleness and kind familiarity towards each
other particularly striking. They have none of
the stately pomposity or hauteur of the lordly
Turk, none of the chattering or cringing quarrel
some demeanour of the Fellahs or settled Arabs.
You see none of the pale loathsome visages that
distinguish the sedentary and vicious occupants of
the Syrian villages, but fine dark clear com
plexions shaded with long curls of hair, teeth
white as ivory, black, sparkling and expressive
eyes beaming with mirth and good humour, small
but light, active, and supple forms, and their
whole demeanour manifests a lively interest in
each other. They are a fine band of men, appa
rently knit together in the closest bonds of affection
and sympathy.
The Sheikh is in nowise distinguished from the
rest except by some trifling difference of dress ; he
eats out of the same dish, and never indulges in
any luxury apart from the rest, except on the ar-

THE BEDOUIN ARABS. 215
rival of a stranger. He possesses no power but
that based on sentiment and opinion. True the
title is hereditary, and in every tribe a particular
family has been exalted above the rest, in which
the titles of Sheikh and Emir in general hereditarily
descend; and the Sheikhs and Emirs possess
considerable pride of family, and glory much in
their nobility of birth ; yet instances have not
been wanting when these rights have been waived
and set aside by the tribe, from incapacity or the
superior qualifications of another family, who have
been elected to the post. These changes are
however rare and dangerous, as they often lead
to disputes and to the breaking up of a tribe, as
the different families are merely held together by
the ties of blood, or a mutual and voluntary com
pact. The desert is open, their steps are free and
unconfined, and if not contented with one head
they will seek another. The Sheikh consequently
never ventures to beat or ill-treat an Arab, but in
all things he is constrained to consult the wishes
of his tribe, and his conduct is entirely controlled
by the opinion of his followers, who are however
always inclined to yield and pay a deference to
the opinions and wishes of their chief, as long as
they are just and reasonable : if the Sheikh's con
duct is correct he will always carry the tribe with

216 BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT.
him, and his power and influence will be propor
tionate. It is the Sheikh's office to pitch on the
most favourable spot for encamping, but he must
consult the tribe in his choice. He has however
little legal jurisdiction, and for settling disputes
and quarrels a judge called the Cadi is elected.
The Sheikh informed us that the encampment
would shortly break up and retire into the interior
of the great desert, where they would find an
abundant pasturage during the winter. It must
be recollected that the great Syrian desert and its
borders are not a bare wide waste of sand like
the great African desert. The application of the
term desert must be confined to deserted of settled
inhabitants, towns, villages, and houses, peopled
only by roving pastoral tribes. Instead of sand,
the uninhabited district we have hitherto passed
through consists of a fine black soil covered with
long burnt up rank grass and herbs, and peopled
by antelopes, wild asses, and wild boars, who
search out the thinly scattered spots where water
is to be found. The same description of country,
we are told, continues the whole way to Palmyra,
which is seated on the edge of the great desert,
the flat level surface of which is likewise covered
with vegetation. In the interior, sandy districts
are met with, but even there a scanty herbage is

THE VEGETATION OF THE DESERT. 217
to be found. This vegetation is propagated in
the following manner.
In the summer the soil is parched and cracked
into innumerable fissures by the burning rays of
the sun, the herbage and vegetation are all killed,
but having previously come to maturity and scat
tered their seed upon the ground, no sooner do the
winter rains commence than the dry grass is
beaten down and rotted, and the seeds, moistened
by the abundant and copious wet, sprout up with
astonishing luxuriance ; and no more striking and
delightful contrast can be presented to the eye
than the appearance of these vast plains changed
from the dusty, white, arid look which they wore
when we saw them in the autumn to the verdant
carpeting of green variegated by flowers which
they present in the spring. In the summer the
Bedouin herds and camels feed upon the dry dead
herbage, and are obliged to congregate in the vi
cinity of pools and wells, but in the winter the
Bedouins spread themselves over the wide surface
of the desert, and make long journeys with their
flocks and herds, which no longer require water,
the plants being juicy and full of sap. They pack
water-skins on their dromedaries to serve in case
of necessity, and themselves subsist sometimes for
weeks on milk, which is then their only drink,

218 THE BEDOUIN MIGRATIONS.
and is abundant and delicious. Their long caval
cades during these migrations present a curious
and most striking appearance.
The armed horsemen and the armed Bedouins
on dromedaries ride in front, then come the numer
ous crowd of she dromedaries with their young
ones skipping and grazing the herbs as they go
along, followed by the heavy dromedaries bearing
the tents, tent poles, baggage, provisions, &c, &c,
and last of all, the women and children similarly
mounted. Their seat is a sort of cradle covered
with a tilt of red camel's leather, and ornamented
with cloth cuttings, ostrich feathers, and little
bells. The larger tribes are accompanied in their mi
grations by vast numbers of these animals, from
three perhaps to six thousand, and sometimes many
more ; they spread over the desert for miles, and
when any of the chief tribes congregate together for
offence or defence, the vast assemblage of tents, dro
medaries, and horses cover almost the whole visible
horizon of the level plain. Fifty or sixty thousand
fighting men have been assembled to attack and
pillage the caravan to Mecca. Of these tribes the
Great iEneze tribe, to which our Arabs belonged,
amounts to some hundreds of thousands, and the
Bedouins composing it are scattered over a wide

BEDOUIN ARABS. — ARAB HORSES. 219
extent of country along the eastern limits of Syria;
they form as it were a great nation under one
great Sheikh, but are divided and subdivided into
different sections, and these into smaller and larger
tribes down to the master of every family, who is
himself the head of his little tribe of wives,
servants, slaves, and children. The congregation
of these different tribes and families together is
more or less numerous according to interest, con
venience, or inclination, and it is only on urgent
occasions, and in case of war, that the different
sections and divisions concentrate together for the
general good.
The Sheikh told us that it was only the rich
men among them that possessed the fine breed of
horses, as one horse cost more to keep in good
condition than several dromedaries, and could not
bear the fatigue of long marches like the latter
animal. The possession of a horse confers a mark
of distinction, and horses are chiefly valued and
esteemed on their predatory excursions and in
conflicts. On these occasions the horsemen mount
the dromedaries and lead their horses by the
halter, keeping them fresh until they approach
near to their foes, when, seizing their spears, they
mount and dash into the thick of the enemy.

220 BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT.
The choice beautiful Arabian horses are very
scarce, and a mare of good blood is so valuable,
that she is often held in partnership by several
Arabs, who divide between them the profits
arising from the sale of the foal.
The Sheikh apologized to us for not being
able to give us such good food and accommo
dations as we had given him and his companions
at Damascus, said they never ate so much to
their satisfaction as when they were eating of
our pilaff, and remarked that they were a plain,
simple people, and that a very little suffices for
man. Every now and then some of the Bedouins who
formed the large circle just outside the tent door,
would go for a fresh batch of fuel, consisting of dry
stubble mixed with camels' dung, which they
threw on to their fire, making a cheerful blaze.
We had purposely provided ourselves with a plen
tiful store of tobacco, and a large bag of it every
now and then made the round of the circle. The
peculiar kindness and amenity of these people
towards each other, and their soft gentle manner
and smooth way of speaking, were very striking
and very pleasing, so different from what we
expected in the fierce robber of the desert. It

THE BEDOUIN ARABS. 221
was strange to think that these very individuals
who were treating us with such generous hospi
tality, and would peril their lives in our defence
as long as we were their guests, would at the
same instant, if they had caught sight of an un
fortunate human being in the neighbouring plain
who was a stranger, and had not eaten " bread
and salt with them," have stripped him to the
skin and have left him naked to perish. With
each other they seem to live as brothers, and
with the stranger under their roof who has eaten
food with them, but with all the rest of the
world they are at open war.
About ten o'clock the different Bedouins de
parted. We continued to sit over the smoulder
ing embers of the fires, which every now and
then flickered wildly upon the confused assort
ment of furniture in the tent. The young moon
shone softly and tranquilly upon the dusky plain,
and a light breeze every now and then rustled
the dry grass and waved the pendent curtains
around us. Spreading our carpets on the dusty
ground, we prepared to retire to rest. The floor
was in places nearly ankle deep in fine dust, which
sadly incommoded us, as it penetrated through our
clothes to the skin.

222 BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT.
Through a hole in the tent covering I had
a view as I lay on my carpet of two or
three bright twinkling stars ; the silence of the
wide wild surrounding solitude was undisturbed
even by the bark of the watch-dog, and the camp
had been long hushed and quiet ere I could get
to sleep.

CHAPTER VIII.

BEDOUIN CAMP.  DROMEDARIES. — HORSES. — BREAKFAST.
 BEDOUIN WOMEN.  DEPARTURE.— DESERT.  CARIATEIN
DESERT.  DJERBOAS. — BEDOUINS OF THE BAGDAD CARAVAN.
— HALT. — SCENE AT SUNSET. — NIGHT MARCH  RUINED
TOWER.  SCENE AT SUNRISE.  JOURNEY ACROSS THE DE
SERT PLAIN.  PALMYRENE TOMBS.  GREAT DESERT. 
TADMOR IN THE WILDERNESS.

" From dreams, where thought in fancy's maze runs mad,
To reason, that heav'n lighted lamp in man,
Once more we wake." YOUNG'S NIGHT THOUGHTS.
Oct. 27th. — Being roused before sunrise by va
rious busy sounds, we got out of the dust in
which we had been rolling all night ; and to
add to our discomfort, we had no water to wash
ourselves. The encampment presented a very busy scene.
The she dromedaries were being milked in
wooden bowls, and hot cakes of unleavened

224 BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT. — DROMEDARIES.
paste mixed with butter, were baking for break
fast. These cakes are baked by being spread
upon hot stones, upon which a fire has been
kindled, and then heaped over with burning
ashes. Numerous dromedaries of all sizes were
wandering off into the desert to seek for pastur
age, among which were some beautiful young
ones of a cream colour. Some were much lighter
and more elegantly formed, with longer, straighter
legs than the others ; these the Bedouins train
expressly for riding, and some of them will trot
very fast, and will perform very long journeys.
I must here remark, that the camels possessed
by the Arab tribes are all of the species called
dromedary, distinguished from the double humped
Bactrian camel, by having only one hump. The
double humped camel is unknown among the
Bedouins of these parts. Of these dromedaries
there are two species, the one strong and heavy,
calculated to bear heavy burthens, the other
light and active, and trained for riding, called
deloul, presenting the same difference between
each other as exists between the English cart
horse and the race-horse.
At the appointed hour of prayer, it is usual
for a Bedouin to place himself at one of the
tent doors and call the tribe to prayers. The

BEDOUINS.— THE MORNING PRAYERS. 225
cocks in some camps where poultry is kept, are
named muezzins or callers to prayer, as they crow
at sunrise, the appointed time for devotions ;
and I have heard of a proverb, which exists
among the Arabs, and is applied to those who
have a vast deal of labour and trouble and get
no reward for their pains, " He is like the cocks
of the Bedouins, eating dung and calling to
prayers gratis."
Their ablutions, for want of water, are per
formed with dust, which is rubbed in the palms
of their hands and thrown over their heads ; a
custom expressly sanctioned by Mahomet when
water cannot be procured. To see a large tribe
at early morning in the wild solitude of the
desert on their knees at prayer, and bending
their foreheads to the dust in silent adoration, is
a most impressive scene ; and another instance of
the interesting intact preservation of an antient
custom. " And it came to pass, when Abraham's servant
heard their words, he worshipped the Lord, bow
ing himself to the earth." — Genesis xxiv. 52.
Although our Arabs knew nothing about their
genealogy, as far as we could understand, yet it
is a well established fact, that the learned men,
and the antient historians of Arabia, trace the de-
VOL. II. Q

226 THE BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT.
scent of the Arab tribes to two sources, making
them descended from Joktan, a great grandson of
Shem, and Ishmael, the son of Abraham. Some
of our learned countrymen, and other Europeans,
who have spent much longer time than we did
among the Bedouins, and enjoyed a superior ad
vantage to us from possessing a good knowledge
of the Arabic language, speak of the perfect ac
quaintance of the Arabs with the story of Ish
mael and Hagar, whom they call Hagiar, to the
posterity of whom, say they, the angel of Paradise
gave the patrimony of the wilderness. Ishmael,
according to their legend, was deprived of his
proper patrimony by the posterity of Isaac, the
settled inhabitants of the country ; and in con
nection with this interesting tradition, it is cu
rious to remark, that at this very day, and in all
times and all ages, the wandering children of
the bondwoman have fulfilled their destiny, that,
" Their hand should be against every man, and
every man's hand against them."
Before breakfast, we walked about a quarter
of a mile to the brow of an eminence, on the
other side of which was another and larger en
campment of Bedouin Arabs of the same tribe,
surrounded by flocks of goats, dromedaries, and
horses. Hundreds of dromedaries were going off

DROMEDARIES. — ¦THE BEDOUIN ARABS. 227
by themselves in long lines in different directions
into the desert, and a party of fifty or sixty
started off at a gallop, and had a good race,
making a capital run of it for about ten minutes.
These encampments are broken up on the shortest
notice. In case of danger, the horsemen mount,
collect the herds together, and drive them towards
the interior of the desert, and in the accurate
words of Gibbon, " Their horses and camels which
in eight or ten days can perform a march of
four or five hundred miles, disappear before the
conqueror ; the secret waters of the desert elude
his search, and his victorious troops are consumed
with thirst, hunger, and fatigue."
It is to this preservation of perpetual inde
pendence from time immemorial, and their non-
intermixture with foreigners, that we are to look
for the causes of the primitive and original man
ners and customs, for the peculiar state of society
existing among them, and the preservation for
numberless ages without books or writings, of the
purity of their language, which abounds in elegant
expressions and beautiful poetry. When they con
gregate round their fires kindled in the desert, it
is still their great delight to listen to the chronicles
of past times, to the repetition of some piece of
poetry, or to a well told tale.
Q 2

228 THE BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT.
On returning to our own encampment, I found
my horse in the hands of the farrier and the black
smith, who had taken off its shoe, and were cau
terizing a wound in its hoof with a hot iron ; the
universal remedy of the Arabs, when anything is
the matter with their horses. The horse had
been lamed for the last two days, and being the
worst beast of the lot, and as I thought rather
lazy, I had once or twice applied my stick to his
flanks, much to the displeasure of the Bedouins,
who never beat their horses, but treat them with
the greatest tenderness. As we walked through
the tents, the horses were feeding, the children
playing with a young colt, and the women
patting and caressing the Sheikh's mare. The
children appear to be treated with the greatest
kindness and gentleness, they are early inured to
feats of dexterity, running, riding, and walking
great distances, and the different sports and hardy
exercise of the wild nomadic life they lead, early
give them great activity of body, and power of
enduring fatigue. The boys who shew the
greatest spirit and activity in their sports, are re
warded and applauded by the men ; the girls as
sist the younger boys in looking after the flocks,
and also their mothers in bringing water into the
camp from the neighbouring well. We saw no

THE ARABIAN HORSE. 229
prime horses in the encampment, and understood
that some of their best horses were several days'
journey off with another portion of the tribe.
These Bedouins appear as kind and gentle to the
brute creation as they are to one another, and
their fond attachment to their horses is proverbial.
D'Arvieux tells a most interesting story of an
Arab, who had been obliged to sell his mare,
making very frequently a long journey to come
and see her. " I have seen . him," says he, " cry
with tenderness, whilst kissing and caressing her.
He would embrace her, would wipe her eyes
with his handkerchief, rub her with his shirt
sleeves, and give her a thousand blessings. My
eyes, would he say to her, my soul, my heart,
must I be so unfortunate as to have thee sold to so
many masters, and not to keep thee myself? I
am poor, my antelope, I have brought thee up
like a child ; I never beat or chid thee ; God pre
serve thee, my dearest ; thou art pretty, thou art
sweet, thou art lovely, God defend thee from the
looks of the envious."
We retired into the tent to breakfast, where we
found an immense bowl of delicious, fresh, warm
camels' milk, with thin hot cakes of unleavened
bread, baked upon the ashes, ready prepared for
us. The principal food of the Bedouins consists of

230 THE BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT.
flour and some camels' milk made into a paste,
boiled, and eaten swimming in melted grease and
butter : boiled wheat and beans dried in the sun
and prepared with butter, are a favourite dish.
They are all remarkably fond of butter and grease ;
the butter is made in a goat skin, suspended to
the tent pole, and constantly shaken about by the
women. The tent covering is made of long
strips of goats' hair woven by the women, and
stitched together ; it is very strong, and so closely
woven, as to be impervious to the wet. It is also
the women's office to grind the wheat into flour ;
this is either done in a hand-mill made of two
large stones, or the grain is pounded into meal in
a mortar. After breakfast we requested to be allowed to
make some presents to the women, which was
granted with the greatest frankness, and shortly
several of them made their appearance at the
door of the tent, to whom several of our party
presented needles, cotton, and other little articles :
some of the younger ones had the corner of a veil
drawn partly over their faces and held with one
hand : they laughed, and seemed highly amused at
what was going on. They were dressed in a long
loose blue cotton shirt, in their ears hung sus
pended very large silver rings, they had bracelets

THE BEDOUIN WOMEN. 231
of beads round their wrists, and rings round the
legs, just above the ancle. Their complexions
were dark and swarthy, and their whole persons
bore evidence of the great scarcity of water ; their
lips were stained blue, which is done by punctur
ing them with a sharp pointed instrument until the
blood comes, rubbing them over with a black
liquid, and then covering them with powdered
charcoal ; this causes an inflammation, and the skin
peals off, leaving behind a blue indelible stain
under the new formed skin ; other similar marks
are made at either corner of their mouths, upon
their chin, cheeks, or forehead, according to taste;
and their arms likewise are marked with several
curious devices in this fashion. The edge of the
eyelid is stained black, to give the eye a large
glistening appearance, the effect of which is by no
means bad; their eyebrows are blackened, and
made to join in the middle of the forehead; the in
side of the palms of their hands is stained yellow,
and their finger-nails are reddened with khena.
Some of the women had four or five bracelets on
each arm, and numerous rings on their fingers.
The old women with their faces begrimed with
the dust of years, and the unwashed children with
their tangled uncombed hair, presented far from
an agreeable appearance.

232 THE BEDOUIN ENCAMPMENT.
Of all our gifts, the one which appeared to give
the greatest pleasure was the donation of the
half of a loaf of lump sugar, broken into bits
and handed to the Sheikh to distribute. The
eagerness of both men and women to obtain it
was very great. We saw one very nice looking
girl, who dropped her veil during the scramble for
the sugar ; even the blue marks on her arms and
face seemed to become her, and she looked quite
elegant in her long flowing blue dress. The chief
occupation of the women consists in cooking, bak
ing, weaving the hair-cloth for the tents, mending
the water skins and the water buckets, tanning
leather with a decoction made from a herb that
grows in the desert, making ropes for the water
buckets of long strips of leather, and mending the
clothes. The children tend the goats and flocks
that are pasturing about in the vicinity of the
camp. Ere we started, we were regaled with a
tune on an instrument something like a fiddle, and
with a song. These Bedouins are fond of music.
In the evenings and during the moonlight nights
a chorus is frequently got up by the young men
and maidens, who range themselves in lines oppo
site each other and sing monotonous airs, which
they accompany with clapping of the hands ; the
girls, too, frequently dance, while the men stand

THE BEDOUIN ARABS. 233
found and applaud them. We delighted these
Arabs very much by shewing them the picture in the
Modern Traveller of a band of Bedouins advancing
to the attack of a caravan. The book was handed
round from one to the other and they all surveyed
the print with ejaculations of wonder and asto
nishment. They recognized the resemblance to
themselves, pointing to it and shouting Arabee,
Arabee — Mashallah — taieeb, and they laughed and
pointed to the spears, the keffie, and the drome
daries, and seemed so amused that the print was
cut out of the book and presented to the Sheikh,
to the great satisfaction of the whole party.
Most of the dromedaries are now gone off into
the distant plain to pasture. A group of little
children in tattered garments, and some almost
naked, are rolling about in the dust; and some
dirty shrivelled old women are sitting on the
ground spinning ; they all look as if they would
be much benefited by a good washing.
Ten, a.m. — The Sheikh has announced that he
cannot afford to delay our departure any longer,
as the sun is mounting high in the heavens. It
is astonishing to see the activity and endurance of
fatigue of these Bedouins ; they will run for miles
in a hot sun before the dromedaries, and some
times come up to us full of fun and frolic, and

234 ROUTE TO PALMYRA.
challenge us to a race. We, galloping our horses
against their speed of foot, one of them kept up
with me at a full gallop. Their dress is light and
well adapted for activity, consisting merely of an
unbleached cotton shirt, with wide sleeves hang
ing below the elbow, confined to the waist by a
wide stiff leather girdle, and left open at the neck
and breast ; over this they wind a long scarf,
which is made generally to hang down in two
graceful folds from the shoulder, giving their dress
much the fit and appearance of the drapery I have
seen about some of the old Roman statues in
the museums of Italy. They never wear any
drawers, it is considered shameful and effeminate,
and they are thought only fit for women.
Soon after starting we counted four other en
campments in different situations at a distance
bordering the mountains, and then traversed the
same parched monotonous plain as before, without
a human being in sight, or a single grazing dro
medary. About two o'clock the two Sheikhs,
who were riding some distance in front, struck
their lances in the ground as the signal for a halt,
and all parties quickly trotted up to the spot and
dismounted. There was a plentiful supply of dry
herbage, the water-skins were opened and the
water poured into leather buckets for the horses

THE HALT.— .CARIATEIN. 235
to drink. It was of a very bad colour, and had a
great taint of the goat-skin, which made it ex
tremely nauseous. A large fire was kindled,
coffee boiled, and our pipes put into requisition.
From hence the country became more barren and
more dusty, and in six hours after leaving the en
campment we arrived at a small pool of water,
which the dromedaries first manifested to us by
quickening their pace and striking out of the road
to it. We killed in the path a cerastes or horned
snake, the most venomous reptile of Syria, and
with the exception of four large pelicans wheeling
over our heads, the first animated object which
we had seen on our journey.
Shortly after leaving the water we came in
sight of a line of green surrounding the small vil
lage of Cariatein, where there are wells of deli
cious water ; and we soon arrived at some scanty
gardens surrounding the spot, shaded with the fig,
the vine, and the pomegranate. We rode direct
to the house of the Sheikh, who allotted us a large
and tolerable apartment, and sent us up a pitcher
of water and a basket of grapes.
These scattered villages at intervals of a day's
journey have been a great convenience to us, they
are little oases surrounded by a desert solitude,
which afford a delightful resting place to the weary

236 CARIATEIN.
traveller. This, however, is the last, and from
this village to Palmyra we have a twenty-four
hours' march across a vast desert plain, without a
habitation, a well of water, or any shelter what
ever. Cariatein is a small village of mud houses, but
from several fragments of marble ornaments, bits
of columns, and Corinthian capitals which we saw
built into a wall, it must have been formerly (pro
bably when Palmyra flourished) a considerable
place. The servants were employed all night in
procuring and cooking all the fowls that could be
obtained in the village, amounting to some two or
three dozen, as we were doubtful what fare we
might get at Palmyra.
Oct. 28th. — At sunrise we left Cariatein for
Palmyra, twenty-four hours distant.
A dromedary was brought me to mount, as my
horse, said the Arabs, was so lame, that it could not
possibly undertake so long a journey. I was
therefore constrained to mount the huge beast, and
just as I had got one leg over his back, the spirited
animal jumped up notwithstanding the efforts of
the Arabs to keep him down, and gave me a com
plete summerset. They coaxed him to kneel down
again, which he did at last after much persuasion
with evident marks of dissatisfaction, grunting ter-

MOUNTING A DROMEDARY. 237
ribly and evidently much disliking to bear so
strange a dressed figure on his back. He was no
sooner down than I sprang on to his hump, and
holding fast was in the next instant elevated as
high as the tops of the houses. I was seated on
a little saddle called the Shedad which is perched
on the top of the dromedary's hump, this I covered
with a large quilt stuffed with cotton, and thus
made a very tolerable seat. The long step of
these animals swinging you backwards and for
wards, at first causes a great pain in the back ; they
have, however, a little ambling trot which is plea
sant enough. All the dromedaries beside my
own were loaded with water-skins, which leaked
very much, being new, and wetted every thing
that came near them.
From Cariatein, we rode through a vast flat
plain which was spread out on a dead level in
front as far as the eye could reach, and was bor-*-
dered on either side by a line of bold eminences.
The plain in its greatest breadth is about a day's
journey across, and the level flat resembles, in all
but colour, a wide expanse of water bordered by a
bold coast line and rocky headlands. The soil was
everywhere burrowed by the djerboa, an animal
something between the dormouse and the rat ; it
has a beautiful soft downy skin, and some of them

238 ROUTE TO PALMYRA.
were so tame as to sit up in their holes and watch
Us as we passed. The Arabs catch them, skin
them, and eat them, whenever they get hold of
them by surprise. How the little animals exist
at this season of the year appears to me passing
strange, as the herbage is aU burnt up and there is
no water. In some parts the ground is completely
honeycombed by them, and the riding is con
sequently dangerous, as the earth gives way under
the feet of the horses and dromedaries.
About mid-day the Sheikh's lance was thrust
into the ground, the dromedaries were unloaded, a
supply of water was doled out to the horses in
leathern buckets, camels' dung and dry grass were
soon collected, and a cheerful fire shortly blazed.
The Sheikh assisted us in tearing our cold fowls to
pieces, but religiously refused, like a good Mussul
man, to touch one drop of brandy. We found the
Water so dreadfully tainted with the goat-skins as
to be scarcely drinkable without a large admixture
of spirits.
In an hour we continued our journey through
the wide solitary plain, which continued to present
the same unvaried monotonous aspect. About five
o'clock our two Sheikhs clapped spurs to their
horses, and were seen scouring the country at full
gallop. There was a commotion among the party

BEDOUINS OF THE BAGDAD CARAVAN. 239
and we understood that strangers were in sight,
and that the Sheikhs were gone to overhaul them.
In about ten minutes we saw the two Sheikhs
holding a parley with two strange Bedouin Arabs
on foot. They proved to be friends, and some of
our men on their coming up gave the usual affec
tionate salutation, touching their hands together,
and then kissing each other on either side of the
cheek. They were Bedouins tending a large
flock of camels belonging to the Bagdad caravan,
who were dispersed over this portion of the desert
to find pasturage, until the goods and merchandize
from Damascus were ready for them to take back
to Bagdad, when they were successively called in
from the wilderness to be reladen and despatched
on their journey. These two Bedouins were wild
looking figures ; each held in his hand a matchlock
of uncouth construction, fired by a lighted fuse
which was burning, and consisted of a piece of
rope twisted round the barrel, having the lighted
end passed through the eye of a piece of iron which
served as a trigger. Numerous questions and in
quiries were respectively put in a kind and affec
tionate tone of voice, and we then rode on a short
distance until we found a fit place for encamping,
where there was plenty of pasturage. Here the bag
gage was unladen, and a large fire quickly kindled*

240 Route to palmyra.
The dry camels' dung is the greatest blessing to
the Arabs : it serves as tinder and ignites imme
diately, sometimes they pick it up as they go along
if it is scarce, but we never found it fail, and could
Wherever We stopped, in about a quarter of an hour,
by distributing ourselves in different directions, col
lect a sufficient quantity to make a fine fire, mixed
with dry stubble and shrubs, — a proof of the
great number of dromedaries which must be con
stantly traversing these districts ; in fact the whole
plain from one ridge of mountains to the other, a
distance of fifteen or twenty miles, is crossed by
different tracks running parallel with each other.
The Arabs always carry flint and steel, they ignite
a lump of dung and very soon blow it into a
blaze with their breath. It was a lovely evening,
calm and tranquil, and as we sat round our fire we
watched the sun as he slowly sunk behind the
distant blue eminences which bounded the desert
solitude. Shortly afterwards we enjoyed a most striking
and romantic scene. The Bedouins and ourselves
were seated round two large fires, the dromedaries
lying down formed an outer circle, beyond them
the horses were grazing, and through the thin
wreaths of white smoke curling upwards from the
fires, the moon, nearly full, was seen rising. Turn-

SCENE AT SUNSET. 241
ing towards the western horizon all along a low
ridge slightly elevated above the level solitary
plain, was seen a long column of many hundred
dromedaries coming home from pasture ; they ex
tended for some miles along the horizon, and
slightly elevated on the low ridge, appeared of
gigantic size in full relief against the rich golden
flush of light that followed the departure of the
sun. Here and there a few dusky forms of Be
douins with matchlocks might be seen striding
along the burnt up grass accompanied by a shaggy
dog. These Bedouins of the Bagdad caravan in
vited us to come and take coffee with them at
their encampment about half a mile distant, where
we found them without tents collected round
fires and our two Sheikhs seated in animated
conversation with the chief of their party. They
were very kind to us, gave us sweetmeats from
Bagdad, and excellent coffee spiced with cloves.
The circumstance of our being friends of their
friends was a sufficient claim for every kindness
and attention they were able to bestow.
As I sat by the sparkling fire I gazed with
emotion on the wild romantic scene that was
shadowed forth in this desert solitude. The
heavens shone in all the beauty for which they
are so proverbial in this climate. In the east
VOL. II. R

242 HALT IN THE DESERT.
night was already extending her sable wings, and
a solitary star of the first magnitude hung pale
and dim over the shadowy mountains ; the golden
flush along the western horizon gradually shaded
off into a purple tinge, threw a soft mellow
colouring along the extended surface of the wild
solitary plain, softening down its bleak and de
solate aspect, while the moon, growing gradually
brighter and brighter, now retreated behind a few
light fleecy clouds that were slowly chasing each
other along the sky, and now advanced into the
pure unclouded aether, blending her faint light
with that of the departing day. The bright
flickering light of the fire gleamed upon the wild
but handsome countenances of the Bedouins,
shaded by their long black hair ; the curling
wreaths of white smoke drove along the desert,
and in the distance the indistinct forms of drome
daries were seen extended on the ground. The
faint tinkling of the camel bell, or the occasional
bark of the shepherd's dog were the only sounds
that disturbed the silence and repose of the scene.
How constantly in this climate is one's attention
drawn away from earth to contemplate the beauty
of the heavens. Here in these solitary plains,
which present to the traveller the same unvaried
aspect, and whose wide extended surface nature

SCENE AT SUNSET. 243
has decked with so few beauties, to attract the
gaze and draw forth the admiration of man, we
are led to study and contemplate more closely
" the heavens above," and Him " by whose Spirit
they were garnished." We can hardly wonder
that in these countries a simple ignorant people
should have fallen into the idolatrous worship of
" the host of heaven." But " if I beheld he sun
when it shined and the moon walking in bright
ness, and my heart hath been secretly enticed, or
my mouth hath kissed my hand, (i. e. in adoration
of them,) surely," says Job, " this were an ini
quity to be punished by the Judge ; for I should
have denied the God that is above."*
Amid the wide solitude of the desert I observed
one of the Bedouin Arabs touching the ground
with his forehead in adoration of the Supreme
Being — " bowing himself to the earth" like the
patriarchs in the olden time. He was kneeling
upon the solitary waste, and was
 " Canopied by the blue sky,
So cloudless, clear, and purely beautiful,
That God alone was to be seen in heaven."
The poor Arab might have been repeating passages
from the 91st and 92d chapters of the Koran,
* Job, ch. xxxi.
R 2

244 HALT IN THE DESERT.
many of which are taught them from their youth
upwards, to repeat at the hour of prayer.
"By the sun and its rising brightness ; by the
moon when she followeth him ; by the day when
it sheweth his splendour ; by the night when it
covereth him with darkness ; by the heaven and
him who built it ; by the earth and him who
spread it forth ; by the soul and him who com
pletely formed it, and inspired into it the faculty
of distinguishing good and evil, — now is he who
purifieth the same happy, and he who corrupteth
it miserable. Whoso is obedient and feareth God,
unto him shall be facilitated the way to happiness.
Verily, the life to come shall be better for us than
this present life. Did not God find thee an orphan,
and hath he not taken care of thee ? Did he not
find thee wandering in error, and" hath he not
guided thee into the truth ? Did he not find thee
needy, and hath he not enriched thee ? Where
fore repress thou not the orphan ; neither repulse
the beggar, but declare the goodness of thy Lord."
There are many of these passages in the Koran
repeated by the Arabs on their bended knees, to
remind them of their duty, which are well worthy
the consideration of us Christians. We may with
advantage repeat to ourselves a passage often
quoted by the Mussulman, and reflect on the

DEPARTURE. 245
warning truth it contains — " The emulous desire
of multiplying riches and children employeth you
until ye visit the grave ; by no means should ye
thus employ your time, hereafter shall ye know
your folly."
After returning to our fires and drinking a large
quantity of hot coffee, we prepared to depart. My
unruly dromedary for a long time resisted the
attempts of the Arabs to make him lie down, and
I was obliged to spring with great nimbleness on
to the shedad, or I should have been tumbled off
head over heels, as he always sprang up with a
loud grunt the moment he felt the touch of any
portion of my person, first hurling me forwards
and then backwards with amazing force ; some
times as he was lying down, with his legs doubled
under him, the Arabs would tie the thigh and the
shin of the beast together with a bit of string, so
as to prevent the knee joint from opening ; this,
however, was frequently ineffectual, as he would
get up and walk off on three legs.
The moon was shining with a pure unclouded
splendour as our long cavalcade was again put in
motion across the desert plain. The Arabs began
to sing, and the dromedaries went on at a de
lightful ambling trot, but with soft and silent
tread. After the Arabs had finished their singing,

246 NIGHT-MARCH.
we gave them some songs of our own, and some
good choruses, at which they were highly de
lighted, roaring with laughter and constantly eja
culating taieeb, taieeb, "good, good."
In two hours a dusky object was seen in the
moonlight across the desert waste, and we shortly
arrived at a ruined tower, and passed the remains
of a handsome building of white marble, perhaps
erected by Zenobia. The bright moonlight, the
wide vast plain, and the solitary marble building
in the midst Of the wild waste, presented a most
romantic scene. The soft noiseless tread of the
dromedaries as they trotted along, with the va
rious wild figures swinging on their backs, producing
scarcely any noise to break upon the silence of
night, the long winding cavalcade, the Bedouins
with their long spears and nodding ostrich feathers,
either mounted or running on foot by the drome
daries, and sometimes singing their wild songs or
screaming in exultation their terrible war-cry,
produced altogether a most thrilling and exciting
effect. Unbounded space seemed to extend around
us, and the heavens displayed their varying, shift
ing scene above.
In these cloudless skies night after night the
same brilliant stars are seen, rising and setting at
different hours, unobscured by clouds ; and as the

BEAUTY OF THE HEAVENS. 247
solitary caravans of travellers follow the devious
tracks through the wild heaths by night to avoid
the burning heats of the day, and measure the
progress of time and tell the hour of the night by
the rising or setting of well known stars, who can
wonder that the east hath been the parent of
astronomy, and that here rather than in the cold
and cloudy north, man's attention should have been
first turned to the close contemplation and study
of the heavenly bodies, the constant companions of
his midnight journeys.' How often when I have
ridden on at night, watching the rising and setting
of different bright stars, and the continual change
in the appearance of the heavens, down to the
time when the planets Venus and Jupiter, pre
ceding the sun by an hour and a half, have risen
above the horizon, with a brilliancy and splendour
unknown in England, have I been lost in the
intensity of admiration which the contemplation
of scenes so grand is calculated to awaken ; and
then, as the first crimson line of light stole along
the eastern horizon, quickly followed by a rich
golden flush spreading itself above the blue moun
tain ridges, and by the bright gleaming sun, which
quickly drove all animated life to shelter itself
from his burning rays,. have I thought with pity

248 ENCAMPMENT AT NIGHT.
of the sleeping thousands in our foggy isle, dream
ing over the petty interests of avarice and ambi
tion, or rising with restless avidity to grasp the
fleeting pleasures and excitements of this tran
sitory world, — the thousands whose thoughts are
devoted, day after day, to the casting up of ac
counts, and the balancing their loss and gain in
the pursuit of wealth and of this world's pleasure !
In an hour and a half after leaving the tower
the Sheikh darted his spear into the ground and
announced a halt. In an instant foraging parties
were dispatched in every direction, and heaps of
Camels' dung, dried roots, and plants were pro-
Cured for the night's fuel. An immense crackling
fire soon blazed, the dromedaries were made to lie
down in a circle, the water-skins were opened,
the horses tied up with ropes, a large kettle was
put upon the crackling fire, and hot brandy and
water and coffee distributed all round soon drove
out the cold. The dews at this time of the year
are very heavy, and whilst sleeping in the open
air I found an umbrella of the greatest comfort,
having had the handle sharpened and pointed so
that I could thrust it firmly into the ground ; by
this means I protected my breast and face entirely
from the dew, which is so copious as to wet you

ROUTE TO PALMYRA. 249
otherwise to the skin. It shaded me too from the
moon, the bright light of which is very trouble
some. In the middle of the night we were awakened
by loud cries and commotion. It was one of our
party walking in his sleep, who had frightened
the Bedouin Arabs out of their senses. Some of
us got up and piled fresh fuel on the fire, which
continued to burn brightly until we started the
next morning.
Oct. 29th. — An hour before sunrise we were all
mounted and continued to traverse the same wide
monotonous plain, the further end of which was
bounded by some blue mountain peaks, to which
the Arabs pointed and shouted Tadmor, the an
tient name of Palmyra, and the only one by which
they know it.
Eleven, a.m. — The Sheikh announced a halt ;
foraging parties were distributed in quest of fuel,
the dromedaries were unloaded, the horses turned
loose to graze, and We sat down to breakfast with
the Sheikh.
Mid-day. — We are again in motion after having
had a good deal of difficulty in catching a restive
grey Arab mare, who preferred grazing the pas
ture to continuing the journey. The two solitary
blue peaks which we had seen rising alone above

250 TADMOR IN THE WILDERNESS.
the plain when we started in the morning were
now seen joined by a ridge of lofty hills, which
extended all across the plain, forming the first
boundary to it in an easterly direction that we
had hitherto seen.
Four, p.m. — The spears were stuck in the ground
and another halt was announced. We had not
seen an animated object during the whole of this
day's journey, and our little cavalcade looked a
mere speck upon the wide solitary country. After
the Arabs had smoked their pipes and the Sheikh
had eaten one of our chickens, we prepared to
start ; but here my restive dromedary, whose fore
leg had been tied up by the Arabs, was seen
jumping about like a giraffe on his other three
members, and resisting all attempts to be caught.
We at last got hold of him, and I jumped on to
his hump amid the shouts and cheers of the Be
douins. Upon the loftiest of the blue eminences
in front, a tower could now plainly be distin
guished overlooking the wide solitude, to which
the Arabs pointed and again shouted Tadmor.
Some clouds have been flying about to-day, and
the Arabs say that rain will shortly fall. The
sun sank to rest behind a bright bank of clouds
which had gathered along the western horizon,
and which reflecting the last gleaming rays of the

VALLEY OF THE TOMBS. 251
sun from their rugged peaks, presented the ap
pearance of mountains covered with snow. The
moon at the same time rose above the dim, sha
dowy, eastern horizon, and the tranquillity of the
evening and the balminess of the air inspired us
with fresh spirits to continue the journey.
Nine, p.m. — We commenced a gradual ascent,
and by a bright moonlight arrived at two lofty
ruined towers, and skirted along the mountain
side by the edge of a deep valley thickly studded
with ruined towers, the splendid burial monu
ments of the antient Palmyrenes. Some along the
gide of the hill shone brightly in the full moon
light, while others spread their dark crumbling
masses, shaded by the projecting angle of the
mountain, or dimly and shadowy in the gloom of
the valley below.
Turning a projecting ridge of the mountain, we
suddenly looked down upon the vast wide naked
level of the great Syrian desert, — the Barrai al
Scham extending on every side like the vast ocean,
indistinct and shadowy. On an eminence in the
plain below were seen some dark lofty masses of
buildings, and between them and us confused lines
of columns.
We descended the steep mountain sides to a
warm sulphureous spring, to which the drome-

252 TADMOR IN THE WILDERNESS.
daries and horses hastened with eagerness to slake
their thirst. The dromedaries, we thought, would
never have finished drinking; it was the first
water they had tasted for six and thirty hours,
and the poor creatures seemed to enjoy it. We
then crossed some sandy undulating ground to the
lofty buildings in front, leaving on our right a
long range of white columns. We entered a vast
citadel under a lofty tower, through a gloomy
gateway, and found ourselves in the village of
Tadmor, which occupies the antient inclosure,
formerly consecrated to the Temple of the Sun.
Through a narrow street of dilapidated mud
houses, we were conducted into a large court,
and received and accommodated by a finely
dressed portly Arab lady, adorned with amber
necklaces and bracelets, and having her head
surrounded with a band of gold coins strung to
gether. She appeared about six feet high, very
stout, and as strong a a lion. We were shewn up
a staircase to the mud terrace on the top of an
earthen house, upon which opened the door of
another loftier part of the mansion." We were
allotted a square room with an earthen floor, a
large mat, and a jar of water ; and spreading
down our carpets and coverlids, we soon lost the
remembrance of our fatigue in sleep.

CHAPTER IX.

PALMYRA.  TADMOR IN THE WILDERNESS.  HISTORY OP
PALMYRA.— ODENATUS. — HIS DEFEAT OF SAPOR.  ZENOBIA
QUEEN OF PALMYRA. — HER VICTORIES. — ATTACKED BY
AURELIAN.  DEFEAT AT EMESA. — SIEGE OF PALMYRA. 
CAPTURE OF ZENOBIA. — SURRENDER OF PALMYRA  EXE
CUTION OF LONGINUS  AURELIAN's TRIUMPH. — ZENOBIA
LED CAPTIVE.— HER DEATH NEAR ROME.

" Palmyra urbs nobilis situ, divitiis soli atque, aquis amce-
nis ; ambitu arenis includit agros, ac velut terris exempta a
rerum natura; privata sorte inter duo summa imperia Ro-
manorum Parthorum; et prima in discordia semper utrin-
que :" PLINY, NAT. HIST.
Oct. 2 9th. — "Palmyra, remarkable for its situation,
its rich soil, and pleasant streams, is surrounded by
a sandy desert, and seems naturally cut off from
the world ; it has preserved its independence be
tween the two great empires of the Romans and
the Parthians, from these two nations having been
always at war with each other."

254 TADMOR IN THE WILDERNESS.
The above few lines of Pliny contain the
earliest and most detailed description that we
have of Palmyra.
Appian, in his fifth book " De Bello Civile,"
merely alludes to its existence as having been the
object of plunder by Marc Antony, when the inha
bitants fled from the city, and escaping with their
effects over the Euphrates, defended the passage
of that river against the Romans with their
archers. Strange it is, that while the existence of Ba
bylon, Nineveh, and Memphis, are known only
from books, the city of Palmyra, occupying so
brief a space in history, should have possessed
ruins of such vast extent and great magnificence,
concerning which no written account exists.
The identification of the Palmyra of the Greeks
and Romans, with the antient Tadmor is com
plete and positive. Josephus, in his Antiquities of
Judea, eighth book, sixth chapter, has the follow
ing passage : —
" Nay, Solomon went as far as the desert above
Syria, and possessed himself of it, and built there
a very great city, which is distant two days'
journey from Upper Syria, &c  Now the
reason why this city lay so remote from the parts
of Syria that are inhabited, is this, that below,

tadmor in the wilderness. 255
there is no water to be had ; and that it is in this
place only that there are springs and pits of water.
When he had, therefore, built this city, and en
compassed it with very strong walls, he gave it
the name of Thadamora, and that is the name
that it is still called by at this day among the
Syrians ; but the Greeks name it Palmyra."
Abulfaragius, the Arabic historian, says, that
Solomon in the twenty-fourth year of his reign,
built seven cities, of which Tadmor was one.
The Greek and Roman foreign names given to
different cities were never adopted by the natives;
a circumstance remarked near 1500 years ago, by
Ammianus Marcellinus, who says, that notwith
standing the new Greek names given to different
cities, " yet they did, at , the same time, among
the natives, retain their old Syrian appellation."*.
It is interesting to observe this strong retention
of antient names, as well as of manners and cus
toms among the Arabs at this present day ; the
whole of this district, covered with ruins, being
called Tadmor, and also the little village in-
* When Seleucus Nicator rebuilt many Greek cities, and
gave them strength and riches, though many of them went
by the Greek-names which their founder Seleucus gave them,
yet they did at the same time among the natives retain their
old Syrian appellation. — Lib. xiv. ch. 8.

256 TADMOR in the wilderness.
closed in the citadel, formerly occupied by the
great Temple of the Sun, and known by them by
no other name.
It is a prevalent notion too among the Arabs,
that the wonderful buildings and ruins on this
spot as well as those at Baalbec, were the work of
Soleimaunin, Ibn el Daoud, — " Solomon, the son of
David," the great magician, and the great prince.
The city, they add, was destroyed, because of the
wickedness of the people.
It must be observed, that the Arabs are by no
means unacquainted with the great records and
principal events of Jewish history, as contained in
the Bible ; they have all sorts of strange stories
and traditions, founded on events therein recorded,
embodied in the writings of their poets and his
torians, and in the legendary tales handed down
from father to son, and recounted to the circles
sitting round the bright fires of their encampments
in the wilderness. That such a notion should
prevail among the Arabs, not ignorant of Jewish
history, is not at all strange, when in the same
chapter of Chronicles, in which Solomon is men
tioned to have built Baalath, and the chariot
cities in Lebanon, we find, verse 3. — " And Solo
mon went to Hamathzobah and prevailed against
it." 4. — " And he built Tadmor in the wilder-

tadmor in the wilderness. 257
ness, and all the store cities which he built in
Hamath." And again, in 1 Kings, c. ix. — " And
Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether,
and Baalath and Tadmor in the wilderness in the
land." " And he built it," in the words of
Josephus, "because in that place there were
fountains and wells of water, while in the upper
part of Syria there were none." The name was
probably changed by the Greeks on the conquest
of Syria by Alexander the Great, B. c. 330, but
the new name adopted by these conquerors of the
country, appears never to have taken with the
native inhabitants and the wandering Ishmaelites
of the desert, who preserve old names as well as
old manners and customs unchanged.
The astonishment that takes hold of the mind,
at the strange position of this magnificent city, at
one time the capital of the East, on the edge of
the great desert, and surrounded for several days'
journey on all sides by naked solitary wilds, is re
moved by marking well the peculiarity of its geo
graphical position. The great caravans coming to
Europe, laden with the rich merchandize of India,
would naturally come along the Persian gulph,
through the south of Persia, to the Euphrates, the
direct line ; their object then would be, to strike
VOL. ii. s

258 tadmor in the wilderness.
across the great Syrian desert as early as possible,
to reach the large markets and ports of Syria.
With more than 600 miles of desert without
water between the mouth of the Euphrates and
Syria, they would naturally be obliged to keep
along the banks of that river, until the extent of
desert country became diminished. They would
then find the copious springs of Tadmor the near
est and most convenient to make for ; and in their
direct route from the north of India, along the Eu
phrates. These springs would then immediately
become most important, and would naturally
attract the attention of a wise prince like Solomon,
who would " fence them with strong walls." Here
the caravans would rest and take in water, here
would congregate the merchants from adjacent
countries and Europe, and from hence the great
caravan would be divided into numerous branches,
to the north, south, and west. A large mart for
the exchange of commodities would be established,
and an important city would quickly arise.
The choice of this spot by Solomon, we may
naturally consider founded on a policy of enriching
himself, by drawing the commerce of India through
his dominions, from which commerce probably he
derived the wealth for which he is so celebrated.

TADMOR IN THE WILDERNESS. 259
In the chapter succeeding that in which Solomon
is mentioned to have built Tadmor in the wilder
ness, we read that "¦ the weight of gold that came
to Solomon in one year, was six hundred three
score and six talents of gold," v. 1 4. " Beside that
he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of
the spice-merchants, and of all the kings of
Arabia, and of the governors of the country," v.
1 5. It is curious that at this present moment, the
British government should be examining the prac
ticability of restoring this old line of communica
tion with India by the Euphrates, by means of the
expedition of two iron steam vessels now on that
river, under the command of Colonel Chesney.
With the exception of the above slight allusions
by Josephus, Pliny, and Appian, we hear nothing
more of this city until it bursts upon our notice in
the reign of Valerian, and suddenly rises to a daz
zling pitch of preeminence under the brilliant
government of its young queen Zenobia. Trebellius
Pollio, Zosimus, and Vopiscus, are the three his
torians who give the only accounts we have of
this interesting period in the history of the place.
The Roman name had been disgraced, and the
imperial purple sullied, by the defeat and capture
of the Emperor Valerian by Sapor, king of
Persia, who is said to have placed his foot on the
s 2

260 THE HISTORY OF PALMYRA.
neck of the fallen emperor, when he mounted on
horseback. " Odenatus of Palmyra, a man says Zosimus,
' for whose ancestors the emperor had always a
great respect,' sent a long train of camels to Sapor
with rich presents, and a letter requesting the re
lease of the Roman Emperor. ' Who is this
Odenatus, said the victor, that thus insolently
presumes to write to his lord ? Let him pro
strate himself before our throne with his hands
tied behind him, or swift destruction shall be
poured on his head, his race, and his country.'
And he ordered the presents to be cast into the
river."* Odenatus came, but he came in arms,
surrounded by a brave band of Palmyrenes, and
the swift cavalry of the desert, and accompanied
by his wife, the beautiful and warlike Zenobia.
They encountered Sapor and drove the Persians
across the Euphrates. Trebellius Pollio gives the
following slight sketch of the events of that
period. " Valerian being taken, Odenatus had the em
pire of the east, and Gallienus appeared to rejoice
in the captivity of his father. Armies were
wandering about, generals were murmuring, and
* Peter Patricius in Excerp. Leg. p. 29.

ODENATUS, THE PALMYRENE. 261
there was a great grief among all, that a Roman
Emperor should be held in servitude in Persia."
" Odenatus, the Palmyrene, having collected an
army, restored the Roman affairs almost to their
pristine condition. He took the treasures of the
king, he took also what the Parthian kings esteem
more dear than treasures, their women, and caused
Sapor to flee with fear into his own king
dom." " Odenatus, king of the Palmyrenes, thus ob
tained the empire of the whole East, and that,
chiefly because he showed himself by his brave
actions worthy of so much majesty. While
Gallienus was doing nothing, or foolish, or ridicu
lous things, Odenatus crushed Balista, a pretender
to the empire. He then immediately waged war
on the Persians to revenge Valerian, which that
emperor's son (Gallienus) neglected to do, occupied
Nisibis and Carras, and sent the captive Satraps
to Gallienus to shame him. Persia being deso
lated, Nisibis, and Carras, and all Mesopotamia
being reduced to the Roman power, the conquering
troops having marched to Ctesiphon, the king
being fled, Satraps taken, and numbers of Per
sians killed, Odenatus was, with the approbation
and applause of the Roman world, declared Au-

262 HISTORY OF PALMYRA.
gustuS by the senate, and received as colleague in
the empire by Gallienus, and the money taken
from the Persians was ordered to be coined in
their united names."*
Odenatus, we are then told, advanced against
the Goths, who had for some time infested the
Roman provinces, and drove them out of Asia
Minor. Returning to Emesa, the historian Zona-
ras relates, "that at a great hunt, Moeonius, the
nephew of Odenatus, darted his javelin at a wild
beast before the king, and when reproved by his
uncle, again and a third time did it ; Odenatus,
enraged, took away his horse, which was con
sidered a great disgrace among the barbarians,
and cast the man, breathing threats on that ac
count, into prison. At the request of the eldest son
of Odenatus, he was afterwards liberated, but not
forgetting the insult, with a drawn sword, he slew
at a feast the king Odenatus and his son, who had
so generously liberated him, and was himself im
mediately killed by the others." f
" The anger of God," says Trebellius Pollio,
"against the Roman commonwealth, being most
* " Quod Senatus et urbs et omnis setas gratanter ac-
cepit." — Trebellius Pollio in Hist. August., page 180.
f Zonaras, Tottuis 2, Annalium, page 633.

THE QUEEN ZENOBIA. 263
visibly seen ; because after Valerian was slain, he
would not reserve Odenatus for its preserv
ation." The young, the warlike, and the beautiful Ze
nobia, the widow of Odenatus, occupied the vacant
throne of Palmyra, assuming the title of Augusta,
and Queen of the East, A. D. 263.
Septimia Zenobia, so called on her coins, ap
pears from the concurrent testimony of antient
writers, to have been one of the most beautiful
and astonishing women that the world ever pro
duced. From the time that she subsequently
lived, she must have been very young at the
death of her husband Odenatus. Cornelius Capi-
tolinus affirms, that she was the handsomest of
all the Eastern ladies, and Trebellius Pollio, after
stating that her chastity was so great, " ut ne vi-
rum suum quidem sciret, nisi tentatis concep-
tionibus," gives the following minute description of
her bearing, and personal appearance. " She
lived," says he, " with royal pomp after the Persian
manner, received adoration like the Persian kings,
and banqueted like the Roman emperors. She
went in state to the assemblies of the people in a
helmet, with a purple band fringed with jewels.
Her robe was clasped to her waist by a diamond
buckle, and she often wore her arm bare. Her

264 ZENOBIA, QUEEN OF PALMYRA.
complexion was of a dark brown, her eyes beyond
measure lively, black, divinely expressive, and of
incredible beauty. She had such whiteness of
teeth, that many thought them pearls rather than
teeth ; the severity of a tyrant when necessary,
and the clemency of a good prince when justice
required it."
" She was generous with prudence, but a hus-
bandress of wealth more than is the custom of
wOmen ; sometimes she used a chariot, but more
frequently rode on horseback. She would walk
immense distances on foot at the head of her in
fantry, and would drink with her officers, the Ar
menians and Persians, deeply, but with sobriety,
using at her banquets golden goblets set with jewels,
such as Cleopatra was wont to use. In her service
she employed eunuchs advanced in years, and too
few damsels. She ordered her sons to be in
structed in the Latin language, as befitting the
imperial purple in which she had arrayed them,
was herself acquainted with the Greek, and was
not ignorant of the Latin tongue, but spoke it
seldom from diffidence. She spoke Egyptian per
fectly, and was so versed in the history of Alex
andria and the East, that she made an abridgment
of oriental history."*
* Trebellius Pollio, in Hist. August., page 199.

ZENOBIA, QUEEN OF PALMYRA. 265
Under the celebrated Longinus, Zenobia studied
the Greek authors and poets, and she retained this
great man as a preceptor for her sons. She was
guided by his counsels, and wrote from his dicta
tion the celebrated letter to Aurelian which caused
the cruel death of that great philosopher. She
boasted, says Pollio, of being descended from
Cleopatra and the Ptolemies ; and after Odenatus's
death, assuming the purple and the diadem, she
claimed the empire during the minority of her
sons. The title of Augustus, given to Odenatus, was
merely personal, and Zenobia foresaw that after
his death the power and title of herself and
children, as associates in the empire, would be
disputed by the Roman emperors. Disdaining too
the imbecile Gallienus, then on the throne, during
whose reign the Romans had been defeated in
all quarters, and their power brought low, she
formed an alliance with the Persians, and when
a Roman army appeared in the East, under the
conduct of Heraclianus, she boldly threw off her
alliance with Rome, marched against the Roman
general at the head of a valiant army of Palmy-
renes, fought him on the borders of Persia, and
routed and destroyed his whole army : thus sig
nificantly asserting her absolute and independent

266 HISTORY OF PALMYRA.
dominion. In the mean time Gallienus died, a. d.
268, and Claudius mounted the throne ; but this
emperor was too much engaged in the Gothic war
to turn his attention to the affairs of the East : ac
cordingly, in the first year of his reign, Zenobia
dispatched Zabdas, an experienced general, who
had fought under Odenatus, to conquer Egypt,
formerly the patrimony of her ancestors.
" An army of Palmyreneans, Syrians, and bar
barians, to the number of 70,000, were opposed
by 50,000 Egyptians; the Palmyreneans got the
day by many degrees, and having settled a
garrison of 5000 men in the country, marched off.
In the mean time, Probus, the Roman prefect,
came with his army and drove out the garrison.
The Palmyreneans rallied with fresh forces and
attacked Probus, who not only got the better of
them, but drove them quite out of Egypt. But
as Probus lay on a mountain near Babylon, inter
cepting the enemy's passage into Syria, Timage-
nes, who knew those parts well, went with 2000
men and got atop of the mountain, where he
slaughtered the Egyptians by surprise, and Pro-
bus, who was taken prisoner, killed himself."*
After a short and victorious reign of two years,
* Zosimus, lib. i., page 58.

ZENOBIA, queen of palmyra. 267
Claudius died of the plague, and recommended his
general, Aurelian, as the fittest person to succeed
him. Aurelian soon manifested the wisdom of the
choice by his victories over the Goths, the Van
dals, and the Alemanni. He reasserted the antient
character of the Roman arms. He rescued Gaul,
Spain, and Britain from the hands of pretenders to
the empire ; and having quelled the rebellious
legions in the provinces, and consolidated his
power, he turned his arms against Zenobia, who
had subdued all Egypt and the East, as far as
Ancyra and Galata. The Roman emperor crossed
over into Bithynia, and by his presence restored
the Roman influence and supremacy in that pro
vince. On his appearing at the head of his legions
before Ancyra, the gates were opened to his army,
and the trembling inhabitants hastened to implore
his clemency. Aurelian then continued his march
across Asia Minor to the vicinity of mount Taurus,
unopposed ; there he was detained by the obsti
nate defence of Tyana, on the river Sarus, and
was at last admitted into the town through the
perfidy of a citizen named Heraclamium. The
stern justice, however, of Aurelian abandoned the
traitor to the mercy of the inhabitants, and he
was immediately murdered. The emperor spared

268 HISTORY OF PALMYRA.
the town for the sake of the philosopher Appollo-
nius, who was born there. Aurelian then crossed
mount Taurus. All the cities between Tyana and
Antioch were surrendered to him or abandoned at
his approach.
But Zenobia now advanced at the head of
numerous forces composed of light archers and
heavy cavalry clothed in complete armour of steel ;
the execution of her orders was intrusted to the
experienced Zabdas, the conqueror of Egypt, and
the first collision between the hostile forces of the
Emperor of the West and the Queen of the East
took place at Immai*, a town of Seleucia between
Gindarus and Gephyra, says Ptolemy, near to An
tioch, where Zenobia in person animated her troops
to the combat. The historian Zosimus thus de
scribes the encounter.
" Finding Zenobia with a great army ready
prepared for battle as he (Aurelian) himself was,
he, as in honour bound, met and engaged her. But
seeing the Palmyrenean cavalry confided very
much in their armour, which was heavy, strong,
and secure ; being also much better horsemen
than his soldiers ; he planted his foot somewhere
* Ptolemy Immai — Georgius Syncellus Imma — Sextus
Rufus " apud Imas."

THE BATTLE OF IMMAI. 269
beyond the river Orontes in a place by themselves,
and gave the Roman horse a charge not imme
diately to engage with the victorious Palmyrenean
cavalry, but to let them make the first attack, and
then pretend to fly, and continue to do so till they
had tired both men and horses of the Palmyrenes
through the excess of heat and weight of their
armour." This project took effect, and the
Emperor's horse " as soon as they saw the enemy
tired, and that their horses were hardly able to
stand under them, stopped their career* turned,
wheeled about, set upon them and trod them
under their feet. By which means the slaughter
of them was promiscuous, some being killed by
their swords and others by the enemies' horses."
" Zabdas, Zenobia's general, with the worsted
Palmyrenes, retreated into Antioch, and fearing a
revolt of the people if news of the defeat should
get abroad, he picked out a person Somewhat
hoary, much like the Emperor, and clothing him in
a garb such as it would be likely Aurelian wore,
led him through the whole city as if he had taken
Aurelian captive, with which contrivance he im
posed upon the Antiochians, stole out of the city by
night, and took Zenobia with the remaining part
of the army along with him to Emesa."
Aurelian then entered Antioch unopposed, he

270 HISTORY OF PALMYRA.
issued edicts calling back the people who had de
serted from their homes, and having disposed of
the affairs of that city, continued his march to Pal
myra. His progress was opposed by a party of
Palmyrenes in possession of a hill above the sub
urbs of Daphne. Aurelian "commanded his soldiers
to march up with their bucklers so near to one
another and in such close order as to keep off the
darts and stones. No sooner were they got up the
hill than, being in all points equal to their adversa
ries, they made them run ; some were dashed to
pieces from the precipices, and others killed in the
pursuit ; the day was theirs and they marched on
delighted that the Emperor made his way with
such success ; Apamea, Larissa, and Arethusa
opened their gates to him."*
In the mean time the unfortunate Zenobia di
rected her general Zabdas to fall back upon
Emesa, where the queen intended to make her last
great stand for empire and dominion. Collecting her
auxiliaries, the proud and beautiful " Queen of the
East " drew out her forces before the town, ap
peared in armour at the head of her troops, and
defied Aurelian to the combat. This last fatal battle
is thus described by Zosimus. " Aurelian, there
fore, seeing the Palmyrenean army drawn up be-
* Zosimus, lib. i. c. 55.

THE BATTLE OF EMESA. 271
fore Emesa in a body, he opposed them with the
Dalmatian cavalry, the Mysians, and Pannonians,
besides those of Noricum and Rhcetium, which
are Celtic legions. Nay, more than that, there
were the best of all the Imperial regiments picked
out and chosen man by man, the Morisco horse,
the Tyaneans, the Mesopotamians, the Syrians,
the Phenicians and the Palestinians out of Asia, all
men of courage, and the Palestinians, besides their
other arms, had clubs and quarter-staves." He goes
on to say that " the Palmyrenean cavalry were
much too strong for the Roman horse, most of
whom were slain, but the work of the day lay
chiefly with the foot. The Palmyreneans were
amazed to see the Palestinians fight so strangely
with their clubs, and not a little confused by it.
After a fierce encounter, the Palmyreneans were
at last put to flight, and they trod one another
down, insomuch that the field was covered with
dead men and horses."*
This great battle was fought, according to Euse-
bius, in the 250th Olympiad, a.d. 273. Zenobia
in dismay retreated into Emesa and held a council
of war. The queen was advised by her friends
to retreat upon Palmyra, and confine her defence
to that strong city, as the inhabitants of Emesa
* Zosimus, lib. i. c. 55.

272 THE HISTORY OF PALMYRA.
were suspected of being well affected towards
Aurelian. Accordingly Zenobia evacuated Emesa
with such precipitation as to be unable to carry
away her treasure of gold* silk, and gems, which
were all seized by Aurelian, who immediately fol
lowed her to Palmyra, much harassed in his march
by "the robbers of the desert" (the Bedouin
Arabs). He besieged the city quite round, and
engaged the neighbouring nations to supply his
army with provisions.
" In the mean time, the Palmyrenes jeered the
prince with ridiculous jokes, as if it was not pos
sible for him to take the town ; and when a certain
man threw out a rude jest at the Emperor himself,
a Persian standing by his side said, If thou wishest
thou shalt soon see that impudent fellow dead.
The Emperor consenting, the Persian, some men
being placed before him by whom he might be
concealed, stretches his bow and shoots an arrow
aimed at him, which transfixing the man looking
over the battlements and still venting his insolence,
he fell from the Wall dead before the Emperor and
the soldiers."*
Tuv Si Yla,\jj.vpri)>w)i ETiTw9a£oyT«v, w; aSmaTov rtii akuaiiii<;
ovarii;, MSri $; -mo; x.a) 115 ainov rov PxaihEa. Tvoyou? aiVvpoi?
a<p'u*TOs, wapEsmi; tis tui /-WiTiei II;p<7>j; ivjjp, ti xthcvsif, s$i), tov
i|3pi^i)» Toy-rovovJ/fi VExpov. lyx.eXivo-tt.jj.liov diTov @a.o-i\Euc, TTpo^iio-a^EJo;
\avrov Ti»a4- I TTEfo-jjj TOKf U'jTOHfvitroiiTtt.t;, suri'mas to to|ov, x«i

SIEGE OF PALMYRA. 273
The following letter from Aurelian to the Senate,
translated from the history of Flavius Vopiscus,
will give some idea of Zenobia's obstinate defence.
" The Romans tell me that I am only waging
war against a woman, as if Zenobia was contend
ing with me with her own strength alone, not
with that of a host of enemies. I cannot tell you
how many arrows and apparatuses of war there
are, how many weapons, how many stones ; there
is no part of the wall which is not furnished with
two or three balistas ; tormenting fire too is poured
from them. What more ? say you she fears ? she
fights as if fearing punishment. But I trust that
the gods, who have never been wanting to our ex
ertions, will defend the Roman state." *
Harassed with the efforts of the besiegers, and
wearied by the protracted defence, the Empe
ror sends the following letter to Zenobia treating
of a surrender.
" Aurelian Emperor of the Roman world, and
' Receptor Orientis,' to Zenobia, and the others
united together in hostile alliance.
" You ought to do that of your own accord
(3eXos aofnio-ai;, atp'tyo-it. o b% TrpoKSJcuCpoTt tS? ETrak%iu<; ra avQfunra
Kail eti Ttt.c v@pu<; liratyilnt Vfoairayiy, x.u.'sa.yii te tou tei^ouj avTov,
y.al vrnpov to a-Tpa.toieiSoi xai TO @a.crt'hu osiwi/cnv. — Zosimus,
lib. i. ch. 54, 55.
* Hist. August, p. 318.
VOL. II. T

274 THE HISTORY OF PALMYRA.
which is commanded by my letters. I charge you
to surrender on your lives being spared, and you, 0
Zenobia, may pass your life in some spot where I
shall place you, in pursuance of the distinguished
sentence of the Senate, your gems, silver, gold, silk,
horses, and camels, being given up to the Roman
treasury. " The laws and institutions of the Palmyrenes
shall be respected."* zenobia's answer.
" Zenobia, Queen of the East, to Aurelian Augus
tus f.
" No man as yet beside thee has dared to ask
that which thou demandest. Whatever is to be
achieved in war must be sought by valour.
* Flavius Vopiscus in Hist. August.
t " Zenobia, Regina Orientis, Aureliano Augusto. — Nemo
adhuc prseter te quod poscis, Uteris petiit. Virtute facien
dum est quicquid in rebus bellicis est gerendum. Deditionem
meampetis, quasi nesciasCleopatramReginamperire maluisse
quam in qualibet vivere dignitate. Nobis Persarum auxilia
non desunt, quse jam speramus : pro nobis sunt Saraceni, pro
nobis Armenii. Latrones Syri exercitum tuum Aureliane vice-
runt: quid igitur si ilia venerit manus quee undique spe-
ratur ? pones profecto supercilium, quo nunc mihi dedi
tionem, quasi omnifariam victor, imperas." — Vopiscus in
Hist. August, p. 218.

SIEGE OF PALMYRA. 275
Askest thou me to surrender? as if thou wert
ignorant that Queen Cleopatra chose rather to
perish than survive her dignity. The Persian
auxiliaries whom we await cannot be far off; the
Saracens are in our favour, the Armenians likewise.
The Syrian robbers, 0 Aurelian, have conquered
your army, what then if that band which we ex
pect on all sides shall come ? you will surely lay
aside the pride with which you now demand my
surrender, as if thou reignedst conqueror on every
side." Nicomachus says that he translated into Greek
this letter dictated by Zenobia in the Syrian
tongue. Aurelian enraged, pressed the siege with re
newed vigour ; he marshalled his army and his
generals, intercepted some of the Persian auxi
liaries, bought over the Saracens and Armenians,
and after great difficulties, so straitened the
Palmyrenes, that their young and heroic queen
determined, as a last hope, to escape from the city
with a few attendants, cross the Euphrates into
Persia, and seek instant succour of the Persian
king. Mounted on a female dromedary, re
markable for its swiftness*, the young heroic
* Toana PovXEVcd/Aivoi, %<*A xa/JwTw ri>> Z'/i»o/2i'«x av«|3i/3«o-«i/Tf<
T 2

276 THE HISTORY OF PALMYRA.
queen left Palmyra secretly, and passed the
Roman lines during a dark night ; she pressed on,
reached the Euphrates, and was in the very act
of getting into a boat to pass the river, when the
Romans, having discovered her flight, and pressing
on with all speed, their horsemen arrived just in
time to arrest her progress, and to alter the destiny
of the East*. Zenobia was seized and led back a
captive into the presence of Aurelian, who thus
addressed her. — " 'How is it, 0 Zenobia, that thou
hast dared to insult the Roman emperors ?' She re
plied, 'Thou who hast conquered, I do acknowledge
emperor ; Gallienus, and Aureolus and the others
I considered not so.'"f
The capture of their favourite queen was no
sooner known at Palmyra, than the walls were
crowded with suppliants, who by their gestures
implored the clemency of the conqueror ; he ex
horting them to be of good courage, they poured
out of the town with presents and sacrifices, and
(at di? xafiyiXaiv Uo~i ra^to-rca, x.ai Ittttovi; vitEpaipovaai. ravEt) t>?£
tto?ie«« inrEt-dyovo-tt. — Zosimus, lib. i. ch. 54, 55.
* Hist. August, p. 218. Zosimus, lib. i.
f " Quid, O Zenobia, ausa es insultari Romanis Impera-
toribus ; ilia dixisse fertur, Imperatorem te esse cognosco,
qui vincis ; Gallienum et Aureolum et ceteros, principes non
putavi." — Trebellius Pollio in Hist. August.

THE EXECUTION OF LONGINUS. "277
threw themselves on the generosity of the empe
ror. Aurelian spared their lives and property, but
despoiled the Temple of the Sun of its rich orna
ments. He captured all the ministers, councillors,
and generals of Zenobia, and carried his captives to
Emesa, where the brutal Roman soldiery, accord
ing to Vopiscus, clamoured for the Queen's death;
and'deprived of her friends, and intimidated by the
threats of Aurelian, her fortitude at last failed her,
and with a spirit broken by her severe misfortunes,
she confessed that the celebrated Longinus dic
tated the imperious letter she sent to the emperor.
Longinus, the Greek philosopher and critie of
Athens, was ordered for instant execution by the
merciless tyrant, and was beheaded at Emesa, to
gether with all the ministers and advisers of
the unfortunate queen. He met his death like a
hero; he repressed the sighs and tears of the
spectators who witnessed his miserable end, and
with fortitude and firmness submitted himself to
the stroke of the executioner.
" The fame of Longinus," remarks Gibbon, " will
survive that of the Queen who betrayed, or the
tyrant who condemned him." He was esteemed
the first critic of his age, but nearly all his works
have perished. A few fragments of his work
nEPi ytos, on the Sublime, have been preserved, in

278 THE HISTORY OF PALMYRA.
which he quotes the celebrated passage in Genesis,
" And God said, Let there be light, and there was
light," as one of the noblest specimens of the
sublime. The best comment on the character and
conduct of Zenobia is that contained in the follow
ing letter of the Emperor Aurelian to the Roman
senate. " I hear, 0 conscript fathers, that it hath been
urged against me, that I have not accomplished a
manly task, in triumphing over Zenobia ; my very
blamers would not know how to praise me enough
if they knew that woman, — if they knew her
prudence in council — her firmness of purpose — the
dignity she preserves towards her army — her
munificence when necessity requires it — her
severity when to be severe is just. I may say
that the victory of Odenatus over the Persians, and
his putting Sapor to flight, and his reaching Ctesi
phon, were due to her. I can assert that such was
the dread entertained of this woman among the
nations of the East and of Egypt, that she kept in
check the Arabians, the Saracens, and the Ar
menians ; nor would I have preserved her life, if
I had not thought she would much benefit the
Roman state, &c."*
* " Audio P. C. mihi objecit, quod non virile munus im-
pleverim, Zenobiam triumphando. Ne illi qui me reprehen-

DESTRUCTION OF PALMYRA. 279
Aurelian departed for Europe with his cap
tive and unfortunate queen, but had scarcely
arrived ere he received intelligence of the revolt
of the Palmyrenes and of the attack and de
struction of the Roman garrison at Palmyra. He
retraced his steps with incredible swiftness, and
dealt a blow at the ill-fated city from which it
has never since recovered. The dire and de
structive revenge of Aurelian, is best seen from his
own letter addressed to Ceionius Bassus, and given
by Vopiscus.
" You must now sheath the sword, says the
emperor ; the Palmyrenes have been sufficiently
slaughtered and cut to pieces. We have not
spared women, we have slain children, we have
strangled old men, we have destroyed the hus
bandmen. To whom then shall we leave the
dunt satis laudarent ; si scirent qualis ilia est mulier, quam
prudens in consiliis, quam constans in dispositionibus, quam
erga milites gravis, quam larga cum necessitas postulet, quam
tristis cum severitas poscat. Possum dicere illius esse, quod
Odenatus Persas vicit, ac fugato Sapore Ctesiphontem usque
pervenit. Possum asserere tanto apud Orientales et iEgyp-
tiorum populos timori mulierem fuisse ut se non Arabes non
Saraceni non Armenii commoverunt. Nee ego illi vitam
conservassem nisi earn scissem multum Rom. Reip. pro-
fuisse." &c. Trebellius Pollio, Hist. August, p. 198, 9.

280 THE HISTORY OF PALMYRA.
land ? to whom shall we leave the city ? We must
spare those who remain, for we think that the
few there are now existing will take warning
from the punishments of the many who have
been destroyed.
" The Temple of the Sun indeed at Palmyra,
which the eagle-bearer of the third legion, with
the standard and ensign-bearers, and the trumpet
ers and clarion-blowers have despoiled, I wish re
stored to its former state. You have 300 lbs. of
gold from the caskets of Zenobia, you have 1 800 lbs.
of silver of the effects of the Palmyrenes, you
have the royal gems. From all these make a
creditable temple, and you will do a very agree
able thing to me and to the immortal gods. I
will write to the senate requesting them to send a
high priest to consecrate the temple." *
Aurelian's was the most splendid triumph ever
seen at Rome, and is enthusiastically described by
Vopiscus. The large chariot, in which sat Aure
lian, formerly belonging to the king of the Goths,
was drawn towards the capitol by four stags, and
* " Mulieribus non pepercimus, infantes occidimus, senes
ingulavimus, rusticos interemimus : cui terras, cui urbem
deinceps relinquemus ? Parcendum est iis qui remanserunt,
&c, &c, &c. — Flavius Vopiscus in Hist. August, p. 218.

THE TRIUMPH OF AURELIAN. 281
was preceded by twenty elephants, tame wild
beasts of Africa, 200 different kinds of animals
from Palestine, four tigers, camelopards, elks, and
other animals in order, 800 gladiators, the ensigns
and trophies of the conquered nations, the wealth,
jewels, and plate of Zenobia, and the spoil of Pal
myra ; captives of different barbarous nations,
Blemmyes, Arabs, Indians, Bactrians, Goths, Van
dals, &c, &c, ten Gothic women dressed in ar
mour, the royal carriage of Odenatus covered with
silver, gold, and gems ; a second carriage presented
to Aurelian by the king of Persia ; a third sump
tuous carriage built by Zenobia, in which she was
said to boast she would one day enter Rome as a
conqueror, but now all eyes regarded the beau
teous form of the eastern queen, humbled and a
captive, walking before that same chariot to adorn
the triumph of the conqueror. She laboured
under the weight of jewels ; her feet were bound
with golden rings, her hands with golden chains,
a golden chain was wound round her neck, and
slaves supported her weary and tottering frame.
After, came Aurelian in his chariot drawn by
stags, and the procession was closed by the senate
and the victorious army. Arrived at the capitol,
Aurelian slaughtered the stags that drew his
chariot, sacrificing them to Jupiter Capitolinus.

282 THE FATE OF ZENOBIA.
Concerning the fate of the unhappy Zenobia
there are two accounts ; some say that mourning
over the utter destruction of Palmyra and her
ruined fortunes, she refused all food, languished,
and died * ; others, that she was married by Au
relian to a Roman noble, and lived many years on
an estate given to her by the emperor on the
banks of the Tiber, called Conche, where she had
a large family, and lived universally admired.
Certain it is that a century afterwards her de
scendants are spoken of by writers as of senatorial
rank, and enjoying considerable importance at
Rome ; but they might be descendants of her two
children by Odenatus. Zosimus says, that all the
rest of the prisoners, excepting Zenobia's sons, were
drowned in the straits between Byzantium and
Chalcedon. Since the period of the second capture
of Palmyra, and its fearful destruction by Aurelian,
the city has never again prospered ; " the seat of
commerce, of arts, and of Zenobia gradually sunk
into an obscure town, a trifling fortress, and at
length a miserable village." f The Palmyrenes,
says Zosimus, had several declarations from the
gods, which portended the overthrow of their
* Avtv>ii j«.ev ZytoQiav tp<x,a)v h tocrw hr)(p()i7o-av, n TpoQric fAETaXa,-
/Sei« oix mao-y^o^inv anro^ann. — Zosimus, lib. i. p. 56.
t Gibbon.

THE FATE OF ZENOBIA. 283
empire; and, among others, having consulted the
temple of Apollo called Sarpedonius, at Seleucia in
Cilicia, to know if they should ever obtain the
empire of the East, they got the following uncere
monious answer :
" Avoid my temple, cursed treacherous nation !
You even put the gods themselves in passion." *
Ef»Te pot fiEyccpuv a.Tta.Tvift.ovEs ovXiot av^pEi;
QivrXviq «9av»Tan' XpixvdEoi; akyvvtripBc.
Zosimus, lib. i. ch. 57.

CHAPTER X.
PALMYRA.  GENERAL ASPECT OF THE RUINS.  GREAT
DESERT.  GRAND GATEWAY. — GRAND AVENUE OF COLUMNS.
 GATEWAYS. — RUINED BUILDINGS.  COLONNADES. — RUIN
ED TEMPLES. — VILLAGE OF TADMOR. — ARABS. — RUINED
BATHS.  CITADEL OF PALMYRA.  GRAND GATEWAY. 
PORTICOS.— TEMPLE OF THE SUN.

" Ici, me dis-je, ici fleurit jadis un ville opulente : ici fut le
siege d'un empire puissante. Oui, ces lieux maintenant si de
serts, jadis une multitude vivante animait leur enceinte ; une
foule active circulait dans ces routes aujourd'hui solitaires.
En ces murs ou regne un morne silence, retentissait sans
cesse le bruit des arts et les cris d'allegresse et de fetes."
LA MEDITATION DE VOLNEY.
Oct. 30th. — Passing through the mud houses of
the humble village of Tadmor clustered round the
great Temple of the Sun, and surrounded by de
tached columns, portions of the majestic double
portico which once closed this vast area, we
emerged from the narrow gateway and looked
over the plain of yellow sand extending from this
raised platform of ruins to the base of the moun-

THE RUINS OF PALMYRA. 285
tains, covered with long avenues of columns, ruined
gateways, and shattered temples ; but it is on de
scending to the plain, passing on the left a ruined
mosque, and walking over prostrate columns and
heaps of stones, that these wonderful ruins burst
upon the eye in all their imposing extent and
grandeur of situation. No modern structures or
dwellings encumber them, no sign of life or culti
vation takes off from the deep solitude of the
spot, the bright light streams between lines of co
lumns losing themselves in the distance, and heaps
of stone shading the sand in different directions,
mark the site of a temple or a palace.
I did not share in the disappointment expressed
by one of our travellers, because the columns of
these porticos were not above half the height of
the columns of the great Temple of Baalbec, not
at all expecting to find columns composing lines
of porticos extending for a mile, of the same
gigantic size as those of the peristyle court of a
temple, any more than I should expect the portico
of the Quadrant in Regent's Street, to be com
posed of columns as high as the Duke of York's
column in Waterloo Place. Nor do I at all agree in
the opinion, that the details of the architecture are
unworthy of admiration: true it is, that the
capitals of the columns, and all the more delir

286 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
cately sculptured parts, possess none of the deep
and sharp cutting that one sees at Baalbec;
but this is entirely owing to the corroding effects
of the sciroc wind from the desert, for on examin
ing those parts which were sheltered from the
weather, and disengaging the fallen fragments
from the sand in which they lie buried, we found
them beautifully and deeply chiselled.
These ruins are quite different from Baalbee,
and no comparison can be mstituted between the
two. The ruins of Baalbec consist merely of two
magnificent temples, enclosed in a sort of citadel,
while here, over an immense area, we wander
through the ruins of long porticos leading up to
ruined temples, and unknown buildings. Now
we see a circular colonnade sweeping round with
its ruined gateway at either end ; now we come
to the prostrate walls or ruined chambers of a
temple or a palace ; anon we explore the recesses
of a bath or the ruins of an aqueduct ; then we
mount the solitary staircases, and wander through
the silent chambers of the tombs, ornamented with
busts, inscriptions, and niches for the coffins
stored with mouldering bones ; and from the
summits of funereal towers, five stories in height,
we look down upon this mysterious assemblage
of past magnificence, and beyond them upon the

THE RUINS OF PALMYRA. 287
vast level surface of the desert, silent and solitary,
stretching away like the vast ocean, till it is lost
in distance. Far as the eye can reach, the dwell
ing of man is not visible, the vastness and immen
sity of space strikes with awe, and the mouldering
monuments of human pride that extend around,
teach us a sad lesson of the instability of all
earthly greatness.
Directing your steps from the citadel, you pass
a lofty solitary column, and arrive at the grand
gateway of three arches, opening on the grand
avenue of columns. On the left extends a line
of columns, broken at intervals ; you pass, erect
on a pedestal, a magnificent column of one single
block of Thebaic granite, another lies entire, and
prostrate at its foot, and a third scatters its dis
severed masses across the path. A continuous
range of forty-eight columns extends on the left,
with two gateways opening on other columns, and
ruined buildings. To the right, is seen a small
and elegant temple, and the stumps of columns
rising above the sand, mark the direction of antient
porticos. The first part of the colonnade, terminates at four
platforms of stone, with enormous pedestals for
statues still resting on two of them; scattered
columns, branching off to the right and left, shew

288 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
that this was the point where four avenues of
columns met. To the left, are seen prostrate
walls, and masses of ruined buildings ; a circular
colonnade, and a ruined gateway. Continuing
onwards, you find the portico slightly altering its
direction. To the southward, a line of columns -
presents an imposing front, and you pause at the
end of the long main avenue before a ruined
temple, to which it leads. To the west, is seen
another temple on a raised platform of stone, to
which you ascend by many steps over the fallen
capitals and broken shafts of columns ; below is a
small and simple gateway, beside it the broken
shafts of two fluted columns. At the further end
of the temple is a raised circular recess, and from
the slight elevation on turning round, one of the
most striking and impressive scenes in the world
is suddenly presented to the sight.
A long line of columns broken at intervals is
seen stretching away across the sandy plain in
the direction of the citadel or elevated platform of
ruins, above the lofty walls of which rise several
majestic columns standing out clear and distinct
against the deep blue sky: across the plain, to the
west of this line of columns, extend prostrate heaps
of ruins, groups of columns, the broken shafts and
stumps of others, whilst here and there a solitary

THE GREAT DESERT. 289
detached monumental column rears itself above
the rest in striking majesty. At the end of the
sandy plain, the eye rests upon the lofty
columns of the Temple of the Sun, encompassed
by a dark elevated mass of ruined buildings, and
beyond all around, right and left, towards the
Euphrates, as far as the eye can reach, extends
the vast level, naked flat of the great desert,
over which the eye runs in every direction pierc
ing the boundless horizon, without discovering a
human being or a trace of man. Naked, solitary,
unlimited space extends around, where man never
breathes under the shade, or rests his limbs under
cover of a dwelling. A deep blue tint spreads
along its surface, here and there shaded with a
cast of brown, the distant outline of the horizon is
clear and sharply defined ; not an eminence rises
to break the monotonous flat, and along the edge
extends a large district covered with salt, dis
tinguished from the rest by its peculiar colour.
There is something grand and awe-inspiring in
its boundless immensity ; like the first view of the
ocean, it inspires emotions never before expe
rienced ; unearthly in appearance, and out of cha
racter with the general fair face of nature, the
eye shrinks from contemplating the empty, cheer
less solitude, and we turn away in quest of some
VOL. n. u

290 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
object to remove the sense of utter loneliness and
desertion which its gloomy aspect is calculated to
inspire. The population of the village of Tadmor ap
pears to be very scanty ; we have not seen more
than two or three male inhabitants since our resi
dence in the place, and these are generally idling
under the great gateway ; the few women we
have hitherto seen have a dirty and repulsive ap
pearance, and many of the little children are quite
naked. Oct. 31st. — We left the village of Tadmor and
spent the day among the ruins, the interest of
which increases upon us.
The ruins of Palmyra cover a sandy plain ex
tending along the bases of a range of mountains
called Djebel Belaes, running nearly due north and
south, dividing the great desert from the desert
plains extending on the eastward towards Da
mascus and the north of Syria. The lower emi
nences of these mountains bordering the ruins are
covered with numerous solitary towers, the tombs
of the antient Palmyrenes; they are seen from a
great distance, and have a striking effect in this
desert solitude.
To the eastward, round one half of the compass,
extends the level flat of the Barrai al Scham or

THE GRAND GATEWAY. 291
great Syrian desert. Descending from the citadel,
your view is westward towards the mountains,
and the eye wanders tover the plain of ruins
and rests on the eminences covered with funereal
towers. We first arrived at a ruined mosque, built pro
bably when the place first fell into the hands of
the Saracens, and coeval with the Saracenic castle,
a prominent object on the opposite lofty moun*
tain. Near to the mosque is a column, about fifty
feet in height exclusive of the capital and about
twelve feet in circumference, and some carved
masonry resting on it. It is in seven pieces, and
a statue probably once stood on its summit.
A little beyond this is the grand gateway,
having a lofty arch in the centre, and a smaller one
on either side leading into the grand avenue of
columns. The scroll work and rich carvings with
which it was once adorned are much mutilated
and disfigured on this side, but on the opposite
one looking into the colonnade, the rich ornaments
and decorations are tolerably perfect. It is a
noble and elegant gateway about sixty feet in
height. Passing through, we entered the grand
avenue formerly bordered on either hand with an
elegant colonnade, each column having a pro
jection upon which stood a statue. In its whole
u 2

292 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
length it is almost a mile, and it was originally
bordered by columns the whole way. The first
and most perfect portion, terminated by four large
platforms of stone where four avenues met and
upon which stood statues, is from 930 to 940
yards in length. The number of columns still
standing along the whole length of this avenue
amounts to 114, of which the greater part are
standing in this first portion, as on the left hand
side going up there is a continuous range of forty-
eight with two handsome gateways opening on a
circular colonnade behind them. The columns
forming the northern side of the colonnade of this
first portion are all gone, with the exception of a
group of four and of two. Immediately after
passing the gate on the western side of the avenue
is a range of thirteen columns supporting a hand
some frieze and entablature, then we come to a
break covered with broken fragments of columns
and masses of masonry, and then to a range of
eight columns likewise supporting a handsome
frieze and entablature. On the right is a square
pillar about forty feet in height, and at the base
of it lies the shaft of a beautiful column of one
single block of rose-coloured Egyptian granite,
thirty feet in length ; beyond lies another shaft
broken into three large fragments, and just beyond,

THE GRAND AVENUE. 293
another square pillar, and beside it a beautiful
erect column, the shaft of which, thirty feet in
length, is of one single block of the red Egyptian
granite ; it stands on a pedestal, supports a Corin
thian capital, and a large block of stone rests with
one end on the capital and the other on the square
pillar adjoining it. These probably are the ruins
of two magnificent gateways, which led from this
centre avenue on to other colonnades, now utterly
destroyed. Proceeding onwards, the line of the colonnade is
marked on the left by the broken shafts of columns
still sticking above the sand ; one solitary column
of the portico entire with its capital, then another
line of broken stumps of columns just sticking
above the sand, and then we come to a magnifi
cent continuous range of forty-eight. After pass
ing eleven of these we come to a gateway, the
arch of which is supported on either hand by a
column ; this leads from the portico on to a hillock
of sand, and the ruins of another richly orna
mented gateway opening on a circular colonnade
of eighteen columns, a portion of a large semicir
cular colonnade, the diameter of which is parallel
with the main avenue, and has in its centre a
small richly ornamented little building with niches
for statues. The fine sand from the neighbouring

294 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
hills has drifted in heaps over these ruins, covering
them in many places to the depth of several feet.
Just below are fragments of another gateway
choked up with ruins opening on the grand avenue,
and at the western end of the diameter of this
circular colonnade there was probably another,
making in all three gateways.
Just beyond this circular colonnade lie the pro
strate ruins of a very magnificent building, con
structed of a species of marble superior to the
generality of that used in these ruins ; the walls
are constructed of large single stones, one thick
only, neatly fitted one above the other. Hand
some and richly ornamented windows extend
around the walls, and some columns of one entire
piece, twenty-two feet in length and about nine in
circumference, lie prostrate on the ground. In two
places the walls appear to have been thrown down
by violence, most probably by an earthquake.
They have fallen en masse but on an inclined
plane, and the stones have been forced up edge
wise one above the other, so as to form a species
of staircase. There appear to have been two
very large rooms divided by a wall of single
stones, the same as the external walls — but
whether the building was a temple or palace, it is
difficult to determine.

GATEWAYS. — COLONNADES. 295
Returning to the first gateway in the range of
forty-eight columns of the grand avenue, and pro
ceeding onwards, we came, after passing twenty-
eight of these, to another gateway, exactly similar
to the first, opening on a range of ten columns
and the broken shafts of eight others, sweeping off
in the direction of another colonnade, and meet
ing the grand avenue at right angles. On the
right of the gateway we remarked two columns
of larger size than those of the avenue, each
supporting another smaller column on its top ;
just beyond we arrived at the four platforms of
stone, placed at the point where the two principal
colonnades cut each other at right angles. Upon
two of these exist two large pedestals for statues,
and when antiently four gigantic statues were
seen resting upon them, closing up the end of all
the four colonnades — the effect must have been
most magnificent.
Of the colonnade stretching at right angles to
the southward, twenty-two columns remain erect;
of the northern scarcely anything ; of the western,
(the continuation of the one we have just tra
versed,) fifty- five still remain at scattered inter
vals, and numerous stumps of others ; the
longest continued range of columns bordering it

296 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
amounts to sixteen, and the greater number of them,
in small groups, are on the northern or right
hand side. About half way up on the same side
are the ruins of a beautiful little temple, where we
saw some figures sculptured in bas-relief, both on
some loose detached stones and on the sides of
some marble sarcophagi. At the top the avenue
terminates at another elegant little temple, fronted
with a colonnade of six Corinthian columns, the
shafts of which are about thirty-three feet in height,
exclusive of base or capital.
This grand avenue is forty-three feet in
breadth, the shafts of the columns are about
twenty-six feet in height above the ground, and
about nine feet in girth ; they must be buried
some depth in the sand, and were probably ori
ginally twenty-eight or thirty feet in height.
The whole avenue was no doubt originally paved,
and if the sand was removed to the depth of three
or four feet, the pavement would very probably
still be found.
The columns formerly supported a richly carved
entablature, and when all erect, must have pre
sented a most magnificent appearance.
Branching off to the southward of the avenue,
you come to the stumps of some fluted columns

THE SMALL TEMPLE. 297
sticking above the sand on either side of a small
simple gateway ; and a few paces to the west
ward, on an eminence, are the ruins of an elegant
temple, very finely situated. From hence is
enjoyed the magnificent coup d,ceil of all the ruins
and of the vast desert. The temple is situated at
the base of the mountains, and the valley of the
tombs opens immediately behind it. The ascent
to it is by stone steps, still very perfect ; several
of the columns are erect, and the circular recess at
the end, where stood the statue of the god or
goddess, still affords a grateful shelter, from whence
to survey the impressive prospect.
Keeping away to the southward of the grand
avenue, we returned to the village of Tadmor,
leaving on the right a range of sixteen columns,
apparently part of another portico.
The slight eminence upon which the village of
Tadmor stands, which I shall call the citadel, was
antiently formed into a vast area surrounded by
a double colonnade, in the centre of which stood
the Temple of the Sun. The entrance to this
citadel from the plain below was antiently by a
flight of steps, leading to a magnificent gateway;
but these have been destroyed, or buried under
accumulated rubbish ; and the antient majestic

298 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
portal has been concealed by a barbarous square
tower built up against it, probably by the Sara
cens, when the citadel was converted into a
fortress. The present entrance is by a steep
path leading to a narrow passage in the centre of
the square tower, and from the interior of this
passage a view can be obtained of the superb
antient portal. The two side architraves support
ing the lintel of this magnificent doorway consist
each of one single block of marble, measuring
thirty-five feet in length. All round the door
was a magnificent border, composed of wreathed
vine branches and pendent bunches of grapes,
many portions of which are still very perfect, and
most beautifully chiselled. They appear to be
almost an exact copy of the ornamental sculpture
of Baalbec, and not at all inferior in execution.
The width of this magnificent gateway was ori
ginally fifteen feet ; but this has been contracted
by a modern wall built across the entrance, to a
space only wide enough to admit a loaded camel,
and is much choked up with stones and rubbish.
The stone beams forming the lintel of the doorway
are each of one single piece of marble, and simply
rest upon the side architraves.
Climbing over stones and rubbish you pass

GREEK INSCRIPTION. 299
through a second interior ruined wall, of modern
construction, in which the older materials have
been used ; and on a large block of stone is the
following inscription : —
TO MNHMEION TOY TA<J>EfiNOC EKTICEN EH
IAIftN CEITTIMIOC OAAINA0OC O AAMIIPOTATOC
CYNKAHT .... O AIPANOY TOT OYABAAAA0OY
TOY NACfiPOY AYTO TE KAI YIOIC AYTOY KAI YIONOIC
EIC TO IIANTEAEC AlflNION TEIMHN.
" This sepulchral monument out of his own
money hath Septimius Odeenathus, illustrious
senator, the son of iEranus, the son of Waballathus,
the son of Nasorus, erected for himself, his child
ren, and his posterity, as an honour to them in
time to come."
This inscription is interesting from the name of
Septimius Odeenathus, and it is not at all im
probable that it might have been placed upon the
burial monument erected by that " illustrious
senator" before he was raised to the title of
Augustus. It has evidently been transported
hither from a sepulchral monument, over the door
of which it was doubtless placed.
On passing this you find yourself in the little
village of Tadmor, directly facing the Temple of

300 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
the Sun, which stands in the centre of a vast
square area, antiently surrounded by a double
colonnade of three hundred and ninety columns,
about sixt}'" of which only are now remaining.
The back walls of all this colonnade appear to
have been adorned with niches and recesses for
statues, and rich ornamental sculpture in the same
style as at Baalbec. This large area measures
about two hundred and twenty-five yards each
way, and the remaining columns that surround it
have all a projection from the shaft for statues,
and in some the iron to which the feet of the
statues were fastened is plainly visible. All the
columns of the porticos have this projection, and
if they were all furnished with statues, what
hundreds and thousands there must have been in
the place, — and whither can they have been
carried ? Of this portico the greatest number of
columns exists on the west side ; they are thirty-
seven feet in height, and rising above the humble
mud huts of the village, and here and there sup
porting fragments .of the architrave and sculptured
cornice that once rested upon them, they present
a striking contrast of the magnificence of bygone
times with the poverty and meanness of the present
clay.

THE TEMPLE OF THE SUN. 301
Proceeding up the principal lane or pathway of
the village, portions of the antient pavement of
large square flat stones are discoverable, and di
rectly in front rises the great temple with its
grand and lofty portal and tall fluted columns di
vested of their brazen capitals. It is surrounded
and disfigured by the mud huts of the village,
through the interior rooms of which you are
obliged to walk to get to the different parts of the
building. The grand entrance faces the west,
and the front of the temple is made in that portion
of the building which forms the side of every
other temple I have seen. Its construction is very
peculiar, — on either side the gateway was sup
ported by four fluted columns, and it is adorned
by rich carvings of vine leaves and clusters of
grapes in bold and spirited relief, and beautifully
chiselled. The roof of the body of the building is
entirely gone. In the interior, at the southern
end, is the village mosque, fantastically ornamented
and set off with passages from the Koran written
round the walls.
Passing through an Arab hut to the northern
end, we crept into a small chamber of the temple,
adorned with a richly carved stone ceiling divided
into compartments ; the centre is occupied by a
single block of stone, eighteen feet in circumfer-

302 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
ence, hollowed out into a low dome, and divided
into diamond compartments richly carved and
fretted : each compartment incloses a figure head,
and the whole is surrounded by a circular
border, on which are the twelve signs of the
zodiac, exactly similar to those used on our
globes at the present day. One of the stones
composing the wall of the temple is thirteen feet
in length by five in breadth, and another twelve
feet by six. After poking about the rooms by
torch-light I was glad to get out in the open air
to the eastern side of the temple, where nine
beautiful channelled columns and part of a tenth
of the colonnade antiently surrounding the temple
still exist. They have twenty-four channellings,
and are fifty feet in height without base or
capital. Behind them are four richly carved
windows in the wall of this temple. At the
southern end of the temple is another chamber
corresponding to the one at the northern end. It
is surmounted with a stone ceiling, richly carved
in octagonal compartments, formed by highly
wrought mouldings ; the centre is likewise occu
pied by a large block of stone, surrounded by a
circular border inclosing a large ornament, but no
zodiac is seen. Passing through an Arab hut and
creeping into several dark holes and passages, we

THE TEMPLE OF THE SUN. 303
ascended to the top of the building and walked
round the walls, which are very wide, and afford
a fine prospect of the ruins and the desert. Each
end of the temple is ornamented with two Ionic
half columns, and one would conclude that it was
of the Ionic order, but from the length and bell-
shaped appearance of the stone to which the
metal capitals were affixed, it appears to me evi
dent that they were Corinthian, so that the temple
must have been of a mixed order of architecture.
The holes to which the metal capitals were at
tached are plainly distinguishable. The length of
the body of the temple, exclusive of the colonnade,
is about 134 feet, and that of the whole building
about 180. Over the doorway of this temple was
sculptured an eagle with extended wings, similar
to the bird at Baalbec ; scarcely any of it now re
mains, the stone upon which it was sculptured
having nearly all fallen and been either carried
away or buried under the rubbish. The circum
stance of an eagle being sculptured over the grand
portal of the temple, both here and at Baalbec, is
remarkable, and no doubt had some connexion
with the worship of the sun, to which it is sup
posed both temples were dedicated.

CHAPTER XI.

PALMYRA.  VALLEY OF THE TOMBS. — TOMB OF IAMBLI-
CIIUS.  TOMB OF ELABELUS MANAIUS.  ANTIENT WALLS. 
THE SARACENIC CASTLE.  HOT SPRINGS.  ANTIENT BATHS.
'  STONE DOORWAY.  PALMYRENE INSCRIPTIONS.  THE
CITADEL.  THE GRAND AREA OF THE TEMPLE.  GROTTO
OF HOT WATER.  THUNDER-STORM.  GREAT DESERT. 
PLAIN OF SALT. — VILLAGE OF TADMOR. — LAST IMPRES
SIONS.

 " the ground,
League beyond league, like one great cemetery,
Is covered o'er with mouldering monuments :
And, let the living wander where they will,
They cannot leave the footsteps of the dead."

Nov. 1st. — We walked across the sands to the
Valley of the Tombs, the most interesting of all
the ruins. These solitary towers crowning the
eminences have, from every point of view, a most
striking effect. As you wind up a narrow valley
between the mountain range, you have them on
your right and left, topping the hills or descending
to the border of the valley : some present mere

VALLEY OF THE TOMBS. 305
heaps of rubbish, some, half fallen,, ex-pose their
shattered chambers, and one or^ two still ''exist in
almost an entire state of preserval&n.
We visited seven of these sepulclrr^&'monumenf s,
but I shall confine my description to two of the
handsomest and most perfect. The first and most
perfect monument stands slightly elevated on the
side of the sloping eminence which hems in the
valley to the south ; it is surrounded by five
others much ruined. The front is entire and looks
towards the north, but a portion of the side wall
has tumbled, and has accumulated round the
doorway, filling up the entrance to about half its
height ; some small narrow windows are pierced
in the wall, and over the top of the portal are
some raised tablets of stone, on the lowest of
which is the following Greek inscription, plainly
and intelligibly engraved. It requires some con
trivance, however, to be able to get near enough to
the elevated tablet to make out the letters, and
some little patience in transcribing it, as the letters
run one into the other without being separated
into words.
MNHMEION AIKNION TEPAC nKOAOMHCEN IAMAIXOC
MOKEIMOY TOY KAI AKKAAEICOY TOY MAAIXOY EICTE
EAYTON KAI YIOYC KAI ErrONOYC ETOYC A I T MHNI
SANAIKfi VOL. II. X

306 RUINS OF PALMYRA.
" This splendid and most durable monument
Iamblichus, the son of Mocimus, the son of Aca-
leises, the son of Malichus, erected for himself, his
children, and his posterity in the year 314, in the
month of April."
In all the Palmyrene inscriptions the letters
C<&£ are used for %. O,. E., and there is a curious
peculiarity observable with respect to the date,
the letters being placed directly contrary to the
Greek fashion. They must, as it will be observed,
to be understood, be read the wrong way, that is,
from the right hand to the left, A. I. T. 314.
4. 10. 300.
The Palmyrenes, instead of following the Greeks
in placing the letter denoting the largest number
first, did exactly the reverse, as above.
" The sera or account of years observed by the
Palmyreneans in their inscriptions," remarks Mr.
Edmund Halley, " is evidently that of Seleucus,
called afterwards Dilcharnian, or Bicornis, by the
Arabians, and by them kept in use till above 900
years after Christ, and not that of the death of
Alexander." *
The date 314, then, of the sera of Seleucus, will

* Philosophical Transactions, Lowthorpe's Abridgement,
Vol. 3.

TOMB OF IAMBLICHUS. 307
answer to about a.d. 2, consequently this sepul
chral monument is about 1833 years old.
Passing through the doorway, we find a long
and lofty chamber, ornamented with Corinthian
pilasters supporting a rich cornice ; the stone ceiling
is divided into squares, ornamented with white
stars on a blue ground ; between the pilasters are
deep recesses, furnished each with five stone ledges
for coffins, one over the other, and opposite the
doorway, are four half figures sculptured in relief.
A stone staircase leads from this chamber to
another above of the same size, not so lofty, but
possessing recesses, and shelves for coffins similarly
arranged, the stones of the staircase are neatly
fitted together, and there are in all five stories,
each possessing a funereal chamber furnished with
recesses and stone shelves for coffins ; the topmost
of these chambers is entirely ruined and has al
most all fallen. From the strength of the walls
and the powerfully adhesive nature of the cement,
it appears as if the walls had been thrown down
by violence.
Passing onward nearly to the end of this silent
solitary valley, hemmed in on either side by
mountains and grey rocks, we come to the most
magnificent of all these sepulchral towers. It
stands on the northern side of the valley, and the
x 2

308 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
entrance faces the south. Over the doorway is a
species of arched niche, from which projects a
stone ledge ; on it lies a recumbent figure much
mutilated, and just beneath, over the doorway, is
a tablet of stone, upon which the following inscrip
tion is plainly and legibly engraved.
TO MNHMEION EKTICAN EAABHAOC MANAIOC
COXAIEIC MAAIXOC OYABAAAA0OY TOY MANNAIOY
TOY EAABHAOY AYTft KAI YIOIC ETOYC A. I. Y.
MHNOC SANAIKOY.
" This monument Elabaelus Manseus Cocchseus
Malachus, the son of Waballathus, the son of Ma-
nseus, the son of Elabelus, built for himself and
family in the year 414, in the month of April."
Taking the letters A. I. T. to be 414 of the sera
of Seleucus, it will answer to a.d. 1 02, consequently
this monument is 1733 years of age.
On entering the gateway we are struck with
the magnificence and beauty of the internal deco
rations of the first chamber, and their wonderful
state of preservation. Directly opposite the door
is a recumbent figure, near the ceiling, similar to
the figure over the exterior doorway ; it is executed
in high relief, and under it are two rows of half
figures clothed in drapery, one over the other.
Of the first row there are four remaining, and of

TOMB OF ELABjELUS MAN^EUS. 309
the second, five ; two of these figures appear to be
those of females. Near them are some inscrip
tions in the Palmyrene tongue, the characters of
which somewhat resemble the Hebrew. The
drapery is similar to that seen on many of the
Roman busts ; the hair is cut short, and their gene
ral appearance is much in the Roman style. Be
hind them are recesses for coffins, and on either
side, a half column of the Corinthian order. Be
tween each of these columns is a niche, and in
each niche six stone shelves for coffins. The
ceiling is divided into richly sculptured diamond
compartments, delicately ornamented with white
stars on a blue ground ; under the ceiling runs a
rich cornice, resting on ten Corinthian pilasters,
besides two pilasters at each corner; between
every pilaster is a deep recess, in all amounting
to ten, and in each recess are six stone shelves for
coffins ; so that this chamber alone could accom
modate seventy-four dead bodies. Over the door
way are some more heads executed in relief, the
walls are covered with a fine, hard, white species
of cement, resembling marble. The excellent pre
servation of the fine mouldings and cornices, and
the fresh sound appearance of the greater part of
the chamber, (the ruined portion of the building
appearing more affected by violence than time,) is

310 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
wonderful after the lapse of so many years. If
these two buildings, in so sound and perfect a con
dition, are not far from 2,000 years old, what
must be the age of many of the prostrate heaps of
these towers scattered in every direction about the
valley, whose basements and foundations appear
as strong and as thick as these, and yet they have
scarcely one stone standing on another ? We
went into several of them, some have the chamber
on the ground floor tolerably perfect, some have
portions of the first and second story still remain
ing, but most of them are mere heaps of stone
with vaults underneath filled with mortar and
rubbish. We observed a quantity of stone, much
resembling granite, about this valley. The soli
tude of the situation, the barrenness of the district,
and the occasional glimpse that is obtained through
the mountains of the wide dreary expanse of the
desert, gives a peculiar and striking solemnity to
this burial-ground of the ancient Palmyrenes. Near
the spot where the valley opens upon the plain of
ruins, several of these sepulchral towers have been
built into a more modern wall, erected for the pur
poses of fortification, and have been made use of
as flanking towers. This wall was probably
erected when Palmyra was again fortified after
its destruction by Aurelian, to serve as a frontier

THE SARACENIC CASTLE. 311
garrison town. Not a vestige of the old walls of
the city remain, which were no doubt utterly de
stroyed by that emperor, nor has any inscription
been found bearing date after the capture of this
beautiful city, A. D. 272.
To the northward of the valley of the tombs, on
the highest eminence in the immediate vicinity of
Palmyra, towers the ruined Turkish or Saracenic
castle. It is seated on the very summit of the
mountain, and surrounded by a deep ditch cut out
of the solid rock. It is said by the Arabs to have
been built by Man Ogle, a prince of the Druses ;
its deserted chambers and passages partake of
the universal solitude and silence ; there is not a
living thing about it, and it seems deserted even by
the bats. There is a very deep well sunk through
the rock, which appears to be without water.
From the lofty eminence a grand panoramic
view is afforded of the whole of Palmyra and of
the mountains and valley covered with monumental
towers, but from this point the ruins which strike
us below from their extent, seem shrunk up to
nothing; a mere speck upon the vast horizon, they
are lost in the boundless extent of vision, and the
eye looks over them upon the wide blue expanse
of the great desert with a feeling of wonder and

312 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
almost of awe, but is soon wearied with its mo
notonous aspect. The sun was setting as I de
scended the eminences, and some dark clouds were
hanging over its wide extended level surface, which
looked darker, wilder, and drearier than ever.
The surrounding mountains are all solitary, barren,
stony and rocky, the chain of Djebel Belaes sweeps
away on either side to the north and south, while
two parallel chains coming in a westerly direction,
called Djebel Ruak and Djebel Abiad, meet the
former chain nearly at rightangles. These two paral
lel ridges inclose the wide flat plain through which
we have journeyed from Damascus; it averages
from twenty to between thirty and forty miles in
breadth, and is every where uncultivated, but
generally covered with a good crop of pasturage.
Through the valley of the tombs may be traced
remnants of a ruined aqueduct, which formerly
conducted water to the town from an unknown
source ; it consists of a vaulted passage running
underground, covered with a fine hard stucco.
Returning to Tadmor through the grand colon
nade, we observed an opening down to a subter
raneous passage, along which runs a fine stream of
hot sulphureous water, which is brought from the
mountains and runs through the ruins. On the

STONE DOORWAY. 313
eastern side of the citadel it joins another stream,
which flows to the eastward through the gardens,
and the united streams then lose themselves in the
desert. This is the only water that the villagers
of Tadmor drink, and we found it nauseous and
disagreeable enough, but about a mile off is a
fountain of very good water.
We were this day shewn, in the ancient wall on
the eastern side of the area of the Temple of the
Sun, a curious doorway, similar to those we saw in
the baths, consisting of one solid block of stone cut
into compartments, and turning on a stone pivot, it
was opened without difficulty, and passing through
we found it led to a small ledge on the stone
platform, which is here much raised above the
plain and commands a fine view over the desert.
As we looked out of this narrow gateway from
our elevated position upon the ancient wall, we fan
cied that Zenobia herself might have often stood
at the same spot anxiously surveying the opera
tions of Aurelian and his blockading army. From
hence the eye wanders over the level waste across
which the unfortunate queen fled on her swift
dromedary to the Euphrates, and here, the morn
ing after her departure, doubtless congregated her
anxious friends, to see if she was pursued in her

314 THE RUINS OF TALMYRA.
flight; and from hence she was doubtless first
descried, being brought back a captive and a
prisoner in the hands of the Roman horsemen.
Nov. 2d. — This morning a camel was killed in
the village of Tadmor, and the inhabitants are col
lected to divide it among them ; they offered us
some of the hump, which is the most delicate and
tender part ; the flavour of the meat is by no
means disagreeable, and the Arabs are all very fond
of it. They have a great feast whenever a camel is
killed, and are often very quarrelsome and turbu
lent in asserting their claims to the different joints.
A strong healthy camel is scarcely ever killed;
those only who have met with some accident,
or get old and are not capable of doing hard
work. The weather has been very much changed for
the last two days. This morning a sciroc wind
is blowing, and wild dark clouds are driving up
from the south ; yesterday rain fell for the first time
since June.
In the course of the morning we crossed over the
field of ruins to the northward of the grand avenue,
in which direction, if we may judge from the
various confused heaps of ruins and substructions
of walls, the ancient city must have extended.

MONUMENTAL COLUMNS. 315
To the eastward is another solitary monumental
column, with the following inscription engraved
on the shaft.
H BOTAH KAI OAHMOC AAIAAMENA I1ANOT TOT MOKIMOT TOT
AIPANOT TOT MA00A KAI AIPANHN TON IIATEPA ATTOT
ETCEBEIC KAI tlAOIIATPIAAC KAI IIANTI TPOnfi. EniCHMHC
APECANTAC TH IIATPIAI KAI nATPIOIC ©EOIC TEIMHC XAPIN
ETOTC N. T. A. MHNOC 3ANAIK0T.
" The Senate and the people have placed this in
honour of Alilamenes, the son of Panas, the son of
Mocimus, the son of iEranas, the son of Matthas,
and of his father iEranes, devoted lovers of their
country, and in every respect deserving well of
their country and of the immortal gods, in the
year 450, and the 30th day of the month of April."
Proceeding to the westward towards the moun
tains, heaps of stone, shattered pillars, and fallen
capitals are met with in every direction. A short
distance to the north of the grand avenue, we
found an elegant little temple with a portico of
eleven columns, the side walls are standing, but
the roof is entirely gone, the floor is paved with
flat stones.
Onwards in the direction of the mountains lie
fragments of stone, here and there columns stand
erect, and clumps of broken pillars are met with
at intervals.

316 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
All this space appears to have been covered
with small temples and ornamental buildings ap
proached by colonnades branching off from the
two grand avenues, and when the whole were
standing, the ground paved and not covered as
now with mounds of sand and rubbish, and the
throng of people was seen proceeding through the
long colonnades to the various temples and public
buildings, the effect must have been very grand.
All this part was evidently embellished and kept
distinct from the rest of the town, which lay to
the northward.
To the north of the grand avenue we came to
some ruined baths, as it should seem, from various
watercourses going through them lined with a re
markably fine hard cement, almost like marble.
Here we saw some most peculiar doorways, con
sisting of one single large block of stone cut into
panels ; at either end a stone pin is left, which
works in a socket ground into the stone, the door
turns with wonderful ease and smoothness consi
dering its great weight. We found too some bits
of pottery of a most brilliant blue colour, and the
head of a statue of ordinary sculpture, and two
sarcophagi, on the side of one of which, three
busts were sculptured.
In every direction are seen remains of temples

PALMYRENE INSCRIPTIONS. 317
and buildings, some with one and two columns
only standing, or portions of tottering walls, in
which are ornamented niches for statues. In our
walks this morning we counted eight of these
ruined buildings scattered at intervals, and leading
to some of them we observed traces of a colon
nade. As we walked down the grand avenue,
I counted 264 entire columns in different directions*
and numerous shafts and stumps of others.
Judging from the projecting pedestals for statues
with which most of the columns are furnished,
the Palmyrenes must have had an amazing rage
for erecting statues in honour of their citizens.
Most of the columns have an inscription, cut on
the side of the shaft under these pedestals in the
unknown Palmyrene tongue or in Greek, but
almost always in both. These inscriptions appear
to be all honorary, generally to the effect that
the Senate and the people inscribed them in
honour of an individual, the son of such a person,
the son of another, and so on through several
generations. All those possessing any interest have been
transcribed and published by that enterprising
little party of English who first discovered the
ruins of Palmyra, leaving Aleppo for that purpose
" on Michaelmas day, 1691, being in all, masters

318 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
and servants, thirty men well armed." They
have been most ably and learnedly commented on
by Mr. Edmund Halley in the Philosophical Trans
actions*, and he appears to have left little for any
one else to say about them.
The most interesting of the inscriptions appears
to be the one inscribed on the shaft of a column
about half way down the avenue, on the southern
side of it.
H BOTAH KAI O AHMOC IOTAION ATPHAION ZHNOBION TON KAI
ZABAIAAN AIXMAAXOT TOT NACCOTMOT CTPATHrHCANTA EN
EIIIAHMIA 0EOT AAESANAPOT KAI TIIHPETHCANTA IIAPOTCIA
AIHNEKEI POTTIAAIOT KPICIIEINOT TOT HTHCAMENOT KAI TAIC
EniAHMHCACAIC OTH3IAAATIOICIN ArOPONOMHCANTA TE KAI
OTKOAIflN A*EIAHCANTA XPHMATfiN KAI KAAI1C
IIOAEITETCAMENON I2C AIA TATTA MAPTTPH0HNAI TOO ©EOT
IAPIBOAOT KAI TOO IOTAIOT . . . TOT ESOXflTATOT EIIAPXOT
TOT IEPOT nPAITJlPIOT KAI THC IIATPIAOC TON cDIAOIIATPIN
TIMHC XAPIN ETOTC AN*
" The Senate and the people have placed this
in honour of Julius Aurelius Zenobius and Zab-
dilas, the son of Dichmalchus, the son of Nassumus,
leader of the army on the arrival of the divine
Alexander, perpetual deputy of Rutilius Crispinus,
the leader of the cavalry bands ; overseer also of
* Lowthorpe's abridgement, Vol. iii. pp. 518 — 520.

PALMYRENE INSCRIPTIONS. 319
the distribution of corn, a liberal man, not sparing
even of his own private property, most creditably
administering the affairs of the state, and on that
account approved of by the divine Jaribolus and
Julius [Philippics], the most illustrious prefect and
sacred praetor, and also a great lover of his country,
in the year 554."
This inscription is interesting, as shewing that the
antient Palmyrenean computation of time was by
the aera of Seleucus, which may be demonstrated,
Mr. Halley remarks, " from the circumstance of
Alexander [Severus] being styled ®EOS, that is
after the death and consecration of that emperor,
or after the year of our Lord 234 ; and from the
name of Julius, who when this inscription was
put up was Prsefectus Prsetorio, (and could be no
other than Julius Philippus Arabs, who might be
esteemed by the Palmyreni as their countryman;)
it follows, then, that it was in the last year of
Gordian, a. d. 242 or 243 ; and that emperor
being soon after murdered by the treachery of this
Philippus, who succeeded him, and his treason
coming afterwards to light, it is not strange that
his name was purposely effaced in this inscription.
The date thereof, anno 554, shews the beginning
of this account, 311 or 312 b. c, coincident with

320 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
the sera of Seleucus, which was likewise observed
by several other cities in the east."*
On another of these columns, in the avenue
near the grand gateway, is the following inscrip
tion : — ¦
IOYAION AYPHAION ZEBEIAAN MOKIMOY TOY SEBEIAOY
 AX0«POBAIAA OI CYN AYTfi KATEA0ONTEC
EIC OAOrECIAAA ENIIOPOIAN EKTHCAN APECANTA
AYTOIC TEIMHC XAPIN BANAICO TOY H N * ETOYC.
" To Julius Aurelius Zebeidas, the son of Moci-
mus, the son of Zebeidas, the son of Acthorobsedas;
those who went down with him to Volojesiada
when commerce was reestablished to their satis
faction, have placed this for the sake of doing him
honour, in the month of April in the year 558."
We have now every evening a brilliant moon,
and the sight of the ruins around us is very
striking from the terrace of our house ; some
columns are lost in the deep gloom of the shadowy
walls, others stand out boldly and brightly in the
soft moonlight, while here and there a solitary
moonbeam may be seen streaming down through
the ruined windows of the temple upon a fallen
capital or a heap of scattered stones. From
* Philosophical Transactions, Lowthorpe's abridgement,
Vol. iii. p. 522.

THE RUINS OF PALMYRA. 321
under the dark and gloomy portal which leads
from the village to the plain below, may be seen
the distant funereal towers crowning the eminences,
the handsome gateway of the grand avenue, and
the lines of columns losing themselves in the dis
tance. The heap of sand, which has now drifted to a
considerable depth over all these ruins, surely
manifests that some change must have taken
place in the surface of the country since Palmyra
stood here, as the founders of the city would
never have erected its handsome buildings and
majestic porticos on a site exposed to drifting sands,
the clearing away of which would be, from the
present aspect of the plain, a ceaseless toil ; the
whole space below covered with ruins seems to
be several feet deep in sand, which appears to
have drifted down from some sandy eminences,
above the grotto of hot water to the south-west of
the town, and when a sciroc wind blows, this
sand is whirled about in eddying columns and
clouds, in every direction. It would require at
present the constant labour of hundreds of indi
viduals to keep these ruins clear of it.
Nov. 3rd. — Descending into the plain we made
the entire circuit of the citadel, the appearance of
which must antiently have been very magnificent
VOL. II. Y

322 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
from below. It was bordered all round by a lofty
wall, ornamented within and without with Corin
thian pilasters on Attic bases, of which there must
have been altogether some six or seven hundred,
and between each of these is a richly ornamented
window. The pilasters were surmounted by a
rich frieze and handsomely sculptured cornice,
extending the whole way round, the external
walls inclosing the area; and this architectural
arrangement must antiently have presented the
appearance from below of one extensive and
magnificent building, with a front of near seven
hundred feet each way. These walls are in many
parts in a good state of preservation, and parti
cularly on the northern side, where they are quite
perfect for a considerable distance. The Saracens,
seeing the strength and solidity of them, stopped
up the windows, and thus converted the whole
area contained within into a strong fortress ; but
the greatest disfigurement that this fine mass of
architecture has received is on the west side,
where the grand entrance is blocked up by the
huge square tower, and the walls disfigured by
flanking towers, constructed for purposes of de
fence. Mr. Wood, the architect, considers that
this grand entrance was fronted by a majestic
portico approached by a noble flight of steps, and

THE GROTTO OF HOT WATER. 323
which was all pulled down when the great square
tower was built. The wall which divided this
portico from the area within still exists, and may
be seen from the interior of the great tower, orna
mented with niches and recesses for statues. The
whole has been most beautifully, and it appears
to me accurately restored, in those most valuable
drawings published at London in 1756 by Messrs.
Wood and Dawkins. They give a better idea of
these ruins than the best description.
At mid-day we went to the source of the hot
sulphureous spring to the east of the ruins to bathe.
A large stream of hot water issues from a grotto,
clear as crystal ; you can penetrate along this
grotto for twenty or thirty yards, swimming in a
delicious basin of hot water. At the upper end
the passage is so contracted, and the air is so hot
and suffocating, as to render it difficult to proceed.
On the rock there is an inscription in the unknown
Palmyrene tongue.
From the bath I crossed over the sands, amid
the ruins of the antient city,
" Whose temples, palaces, a wondrous dream,
That passes not away ; for many a league,
Illumine yet the desert," 
to the circular temple, which commands a fine
Y 2

324 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
view over the whole country. It was a strange
and wild day, — the wind was every moment in
creasing, and whirling the sand in eddying columns
through the air, whilst dark threatening clouds
were collecting all along the mountain range on
the outskirts of the desert. I spent some time
sketching under the shelter of the little temple,
when suddenly a hurricane of wind swept through
the columns, and filled the whole atmosphere with
a dense fog of sand. One of my companions was
tripped up by an Arab, and his head covered with
a cloak, to protect him till the gust had passed.
Every object ten yards distant was suddenly
shrouded from view ; then came a sudden lull,
and the sand was seen pouring down in showers.
The long line of columns was scarcely again
visible, when a sudden flash of forked lightning
darted down amongst them, instantaneously fol
lowed by a burst of thunder that made the totter
ing walls tremble, and large warm drops of rain
spattered on the stones. Again the wind swept
by, now driving clouds of sand, now scattering
them and opening an uninterrupted view across
the desert, which was covered with a dark sombre
leaden tint, reflecting back the gloomy colour of
the dark thunder clouds that hung above it. The

THE THUNDER-STORM. 325
forked lightning darted in every direction, and
loud peals of thunder reverberated from different
quarters at the same time. The rain poured in
torrents and beat down the sand, and the whole
scene was sublime.
Taking advantage of the sudden cessation of
the rain I ran towards Tadmor ; just as I arrived
at the gate, it recommenced. I unfolded my um
brella ; at the sight of it the Arabs in the gateway
shouted with astonishment, they collected round
me, examined its construction, and notwithstand
ing the rain, followed me to the house, calling in
on every body to come and look at the Fr'angi;
which they did, shouting Mashallah ! Elhem di
lillah, " God be praised," &c.
We had an awful night of it. The rain came
down in one universal deluge of water, the whole
place was flooded, the rain poured through the
roof of our house, and happy was the man who
had an umbrella to spread over him as he sat up
in bed. Pots, pans, and kettles were placed in
every direction to catch the streams that poured
from above, and fortunately it moderated a little,
or we should have been all drowned. The light
ning was such as I never before saw , flash fol
lowed after flash so instantaneously that it was

326 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
one continued blaze of light, in which the columns,
the ruins, and the towers, backed by black clouds,
presented a sublime appearance ; and the view
over the desert, as flash after flash gleamed over
the wide solitary waste, was the strangest and
wildest imaginable. The wind had died away,
the black clouds hung motionless, and the peals of
thunder followed one another in such quick suc
cession as to keep up one continued roll. Wet
and miserable as we were, we could not but con
gratulate ourselves that this frightful tempest had
not overtaken us in the desert.
Nov. 4th. — What a lovely morning ! The storm
has blown off, and what a change ; the air is now
fresh and cold, and the Arabs gather their abbahs
around them, not seeming to admire the altered
weather. The thirsty soil, unwatered for near
five months, has sucked up all the moisture, and
early in the morning we mounted on horseback to
make an excursion into the desert, and to visit the
plain of salt. The change in the weather has
altered our determination of proceeding to the
banks of the Euphrates, four days distant across
the desert : nor will our Bedouins agree to gua
rantee our safety any further.
The sun, emerging from the clouds as we quitted

THE SALT PLAIN. 327
the village of Tadmor, shone brightly upon the
ruins, and poured down
 " a flood of light,
Filling the courts of these old sanctuaries,
Gigantic shadows, broken and confused,
Athwart th' innumerable columns flung."
We rode alongside the small patch of cultivated
land that exists at Palmyra, watered by the stream
of warm sulphureous water which flows to the
eastward of the ruins. There are several gardens,
and some patches of Indian corn, just sufficient to
afford a miserable subsistence to the few scanty
inhabitants of Tadmor, together with their flocks
and herds, which pasture in the desert. After
riding down a gradual descent, we found ourselves
in a complete marsh, and had considerable diffi
culty in getting to the salt plain, which occupies
a large district, and is in winter a swampy salt
marsh. This spot is said by some of the old Sy
rian theological writers to be that where David
smote the Syrians.
" And David gat him a name when he returned
from smiting of the Syrians in the valley of salt,
being eighteen thousand men." — 2 Sam. viii. 13.
From hence we rode on across the desert,
which is not the perfect flat that it seems to be

328 THE GREAT DESERT.
from above ; slight undulations appear in different
directions, but they are not sufficient to break the
dull uniformity of the landscape, which presents
exactly the same cheerless aspect, our Arabs told
us, for hundreds of miles, Already the vivifying
effects of the rain were visible, bits of green were
beginning to appear round the dead stumps and
roots of different plants, and the dry scattered
seeds of the summer were beginning to swell and
burst ; the desert was everywhere more or less
covered with dry herbage, and with an arable
though poor soil. In different districts it varies
much, and sometimes possesses a rich soil and a fine
crop of herbage. It is astonishing how the herds
thrive as they do upon the dead dry plants. The
dromedaries will pull up and devour dry prickly
plants and thistles, which appear to possess no
more nourishment than a bit of stick, yet they
subsist and thrive on them for weeks and months.
The stories we hear of moving sands and suffo
cating winds are not applicable to this desert.
There is an extensive district of sand and dust
along the mountains upon which the ruins of Pal
myra stand, but these are never large enough to
produce the effect they do in the great African
deserts. We marked a few scattered palm trees
still existing along the banks of the sulphureous

TADMOR. — THE ARAB HOSTESS. 329
stream, as we returned to the citadel of Palmyra
and to our humble mansion in the village of
Tadmor. Our hostess is evidently the queen of the vil
lage, and thinks herself a most important person
age ; her head is encircled with a silver band, all
round which are fastened Turkish gold coins,
called by the Franks zecchines. She wears large
silver bracelets and amulets round her bare arms ;
her neck is encircled with a necklace, composed
of bits of amber strung together ; and very large
silver ear-rings hang suspended from her ears.
The inside of her eyelids is tinged black, and in
the general magnificence of her appearance, as
compared with the other Arab women of the place,
she is a second Zenobia. Her little boy has a
black cap on his head surrounded with a border
of gold coins, his eyelids are blackened like those
of his mamma, and his finger nails reddened with
khena. These gold coins are very small and thin,
and are worth about four shillings and four pence
each; they are much esteemed by the Arab wo
men as ornaments for the head, and they will
generally part with every thing they possess,
rather than give up their head-gear. This very
portly and magnificent lady is, I am told, a widow,

330 TADMOR. — ARAB VISITORS.
and her husband was beheaded at Cariatein for
either robbery or murder, or both.
Our Bedouin Sheikh, attended by his black
slave, dines with us every day, and we have a
general levee of Arabs in the evening, who come
in, sit down on the floor in a long row, with
their backs to the wall, puffing clouds of smoke
from the pipes. There is much good breeding
among these peojDle ; whenever any of us come in
from abroad, they all rise, and remain standing
till the new comer has seated himself, when they
immediately follow his example, but they as guests
will on no account for an instant remain seated
while the master of the house is standing. It is
the greatest delight of these people in the evening,
to get us into the humour for singing songs, and
when we feel at all inclined to indulge them, we
generally make the Arabs commence with some of
their own singing, which is very monotonous and
not very musical. One or two of our comic songs
sung in chorus, have more than once endangered
the life of the Sheikh, from the suffocating fits of
laughter they excite when his mouth and throat
are full of smoke from his pipe. The Bedouins
shout and clap their hands with joy at the sing
ing, while the more staid villagers lean their

THE BEDOUIN ARABS. 331
backs against the wall, twist their long beards
round their fingers, but notwithstanding all their
efforts, their gravity soon gives way. I have
seen the Bedouins throw themselves down on the
ground in an uncontrollable fit of laughter, although
they did not understand a word of what was
sung, shouting Eia! eial "0 well done! 0 well
done !"
Our Sheikh is scarcely ever seen unaccompanied
by the black slave, who follows him about like his
shadow. The Bedouins treat their slaves with
great kindness, and it is considered mean and un
manly to beat them. The Bedouins are kind to
all created beings, to man and to beast. They
live like brothers together, and I have never
hitherto seen them use an angry gesture or heard
them utter a harsh expression towards each other ;
they appear to be of a mild, cheerful disposition,
possessing a softness of temper and good nature
which make them pleasing companions.
Our landlady has either a very pretty daughter
or a very pretty maid, who brings us up fresh
water every morning in an earthen jar ; she is not
afraid of her face being seen, or displeased at being
complimented on her beauty; the inside of her
eyelids is blackened with kohle ; she has three or
four bracelets on each arm, a polished iron or steel

332 TADMOR.  THE ARAB GIRL.
ring round each ancle, and some gold coins hang-
round her neck. She has marks stained across
her fingers ; the inside of her hands is
stained red, and she has marks stained across
her toes ; she has a pair of wide loose cotton
trousers fastened round the hip with a twisted
cord, which is concealed by a handkerchief girt
round the loins ; above the handkerchief is her
" Shintee " or vest, decorated with buttons and
peeping open at her bosom ; she has a veil con
sisting of a piece of unbleached cotton, which,
when she meets the whole strength of our party,
is drawn over her face, but if surprised by one at
a time only, she is not so particular. She never
wears shoes, a circumstance greatly adding to the
beauty of her appearance, for most of the women
have beautiful feet and walk with the greatest grace.
The blackening the inside of the eyelid gives a
peculiar but rather attractive expression to the eye.
The kohle or black material which they use for
the purpose, is made, I am told, from burnt
almond shells, and is laid on with a piece of
smooth pointed wood. This painting of the eyes
is another curious and interesting preservation of a
very antient custom ;
. ..." ye have sent for men to come from
far, . . . and lo, they came ! for whom thou

TADMOR.  THE VILLAGERS. 333
didst wash thyself, paintedst thine eyes, and deck-
edst thyself with ornaments." — Ezekiel, xxiii. 40.
The village of Tadmor consists altogether of
about a dozen or fifteen families, and there can be
hardly more than twenty able-bodied males in
the whole place ; this little community possesses a
few herds of goats and dromedaries, which, to
gether with the poultry, form the chief wealth of
the villagers.
These poor people are not however sufficiently
advanced in the desert to be without the reach of
the Syrian government. They all pay a capi
tation tax to the Ibrahim Pasha. The portion of
cultivated land on this spot is very small ; there
are merely a few scanty gardens, which produce
roots, vegetables, and a miserable supply of corn.
There are one or two palm trees along the
banks of the stream, and a few shrubs of the
thorny acacia.
The name Palmyra, given to this place, is
supposed by some to have been derived from the
word Palma, indicative of the number of palm-
trees that grew here ; but that name was given
by the Greeks, and although Palma signifies Palm-
tree in the Latin, yet in the Greek tongue it has a
very different signification. Palm-tree in Greek,
is expressed by the word $Of NIH.

334 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
Neither does Tadmor signify Palm-tree in the
Syrian language, nor in the Arabic; nor does
Thadamoura, as the place is called by Josephus,
signify palm-tree in the Hebrew. Neither do
palms thrive in Syria, as the climate is too severe
for them in the winter.
Of all the contrasts of past magnificence with
present meanness, of the wealth and genius of by
gone times with the poverty and ignorance of the
present day, no more striking instance perhaps
can be found than is presented in the present
poor Arab village of Tadmor. You there see a
few poverty stricken inhabitants living in square
hovels of mud mixed with chopped straw, roofed
with earth, leaves, and dry sticks, congregated
round the magnificent Temple of the Sun of yore,
despoiled of its ornaments by one of the haughtiest
and most powerful of the Roman emperors, who
came with his victorious troops from the dis
tant provinces of Gaul and of Britain to rend
asunder the dominion of which this spot in the
midst of desert solitudes had rendered itself the
head. The majestic Corinthian columns, and the noble
gateway with its sculptured eagle, and carved de
corations, whose equal could not be found if we
scrutinized the Grecian buildings of England from

THE RUINS OF PALMYRA. 335
one corner of the island to the other, tower above
the humble dwellings of the poor Arabs.
In their ruined courts, and amid the crumbling
walls of their cottages, may be seen here and there
portions of the antient pavement of the area,
while all around the inclosure extend groups of
columns with pedestals for statues, and walls
ornamented with handsome architectural decora
tions ; the ruins of the majestic portico and
double colonnade which once inclosed the whole
of the vast area. Portions of a frieze or the
fragments of a cornice, upon whose decoration was
expended the labour of years, are now used by
the poor villagers to bake their bread upon, or are
hollowed out as hand-mills in which to grind
their corn.
In the ruined chambers of the Temple of the
Sun, we gaze upon the vaulted stone ceiling and
the sculptured Zodiac on the wreathed border
and octagonal compartment inclosing neatly
sculptured ornaments disfigured with filth ; the
floors are incumbered with straw and dung, and
are the resort of goats, fowls, and unclean ani
mals. From under the lofty carved portal of the
temple, now shattered and partly fallen, we gaze
over the flat terraces of the mud huts which en
cumber the spacious area of the temple, and when

336 THE RUINS OF PALMYRA.
we survey the vast space inclosed by the ruins of
the double colonnade, which of yore extended
around it, it is easy to restore it ideally to its
pristine state — to imagine the lofty gateway at the
end ; the line of columns, each decorated with a
statue ; the walls of the porticos with their sculp
tured niches and recesses ; the double colonnade in
front of the grand portal of the area; and the
magnificent flight of steps leading down into the
plain below.
From that portal, and that staircase, how grand
must have been the view over the plain between
the citadel and the mountains of the monumental
columns, the great gateway, the grand avenue of
columns running on for nearly a mile to the base
of the mountains, the side colonnades sweeping
off from these, some circular and some in a
straight line, leading up to the different build
ings now seen prostrate and ruined, to the temple
or the court of justice, the palace or the bath,
with the various crowds thronging them in admir*
ation, or for business.
" Ah comment s'est eclipsee tant de gloire ?
 Comment se sont aneantis tant de tra-
vaux ? . . . . Ainsi done perissent les ouvrages
des hommes ! ainsi s'evanouissent les empires et
les nations !"

CHAPTER XII.

PALMYRA. — DEPARTURE.  SCENE OVER THE DESERT.' 
ANTELOPES.  GAZELLE HUNT. — THE DESERT PLAIN. 
CARIATEIN. — ARAB WOMEN DRAWING WATER. — ARAB GIRL.
 THE SHEIKH OF DJEROUD. — ARAB HORSE.  DJEROUD. 
SHEIKH'S HOUSE.  THE SUPPER. — THE MUSHROOM OF THE
DESERT.  THE MERDJ OF DAMASCUS.  SALAHIEH.  THE
BEDOUIN ARABS.

" Over how many tracts, vast, measureless,
Ages on ages roll, and none appear
Save the wild hunter ranging for his prey." ROGERS.
Nov. 5th. — At sunrise the dromedaries and horses
were again mustered, and all the fowls in
the village killed, roasted, and safely packed in
our hampers. Bidding adieu to our majestic
landlady, the little boy, and the pretty Arab
damsel, we departed amid the salaams and salu
tations of the whole village.
We were accompanied by a Turkish horseman
vol. n. z

338 PALMYRA. — DEPARTURE.
and his servant, who had requested to be allowed
to avail themselves of the protection of our party,
in crossing the desert plains to Damascus. As
we ascended the mountains, our last view of
Palmyra was grand in the extreme ; dark clouds
were flying about, casting their shadows over the
desert, which was of a deep blue, very much re
sembling the sea ; the salt-marshes had the exact
appearance of a wide expanse of water, and here
and there a bright sun-beam, breaking through
the clouds, shone on the white columns and the
yellow sand.
" Once mow we look and all is still as night,
All desolate 
 . save here and there
An empty tomb, a fragment like the limb
Of some dismembered giant." 
We continued across the wide desert plain, and
at mid-day we halted as usual for two hours ; a
fire was kindled, the horses were turned loose to
graze, and the dromedaries were tied together by
their halters ; not a living being was in sight the
whole day.
Towards evening the clouds broke, and we had
a fine sunset. The night was very dark and
cloudy, and at eight o'clock we halted and kindled
an immense fire, now rendered highly necessary

THE NIGHT ENCAMPMENT. 339
by the change in the Weather. The dromedaries,
after they had been grazing a couple of hours,
were made to kneel in a circle to windward to
shelter us from the cold blast. The Arabs skinned
and roasted several djerboas which they had caught
during the day, the only living objects we had
seen. We were all obliged to be very active in
collecting fuel, which we sought all round our en
campment within a circuit of a quarter of a mile.
The whole party, Bedouins and all, were disposed
in a circle round the fire, and when we lay down
to rest, our feet were burned while our bodies
were shivering with cold.
Nov. 6th. — A fine morning and glorious sunV
rise. We are all mounted and in full march.
The Arabs are looking along the tracts at some
footsteps to see who have passed before us, at
which they are wonderfully clever, and can divine
whether they are friends or enemies, whether
their dromedaries are heavy laden or not, and
whether they are fatigued by a long march; how
long they have passed, and what chance there is
of overtaking them. The journey Was perfectly
solitary, and during the whole morning not a
living thing was visible excepting the little bur
rowing djerboas.
I exchanged my dromedary with one of my
z 2

340 ANTELOPES. — THE HUNT.
companions for his horse, which was a fine spirited
little grey nag.
Mid-day. — We halted and kindled a fire.
Two, p.m. — We suddenly came in sight of a
large herd of antelopes, which appeared to be of
the species called by us gazelle. The Arabs
seized their lances, we drew our pistols, and dis
tributing ourselves in an immense circle, we
walked our horses towards them softly ; they
heeded us not till we approached near, when they
began to hold up their beautiful heads, adorned
with slightly curving tapering horns, and trotted
up together ; then seeing us spurring our horses
from behind the little hillocks all round them, they
darted through us with the rapidity of the wind ;
lances were thrown, pistols discharged, but all in
vain, they quickly distanced the fleetest horse,
which was a grey Arab mare, and then stopped
and turned round and looked at us, and then took
to their heels again, bounding over the ground in
such a way that they appeared to fly rather than
to run.
The Arabs hunt them with trained falcons, who
dart at their heads, flap their wings in their faces,
and thus confound and impede them in their rapid
flight, so as to enable the greyhounds to come up
with them. The inhabitants of Cariatein are

THE GAZELLE. 341
very fond of this sport, and annually destroy a
great many antelopes. They are the most beau
tiful creatures imaginable, and are called czazel by
the Arabs, whence I suppose our gazelle. ' The
beauty of their eyes is celebrated, and when the
Arabs wish to express their sense of the greatest
beauty that can be possessed by a woman, they
say, Aine el czazel, " She has the eyes of a ga
zelle." " And Asahel was as light of foot as a wild
roe." — 2 Sam. ii. 18.
Soon after the hunt the Sheikh's lance was seen
darted into the ground, and we made a short halt.
Three, p.m.— We continued onward across the
level solitary plain without seeing a living thing,
and the sun sank to rest in great splendour behind
the distant Eastern mountains. We observed the
eminence in the vicinity of Cariatein ; but it was
dark, and the stars were twinkling ere we arrived.
The Arabs began to cheer their dromedaries with
songs, and with a peculiar noise they make with
their mouths, to induce them to quicken their
speed. The night was perfectly still, and the
stars shone with great brilliance.
The Mussulmen writers speak of an ignorant
Arab, who, being asked how he knew any thing
about the existence of God? replied, "Just as I know

342 CARIATEIN. — ARAB WOMEN.
by the tracks in the sand whether a man or beast
has passed there, so, when I survey the heaven
with its bright stars, and the earth with its pro
ductions, do I feel the existence and power of
God." We halted with great joy at a stream of water,
where the dromedaries drank, and we shortly en
tered the village of Cariatein, where I found my
lame horse. We were welcomed by our old land
lord, and the luxury of fine fresh water, after the
sulphureous springs of Palmyra and the disgusting
liquid contained in the goat-skins, was indeed
great. Nov. 7th. — An hour before sunrise we left Ca
riatein and halted at a pool of water outside the
village, where the Arab women were coming
down one after another with pitchers balanced on
the crowns of their heads to fetch water.
" The hour for stir and village gossip 
The hour Rebekah came, when from the well
She drew with such alacrity to serve
The stranger and his camels."
Among them was one of the most beautiful girls
I ever saw, apparently about twenty years of age.
She was of dark complexion, eyes black as jet, the
inside of her eyelids was blackened with kohle,

ARAB GIRL. 343
her teeth were white as ivory, and her long hair
fell down her neck and over her shoulders behind,
long enough for her to sit down upon. She had
large silver ear-rings, and a silver ring through her
under lip, gently drawing it down and displaying
her fine teeth ; through her hair was passed a
silver arrow, confining her veil to the top of her
head, which was thrown back negligently over
her shoulders ; she was habited simply in a long
blue loose shirt, open at the breast, her bare arms
were covered with bracelets and amulets, a string
of beads was wound round her neck, her feet
were bare, and two large rings were fastened
round her ancles. She walked as all the Arab
women do, with a grace and beauty of carriage I
never saw surpassed, nor in simplicity and elegance
of appearance have I ever seen a fine lady of
Europe, with her jewels and pearls, equal this
plain and simple Arab girl. The women did not
testify any great surprise at our appearance, nor
attempt to veil their faces, merely asking who we
were, and on being told Indjeleis, " English," they
appeared satisfied. They remained talking and
chatting round the well. The scene reminded
me of the beautiful and simple description in
Genesis, of the meeting between the eldest servant
of Abraham's house and Rebekah, when the ser-

344 ARAB WOMEN DRAWING WATER.
vant came and " made his camels to kneel down
without the city by a well of water," at the time
the women came out to draw water, and said,
" Behold I stand here by the well of water, and
the daughters of the men of the city come out to
draw water. And let it come to pass that the
damsel to whom I shall say let down thy pitcher,
I pray thee, that I may drink, and she shall say
Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also :
let the same be she that thou hast appointed for
thy servant Isaac."
And I could fancy Rebekah just such another as
this beautiful Arab girl. " And the damsel was
very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any
man known her ; and she went down to the well
and filled her pitcher, and came up."
This day we kept to the right of the plain we had
previously traversed, taking a more direct route
to Damascus. , We travelled to the westward of
the mountains which we had previously passed to
the eastward, and continued through an almost
similar plain deserted and uncultivated, the dry
grass and herbs however appeared to have been
wonderfully affected by the late rains, already
some symptoms of green and of reviving vegeta
tion might be seen about their dry and rotting
roots.

THE SHEIKH OF DJEROUD. 345
At sunset we passed to the westward of the
salt plain which we had previously passed to the
eastward, and were joined by two Arab horse
men, one of whom we were told was the Sheikh
of the village where we should pass the night
after thirteen hours' constant march. He was
mounted on a splendid Arab mare, which had cost
him more than 15,000 piastres, — between one and
two hundred pounds sterling. She was a beau
tiful creature, and he rode her with a halter
without whip or spur, merely speaking to her
when he wished her to quicken her pace. The
gentleness and admirable docility of these horses
must, surely, in some measure, be the effect of the
kind treatment they receive, being fed in the Arab
camps, played with by the children, and tamed
and domesticated from their birth upwards : when
spoken to, however, they dilate their nostrils,
throw up their heads, and bound forward like
lightning. They will at a push perform almost
incredible journeys, and the most favourite stories
of the Arabs are concerning their horses, and the
miraculous escapes that themselves or others have
made on them. The very choice ones are noble
creatures ; Mr. Farren possesses a magnificent bay
mare, that he bought of a Bedouin Sheikh, with

346 THE ARAB HORSE.
one of the proudest necks I ever saw, fierce as a
lion to look at, but gentle as a lamb, so as to be
mounted and led about by a boy ; with kindness
anything may be done with them, at a blow or
kick they become furious. It is the Arab horse
described in the book of Job.
" Hast thou given the horse strength? hast
thou clothed his neck with thunder ?
" Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper ?
the glory of his nostrils is terrible.
" He paweth in the valley and rejoiceth in his
strength ; he goeth on to meet the armed men.
"He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted ;
neither turneth he back from the sword.
" He swalloweth the ground with fierceness
and rage, neither believeth he that it is the sound
of the trumpet.
" He saith among the trumpets ha, ha ; and he
smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the
captains and the shouting."
We had a beautiful sunset, and soon after dark
passed near to a small village watered by a beau
tiful stream of water that came down from the
adjoining mountains; the sound of human voices and
the barking of the dogs were delightful after the
quietness and solitude of the desert. It is a most

THE DROMEDARY. 347
beautiful starlight night, and the Arabs sing and
shout to cheer their dromedaries, who have had
a long day's march.
When the Arabs wish to make the dromedaries
kneel down in order to get off their backs, they
tap the dromedary with a stick over the shoulder
making a peculiar noise with the mouth, when
the great beast begins immediately to grunt and
continues to give loud and strange marks of dissa
tisfaction until he is down on his belly : sometimes
they go down on their knees very suddenly, when
you will inevitably be pitched over their heads
unless you have a firm hold of the wooden stump
at the back of the saddle with your hand. When
you are on foot and wish to mount the dromedary
you seize his halter and chuck his chin with the
rope, making the proper noise with your tongue,
when he immediately begins to grunt ; he will at
first perhaps resist, but if you persevere in your
attempts he will at last lay down after making
various loud noises, and allow you to mount on to
his hump. When a dromedary is in good condition
the hump on his back is very large, when he is
poor and thin it diminishes almost to nothing.
Eight, p.m. — The desert solitude was enlivened
by some trees, and with great delight we rode
through a few gardens and patches of cultivated

348 DJEROUD.  THE SHEIKH'S HOUSE.
land to the large village of Djeroud. We went
direct to the Sheikh's house, the Sheikh himself
leading the way on his beautiful Arab mare.
Most of the Arabs who possess a good horse have
his pedigree hung round his neck with a leathern
thong. It is written on a piece of paper and in
closed within a leathern case. The Arabs are all very
particular about the pedigrees of their horses, and
they are often traced through several generations.
We proceeded along a winding lane between
mud houses, and passing through a low gateway
supported on the top by beams of wood, we came
into the court yard of the Sheikh's mansion. There
is something very pleasing in this custom of the
chief of the village claiming the right of shewing
hospitality and entertaining strangers.
We mounted up a wooden ladder and were
shewn into a large room with an earthen floor,
on which was shortly kindled a blazing fire of the
dwarf bushes which grow in the desert. In about
half an hour two Arab servants in white vests
and full loose drawers, each with a white skull
cap on his head, made their appearance, staggering
under a great pilaff which was borne along on a
huge metal dish ; behind them came another Arab
with a bottle of water in one hand, and a bundle
of wooden spoons in the other, with a couple of

THE SUPPER. 349
coarse cotton towels thrown over his arm. Our
Bedouin Sheikh was invited to join the circle
round the great dish of rice, and was prevailed
upon to dispense with the pounding and ball
making, and for once in his life to use a wooden
spoon. We approached the composition with
keen appetites, but to our disgust we found it
made of rancid butter instead of mutton fat, but
there was no help for it. Piles of thin, unleavened
cakes just hot from the fire were placed down in a
lump, and a paper of salt which had a very dark
dirty appearance. The rest of the Arabs fared less
sumptuously. Their supper was brought in in a
round bowl ; it consisted of the tough, thin cakes of
unleavened bread torn in pieces, over which was
poured hot unsavoury buttermilk. We were all so
tired that some of us dropped to sleep in the very
act of eating our suppers.
Nov. 8th. — An hour before sunrise we left
Djeroud, first seeing a crowd of servants, who
gathered around us, according to custom, for buck-
sheesh, i. e. payment for their master's hospi
tality. The village of Djeroud possesses a population
of about one hundred and fifty families. It is
surrounded by a few gardens, which are irrigated

350 THE MUSHROOM OF THE DESERT.
by a fine stream, which flows from the mountains.
Barley, lentils, and radishes are grown in the
gardens ; but the chief wealth of the inhabitants
consists in their goats, who browse the neighbouring
pasture of the desert, and furnish the inhabitants
with butter and milk. Almost all the Arabs are
astonishingly fond of butter, which is kept in goat
skins. From the contents of these goat-skins there
is not an English ploughman but would turn
away with disgust, yet the Arabs dip their un
leavened bread into the mixture with delight,
and drink with eagerness the rancid buttermilk.
The rains have already had a great effect
upon the face of the country, which is beginning
to lose its parched, burnt-up appearance.
There is a wonderful and bountiful provision of
nature for supplying food to the Bedouin x\rabs in
the spring. After the heavy rains, a species of
vegetable somewhat similar to the mushroom
grows in immense quantities in different districts
of the desert. The whole desert country between
Damascus and the Euphrates is in places celebrated
for its abundant produce of these mushrooms ; the
Bedouins collect them at the stated season, and
for weeks subsist on them ; they are boiled, and
eaten either with buttermilk or melted butter.

THE MERDJ OF DAMASCUS. 351
Loads of them are, I am told, collected in sacks
and brought home on the dromedaries. Many
are dried in the sun and sold in the towns and
villages. They are esteemed a great delicacy by
the Arabs.
Eleven, a.m. — We ascended the range of moun
tains bordering the Ghouta, to the northward of
Damascus. The weather is quite changed, and a
strong north wind blows across the mountain
with considerable keenness. This wind is con
sidered by the Arabs unhealthy in the desert. In
the warm weather, when it prevails, travellers
are frequently broiled in the sun during the day,
and almost frozen at night.
We had an extensive view towards the south
and over the Haouran as we descended the moun
tains. A blue isolated peak that could be seen
in the distance, in the direction of the great desert,
was called Djebel Laha by the Arabs. The
bridle track down these mountains wound at the
bottom of rather a romantic glen, with lofty
eminences rising on each side. We stopped at a
stream of water which bubbled among some ruins;,
apparently those of an antient fountain, and soon
afterwards emerged from the mountains on the
broad flat desert plain adjoining the Ghouta, or

352 THE ARMS OF THE BEDOUINS.
Merdj of Damascus. After riding a short distance
over this, we pulled up at a ruined khan, close to
which was a spring of water and a large flock of
goats. Here the arms of the Bedouins were all
collected. The spears, with their proud plumes of
ostrich feathers, the clubs, the bows and arrows,
the matchlock, were all given up at the command
of the Sheikh into the hands of the black slave
and a Bedouin Arab, to be transported to the
neighbouring encampment, and our cavalcade now
assumed a much more humble and more peaceable
appearance. We regretted much to see our faith
ful guards deprived of their warlike accoutrements,
but there was no help for it.
We gazed with regret upon the black slave and
his companion as they trotted off on a dromedary.
We felt that the excursion, with all its novelty,
its romance, and its interest was over. We felt
now reduced to a simple, quiet, humble caravan
of travellers ; the dromedaries, no longer decorated
with warlike figures perched upon their humps,
seemed to move sluggishly and heavily along.
The Sheikh's mare dropped her head and snuffed
the ground, as if conscious that she was leaving
her wild, free, airy home for the pent up country
and the confined haunts of man, and for a less

THE MERDJ OF DAMASCUS. 853
kind, generous treatment than that she received
amid her master's tents at the hands of the playful
children. We tried to get the Arabs to sing, but the
attempt failed.
Three, p.m. — We halted at a pool to water the
horses and dromedaries, and at five o'clock we
arrived at the small village on the confines of the
cultivated land at which we had passed the night
on our journey out. The sight of the olive trees
and the water, with the cattle on the banks of the
stream, was pleasant enough after the bare treeless
desert. Although naturally regretting the termination
of a most interesting and delightful excursion, yet
I looked forward with no inconsiderable degree of
pleasure to the prospect of sleeping once more
upon a good bed, after a fortnight's deprivation of
that most luxurious article of furniture, and I could
not but persuade myself that our villa at Salahieh,
with its abundance of water and green trees, was
much preferable as a residence to the Sheikh's
camp, with its dusty floor, in the midst of the
treeless waterless solitude. And as for the wild,
free, airy independence which is the great charm
of their life, not being myself under the govern
ment of Ibrahim Pasha, but being perfectly at
VOL. ii. A A

354 APPROACH TO DAMASCUS.
liberty to dispose of my goods and person in any
way that might seem congenial to my feelings, I
felt equally as independent as the Sheikh, and in
nowise inclined to change my mode of life for
his. After leaving the village we traversed a broad
dusty road. It was a lovely evening, and the
sun was setting as we approached the rich gardens.
Some strings of dromedaries were moving along
the road, and groups of people, some on foot, some
on horseback, and some on donkeys, presented an
agreeable scene of life and animation after the
solitude of the wilderness. The heavens after
sunset were gorgeous in appearance ; one solitary
star twinkled above the thin wreaths of mist
which were gathering along the eastern horizon,
while the mild tints and blended colours of de
parting day were seen behind the foliage and the
tall poplars. A few light fleecy clouds formed, as
it were, a pale band of white satin across the sky;
not a breath of air moved the leaves, and not a
sound disturbed the silence and tranquillity of the
evening ; our numerous cavalcade wound noise
lessly along the sandy road, and the light of the
rising moon was seen in the east ere we reached
the village of Salahieh. When I contemplate the
mild beauties and the soothing calm of these

THE EASTERN SUNSETS. 355
eastern sunsets, I often wish I could suddenly
transport some of our London cits from the smoke
and fog of that most unenviable region to the sea-
coast along the range of Lebanon, and bid them
mark the golden disc of the sun gradually ap
proaching the brightly illuminated waters of the
Mediterranean, or give them one peep of Damascus
rising from the centre of its wooded plain, just at
that silent hour when the sun is sinking behind
the distant blue peaks of the Djebel Sheikh, and
his last rays are streaming on the lofty minarets
and leaden domes of the city.
Would he not perceive as it were a transition
from earth to heaven, in the sudden removal from
chimney-pots and brick houses, to the contem
plation of the sublime beauties of nature, thus
shadowed forth in their greatest earthly grandeur
and magnificence.
There is something in the contemplation of the
beauty of the heavens, and in the softness of these
climates, which produces a soothing humanizing
influence upon the heart, softens down the aspe
rities of our nature and the natural brutality of
man. The inhabitants of these southern regions are
certainly more gentle, and kind in their manners
towards each other, than the lower orders of peo
ple in northern climes. I observe much less of
AA 2

356 SALAHIEH.
that quarrelsome, brutish demeanour among the
lower orders of people here, than I do in my own
country. When they meet, their salutations are
kind and affectionate ; their manners, when not ex
cited by passion, gentle in the extreme ; and the po
lite epithets and sentences, breathing such brotherly
love and affection, as we hear bandied every day
about our streets, seem unknown among them,
and unframed in their language. In fact, the
lower orders of English seem to have the greatest
taste for abuse of any people I have ever been
among. If you see two porters run against each
other in London, they will probably give expres
sion to the foulest curses they can call up on their
tongues. If you see two common fellows arguing
together, as sure as fate they will begin to abuse
each other, and rake up the most opprobrious sen
tences that can be put together in our language.
After skirting along the foliage for some time,
having the limestone mountains on our right and
the gardens on our left, we left the bright moon
light and entered the dark dingy street of Sala
hieh amid the barking of the dogs. A messenger
had previously been sent on to have supper pre
pared for ourselves and the Bedouin Arabs, but on
arriving, we found Mr. Farren's servant waiting
to receive us, with the announcement that our

THE BEDOUIN ARABS. 357
two friends who had left us at Baalbec for Tyre
and Sidon had just arrived, and that we were all
to dine together at his house.
Our first care, however, was for our Bedouin
guests, feeling it our duty to act according to Be
douin rule. We therefore feasted the two Sheikhs
and the whole party on a mountain of pilaff, of
such magnitude that with all their endeavours
they could not finish it ; they sighed and grinned
with delight after they had crammed themselves
to the throat, and saw more pilaff remaining
behind. I must here exonerate the Bedouins from the
charge of gluttony ; these people make long
fasts, and sometimes are obliged to go without a
meal for forty-eight hours, consequently when
they do get a good feed, they lay up and provide
beforehand for a possible fast. Our Bedouins had
not eaten anything the whole day, and in case
any of them departed the following morning, they
would not perhaps get anything to eat before the
succeeding evening. Frequently, I am told, they
only get one meal in the course of twenty-four
hours, and it must be observed, that the greatest
disgrace among the Arabs, is to allow a guest to
lie down hungry to rest ; so that if he gets up in
.the morning hungry, it is not of the same con-

358 SALAHIEH.
sequence. Our Bedouins therefore were fully jus
tified in laying in a good store of food.
On our return from dining with Mr. Farren, we
found the Sheikh and his party collected round a
large fire in their old apartment, making free use
of some pounds of tobacco which we had ordered
to be bought for them ; they all rose when we ap
peared, and persisted in standing until we had all
managed to squat on the floor as well as we could
in our tight pantaloons, when we kept it up till
about one o'clock in the morning, smoking and
talking over the events of the journey. They
are an agreeable, lively, sprightly people, and of
a very companionable disposition ; they conceive
the two great nations of the Frangi, to be the
Indjeleis and Francowyahs, English and French.
They possess not the apathetical dullness of the
Turk, nor do they hold the doctrine of fatalism
like the former ; in fact they have an excellent
proverb or squib, ridiculing this dogma of the
Turks.. " He bared his back to the bite of the mus-
quitto, and then said, God decreed that I should
be stung."
From a fortnight's constant intercourse with these
Bedouins, eating every day with their Sheikh,
and laughing and singing songs with them in the

THE BEDOUIN ARABS. 359
evening, we have had some opportunity of forming
an acquaintance with their general character and
disposition. It amuses me when I hear individuals at home,
boxed up in their chimney corners, quietly stigma
tising whole tribes of people as barbarians and
savages, because they happen to be poor, or wear
turbans, shave their heads, marry three wives,
and eat with their fingers. I recollect an old
gentleman in a pair of green spectacles, not very
long ago, coming to ask me if Ibrahim Pasha was
not settling many of the Bedouin Arabs in villages,
teaching them to cultivate the ground, and civil
izing them.
Civilization is a word that is in every body's
mouth, but few of those who make so frequent
a use of it, seem to know exactly what they
mean, or to attach any precise definite idea to
it. The Bedouin Arabs are, as I understand
the word civilization, much more civilized than a
vast portion of the British population. I speak of
their conduct as regards each other, not as regards
their intercourse with the rest of the world, whom
they consider aliens and enemies, and whom they
rob and despoil whenever they can get hold of
them. A townsman or settled householder is al-

360 THE BEDOUIN ARABS.
ways considered an enemy by the Bedouin, and
his relation with respect to the latter, is on the
same footing as that between Bedouins of hostile
tribes, who are at open war with each other; a
fact, as before remarked, in curious and most
striking accordance with the predicted destiny of
the wild Ishmaelites, in the Holy Scriptures.
The openly professed calling of the Bedouin is
that of " Robber;" it is his prided designation,
his most flattering epithet, Haramy, " Robber."
Their father Ishmael being robbed of his patri
mony, say they, God gave his posterity the wil
derness, with leave to seize the goods of all those
who might come there. Consequently the moment
a stranger is seen on the verge of its extended hori
zon, the Bedouin experiences the same feelings as
those of a settled householder who sees an intruder
walking into his house without permission. The
stranger, if found to be either the member of a
hostile tribe, or a " townsman," is surrounded by
their horsemen ; to resist is death. With submis
sion, life is always spared with the loss of goods.
What a mark of barbarism, we shall be told.
Well, then, let us cross the threshold of these sa
vages,, and having made friends with them and
entered into a mutual compact to waive individual

THE BEDOUIN ARABS. 361
hostility and eat food together, — let us look at the
mode of life, the customs, and conduct of these
uncivilized people inter se.
You become the friend and the guest of the
Bedouin. Within the memory of man the betrayal of a
guest by a Bedouin has never been known, or
personal safety to have been violated when a Be
douin has once promised " dakheil," or protection.
The Bedouin will lay down his life in defence
of his guest.
He will starve himself to find that guest a
supper, and will give him his own mat to sleep
on. There are hundreds of travellers in the desert
who live altogether on Bedouin hospitality, and
the poor hungry Bedouin will always divide his
scanty meal with the hungry stranger, although
it may be the last morsel of food in his possession:
nor will he let the stranger know the sacrifice he
has made to satisfy his wants.
The kindness of the Bedouin Arabs to the brute
creation is proverbial.
They will never suffer a child to be beaten,
thinking it base and cowardly under any circum
stances, to lift their hands against a defenceless
infant.

362 THE BEDOUIN ARABS.
Among them a man may be killed in a quarrel
or sudden fit of passion, but the cool deliberate
murders of civilized England are unknown. Cor
poral punishments are unknown, the punishment
from time immemorial for all offences has been by
the imposition of a fine.
The Bedouin has a religious regard for the
sanctity of an bath, and he who solemnly swears
falsely is for ever disgraced.
If a dying Arab commits the guardianship of
his wife and infant family to a stranger, the obli
gation is of the most sacred nature, and the whole
family of the person to whom that guardianship is
committed are the hereditary protectors of the
woman and her orphans.
The chastity and morality of both men and
women among the Bedouins is undoubted and in
disputable. The iEneze Arabs never cohabit with their
female slaves, but after a fixed period of servitude
marry them to their male slaves.
The Bedouin will not touch wine or intoxi
cating liquor, but contents himself with water and
with milk as a beverage.
There are no prisons among the Bedouins.
In their warfare and their plunderings, women
are always treated with the greatest respect.

THE BEDOUIN ARABS. 363
A Bedouin never returns to his tent after an ab
sence without bringing a present for his children ;
and the honour of himself and tribe are involved
in the strict discharge of these different obligations.
The affectionate, peaceful demeanour of the
Bedouins among themselves, and the softness of
their temper, and the kindness of their disposition,
cannot but strike a stranger most forcibly.
When the different tribes are not in open hosti
lity with each other, they live together as bro
thers. The Bedouins have universally the cha
racter of being merciful and compassionate to the
unfortunate, so as, remarks a great traveller, often
to cause them to forget that an unfortunate person
is their enemy.
Yousef Pasha in 1810, obliged to abandon Da
mascus, sought refuge at the tent of Mehannan el
Melhen, the Bedouin Sheikh with whom he had
always been on bad terms, " My tent," said the
Sheikh, "is the secure asylum for persons in distress j
and has had before now the honour of sheltering
great men. Let Solyman Pasha cut all the throats
of the Melhems, he shall never drive you from this
spot."* " ' What !' cried the Wahabee chief Abdallah Ibn
Saoud, when his protection had been doubted, ' ask
* Burckhardt.

364 THE BEDOUIN ARABS.
the Bedouins ; they will tell you that were they
even to kill one of Saoud's family, and that I
should pronounce their security, they would trust
my word.' "*
All individuals in the East who have had exten
sive dealings with the Bedouins bear universal tes
timony to the possession of the above qualities by
the bulk of the tribes, and no people have better
opportunities of judging and forming an opinion
than the merchants of Damascus who are engaged
in the Bagdad trade.
Now I ask those who have the word civilization
always on their lips, and who would inquire if Ibra
him Pasha is not collecting some of the Bedouins
of the Haouran into villages and civilizing them,
in what respect do they consider the great bulk of
the lower orders of people in England to be more
advanced in civilization than the poor Bedouin of
the desert ? and in what way is their discharge
of the private and social duties of life superior to
his? Does their intercourse with each other dis
play a purer spirit of charity, of brotherly love and
affection, — a more scrupulous exercise of the private
duties of social life ? Are they more ready to
shield the oppressed, to feed the hungry? Do they
possess more good nature, more cheerfulness and
* Letter to Toussoun Pasha. — Burckhardt.

ENGLISH CIVILIZATION. 365
softness of temper? Are they truer in friendship and
more valuable and pleasing as companions ? Do
they possess more equanimity of temper and
peacefulness of demeanour? Do they live in a more
brotherly manner together, and do they cherish in
their breasts purer sentiments of mercy and com
passion than those people they are so apt to term
uncivilized and barbarous ? Does their conduct
towards each other display more guarded forbear
ance than that of the Bedouins, — are they still more
careful than he is not to use opprobrious language
and abusive epithets ?
Are they disgraced among each other if on
slight occasions they stigmatize their fellow man
of the same tribe, " of the same village," with
whom they are constantly meeting in social in
tercourse, as " a traitor," " a liar," an " inhospi
table wretch," and is the society of a man who
has been known to use such expressions ground-
lessly and without sufficient cause ever after
avoided, as a person whose society ought to be
shunned among the bulk of the English nation ?
And lastly, is intoxication so utterly unknown
among the British people, as it is among the
Bedouins of the desert ?
What then is the criterion of civilization in Eng-

366 ENGLISH CIVILIZATION.
land, the nation which assumes to be the most
civilized of the whole world, as well as the most
wealthy ?
Is the beating of children as I have seen
them often and often beaten by the lower orders
of people in England, a criterion of civilization ?
Are the assaults, the black eyes, the brutal
treatment of defenceless females, the cases of
drunkenness, debauchery, villainy and crime, which
we see figuring in the columns of the police re
ports every morning on our breakfast table, and
which disgust us with the very sight of a news
paper, criterions of civilization ?
Is that edifying exhibition to which we are
sometimes treated of a woman exposed for sale
by her husband in a fair with a halter round
her neck, a criterion of civilization ?
Are the boxing matches with which we are so
frequently entertained in our streets, when the
combatants are surrounded by an applauding circle
of spectators, who seem to take delight in the
sight of bloody noses, and broken heads, crite
rions of civilization ?
Are the scenes of drunkenness and vice exhibited
within the purlieus of the spirit-shops of London,
and of all our great towns, and the disorderly state

ENGLISH CIVILIZATION. 367
of our streets after dark ; such in fact as is no
where else to be met with in the world, criterions
of civilization ?
Is the treatment the little children have been
proved to experience in our factories, a criterion of
civilization ?
Are the prisons which everywhere deck the
land in sombre majesty, the most imposing build
ings after the cathedrals, criterions of civilization ?
Are the cases that are constantly brought before
the petty sessions in England, women binding
their husbands over in recognizances to keep the
peace towards them, &c, &c, criterions of civiliz
ation ?
Let us not be too hasty in calling the Bedouins
uncivilized, because they are poor, live in tents,
eat coarse food, and are not so learned as ourselves;
and instead of restlessly inquiring whether the
governor of Syria is adopting measures to civilize
them, let us rather direct our inquiries nearer
home, and ascertain whether reformation and im
provement is not more urgently required there
than in distant regions.

CHAPTER XIII.

DAMASCUS.— THE GARDENS.  THE FRUITS. — THE BAZAARS.
 A DAMASCENE TAILOR.  THE GATE BAH GIRUN.  BE
DOUIN SHEIKH. — SILKS AND MANUFACTURES. — JEWELLERS.
 SABRES.  LADIES' COSTUME.  DAMASCENE GRANDEES.
 DAMASCENE GIRL. — DAMASCENE LADIES.  THE EVIL
EYE. — THE SADDLE BAZAAR.  THE NARGILLA.  THE OLD
CASTLE.  WEDDING. — PROCESSION TO THE BATH.  PRO
CESSION TO THE BRIDEGROOM'S HOUSE. — THE WALLS OF
DAMASCUS.  THE GATE-WAYS.  THE POPULATION OF THE
TOWN.

Er» Se xa-t ?) &afj.ao-xoq tto^h; afyo7,oyos c7^Edot te xa\ }'ffi(pavEo'Ta.T7i
T<t>v ravrn xa.Ta ra Xl£po~ixa.
STRABO, LIB. XTI.
Nov. 9th. — Since the rains, the weather has com
pletely changed, and the mornings and evenings
are very cold.
From the delight I experienced, in walking down
to Damascus after breakfast through the rich
gardens, I can well comprehend the lavish praises
that have been bestowed on this delicious spot.

THE GARDENS. 369
After gazing for fourteen days on wide naked
plains, without a single tree or shrub to break
their dull uniformity, the pleasure may be ima
gined with which one hails the wide spreading
branches of the magnificent walnut, the dense
foliage of the plum, the apricot, the pomegra
nate, the cherry, the fresh cool air loaded with
blossoms, and the chirping of the birds from the
branches of the trees. Everywhere advantage has
been taken of the late rains, and the gardens look
fresher and greener than before. The most care
ful cultivation is exercised in every direction,
and the ground appears never to be at rest
Pliny in his Natural History, lib. xx. 51, I think
mentions that the Syrians were in his time ex
cellent gardeners, and they were so expert in lay
ing out their grounds, that they became a proverb
among the Greeks. Groups of women were riding
on donkeys, strings of dromedaries pacing along the
road, and mounted horsemen curvetting in differ
ent directions.
These gardens abound in apricot trees ; the fruit
is dried and exported to all parts of the East,
and when boiled, it makes a delicious conserve.
The grapes too are very abundant, and of im
mense size ; all those I have seen are the large
black grape. The fruit trees consist of the fig, the
VOL. II. B B

370 DAMASCUS. — THE FRUITS.
plum, the mulberry, several kinds of the apricot
tree, the pomegranate, the cherry, the pear, the
quince, the olive, the walnut, the apple, the peach,
the hazle-nut, &c, &c. ; besides various forest-trees,
the sycamore, the willow, the white and black
poplar, the cypress, the birch, the plane, the box,
the lime, &c, &c. In the gardens underneath
these trees are grown beans, parsley, artichokes,
lettuces, radishes, gourds, water melons, garlic,
celery, cucumbers, parsley, spinach, beet-root,
carrots, turnips, sorrel, cauliflowers, endive, kidney
and scarlet beans, chichory, &c, &c, and of these
delicious gardens and delightful environs truly may
it be said,
" Ex iis fructus nunquam periit, neque deficit
Hyeme neque sestate ; toto anno durant sed sane semper,
Zephyrus spirans hsec crescere facit aliaque maturescere
Pyrum post pyrum senescit, pomum post pomum
Porro post uvam uva, ficus post ficu."
The river, which is the cause of all this fertility,
appears to have been called Chrusorroas, or the
" golden river," by the Greeks *.
On entering the city, I found the bazaars un
usually lively ; auctions were going on; crowds of
* Twi/ Se irotafi-ui o ja,ev X^vtroppoa^ ap^a^Eiioi aire r5j; Aa^acry.)i»w«
iroXttx; xa) ywea-i ek t«( o^etei«5 ava-Maxijai ayfSoi rr TroTiAv yap
E-rap^si xa) fiaQiTa) o-(pt>Spa.' — Strabo, lib. xvi.

THE BAZAARS. — THE TAILOR. 371
women were bidding, and pale men with one
eye were screaming in every direction. I made
purchase of some arms, and then, my wardrobe
having suffered much during our journey to Pal
myra, I wended my way to a tailor, to put his
wits to work to make a pair of Frank pantaloons ;
he examined those I had on me very minutely.
Baurek Allah, " Good God," said he, after look
ing at buttons, straps, fastenings, and all their
complicated machinery, " where did you get
these made?" "That's not to the purpose," re
plied I, "can you make a pair like them?"
" Eiwah," said he, " eiwah — In Allah," " God be
willing." " But have you got the stuff?" " No."
" Well then," said the tailor, " I must go into the
bazaars with you, for our gentlemen here do not
clothe themselves in such material as you have
on ; I have nothing at all like it in my shop, and I
am afraid we shall meet with nothing like it any
where in the city." The tailor, as usual, had only
one eye, and had very imperfect vision through
the other ; as we went along, therefore, he con
tinued to shout to people not to run against him.
After parading about half the morning, we
pitched upon a certain portion of the Damascene
ladies' dress, which the tailor declared would suit
b b 2

372 DAMASCUS.  THE BAH GIRUN.
the purpose remarkably well, and which he said
was abdurrahman, " most excellent."
In the course of the morning I passed by the
celebrated gate of the great mosque, called Bah
Girun ; it is described by Abulpheda, the Arabic
historian, in his description of Syria*. He says,
there is a mosque at Damascus of which there is
none more beautiful or sumptuous in appearance
in the whole land of Islamism, for the walls and
the arched roof above the " Al Meckrah," near to
the " Al Maksurat," (a separate or distinct place
in the mosque, where the great dignitaries are
accustomed to sit,) are the work of the Sabeans,
whose place of prayer it used to be ; afterwards,
says he, the temple came into the hands of the
Jews and Pagans, in whose time it was that the
head of John, the son of Zacharias, was fixed
on a pole over the gate of the mosque, which is
called Bah Girun. His companions and followers,
being Christians, greatly venerated the building
on that account, until Islamism began to predo
minate, when the temple was yielded to the
Moslems, who converted it into a mosque. The
Moslems, says he, stuck over the same gate Girun,
where before was placed the head of John the
* Abulpheda Tabula Syriae. — Lipsias, mdcclxvi.

THE BEDOUIN SHEIKH. 373
son of Zacharias, the head of Hosein, the son of
Ali. Afterwards, Walid, son of Abd al Maleki,
holding the government of the place, restored and
beautified the building ; he covered the pavement
with marble slabs, he clothed the walls with
spotted marble, he clothed all the chapiters of the
pillars with gold, and fortified the roof with lead.
Some say, says Abulpheda, that he spent the whole
revenue of Syria over the work.
The Arabic author Al Mohallebita, says that,
on a certain stone in the corner of this temple,
the inhabitants of Damascus had inserted a
tablet with this inscription, " Damascius erected
this building for the worship of God."
Six, p. m. — We sat down to a sumptuous dinner
at Mr. Farren's house with our Sheikh, who han
dled his silver knife and fork with great ease and
propriety; he was in his full Bedouin costume,
and conversed with Mrs. Farren with all the ease
and address of a perfect gentleman. On being
asked how we behaved? he said we were all
very good men. Which was the best ? all equally
good; but looking at me, and reaching across the
table, he said in an under tone to Mr. Farren, " He,
he, beat his horse." True it was, to my shame, that
having had, as before remarked, the worst horse,
I had, when I found him lagging behind, occa-

374 DAMASCUS. — THE SHEIKH.
sionally made use of my stick, not understanding
the cheering notes of the Arabs to urge their
horses, for which it appears I had greatly suffered
in the opinion of the Bedouins ; and this reply of
the Sheikh's shews the praiseworthy abhorrence
they have of any thing like cruelty towards that
faithful creature. What would a Bedouin think if
he saw the treatment which the miserable quad
rupeds employed on the coach-stands in London
get at the hands of their hard task-masters, —
whipped over the pavement during the day and
starved at night until they are reduced to perfect
skeletons ? — and many of the jaded, worn down
brutes that are whipped along at eleven miles an
hour in our "fast day coaches," and when no
longer fit for that work handed over to some other
hard task-master, until they are killed outright from
hard work? What a comment upon our treatment
of horses in England is the conduct of the Arab
towards that faithful creature. D'Arvieux, I
think it is, tells the story of the Arab who having
agreed to sell his mare to the Franks, and having
had the price of the animal in gold counted into
his hands, after lingering and looking at her
for some time, exclaimed, " Shall it be possible,
that after having brought thee up in the house
with so much care, and had so much service from

DAMASCENE MANUFACTURES. 375
thee, that I should at last be delivering thee up in
slavery to the Franks for thy reward ? " Saying
which, he threw down the money, embraced and
kissed the mare, and took her back to his tent.
Nov. 10th. — We went through the bazaars to
purchase the handsomest dress we could find for
our Sheikh, and looked over red caftans, shawls,
grey, blue, and white abbahs, some beautifully in
terwoven with gold threads and rich embroidery,
manufactured in the villages on Mount Lebanon,
and green and yellow handkerchiefs edged with
long loose cords and tassels, forming an elegant
fringe which the Bedouins form into the keffie.
The adoption of these handkerchiefs or keffies we
found most delightful in the warm weather ; they
keep the sun off the cheeks, and draw a circula
tion of air all round the neck.
The different manufactures of silk and cotton
intermixed with gold thread are most beautiful.
But as the shopkeepers do not expose their choice
goods in their shops and bazaars, which have no
glass windows to protect them as in London, one
may go away from Damascus without seeing the
choicest and most beautiful of the articles for sale,
unless inquiry is made among those merchants
and shopkeepers who sell the more costly and ex
pensive articles.

376 DAMASCUS. — THE JEWELLERS.
The working jewellers are all established in
some large buildings with wooden roofs at one end
of the town, divided by partitions into different
alleys, where the goldsmiths and silversmiths are
seen seated with fire, bellows, anvils, hammers,
pincers, drawers, &c, and there is an incessant
tinkering and clattering on all sides ; here people
are constantly coming in with rings, bracelets,
silver filagree baskets, and various kinds of jewels
lery to be repaired, or to serve as patterns for
articles to be made to order. Scarcely any jewel
lery is met with in the shops, it is mostly made
here to order as it is wanted. Here you see old
men with sallow faces and grey heads poring
over ingots of gold and silver, melting the metal
in pots and pans upon their charcoal fires, or
drawing it out into long wires, and hammering
it into different shapes. From hence we passed
through a shoe bazaar, amid piles of red and
yellow slippers and ladies' boots, and an overpow
ering smell of leather.
Swords are no longer made at Damascus; the
art has been lost from the workers in the cele
brated cutlery having been transported to Khora-
san by Timur Beg, since which time the Khorasan
blades have possessed the same celebrity as the
antient Damascene, and are much prized all over the

THE SABRES. — LADIES' COSTUME. 377
East, but are very dear. The blades usually worn
are the Constantinople sabres, about a third of the
price of the Khorasan, slightly watered, but vastly
inferior to them. All people of distinction either
wear the Khorasan or the old Damascus blade, the
latter being still frequently to be met with second
hand, and is called Taban el Scham.
Six, p.m. — We dined with Mr. Farren, and met
Mr. Boudin, a Damascus merchant, but a French
man by birth ; he has been long established in this
part of the world, and came with his lady, I be
lieve a Greek or Damascene Christian, in the full
costume of the country. The lady's dress was
magnificent, being exactly the same as that worn
by the Damascene ladies in full dress in their
houses. She had wide richly figured trousers, her
bare white foot was thrust into an elegant purple
slipper richly embroidered with gold, having a silk
tassel at the top, and a jewel fastened beside
it. Her bosom was concealed by a thin fold of gauze,
her vest of pink figured silk, fringed with gold,
was open at the breast, and confined to the waist
by a Cashmere shawl, from which descended a
long rich figured robe, which hung down behind
trailing on the ground, and descending in front
divided into two long lappels, partially concealing

378 DAMASCUS. — LADIES' COSTUME.
the trousers. Over the vest was a dark purple
velvet jacket, confined to the waist behind by a
Cashmere shawl, but standing open in front, lined
with white satin, and embroidered all round the
edges with gold ; the arms were slit open from
the elbow downwards, falling back in long lappels,
lined with white satin and edged with gold, dis
playing the arm from the elbow enveloped in a
transparent inner gauze sleeve, edged with lace.
She had bracelets on her arms, a pearl necklace
round her neck, a small dark velvet turban wound
round with a string of pearls on the side of her
head, and her long hair hung down behind, touch
ing the divan on which she sat.
On going out of doors, a large wrapper and veil
completely conceals all this finery.
Mr. Boudin was enveloped in a long cloak and
turban, the usual Syrian Christian merchant dress,
and in his hand he held a rosary, the beads of
which he was continually counting.
Nov. 11th. — Whilst sitting with Mr. Farren
this morning, some of the principal Damascenes
came in to pay a visit, dressed in white turbans
and scarlet cloaks edged with fur ; their under
garments were braided with silk and embroidered
with gold thread ; each was followed by a black
slave bearing a pipe, and scarlet and blue cloth

DAMASCENE GRANDEES. 379
tobacco bags, having sprigs of leaves and fruit
embroidered on them in gold. The moment they
were seated the slaves filled their pipes, and
placing their right hand over the heart, presented
it with a low obeisance.
These lordly gentlemen sat enthroned in great
dignity, — their words were few and uttered with
a gravity and pomposity very different from the
meekness and sprightliness of the Bedouin Arabs.
Truly might it be said of them,
" Rara sermo illis, et magna libido tacendi." JUV. SAT. 11.
Mrs. Farren had promised one of our party that
she would endeavour to get a beautiful Damascene
girl about eighteen, living with her, to appear in
full Damascene costume, in order that a sketch
might be taken of the dress. Although the constant
companion of Mrs. Farren, being a girl of good
connexions in Damascus, yet we had never once
caught a glimpse of her, from the abhorrence that
eastern women have of shewing themselves before
any man except their husbands and fathers. We
were told one or two of us might drop in and
get a peep, as if by chance, while the sketch
was being taken, but to be cautious, otherwise
she would immediately run away. When I went

380 DAMASCUS. — DAMASCENE GIRL.
in she stood against a corner of the divan by Mrs.
Farren's side, at first very shy, covering her face
with her hands, and on paper, pencil, and brushes
being produced, she was told but little could be
done if she covered her face, when she pulled
away her hands and turned aside her head, burst
ing into a loud laugh. She had a very white
skin, large full black eyes, a very proud haughty
look, and kept kicking the marble pavement with
her slipper, looking at us with a contemptuous
curl of the lip, then at Mrs. Farren, and then
again bursting into a loud laugh. She had beau
tiful teeth and a fine bust, and was really a sweet
little thing, but very pouting and very proud.
Her dress, although not so splendid as Madame
Boudin's, yet was more stylishly worn, and seemed
a more correct costume. Round her head she wore
a double row of zecchines, or Turkish gold coins,
which were brought across the forehead closely
strung together; a turban was placed on one side of
her head, from under which her hair fell down in
long tresses intermixed with silk cords and beads.
She had large ample trousers of a dark material,
thickly figured, partially concealed by a robe cut
into three portions, being slit open at either side and
in front, trailing on the ground and confined to
the waist by a shawl. She had a scarlet jacket,

DAMASCENE GIRL. — LADIES. 381
embroidered both before and behind with black
silk lace and gold ; the sleeves fitted close round
the arm, just above the elbow, but from under
them descended a rich figured silk and cotton
lappel, hanging down and displaying the arm
from the elbow enveloped in a transparent gauze
shirt sleeve, and covered with bracelets ; a light
embroidered handkerchief tied in a knot, forming
part of the turban, fell in graceful folds on one
side of her head. She had a necklace of gold
coins, and her feet, enveloped in small embroidered
slippers, were thrust into the kabkabs, or high
black patten worn by the ladies inside the house
when they walk off the rich soft carpets. The
ends of the shawl round her waist, tied in a knot
and edged with a pretty fringe, descended in folds
nearly to her feet.
The principal and prettiest women of Damascus
frequently pay Mrs. Farren a visit, at which period
no man is allowed in sight, and Mr. Farren is
himself forbidden his own premises, the principal
rooms being converted for the time being into a
harem. Many of these ladies are described as
most beautiful, with very white skins and very
dark hair and eyes. They sometimes dine and
spend the whole afternoon, and on one of these
occasions Mrs, Farren happening to hurt herself

382 DAMASCUS. — THE EVIL EYE.
by tumbling down one of the steps of the saloon,
nothing could induce these ladies to think but
that Mrs Farren was under the influence of the
evil eye ! and an elderly matron insisted on per
forming a long and ridiculous ceremony to disen
tangle her from the baneful influence. This
notion of the evil eye I find prevalent every
where in Italy, Sicily, Greece, Constantinople, as
well as Asia ; the Sicilians place two of the fine
branching horns of their oxen inside their houses
as a preservative, and various superstitious cere
monies are resorted to by different nations as a
supposed protection ; the idea is, that certain indi
viduals involuntarily entail a curse upon others
by looking at them ; and if any misfortune happens
to them, they fancy that some one has looked
upon their prosperity with an envious eye. I have
often seen individuals pointed out who are said to
have the evil eye, and are universally feared. If
mothers see them gazing on their children, they
never fail to cross themselves, and go through
some ceremony that they conceive a charm against
the baneful influence.
I went with my servant in the course of the
morning into the saddle bazaar to get my Turkish
saddle and bridle put in order. The saddlers
occupy a long handsome bazaar at the northern

THE SADDLE BAZAAR. 383
end of the town. The floor is covered with skins,
on which the people, horses, and dromedaries
walk, placed there, I was told, to undergo the
process of being turned into leather, after having
been steeped in an astringent decoction made from
the husk of the pomegranate. The scarlet and
blue housings, embroidered in gold and silver, the
gay bridles and head pieces decorated with beads,
bits of silver, silk, shells, or tassels, the saddles,
some of red leather and some covered with purple
and blue velvet, embroidered with silver and gold
thread, either exposed for sale or in the act of
being made, give this bazaar a very gay appear
ance. The orientals are passionately fond of set
ting off all articles of show with embroidery
worked with gold and silver thread, whieh is
very showy in appearance, and often executed
with great taste.
The nargilla, the favourite smoking apparatus
of the Damascenes, consists of a long straight tube
attached to a glass resting on a stand filled with
water. The tobacco is placed in a bowl attached
to the glass by a tube, and a lighted coal must be
kept constantly burning on the tobacco. You pull
at it through the water in a peculiar Way, inhaling
the smoke into the lungs ; it is very difficult to

384 DAMASCUS. — THE OLD CASTLE.
manage at first, but when accustomed to it, I pre
ferred it to any other way of smoking.
At the cafes alongside the river, under light
sheds overshadowed by trees, cool and pleasant in
the summer, divers amusements are practised by
the idle ; but one nowhere sees in this part of the
world the boisterous mirth and such robust games
as are practised in the outskirts of London and
Paris, but a peculiar staidness and gravity of de
meanour extends itself even to the boys, who aj>
pear little to indulge in the rough sports and vio
lent exertions incident to childhood with us.
There are in Damascus several synagogues, the
Catholic convent and church, several Greek and
Maronite churches and convents. The patriarch
of Antioch resides here.
The old castle of Damascus occupies a consider
able space of ground to the south-west of the city.
It is surrounded by a ditch, and the walls are
strengthened by three square towers. It appears
a work of some antiquity, and was probably
erected under the Byzantine emperors before the
capture of Damascus by the Saracens. There are
large ruined courts inside, crumbling walls, gloomy
dungeons, ruined fountains and staircases, and many
remnants of antient splendour, fragments of ceil-

WALLS OF DAMASCUS. 385
ings and arabesques, all dilapidated and gone to
ruin. From the highest portion of the castle is a
fine panoramic view of the whole city, of the
mosques, streets, and gardens, which present a
delightful prospect.
Many of the lower portions of the walls of Da
mascus are considered to be of great antiquity,
and their construction is certainly peculiar; some
of the blocks of stone are perfectly square, others
are built in. so that their height is greater than
their breadth. They measure sometimes from six
to eight or ten feet in height, and from four to six
or eight feet only in width. They are united
without cement, and many have Arabic and Sa
racenic inscriptions upon them. These old stones
are pointed out by the inhabitants as remnants of
the walls of the city which existed in the pa
triarchal age. The more modern masonry of small
stones of inferior construction rests upon these
large well joined masses. The principal gates of
the city are, the Eastern Gate, which appears to
be of Grecian architecture and to ha,ve Doric pi
lasters on either side of the arch, and exists pro
bably in the same state as at the capture of Da
mascus by the Saracens; the Gate of Sakhleh,
near to which St. Paul was let down in the bas
ket; St. Mark's Gate; St Thomas's Gate; the
VOL. II. c c

386 DAMASCUS.  WEDDING.
" Babo-sslamah," or Gate of Peace; and the Para
dise Gate, which is the large gate with a gloomy
archway leading into a bustling bazaar near the
centre of the south wall. This is the gate which
figures in the comical story of Noor ad Deen Ali
in the Arabian Nights, as the gate at which Bud-
dir ad Deen was laid down by the Genii in his
under vest and drawers, " just at the time when
the officers of the mosques appointed for that end
were calling the people to prayers at break of
day  The gate being opened and the
people assembled, they were surprised to see a
youth lying in his shirt and drawers upon the
ground. One said, he has been so hard put to it to
get away from his mistress, that he could not get
time to put on his clothes. Look, said another,
how people expose themselves,"  &c,
&c, &c.
There was to-day a wedding procession to the
bath. The bride was led in state under a canopy
supported on poles and borne by four men. First
in the procession came men bearing along the
clean linen used in the bath, and the shirt, under-
dress, &c, in which the lady would attire herself
after properly cleansing and purifying her person.
On either side were men flourishing long white
sticks, and a jester was playing off his pranks for

PROCESSION TO THE BATH. 387
the amusement of the company. There were
drummers and musicians, fancifully attired, beat
ing cymbals and making a great noise, followed
by a row of married female relations and friends,
then a string of young virgins closely veiled, and
behind them " the precious pearl," " the gazelle-
eyed daughter," — a bundle of shawls and silks
without form, shape, or proportion, and bearing
no resemblance whatever to the human form.
The front of the canopy in which she was shrouded
was pinned up, and the moving mass of cotton
and silk was seen slowly advancing, supported
on either side by a female relation ; smoking cen
sers perfumed the air, passengers stopped to gaze,
and many a man doubtless envied the coming
happiness of the bridegroom. After being taken
to the bath, well washed and scrubbed, and after
receiving presents and the good wishes of all her
friends and relations, the bride is conducted home
with the same pomp and ceremony, and the fol
lowing day taken in solemn procession to the
house of the expectant bridegroom. On these oc
casions the wife's dowry and effects are borne
along at the head of the party. The procession
takes place in the early part of the night, and it is
considered an ill omen to pass with the bride be-
c c 2

388 DAMASCUS  WEDDING PROCESSION.
fore a public bath ; all those streets, therefore, in
which baths are situated are most scrupulously
avoided. One of these processions which I witnessed was
remarkable for a vast quantity of bedding, cover
lids, &c, &c, pots, pans, kettles, and gridirons,
various domestic utensils, and old cushions, the
property of the wife, which were being borne along
in solemn procession, loaded on mules and drome
daries at the head of the party, — the household
furniture, which I was told composed the principal
part of her dowry. Some men with baskets were
throwing sweetmeats to the crowd. On arriving
at the bridegroom's house, I am told, a large sup
per is always prepared in separate rooms, one for
the men, another for the women. After the repast,
the female friends who have accompanied the
bride depart and leave her alone with her relations.
The husband, too, the night of the wedding goes
in public procession with his friends, preceded by
musicians, to the bath, and then returns to the
nuptial chamber, where for the first time he sees
the face of his wife, being allowed then to tear
away her veil and unclasp the virgin zone encir
cling her waist.
The procession of the bridegroom to the bath is

MOSQUES. — DAMASCENE FEVER. 389
by torchlight, as mentioned in the Arabian Nights.
" He then put a torch in his hands, and said, ' Go
and mix with the crowd at the door of the bath.'
 The doorkeepers, to prevent disorder,
kept back all the slaves that carried torches." . . .
&c, &c, &c.
Many of the mosques of Damascus were built
by the caliphs as mausoleums ; they possess courts,
porticos, and fountains, and some are over
shadowed by a few green trees, among which
sacred doves may be heard cooing.
The rides in the middle of the day, now that
the weather is cool, are delightful ; the autumnal
tint is very beautiful, and the leaves are fast-
falling; but there are so many evergreens in
these gardens, the pomegranate, the orange, the
lemon, the cypress, &c, that even in the winter,
they possess a lively and refreshing green. The
great bane of these delicious environs, is the in
salubrity of the climate. In the summer and
autumn, the intermittent Damascene fever is a
terrible disease; when it has once made its attack
it pays annual visits, reducing the patient to a
skeleton. The greatest benefit has lately been derived
from the introduction of quinine. Mrs. Farren

390 DAMASCUS.  POPULATION.
has been making the most, praiseworthy exer
tions to establish an European physician, and
introduce that medicine generally among the in
habitants, for which purpose she has formed a
dispensary, and has obtained several contribu
tions for its support.
This fever, and the ophthalmia, are entirely
owing to the extensive irrigation and consequent
exhalation from the ground ; wherever there is
water, it is unhealthy in Syria, and where there
is no water, generally there are no inhabitants.
The population of Damascus is very difficult
to be estimated, as no census is ever taken ; from
a rough calculation, it has been estimated from
150 to 200,000 inhabitants. Judging from its ex
tent, and the number of houses I should say, at
the very lowest computation there must be more
than 200,000 inhabitants, but it is perfectly impos
sible to arrive at any correct estimate in the absence
of all registers of births, deaths, and marriages.
A day's journey from Damascus, in a north
easterly direction, are a number of curious grottoes
excavated in the rocks, at a place called Malool,
said to be inhabited by a few Syrian Christians,
who live as hermits ; some of them are of
very large size, and are said to be of very

GROTTOES IN THE MOUNTAINS. 391
great antiquity ; the country around is solitary
and desert. Strabo speaks of immense caves
excavated in the mountains in the vicinity of
Damascus*. * 'Et ok xa) o-icnXaia m j3a9i/iTOf*sv«, u> ev xat TET^ap^vTuou? av-
Qpiinrovs Si^eca&at, Svm^ov, &C, &C. — Lib. xvi. p. 1097.

CHAPTER XIV.
THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.  ITS ANTIQUITY. — ITS REVO
LUTIONS.  INVASIONS OF SYRIA BY THE SARACENS.  FALL
OF BOSRA.  SIEGE OF DAMASCUS.  THE PROWESS OF CALED.
 THE SIEGE RAISED. — THE SALLY OF PETER AND PAUL. 
THE HEROISM OF THE SARACEN WOMEN.  THE BATTLE OF
AIZNADIN.  DAMASCUS REINVESTED.  THOMAS OF DAMAS
CUS.  THE SARACEN WIDOW.  THE SURRENDER TO ABU
OBEIDAH.  THE ASSAULT BY CALED.  THE DISPUTE.  THE
DAMASCENE FUGITIVES.  JONAS AND EUDOCIA. — THE
CRUELTY OF THE SARACENS.

Damascus is one of the most venerable cities in
the world for its antiquity. It is supposed to
have been founded by Uz, the son of Shem, the
third son of Noah, and is known to have existed
in the time of Abraham. For the space of three
centuries, it was the abode of the Syrian kings,
and has experienced in every period of its history
numberless vicissitudes. It was coeval with

THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS. 393
Nineveh, Sodom, and Gomorrah, and was, say
the orientals, the birth-place of Dimschak Eliezer,
the steward of Abraham's house.
Hecateus, an antient historian of Damascus,
states, that " Abram reigned there, being a
foreigner who came into the land of Canaan
during his prosperity, when his people had become
a multitude."* Its sovereign Hadad, whom Josephus calls the
first of its kings, was defeated by David, king of
Israel, who made an expedition against Damascus,
brought it into subjection, placed garrisons in it,
and appointed that they should pay tribute, and
he dedicated to God at Jerusalem, the golden
quivers, and the armour which the guards of
Hadad used to wear.
"When the Syrians of Damascus came to succour
Hadadezer, David slew of them two-and-twenty
thousand men. Then David put garrisons in Da
mascus of Syria, and the Syrians became servants
to David, and brought gifts." f
In the reign of Ahaz it was taken by Tiglath
Pilezer, who slew the king, Rezin, transported
the inhabitants into Upper Media, and placed
* Josephus, lib. i. ch. 7. t 2 Sam- viii- 5> 6-

394 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
there a colony of Assyrians*. It was taken and
plundered by Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, the
generals of Alexander the Great, Judas Macca-
baaus, and at length by the Romans in the war
conducted by Pompey against Tigranes, sixty-five
years b. c. According to Josephus, Cleopatra
came to Damascus after having accompanied Marc
Antony as far as the Euphrates in his expedition
against the Parthians. The city is frequently
mentioned in the Bible, and occupies a prominent
place in the New Testament, as the theatre of the
miraculous events attending the conversion of St.
Paul. Under the Greek emperors of Constanti
nople, it was the most celebrated city of the East,
and remarkable for its wealth, its luxury and magni
ficence, and its numerous Christian population. It
was one of the principal arsenals of the Eastern
Empire in Asia, and the beauty of its situation,
its rivers of waters, the exuberant fertility of the
soil, and the abundance of its fruits, have been
lavishly praised by antient poets and historians.
Nature appears to have marked out this spot as
the site of a great capital ; and notwithstand
ing its many misfortunes and catastrophes, the
* Josephus, lib. ix. ch. IS.

SARACENIC INVASION. 395
city has always risen again from its ruins with
splendour. The great and interesting eera in the history of
this venerable patriarchal city is its capture by the
fierce and warlike Saracens.
The Greek writers, odd to say, give scarcely
any account of that most important period in the
history of Asia, when governments were over
turned, a new religion established, and quite a new
face given to the affairs of the whole eastern
world, so that we are obliged to resort for all our
information to the Arabian historians, who enthu
siastically describe the exploits of their country
men in this their first great essay in arms. The
Arabic historian, Abu Abdollah Mohammed Ben
Amer Ebn Waked Alwakidi, the cadi of Bagdad,
has written a copious account of the conquest of
Syria by the Saracens. A manuscript copy of his
work is obtainable in all the principal book
bazaars ; and although written in an exaggerated
strain, it presents a curious picture of the men and
manners of that time *.
It was in the eleventh year of the Hegira,
about the year of Christ 633, that the celebrated
Abubeker, the first Caliph, the successor of Ma-
* Alwakidi's " Conquest of Syria" has been translated by
Mr. Ockley in the History of the Saracens.

396 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
hornet, dispatched the following circular letter
to the Arabian tribes : —
" In the name of the most merciful God, Ab-
dollah Athich Ebn Abi Kohapha to the rest
of the true believers, health and happiness, and
the mercy and blessing of God be amongst you.
" I praise the most high God, and I pray for
his prophet Mahomet. This is to acquaint you,
that I intend to send the true believers into Syria
to take it out of the hands of the Infidels, and I
would have you to know that the fighting for
religion is an act of obedience to God."
In consequence of this mandate, the Saracen
chiefs assembled, and Abubeker, after reviewing
the army from the summit of a hill, took leave of
them in a memorable speech, delivered to Yezid
Ebn Abi Sophyan, in which he says to them,
" When you meet your enemies quit yourselves
like men, and do not turn your backs ; and if you
get the victory, kill no little children, nor old
people, nor women ; destroy no palm trees, nor
burn any fields of corn ; cut down no fruit trees,
nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you
kill to eat. When you make any article or co
venant, stand to it, and be as good as your word.
As you go on, you will find some religious persons
that live retired in monasteries, and purpose to

FALL OF BOSRA. 397
themselves to serve God that way; let them
alone, and neither kill them nor destroy their
monasteries. And you will find another sort of
people who belong to the synagogue of Satan,
who have shaven crowns, be sure you cleave their
skulls, and give them no quarter till they either
turn Mahometans or pay tribute." When he had
given them this charge, the army marched on to
wards Syria.
The storm first fell upon Bosra, four days'
march from Damascus ; the inhabitants vigorously
defended themselves, but the city was delivered
into the hands of the Saracens through the perfidy
of the governor Romanus, who admitted Abdor-
rahman, the son of the Caliph, with an hundred
men into the city at dead of night, through a
secret passage under the wall of the town. After
the first fury of the Saracens had spent itself, the
lives of the inhabitants were spared on their sub
mitting to pay tribute, and the base Romanus on
the following morning, in an assembly of the
people, renounced Christianity in a memorable de
claration which he made to them.
On being reproached with his treachery, " Oh!
you enemies of the apostle of God," said he,
" I have nothing to do with you, — I renounce
your society in this world and in that which

398 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
is to come, and I choose God for my Lord,
Islam for my faith, Mecca for my temple, the
Moslems for my brethren, and Mahomet for my
prophet !"
Caled wrote to Abu Obeidah to acquaint him
with his success, and ordered him to join him with
the forces under his command, in order that they
might all march together to the siege of Da
mascus. Heraclius, Emperor of the East, was then at
Antioch, and immediately dispatched one of his
generals, called by the Arabic historian Callus,
with 5000 men to the defence of that important
city. This general arriving at Baalbec on his
way down, was met by the inhabitants with
dishevelled hair, weeping and wringing their
hands. " Alas!" said they, " the Arabs have
overrun all the country, and taken Aracah, Sach-
na, and Tadmor, and Haouran, and Bosra, and are
now advancing upon Damascus."
On the arrival of this new general with the
Emperor's letter at Damascus, many of the in
habitants being attached to their old governor,
refused to obey any other, and the city was
divided into parties and factions at a time when
unity and concord were necessary for conducting
the common defence.

SIEGE OF DAMASCUS. 399
Soon after the fall of Bosra, the Saracen cavalry
made its appearance in the delicious environs of
the Syrian capital, and encamped among the
groves and streams bordering the city. After
enumerating various exhibitions of personal prow
ess and courage exhibited by Saracen chieftains,
Alwakidi details a curious parley which took
place between Caled the Saracen chief and Callus
the emperor's general. " Callus," says he, " taking
an interpreter, advanced towards Caled with great
pomp and state. On his coming near, the follow
ing parley commenced between the two generals
through the mouth of the interpreter. ' Sir,' says
the interpreter to Caled, ' I will tell you a story.
There was a man who had a flock of sheep, and
he put them under a negligent shepherd, and the
wild beasts devoured them, which, when the
owner perceived, he turned away the shepherd
and entrusted the sheep to a man of trust and
courage. Beware, 0 Caled, that this does not
prove to be your case : you Arabians were a poor,
contemptible, vile people, and went about with
hungry bellies, naked, and barefoot, and lived
upon barley-bread and what you could squeeze
out of dates. Now, since you have come into our
country, and have fared better, you begin to rebel,

400 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
but the emperor has taken care to send us a great
general for our protection, therefore look to your
selves.' " ' None of your long stories,' says Caled,
' things are changed with us since we ate barley-
bread and coarse fare, as we shall shortly manifest
to you by possessing ourselves of your persons,
your wives, your women, and your children ; and
as for your great man, do you not know that you
are speaking to the conqueror of Haouran, Tad
mor, and Bosra ? Great as he may be, if he is
the support of your kingdom, so am I of our
religion.' " The Christian general was about to depart but
found himself mistaken; for Caled, getting be
tween him and the Christian army, fell upon the
redoubted chief with such fury that he quickly
knocked him off his horse, and took him prisoner,
to the delight of the Saracens, who shouted allah
acbar — allah acbar — so that the whole camp
echoed. Caled changed his horse and dashed into
the battle, which had now commenced.
" ' Hold,-' said Derar, one of the most celebrated
of the Saracen chiefs, ' you have tired yourself
with fighting this dog, rest, and let me go.'
" ' 0 Derar !' said Caled, ' we shall rest in the

SIEGE OF DAMASCUS. 401
world to come ; he that labours to-day shall rest
to-morrow:' saying which, he clapped spurs to
his horse.
" The Damascenes, now under the sole and un
disputed authority of Izrafil, their old governor,
demanded to be led out against the Saracens.
Izrafil, who appears from the account of the Arabic
historian to have been a valiant man, rode up to
Caled and shouted, ' My name is Izrafil.'
" ' Well,' said Caled, laughing, ' your namesake
Izrafil ' (the name of the angel whom the Maho
metans suppose to have charge of the souls of the
dead) ' is just ready to convey your soul to hell :'
saying which he set upon him, struck at the legs
of his horse, brought him to the ground, and took
him prisoner." Izrafil and Callus, the two van
quished governors, were now brought forth and
solemnly asked if they would renounce Christian
ity and turn Moslems. Both refusing, they were
immediately beheaded, and the heads thrown
over the walls into the town.
Several encounters and battles were fought, and
the inhabitants at length exhausted, shut them
selves up within the walls of the city.
In the middle of a dark night the Damascenes
let down a messenger from the walls with a letter
to the emperor imploring assistance.
VOL. II. D D

402 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
The invasion of Syria, the loss of Bosra, and
the siege of Damascus awakened the emperor of
the East from his dreaming slumber on the throne
of Constantinople, and vigorous preparations were
made for the defence of his dominions. An army
of 70,000 men, chiefly cavalry, were collected in
the neighbourhood of Antioch, and these formid
able preparations determined Caled to suspend the
siege of Damascus and to solicit the assistance of
his Mussulmen brethren.
The following circular letter was dispatched to
all the Arabian chieftains within the confines, or
on the borders of Syria.
" From Caled to 
" Health and happiness.
" Know that thy brethren the Moslems design
to march, to Aiznadin, where there is an army con
sisting of 70,000 Greeks, who purpose to come
against us, that they rnay extinguish the light of
God with their mouths ; but God preserveth his
light in spite of the infidels. As soon, therefore,
as this letter of mine shall come to thine hand,
come with those that are with thee to Aiznadin,
where thou shalt find us if it pleases the most
High God."
Caled then raised the siege of Damascus, and the

PETER AND PAUL. 403
Saracens in their retreat were rudely handled by
a party of 6000 horse and 10,000 foot, who sallied
from the town under the command of two brothers
named Peter and Paul, and pressed upon their
rear; several of their women were taken prisoners,
and Caled himself with fresh forces was obliged to
hurry from the van to the rescue of his companions
in arms. The Damascenes were then driven back,
and we are told that Derar gallopped after Paul,
but Paul ran away ; being closely pursued however,
the unfortunate man jumped off his horse and
tried to escape on foot, but Derar was too quick for
him, for he jumped off too and followed him.
" Hold ! " said Paul, for the love of God ; " if you
save me, your wives and children which we have
taken shall be saved." Hearing this, Derar spared
his life, but took him prisoner. In the mean time
Peter, who had taken the Saracen women captive,
halted on his way back to Damascus to hear the
fate of his brother Paul, and to divide his female
captives between himself and followers. Peter
chose Caulah,Derar's sister, a most beautiful woman,
for himself, and told his men to choose the others
as far as they would go.
The Greeks in the mean time went into their
tents to refresh themselves, and the women gather
ing together, Caulah announced to them her deter-
D D 2

404 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
mination to die rather than be abused by the barba
rians. " Where is your courage," said she, " none
of the idolatrous slaves shall touch me." " Alas !"
said Opheirah one of the captives, " we are de
fenceless, we have neither sword, spear, nor bow."
" Let us each take a tent pole," said Caulah, " and
stand upon our guard, God may give us the
victory, he may deliver us. If not, we can die
and preserve our honour." Saying which, she
seized a tent pole, and the rest of the women fol
lowed her example. " Now," says Caulah, " stand
round in a circle, and leave no space between you
for the infidels to come in and do us mischief.
Strike their spears with your staves, and break
their swords and their skulls." As she spoke she
stepped forward and struck a fellow who was
standing outside the tent, and shattered his skull.
The Greeks rushed out, and found the women
ranged in battle array armed with the tent poles.
Peter, in astonishment at the sight, called to Caulah,
whom he had chosen for his mistress, and asked
what it all meant. " Woe to thee, and to all of
you, thou Christian dog," said she. " The meaning
of it is, that we design to preserve our honour,
and to beat your brains out with these staves.
Come," says she, " Sir, pray come and embrace the
lady you have reserved for your own private

HEROISM OF THE SARACEN WOMEN. 405
happiness; you will, perhaps, receive something
at her hands, which may make it worth your
while!" Peter laughing, ordered his men to encompass
the women and take them prisoners, but not to do
them harm. " When any horsemen, however, came
near them, they struck at the horses' legs with the
tent poles, and if they brought the animal down,
the rider was sure to rise no more." Peter seeing
them in earnest grew very angry, and bade his
men fall on them with their scimitars. The
women stood close together, and said to one an
other, Come let us die honourably rather than live
disgraced. But Peter viewing the beauty and
fine figure of his mistress was struck with remorse,
and tried to soften her ; the only answer he got for
his pains was, " Thou Christian dog, come near me,
that I may beat thy brains out ! "
The soldiers were ordered to fall on, and the
women were at their last prayers, says Alwakidi,
when Caulah saw the Saracens coming up and
shouted, " Look ye, my girls, God has sent us
help ! " and seeing her brother Derar naked with a
lance in his hand galloping up on a horse without
a saddle, she shouted to him to come quickly.
Peter immediately took to his heels, but Caulah
called after him, saying, " Nay, Sir, I am fond of

406 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
you, and must have you by all means," and she
ran after Peter. He in a great fright called out to
Derar, " There is your sister safe, take her." " I
thank you," said Derar, " and have nothing to re
turn you in lieu of your gift but the point of this
spear, be pleased to accept it ; " saying which, he
struck Peter through and through, and then cutting
off his head, he hoisted it on the top of his lance.
Caled then called for Paul who was in custody,
and bade him turn Mahometan, or he would serve
him as he had served Peter. " Alas ! " said Paul,
" and how's that ? " " Why," says Caled, " I have
killed him, and here is his head." Paul burst into
tears and exclaimed that he did not wish to sur
vive him; the Saracens, therefore, stripped his
clothes off, and quickly beheaded him.
In the mean time the Saracen chiefs to whom
Caled had written, met together at Aiznadin on the
13th of July, in the twelfth year of the Hegira,
(a.d. 633.) When they beheld the Emperor's
army of 70,000 horse advancing under the com
mand of Werdan, the Emperor's general, they all
declared they had never seen anything like it
before. Early in the morning, Caled rode along the
ranks and addressed his troops ; "Be sure," said he,
" that ye do not turn your backs and so be damned
for your pains  and see that you mind your

THE VALOUR OF DERAR. 407
business, and have your wits and your hearts
about you."
Derar was despatched to reconnoitre the
Christian army, with strict orders to avoid a con
flict ; Werdan seeing Derar in the plain despatched
thirty horse to seize him ; Derar retreated until he
had drawn the horsemen in pursuit some distance
from the Christian army, when facing suddenly
round, he fell upon them like a lion, and out of
thirty unhorsed seventeen, after which valiant ex
ploit he returned to his applauding brethren !
" Did not I caution you against fighting without
orders," said Caled. " Nay," said Derar, " I did
not begin first, but they came out to take me, and
I was afraid that God would see me turn my
back." We are told that the Christian general at
tempted to entrap Caled into an ambuscade and
take him prisoner, and for that purpose demanded
a conference to treat of peace. The treachery it
is said, was revealed to Caled by a man named
David, and the Saracen chief thereupon adopted
measures to catch Werdan in his own trap. The
ambuscade was to be appointed as soon as it was
dark, and Derar was despatched to surprise and
massacre the parties composing it. When Derar
got near the appointed spot, he ordered his men to

'408 THE HISTORY OF DAM^Sgljsl 1J IV^
stand still. Then taking off his clothes, (for he as
often went without as with,) he crept along until
he came so near the ambuscade as to hear the
soldiers snore, for they were drunk and asleep,
and their arms lay under their heads ; seeing all
was right, he crept back, brought up his com
panions, and despatched the whole party with all
imaginable silence and secresy, his followers then
stripped the dead bodies, put on their clothes, and
took their places.
At break of day Caled said morning prayer in
the camp, and drew up his army in battle array.
As soon as the Christians saw the Saracens in
order, Werdan sent an horseman, who rode up to
the front of the Saracen army and shouted " Heark
en, ye Arabians ! you have forgot the agreement
you made yesterday !" " How ?" said Caled, " Do
you charge us with a breach of promise ?" " The
general expected you to meet him," said the mes
senger, " to treat of peace."
" Tell him I am coming," said Caled.
Caled and Werdan accordingly met, and the
latter made sundry offers to Caled, " Alas, for
thee, thou Christian dog !" replied Caled ; " we
bless God that he has provided a great deal better
for us, than to live upon your charity, for he has
given us all that you have ; your wives and child-

THE AMBUSCADE. 409
ren will be divided among us, unless you can say
La-ila-ila-Allah, and turn Mussulmen, or pay
tribute," &c, &c, &c. " Fight me, if you dare,"
said Caled in conclusion, " for we are far enough
off from both armies."
Werdan rose up, but trusting to the ambuscade,
made no haste to draw his sword, when Caled
seized him, shook him, and turned him round.
Then Werdan, supposing his ambuscade to be all
right, cried out " Come out, come out, the Arab
hath seized me !" As soon as they heard his voice,
the Saracens came forth, and Werdan at first
sight, took them to be his own men, but when
they came nearer, and he saw Derar with nothing
on him but a pair of breeches and shaking his
sword at him, he began to be very uneasy. " I
beg of you," said he to Caled, " not to deliver me
into the hands of that devil ; I hate the sight of
him. He killed my son." By this time Derar
was come up, and shouted out, " Now, thou cursed
wretch, what is become of thy deceit with which
thou wouldest have ensnared the companions of
the apostle of God." When Werdan saw him
self in the midst of his enemies, he began to cry
" quarter !" But Caled answered, " La Aman ilia
Beiman," &c, &c. "No quarter where there is no
faith kept ; you pretended to peace, and at the

410 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
same time intended to murder me treacherously ;"
saying which, the general was stripped, his head
was struck off, put upon the top of a lance, and
borne towards the army.
The Christians, when they found out the truth
of the matter, and that their general was killed,
became much disheartened, while, on the other
hand, the exulting Arabs set upon them with fury,
and routed their whole army ; 50,000 were
slaughtered, and the rest escaped to Csesarea, Da
mascus, and Antioch ; an inestimable booty was
taken by the Saracens, of gold and silver crosses,
chains, silks and velvets, and banners, &c, &c,
which Caled would not allow to be divided until
Damascus was taken ; and in the mean time he
sent news of the victory to the Caliph.
" As soon as the messenger told the Caliph the
news, he fell down and worshipped God. Then
he opened the letter, read it first himself, and then
to those who were about him." The news spread
through the country, and the hungry Arabians
thronged to Medina, to beg leave of the Caliph
that they might be allowed to change the un
cultivated deserts of Arabia Petrsea for the deli
cacies of Damascus.
In the mean time the poor Damascenes heard
the lamentable news of the loss of the battle of

REINVESTMENT OF DAMASCUS. 411
Aiznadin, and awaited in trembling expectation
the arrival of the Saracens. Soon their formidable
army appeared ; the front was led by Amrou
Ebno'l Aas with 9,000 horse; then came Abu
Sophyan with 2,000; then Serjabil Ebn Hasanah
(one of Mahomet's secretaries when he wrote
the Koran) ; after him Omar Ebn Rebijah; Caled
himself brought up the rear, accompanying the
standard of the black eagle.
Abu Obeidah pitched his tent which was made
of hair, and would not allow any of the Greek
tents taken at Aiznadin to be set up, which, says
the Arabic historian, " proceeded from his great
humility to God, and that he might not please him
self with the gay things of this world." " Abu
Sophyan was placed over against the Little Gate,
Serjabil Ebn Hasanah at St. Thomas's Gate, Am
rou Ebno'l Aas, at Paradise Gate, and Kais Ebn
Hobeirah sat down before the Gate Keisan. Be
fore St. Mark's Gate there was no fighting, where
fore they called it ' Babi'-ssalamah,' ' The Gate of
Peace.' Caled himself having given orders to all
the officers, went himself and sat down before the
East Gate. Then Caled called Derar and gave
him the command of 2,000 horse, and ordered
him constantly to ride round the camp and never

412 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
to stand still, lest the emperor should succeed in
sending succour into the town."
The terrified Damascenes held a consultation
with Thomas, a noble Greek, at his palace, con
cerning the defence of the place. ""The Saracens
fight," said they, " like madmen ; for they encoun
ter us naked or any way, and steadfastly believe
that every one of their men that is killed, passes
immediately to Paradise, while ours on the other
hand go to hell, and this makes them desperate."
Thomas agreed to head the citizens in a
sally. In the morning they came out of the
town, and Thomas laid his hands upon the
cover of the Testament, and said, " 0 God ! If
our religion be true, help us and deliver us not
into the hand of the enemy," &c, &c. Serjabil, the
Arabic leader, having been told by the interpreter
what he was saying, shouted out, " Thou enemy
of God, Jesus is of no more account with God than
Adam. He created him a living man, walking
upon the earth, and afterwards raised him to
heaven." The parties making the sally now commenced
the attack. Thomas fought most bravely, and
being an incomparable archer, shortly slaughtered a
great many of the Saracens ; among the rest, he

THE SARACEN WIDOW. 413
wounded Aban Ebn Said, with a poisoned arrow.
Aban drew out the arrow, and unfolding his
turban bound up the wound ; but he quickly felt
the poison, and became speechless ; but to the last
he testified by signs, the stedfastness of his belief
in God and Mahomet. He had just before been
married to a beautiful woman, quite a heroine ;
she was a very warlike lady, and could use a
bow and arrows with wonderful dexterity. As
soon as she heard of his death, she came in all
haste, and when she saw him lying dead, she
bore her misfortune with admirable patience.
" Happy art thou, my dear," said she, " thou art
gone to the Lord, who first joined us together, and
then parted us asunder ; I will revenge thy death,
and endeavour to the utmost of my power to come
to the place where thou art, because I love thee.
Henceforth shall no man ever touch me more, for
I have dedicated myself to the service of God."
The body was washed, and buried ; but the
young and beautiful widow never wept nor
wailed, but with a courage above the weakness
of her sex armed, herself with her lord's weapons,
and went into the battle.
When she came into the field she said, Where
was Aban slain ?
Over against St. Thomas's Gate, was the reply;

414 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
and the emperor's son-in-law was the man who
slew him.
She went to the spot, and with her first arrow
she shot the standard-bearer in the hand, the
standard fell, and the Saracens rushing forward,
bore it away. Thomas was grievously concerned
at the loss of the standard, and laid about him
furiously. Aban's wife marked the gallant conduct of the
Damascene chief; she levelled an arrow, and shot
Thomas in the eye, so that he was forced to retire
into the city. The Damascenes then fell back,
and the Saracens killed 300 of them in the pursuit
to the walls of the town, where they were stopped
by the military engines.
Thomas had his eye dressed, and swearing to
be revenged, he assembled all the chief men of
Damascus as soon as it was dark, and made them
a long speech, in which he painted, in lamentable
terms, the evil that would befall them if the Sara
cens took the town. The Damascenes told him
they were ready to die in his service. Then he
ordered all the men to arm, and take their ap
pointed stations at the different gates.
At midnight, one single stroke was given upon
the great bell, every gate was instantly opened, and
the Christians poured out in a torrent upon the

THE SIEGE OF DAMASCUS. 415
Saracen camp. Caled, however, was on the alert,
and said, " 0 God, who never sleepest, look upon
thy servants, and do not deliver them into the
hands of their enemies." Then he ordered Phel-
jan Ebn Zeyad, to supply his place, and rode
with 400 men as fast as he could ; and the tears,
says the Arabic historian, trickled down his
cheeks, in concern for his dear Saracens. When
he came to the gate, he found the Damascenes and
Saracens fiercely engaged. And Thomas was
again fighting desperately with Serjabil. Aban's
wife was among Serjabil's men, and did great exe
cution with her bow and arrows.
After a bloody encounter, the Damascenes were
driven in again, leaving several thousands of their
men dead upon the field.
The Damascenes, disheartened, came to Thomas,
intreating him to surrender; but he persuaded
them to hold out, and gave them hopes of assist-r
ance from the Emperor. The inhabitants, how
ever, turned a deaf ear to his exhortations, and at
night sent a messenger, who understood Arabic,
to the gate where Abu Obeidah was posted, to
desire safe conduct for some messengers, who
wished to treat of a surrender. Abu Obeidah
immediately sent to the Damascenes to let them
know that they should have free liberty to go

416 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
where they pleased. They asked whether they
could depend upon him as a Mahometan. " Maho
met," said the Mussulman, " tells us in the Koran,
to perform our covenants." A hundred of the
chief citizens and clergy then came out to the
Saracen camp, and were conducted to Abu
Obeidah's tent ; that chief used them very civilly,
and bade them sit down, and told them, that
their prophet Mahomet commanded them to pay
respect to persons of rank and quality. Delighted
to find him so courteous, the Damascenes treated
of the terms of surrender, and desired that their
churches might be secured to them. Abu Obeidah
granted them seven churches. Then he went
with an hundred men to take possession of the
city. Caled, at this very time, was assaulting the
eastern gate, in a fury at the loss of Caled Ebn
Said, his brother, whom one of the besieged had
shot with a poisoned arrow. One Josias, a priest,
it is said treacherously offered to introduce the
Saracens into the city, and the vigilance of the
guards, being relaxed in consequence of the ne
gotiation which was going on with Abu Obeidah,
the Saracens succeeded in forcing the gates, and
their terrible shouts of Allah acbar, proclaimed to
the terrified citizens that the town was lost. The.

THE CITY STORMED. — THE DISPUTE. 417
Saracen swords spared neither sex nor age, and
the streets flowed with blood. They went on
murdering all they found, until they came to St.
Mary's church, where the furious Caled was asto
nished to see Abu Obeidah and his men on their
march with their swords sheathed, surrounded by
monks and priests. " God has delivered the city
into my hands, by way of surrender," said Abu
Obeidah, " and saved the believers the trouble of
fighting." " And how," said the angry Caled,
" came you to agree with them without acquainting
me ? Do you not know that I am your general and
master of your counsels ?" " Fall on," said he to
the soldiers, "I will put every man to the sword!"
" Hold," said Abu Obeidah, " you shall not make
this agreement void, for I have given all these
people my protection in the name of God, and his
holy prophet, and cannot forfeit my word."
There was now a great noise on both sides,
and Caled would not give in. The hungry Arabs
thirsted for blood and plunder, and without wait
ing the result of this singular altercation, fell with
fury upon the poor defenceless Damascenes. When
Abu Obeidah saw it, he called out in a voice of
thunder, " By God, my word is looked upon as
nothing, the covenant which I made is broken."
Then he galloped among the soldiers, shouting, " I
vol. n. E e

418 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
adjure you, by the apostle of God, to stay your
hands until Caled and I can adjust this matter."
With much difficulty he stopped them; and the
two chiefs went into the church to settle the
affair, when after a fierce dispute, it was agreed
that the capitulation should be observed until the
Caliph's opinion upon the point had been obtained.
Those Damascenes that wished were to be allowed
to depart from the city ; but the stern Caled gua
ranteed them protection only for three days after
their departure, at the expiration of which time he
announced that they might be pursued.
A band of Damascenes, under the command of
Thomas and Herbis, prepared to depart. Caled
announced to them that they should take nothing
with them but provisions.
" Nay," said Abu Obeidah, " I agreed that
they might take as much as they could carry
with them."
" Then," said Caled, " they shall have no arms."
" Nay," said Abu Obeidah, " let every one of
them have something ; he that has a lance shall
have no sword, and he that takes a bow shall
have no lance."
The trembling band of fugitives prepared
with anguish to leave, says the Arabic historian,
their pleasant gardens and their stately palaces,

CAPTURE OF THE CITY. — THE FUGITIVES. 419
for the fatigue and hazard of a lengthened* jour
ney ; and the tender and delicate lady, deprived
of all her luxury, was forced to march on foot
through inhospitable deserts and craggy mountains.
Thomas pitched a tent outside the city, and or
dered them all to collect their plate and jewels,
and pack them up to be carried away. The
poor inhabitants quitted with silent anguish the
pleasant gardens of Damascus and the shady banks
of their beloved river. " The daughter of the em
peror Heraclius," says Alwakidi, " went out,
among the rest, and joined the unhappy band."*
The furious Derar, as he saw them prepare to
depart under the guaranteed protection of Abu
Obeidah, gnashed his teeth with vexation, and he
swore that Abu Obeidah had done the Mussulmen
great injury.
Athi Ebn Ammar, hearing him say so, replied,
" Abu Obeidah has done for the best in stopping
the effusion of the blood of the Mussulmen, (the
most sacred thing under the sun). Besides, God
has made the hearts of the true believers the seat
of mercy, and those of the Infidels the seat of
* This is a fabrication, prompted by the vanity of the
Arabs. No daughter of Heraclius would have married an
exile of Damascus. — See Gibbon, c. Ii.
E E 2

420 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
cruelty," &c, &c. Then he quoted to him the
fourth chapter of the Koran, to shew him that the
agreement ought to be kept.
Derar told him " that he talked like an honest
man, but, for his part, he would never have mercy
upon any that said God had a son, and joined a
partner with God."
The destruction of these unhappy fugitives was
brought about by the fierce passions of a Syrian
lover. On a dark night during the siege, the Saracen
watch of mounted cavalry heard a horse neigh in
the direction of the gate Keisan, and, galloping up,
they succeeded in capturing a young man, who
was immediately carried before Caled.
" I am," said the youth to Caled, " a nobleman
of Damascus ; I was betrothed to a young lady to
whom I was devotedly attached, and when I sent
to bring her to my own house her parents refused
to allow her to quit them. I, however, succeeded
in speaking to her, and we agreed to bribe the
guard at the gate, and make our escape out of the
city, hoping in the dark to reach, unperceived, the
open country. Coming out first, I was surprised
by your men, and shouted out to the lady, who
was behind, ' The bird is taken.' She understood

JONAS AND EUDOCIA. 421
the meaning, and escaped back with her two at
tendants into the city."
" Well," said Caled, " what have you to say to
the Mahometan religion ? Turn Mussulman, and
when we have taken the city you shall have
your lady : if not, you are a dead man."
The unhappy nobleman not having sufficient
courage to die a martyr for his faith, exclaimed,
" I testify that there is but one God, and that
Mahomet is the apostle of God."
He was duly circumcised and made a Maho
metan, " and when the city was taken," says Al-
wakidi, " he hastened with an anxious heart to
find his beloved. Hurrying to her father's house,
he was told, that never expecting to see him more,
the young lady had shut herself up in a nunnery,
and that feeling all her happiness blasted in this
world, she had devoted herself to constant pre
paration for the world to come."
Jonas rushed with hope and anxiety to the
nunnery, but the "lover was despised and the
apostate scorned." When she saw him in the
garb of a Mussulman, and found that to preserve
his life he had renounced his religion, she told him,
" Since, Sir, you have renounced your God, I re
nounce you henceforth and for ever ;" notwith
standing all his persuasions, she was firm and un-

422 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
bending in her purpose, and took refuge among
the unhappy fugitives who were preparing to quit
Damascus under the guidance of Thomas.
Jonas fled to Caled, and urged him to detain
her by force, Caled informed him that he had no
power to interfere, as the inhabitants had been gua
ranteed by Abu Obeidah free liberty to go where
they pleased. Jonas, however, finding Caled dis
posed to pursue them, offered his services as a
guide, and when Caled had been detained four
days at Damascus with a dispute about some
corn, and had given up the idea of following the
unhappy band, the restless Jonas, urged by his
headstrong love for the fair Eudocia, so importuned
Caled, and told him " that he knew all the coun
try, and a sure and near way of following them,"
that the Saracen chief determined upon the expe
dition. The apostate Jonas, therefore, collected together
4,000 of the best horsemen, and dressed them as
Christians, in order that they might follow the
Damascenes into the provinces of the Greek em
pire with less suspicion.
Committing the care of the town and army
to Abu Obeidah, Caled departed. The immense
multitude that went out of Damascus, says Alwa-
kidi, was at first traced without any great dif-

PURSUIT OF THE FUGITIVES. 423
ficulty. The Saracens rode night and day for
some time, but at last they lost all trace of the fu
gitives. Jonas, however, encouraged Caled, and
leading the Saracens off the plain, announced
his positive expectation of shortly overtaking
them. They ascended the mountains by the
most rugged roads, their horses' hoofs were bat
tered to pieces, they lost their shoes, and Caled
began to reproach Jonas ; the lover was still
full of confidence and urged them onwards, but
the Saracens refused to proceed. Jonas, however,
pointing out traces of a quantity of persons
having passed in that direction, they continued
the pursuit after refreshing their horses. The
country people mistook them for Christian Arabs.
They passed by Jabilah and Laodicea, but did
not venture to enter either of those places for fear
of discovery. Information seems to have been ob
tained from a countryman, that the unhappy
fugitives were not far distant, and the pursuit
was urged with renewed vigour.
The poor Damascenes, it appears, thinking that
all danger of a pursuit was over, had encamped in
a pleasant meadow. The night had been rainy,
and the morning's sun was shining softly and
brilliantly upon the lovely scene of their encamp-

424 .THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
ment. The Arabic historian dilates with, enthu
siasm upon the sight that burst upon the Saracens
after their long journey through rocks and moun
tains ; of the rich meadow, the numerous streams,
the flowers and the foliage, and the variety of
silks and rich property, which, says he, was piled
up in different directions around their camp. The
poor Damascenes fought with the fury of despair,
but their brave leader Thomas was slain, and his
head being cut off by Abdorrahman, was placed
on the point of the standard of the cross. The
unhappy fugitives, blinded by terror, were thrown
into irretrievable confusion, and we are told that
of the whole number, one individual alone, with
the exception of the women who were taken
prisoners, escaped the swords of the Saracens.
Jonas, leaving the combatants to settle matters,
rushed with the speed of a lover to the spot where
the women were assembled in trembling anxiety,
waiting the result of the combat. He searched
through the tents, and at last found his fair Eu
docia ; her resentment was inflamed by this last
act of perfidy, and she reproached, him with
bitterness. In a fury he announced to her, that
as she would not allow him to possess her by
fair means, he was now determined to have her

JONAS AND EUDOCIA. 425
by force, and with that, seized her and threw her
on the ground ; the unhappy girl feigned sub
mission, but disengaging herself from his grasp,
drew a dagger and stabbed herself to the
heart. Raphi Ebn Omeirah, says the Arabic historian,
" coming up, found Jonas in tears, and a beau
tiful lady weltering in blood at his feet. On
Raphi enquiring what was the matter, Jonas,
wringing his hands, replied, ' Alas, I loved this
woman beyond every thing in this world, and
would have persuaded her to return to me, but
she refused me because I had turned Mussulman,
and vowed she would henceforth spend her days
in a nunnery. Since I could not persuade her by
fair means, I resolved to make myself master of
her by force, so I seized her and threw her down.
When she saw she was in my power she sat
quite still, but watching her opportunity, drew a
dagger — ' Here Jonas was overwhelmed with
grief, and Raphi was so affected at the melancholy
end of one so young and so beautiful, that he burst
into tears too. Raphi, however, shortly consoled
Jonas in these words : — •' God did not design
that you should live with her, but has provided
something better for you.' ' How?' said Jonas.

426 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
' Know then,' said Raphi, ' I have taken prisoner
a person of admirable beauty, dressed in the most
gorgeous apparel ; she will I present to you as a
recompence for your loss ;' " &c, &c, &c.
This murderous band of Saracens returned with
their spoil to Damascus ; and the apostate Jonas,
who was the cause of all this misfortune to his
own countrymen, for a long time after discharged
the duties of a brave and sincere Mussulman, and
was at last shot in the breast at the battle of
Yermuk. " After he was dead he was seen in a
vision," says Alwakidi, " by Raphi Ebn Omeirah,
richly clothed and with gold shoes on his feet,
walking in a most beautiful verdant meadow.
Raphi asked him what God had done for him ?
' God has given me,' said Jonas, ' seventy young
women, so bright and beautiful, that if any one of
them should appear in the world, the sun and the
moon could not be seen for the brightness of her
beauty!'" This, we may imagine, has been re
corded in Alwakidi's book for the encouragement
of proselytes. The Caliph Abubeker died the day Damascus
was taken, and was succeeded by Omar, who re
moved the fierce Caled, " the sword of God,"
from the command of Syria, and appointed the

THE SARACENS. 427
more humane Abu Obeidah in his place, so that the
unhappy Damascenes got the full benefit of their
capitulation with the latter chieftain. The Caliph
in his letter giving Abu Obeidah the command,
characterises the pursuit of the Damascene fugi
tives as a rash undertaking, "and," says the Caliph,
" if God had not been most merciful, you would
not have come off so well." The Saracens, very
shortly after the capture of Damascus, overran the
whole of Syria. Abu Obeidah leaving a gar
rison at Damascus, marched upon Baalbec, then a
populous and wealthy place, and on their march
they intercepted 400 loads of silk and sugar on its
way to the town. Baalbec made a most valiant
defence, and at last obtained an honourable capi
tulation. When before Hems, Alwakidi relates an anec
dote curiously illustrative of the religious enthu
siasm which bore the Saracens onwards in their
irresistible progress.
Caled's cousin, in the midst of the encounter,
shouted out, " Methinks I see the black-eyed
girls looking upon me, one of which, if she should
appear in this world, all mankind would die for
the love of her, and I see in the hand of one of
them a handkerchief of green silk and a cap made

428 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
of precious stones, and she beckons me, and calls
out, ' Come hither quickly, for I love thee. ' " With
these words he charged with fury, making havoc
wherever he went, until he was at last struck
down with a javelin.

CHAPTER XV.

THE CALIPHS OF DAMASCUS.  THE OMMIADES. — THEIR CON
QUESTS.  THE ABASSIDES.  THE SLAUGHTER OF THE OM
MIADES.  THE REMOVAL OF THE CALIPHATE TO BAGDAD. 
 DAMASCUS CONQUERED BY THE TURKMANS.  THE SUL
TAN NOUREDDIN  THE SULTAN SALADIN  DESTRUCTION
BY TIMOUR.

The most brilliant period in the history of Damas
cus is the century during which it became the seat
of the Caliphate, -and the capital of the whole
Mussulman world. Under the sway of the Ca
liphs of Damascus, the Mussulmen extended their
empire to the banks of the Ganges in the east,
to the shores of the Black Sea in the north, to
Spain and France in the west, to the confines of
Nubia in the south, and over nearly the whole
Mediterranean sea, possessing themselves of an
empire almost as extensive as that of antient Rome.
The Caliphs of the family of the Ommiades
reigned at Damascus as " commanders of the faith
ful" for ninety-one years, or according to some
Oriental writers from the year 32 to 1 32 of the

430 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
Hegira *, there were fourteen Caliphs of this fa
mily. The first Caliph of Damascus was Moawyah
Ben Abi Sophyan, a person of high reputation
among the Arabians ; he was made governor of the
province of Syria after its entire conquest from
the Saracens by the Greeks, during the Caliphate
of Othman, the successor of Omar, and the third
after Mahomet. On the murder of Othman by
a sudden revolt of some Arab and Egyptian
troops at Medina, a long war ensued which ended
in the establishment of Moawyah in the Caliph
ate in the forty-first year of the Hegira, who
fixed the seat of government at Damascus.
In the reign of this Caliph the Saracens, under
the command of the Caliph's son Yezid, formed the
first siege of Constantinople. After a reign of
nineteen years Moawyah died in the city of
Damascus, and was magnificently interred in one
of the mosques.
He was succeeded by his son Yezid, who is
always cursed by the Persian writers, and his
name is never mentioned by them but with the
following malediction, — Laana hu Allah, " The
curse of God be upon him," because he killed
Hosein, the son of Ali, who refused to recognize
* D'Herbelot, Bibliotheque Orientale.

THE CALIPHS OF DAMASCUS. 431
his title to the Caliphate. The Arabic historians
relate, that the inhabitants of Cufah took part
with the family of Ali ; and revolting, proclaimed
Hosein on the death of Moawyah. The caliph
of Damascus hearing the news, despatched Obei-
dallah with a party of troops against them ; and
this Arab captain encountering Hosein on the
plain of Kerbela on his way to Cufah, with a
guard of seventy-two persons only, slew him after
a desperate encounter with his whole band of
followers, in the year of the Hegira 61.
On the morning of that fatal day, Hosein
mounted on horseback, with his sword in one hand
and the Koran in the other ; and after a fierce
encounter, the battle ceased on the death of the
last of the companions of the son of Ali. Alone,
weary and wounded, the venerable chief seated
himself at the door of his tent. " As he tasted a
drop of water he was pierced in the mouth with a
dart; and his son and nephew, two beautiful
youths, were killed in his arms. He lifted his
hands to heaven, they were full of blood, and he
uttered a funeral prayer for the living and for the
dead. In a transport of despair, his sister issued
from the tent, and adjured the leader of the
Cufians, that he would not suffer Hosein to be
murdered before her eyes. A tear trickled down

432 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
the venerable beard of Hosein, and the boldest
of the soldiers fell back as the dying hero threw
himself among them."*
Hosein is called Schehadat, or the Martyr, by
the Persians, and his death is publicly lamented
by them every year on the 13th of the month
Moharrem, which is called Joum Houssein, or
" the day of Hosein."
The children and sisters of Ali were brought in
chains to the throne of Damascus. The caliph
was advised to extirpate the whole race, but the
feelings of mercy prevailed, and they were
honourably dismissed.
Hosein's head was sent to Damascus, and bar
barously insulted by the Caliph. It was then
buried at a place called, Bab el farades, within
the city, from whence it was afterwards trans
ported to Ascalon, in Palestine, and then to Cairo,
by the Fatimite caliphs, where it was buried in
the magnificent mosque, still existing in that city,
erected for the purpose, called the Maschedad
Houssein, or the " Mosque of the martyr Hosein." f
This murder was productive of the most im
portant results ; it produced the implacable hatred
that subsequently existed between the Ommiades
* Gibbon. f D'Herbelot Bibliotheque Orientale.

THE CALIPHS OF DAMASCUS. 433
and Abassides, it caused a schism in the Mussul
man world, and occasioned the subsequent destruc
tion of Damascus. It was the main cause of the
rise of the Abassides, of the dethronement of the
Ommiades, and of the removal of the Caliphate
to Bagdad.
Yezid marched from Damascus at the head of
10,000 of the bravest Arabs, and his standard
was joined by many thousand converts. The
Whole northern coast of Africa was subjugated by
the Saracens, and the Caliph of Damascus pene
trating to the verge of the Atlantic ocean spurred
his horse into the waves, and raising his eyes to
heaven, exclaimed, " Great God, if my course
was not stopped by this sea, I would still go on
to the unknown kingdoms of the west, preaching
the unity of thy holy name, and putting to the
sword the rebellious nations who worship any
other god but thee."
Mohammed Ben Cassem remarks, that Yezid
was the first of the caliphs who drank wine, and
was attended upon by eunuchs ; he is reproached
for caressing and fondling dogs, and is said by
Rabi al Akhiar, to have been without piety and
generosity. The history of his reign has been
written by Al Fadhl al Berid, who calls him
Acbar Jezid.
VOL. II. f f

434 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
He died in the sixty-fourth year of the Hegira,,
a. d. 683, and was succeeded by his son Moawyah
Ben Yezid, a youth of twenty-one, who after a
short reign of six weeks, resigned the government
into the hands of Mervan, the son of Hakem,
who was of the family of the Ommiades. This Ca
liph, after a short reign of a year and nine months,
is said to have been poisoned by his wife ; others
relate, that she strangled him with a pillow of
feathers, which she put upon his mouth, and sat
upon it while he was asleep. He was succeeded
by his son Abdalmalek, who was surnamed Rasch
el Hegiarat, on account of his avarice. During this
Caliphate, the sovereign of Damascus extended his
empire to the banks of the Ganges in the east, to
Spain in the west, and to Mecca in the south..
It is remarkable too for the first establishment of
a national mint. The Saracens, in possession of
the Persian and Roman treasures, had been pre?
viously content with the coin of Chosroes and of
Ceesar, but by the command of this Caliph, a coin
age of both gold and silver was struck. The
Caliph had a curious dream, which was inter
preted to him as signifying that four of his
children should enjoy the Caliphate after him,
which prediction was subsequently verified. He
died after a reign of twenty-one years, and was

THE CALIPHS OF DAMASCUS. 435
buried just without the walls of Damascus. He
was tolerant to the Christians of Damascus, and
refused to turn them out of a church which the
Moslems wished him to deprive them of. He
was succeeded by Valid, the eldest of sixteen
male children whom he left behind him, in the
eighty-sixth year of the Hegira.
In the short space of nine years and a half,
during which this Caliph occupied the throne,
part of Spain, Sardinia, Majorca, Minorca, &c,
&c, in Europe, and Transoxiana, Turquestan, and
India, in Asia, were subjugated to his government.
He enlarged and beautified the Temple of Mecca,
and constructed the great mosque of Damascus,
called the " Mosque of the Ommiades," out of the
superb Church of St. John Baptist, which had
been enriched for many ages by the treasure of
the Greek emperors, and which he compelled the
Christians to give up to him for a sum of money
which he offered them in lieu of the building.
He built the two lofty minarets attached to this
mosque from which the Muezzins call the people
to daily prayers.
To enlarge the Mosque of Medina he ordered
the houses occupied by the concubines of Maho
met to be pulled down, which gave great umbrage
to the inhabitants of that city, who reproached
f f 2

436 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
him with depriving the Mussulmen, who came
from different parts of the world, of the edifying
opportunity of witnessing the modesty and humi
lity of Mahomet demonstrated by the plain little
houses which the prophet had built to lodge his
women in*.
The historian Khondemir remarks that while
the Syrian writers exalt this man as the greatest
of the Ommiades, the other Mussulmen writers
speak of him as a violent^ and cruel tyrant.
The reign of this Caliph is rendered illustrious
by the rapid conquests that were made in Spain
under the Caliph's general, Musa, the nature of
whose services was misrepresented at the court of
Damascus. A messenger was despatched by the
Caliph, who entered Musa's camp at Luga in
Gallicia, and in the presence of the Saracens and
the Christians arrested the bridle of his horse, and
recalled him to Damascus. His long triumph
from Ceuta to Damascus displayed the spoils of
Africa and the treasures of Spain ; 400 Gothic
nobles with gold coronets and girdles were distin
guished in his train, and the number of male and
female captives selected for their birth or beauty
was computed at 18 or even 30,000 persons.
Under the reign of this Caliph the Greek language
* Bibliot. Orientale d'Herbelot.

THE CALIPHS OF DAMASCUS. 437
and characters were excluded- from the accounts of
the public revenue, and this change is supposed to
have been productive of the invention or familiar
use of our present numerals, the Arabic or
Indian cyphers, " a regulation of office," remarks
Gibbon, " which has promoted the most important
discoveries of arithmetic, algebra, and the mathe
matical sciences."
The Caliph Valid was succeeded by his brother
Soliman Ben Abdalmalek, who was at Ramleh
when he heard of the Caliph's death, and imme
diately hurried to Damascus to take possession of
the Caliphate. The Saracen chief Tarik, who
had been the cause of Musa's recall from the
command in Spain, was disgraced by this Caliph
immediately on his accession. He was publicly
whipped, and made to stand a whole day in the
sun before the palace ; he was then dismissed in
honourable exile, under the name of a pilgrimage
to Mecca. The Caliph Soliman charmed every
body, says Khondemir, with his eloquence.
During his caliphate Georgia and Circassia were
conquered by his general Yezid ; in Spain " the
Royal Legion" of Damascus was planted at Cor
dova ; that of Emesa at Seville; and that of
Palestine at Algeziras. " The natives of Yemen
and of Persia were scattered around Toledo, and

438 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
the inland country and the fertile seats of Granada
were bestowed on 10,000 horsemen of Syria and
Irak."* Under this caliphate was formed the second
siege of Constantinople. " The Emperor's ambas
sador returned from Damascus with the tremendous
news that the Saracens were preparing an arma
ment by sea and land, such as would transcend
the experience of the past or the belief of the
present age."
Soliman when on his death-bed called Ragib,
his vizier, and caused him to write down, that it
was his last wish that his cousin Omar Ben Ab-
dalaziz should succeed him, on condition that his
brother should be named to succeed after Omar.
All the great chiefs of the Caliph's court were
assembled and made to swear that they would
exert themselves to fulfil the Caliph's wishes.
Omar was accordingly declared Caliph, and began
his reign in the 99th Hegira.
On Omar's accession, it is said they brought
him the superb horses of the late Caliph to mount,
but he sent them away, and continued to ride the
same beast and live in the same house that he did
when only a private individual. The great lords
* Gibbon.

THE CALIPHS OF DAMASCUS. 489
of his court, much surprised, told him that he ought
to take possession of the palace of the Caliphs ;
but he told them, that he had at his own house
every luxury of which he stood in need.
This amiable Caliph, who was remarkable for
his justice and goodness, manifested an affection
for Ali and his descendants, which caused his
death. He ordered the curses which Moawyah
had caused to be publicly pronounced in the
mosques against Ali and his race, to be discon
tinued, and in place of them he caused to be pro
nounced the verse in the Koran " Pardon, 0 Lord,
our faults, and pardon the faults of all those who
profess the same faith as ourselves." This, it is
supposed, gave umbrage to the powerful family of
the Ommiades, who were fearful lest he might
attempt some change in the order of succession.
He was poisoned by a slave, and died at the age
of forty, in the 101st year of the Hegira.
Mirkhond relates, that " when the Caliph was
lying in bed, suffering from the effects of the
poison, his friends wished him to try some remed}^,
but the Caliph replied, that he was resigned to
the will of God, and so persuaded that the term
of man's life was inevitably fixed, that if it was
necessary only to put a drop of oil into his ear to
get well, he would not do it. His expenses are

440 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
said to have been two crowns a-day."* He was
succeeded by Yezid Ben Abdalmalek, the brother
of the Caliphs Valid and Soliman.
This Caliph Yezid had two beautiful concu
bines, with whom he was desperately in love,
called Salamah and Hababah. The Caliph, it is
said, diverting himself in a garden with one of
these ladies, took a grape and threw at her ;
the lady put the grape into her mouth, and was
in the act of swallowing it when it stuck fast in
her throat ; she immediately turned black in the
face, reeled and fell, and was at last choked. The
Caliph wept and raved, and would not allow the
body to be buried ; he kept it by him until it be
came so offensive that all the domestics fled away,
and the poor Caliph himself very shortly died of
grief, in the 125th year of the Hegira, after a short
reign of four years and a month f.
He was succeeded by his brother Haschem Ben
Abdalmalek, the fourth son of the Caliph Abdal
malek, who is reported to have been a most ava
ricious prince, and never to have allowed the keys
of his treasures to go out of his own hands. He
is said to have been passionately fond of horses,
* Mohammed Al Agiari. d'Herbelot. Bibl.
-j- Khondemir, Biblioteque Orientale.

THE CALIPHS OF DAMASCUS. 441
and to have had 4000 in his stables at Damascus:
also to have possessed 700 coffers full of rich fur
niture and merchandize, sealed with his seal.
During the Caliphate of Haschem the Saracens
had spread themselves over Spain, and had in
vaded France, — " the vineyards of Gascony, and
the city of Bourdeaux were possessed by the sove
reign of Damascus, and the South of France, from
the mouth of the Garronne to that of the Rhone,
assumed the religion and the manners of Arabia."*
These narrow limits were scorned by his general
Abdalrahnman, who pushed on his conquests to
Lyons and Besan^on. He first reduced a rebel
Moorish chief, Munuza, in the mountains of Cer-
dagne, and sent his widow captive to Damascus,
" to gratify the desires, or, more probably, the
vanity of the commander of the faithful." His
career was at last checked by the celebrated
battle fought with Charles Martel.
The Caliph Haschem died in the 125th year of
the Hegira, and was succeeded by his nephew
Valid, the son of the Caliph Yezid. His debauch
ery and excesses caused a revolt ; the insurgents
placed at their head Yezid, his cousin-german, son
of Valid the First, and attacked him in his palace,
* Gibbon,

442 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
where he was killed after a short and inglorious
reign of a year and two months. Yezid Ben
Valid Ben Abdalmalek was then elevated to the
Caliphate. This Caliph is said to have been very
proud of his genealogy. His mother Mah Afrid
was a daughter of Firouz, the son of Izdegird,
king of Persia, and was descended on the side of
her father from a daughter of the emperor Mau
rice, and the Caliph claimed among his ancestors
Chosroes, king of Persia, the Csesar, emperor of the
Romans, and Khachan, emperor of the Turks.
He died of the plague after an inglorious reign
of six months, in the 126th year of the Hegira,
and was succeeded by his brother Ibrahim Ben
Valid, who reigned only two months and a few
days ; for he had scarcely been seated on the
throne ere Mervan, the grandson of Mervan the
first Caliph, advanced towards Damascus from
Mesopotamia with a large army, to depose him.
The Caliph drew out of the city with 26,000
men, a battle was fought, and he was utterly de
feated by Mervan, who shortly appeared with his
victorious troops before the city, and deposed
Ibrahim from the Caliphate.
This Mervan then mounted the throne of Da
mascus, and was proclaimed Caliph in that capital,
in the year of the Hegira 127- Mervan is the

THE CALIPHS OF DAMASCUS. 443
fourteenth and last Caliph of the house of
Ommyah. Saffah, the son of Mohammed, the son of Ali,
the son of Abdallah, the son of Abbas, claimed to
be the lawful successor of the apostle of God, and
in the year 132 of the Hegira, Abdallah, the uncle
of Saffah, advanced from Arabia at the head of a
powerful army, to vindicate the rights of his ne
phew. The Caliph Mervan met him at the head
of 12,000 Moslems, on the banks of the Zab. At
the commencement of the battle we are told that
the Caliph was obliged to descend from his horse
for some necessary occasion, when the animal im
mediately galloped off without his rider. The
troops, on seeing the horse, concluded that the
Caliph was slain, and took to flight.
Mervan, seeing the discomfiture of his forces,
exclaimed, " Edha atmat almeddat lam ianfa aled-
dat," — which signifies that when the hour pre
scribed by the eternal decree has arrived, human
prudence and fortitude must struggle in vain.
Mervan then fled to. Damascus, but not finding
himself secure in that city, he escaped into
Egypt, where he was pursued and killed in a
second encounter in the 132d year of the Hegira.
Thus perished the last of the Ommiad Caliphs
of Damascus. All the branches of his family were

444 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS*.
destroyed, the bodies were burned, the ashes were
scattered to the winds, and their names were ac
cursed. One youth, however, of the family, es
caped the fury of the Abassides ; he fled from
Egypt into Barbary, and then crossing over into
Spain, he laid the foundation of the dynasty of
the Ommiades of Spain, who reigned in that
country for 152 years.
Abdallah stormed Damascus, and, according to
the Persian history, Bena kiti, or the " construc
tion of the world," there was a most frightful
massacre of the Ommiades and their adherents,
and torrents of blood were shed ere Saffah was
firmly seated on the throne. Abdallah inveigled,
it is said, eighty chiefs of the family of Ommyah
to a banquet at a house in Damascus, where he
caused them all to be murdered, in cold blood, by
a party of his followers, who were armed with
wooden clubs, after which he caused the bodies
to be covered over with a table-cloth, upon which
he feasted his officers, whilst many of the poor
wretches underneath were still lingering in the
agonies of death *.
On the destruction of the Ommiades, Damascus
ceased to be the seat of the Caliphate, and the
* D'Herbelot, Bibliot. Orientale, p. 692.

REMOVAL OF THE CALIPHATE TO BAGDAD. 445
capital of a widely extended dominion. The
chosen residence of the Ommiades was detested
by the Abassides, and after the death of Saffah,
the first Caliph of the Abassides, who reigned four
years at Cufah, his successor Abou Giafar Al-
mansor pitched on a pleasant meadow on the
eastern bank of the Tigris for the future capital of
the Moslem world. Almansor laid the foundations
of Bagdad, which became the seat of the Caliphs
for the space of five centuries. But the power
and splendour of the Saracen empire rapidly de
clined after the removal of the Caliphate to
Bagdad. In the new city, the Abassides soon
disdained the abstinence and frugality of the first
Caliphs, and aspired to imitate the magnificence
of the Persian kings. We hear of camels laden
with snow for the royal banquets*- We hear of
a thousand pearls of the largest size being show
ered upon the head of the Caliph's bride; of slaves
with girdles glittering with gold and gems; 7000
black eunuchs, and 4000 white eunuchs; and a
long account of expensive magnificence which
draws strongly upon our credulity f.
" The luxury of the Caliphs relaxed the nerves,
•and terminated the progress of the Arabian em-
* D'Herbelot, p. 530.
f See the historian Abulpheda, Annal. Moslem.

446 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
pire." The Mussulman world was no longer
under one head ; the Ommiades reigned over an
independent Caliphate in Spain. The conquest
of the Saracens had been pushed to their greatest
extent, and henceforth we gaze only on a declin
ing empire, successively overrun by the Turk
mans, the Tartars, and the Latins.
Damascus continued under the sway of the
Caliphs of Bagdad until the sceptre was transferred
from the hands of the Abassides to the family of
the Fatimites, when the city passed under the
sway of the Egyptian Caliphs, until it was
wrested from them by Atsiz the Carismian, the
lieutenant of Malek Shah ; it then fell into the
hands of the fierce pastoral tribes of the Seljukian
Turks, who ruled the country with a rod of iron.
The chief of these wild pastoral hordes in Syria
styled himself " the Sultan of Damascus ;" of these
the Sultan Noureddin is celebrated for his justice*
He was the terror of the great, and the refuge of
the poor. Alter the Sultan's death an oppressed
subject is said to have called aloud in the streets
of Damascus, "0 Noureddin, Noureddin, where
art thou now ? Arise to pity and protect us ; " a
tumult was apprehended, and a living tyrant trem
bled at the name of a dead monarch. Noureddin
drove back Louis, King of France, and Conrad,

THE SULTAN SALADIN. 447
the third Emperor of Germany, who had formed
the siege of Damascus. He caused Baldwin to
retreat with precipitation from that city, and after
a glorious reign of twenty-nine years he died at
Damascus on the 15th of May, 1174. Strangers
from all parts, it is said, flocked to the city to live
under his mild and benignant sway ; his young son
Ismael was deposed by the great Saladin, who
took possession of the kingdom. After the bril
liant exploits of which Syria was at that time the
theatre, and the fierce contests with our " Lion-
hearted Richard," Saladin returned to Damascus
to re-establish his health.
He made a grand entry info the city, and was
received by the inhabitants, who had not beheld
their prince for many years, with tears of joy. He
reformed the abuses of the government and the
administration of justice, and when the Christian
ambassadors came to Damascus to have an
audience of him, he was found joining in the
innocent sports of his children. This great man
died of an ague in his palace within the walls of
the old castle *.
It was in 1301 that Timour the Tartar made
his fierce inroad into Syria and destroyed Da
mascus. On his way to the city he was encoun-
* Bibliotheque des Croisades.

448 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
tered and almost overthrown by the armies of
Egypt, who advanced to protect that capital ;
but a revolt of the Mamelukes obliged the Sultan
to retreat with precipitation to his palace of Cairo,
and the poor Damascenes were abandoned to their
fate. The inhabitants, however, manfully defended
their walls, and Timour was beaten off on the
first attack. Expecting a long resistance, he had
recourse to a stratagem. He pretended a great
veneration for a city that had been so long the
residence of the Caliphs, and proposed a capitula
tion on very favourable terms for the inhabitants.
As soon as he had introduced himself within the
walls, under the faith of this capitulation, he raised
the mask, and declared himself the avenger of
Hosein and his family, who had been murdered
by the Caliph Yezid. The inhabitants were put
to the torture — women and children reduced to
slavery — the city was set on fire — a contribution
of ten millions of gold was imposed — and a general
massacre of the descendants of those Syrians who
had executed or approved the murder of Hosein,
was ordered. A family which had given honourable
burial to the head of Hosein, and a colony of arti
ficers, the manufacturers of the celebrated swords,
whom he transported to exercise their craft at

BIGOTRY OF THE DAMASCENES. 449
Samarcand, were alone spared in the general
massacre. " After a period of seven centuries,
Damascus was reduced to ashes because a Tartar
was moved by religious zeal to revenge the blood
of an Arab."*
As " the Gate of Mecca," the place of rendez
vous for the great caravan of pilgrims, Damascus
has always been considered one of the most sacred
of the Moslem cities ; and being annually filled
with a vast crowd of religious fanatics hurrying
on to the tomb of the prophet, it is not strange
that the population has always been so remarkable
for its fanaticism and bigotry towards Christians.
Even now, at the period of the assembling of the
great caravan, it would hardly be prudent for
Franks to exhibit themselves in their hats and
coats before the crowd of bald-headed wretches,
clothed in dirty garments and greasy wrappers,
which then throng all the thoroughfares, burning
with religious zeal.
On the capture of Damascus by Ibrahim Pasha,
this bigotry and prejudice towards a particular
class was no longer allowed to manifest itself.
The fanaticism and bigotry generally entertained
by Mussulmen against Franks were in Ibrahim
* Gibbon.
VOL. II. G G

450 THE HISTORY OF DAMASCUS.
Pasha much modified, by the experience he ob
tained of their vast power and superior intelli
gence during his campaigns in Greece, and by the
result of the battle of Navarino. From the en
trance of Ibrahim Pasha, therefore, into Damascus,
the- absurd fanaticism of the Damascenes against
Franks and Christians, many of whom were
guiding and instructing the advance of the victo
rious regiments, was repressed by the strength
and vigour of the Pasha's government, which
made no distinction of creed, and reduced the tur
bulent and disaffected into subjection to the law.
The seditious crowd, which before had revolted
and beheaded the governor, with his principal
officers, on the report that an arrangement had
been made for the establishment of a British con
sul in the place, was now effectually quelled, and
Mr. Farren made his public entry into the city in
a hat and coat, amid an immense course of spec
tators, in the spring of 1833. The crowd, I am
told, was immense, and an individual who was
among the populace at that period informs me
that they were very hostile to the proceedings of
the day, and murmured greatly at the exhibition
as a dangerous innovation ; but all ebullitions of
discontent were repressed by the presence of a
large military force which lined the streets. Never

ESTABLISHMENT OF A BRITISH CONSUL. 451
was Damascus in so excited a state. The old
Turks and Damascenes stroked their beards with
astonishment, and said to one another, " The
heavens will fall down upon our heads next."
The establishment of a British consul has, no
doubt, removed many prejudices. Mr. Farren
enjoys great consideration in the place, and the
intercourse that subsists between him and the
principal Damascene gentlemen, and between Mrs.
Farren and the ladies, has no doubt tended to
remove many prejudices and false notions con
cerning Europeans.
Two British mercantile houses had been esta
blished in Damascus, previous to the arrival of
Mr. Farren. Ibrahim Pasha's new governor,
Shereef Pasha, was very friendly to Europeans,
and the local government under his administration
recovered debts due from Damascenes to British
subjects with promptitude and alacrity. The
English merchants, however, generally find Beirout
a more eligible place of business, and I understand
that the mercantile establishments at Damascus
are not likely to increase at present.

G G 2

CHAPTER XVI.
PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA. — HOW AFFECTED BY
MOHAMMED ALl's CONQUEST.  IBRAHIM PASHA'S ADDRESSES.
 SYRIAN GOVERNMENT.  EXACTIONS. — CONSCRIPTIONS. —
INSURRECTIONS.  INSECURITY OF PERSON AND PROPERTY.
—BEIROUT MERCHANTS' STATEMENT. — INDUSTRIOUS HABITS
DESTROYED.  GENERAL IMPOVERISHMENT.  GRADUAL DE
CLINE.

" Dites, monumens des temps passees ! les cieux ont ils
change leurs lois, et la terre sa marche 1 le soleil a-t-il eteint
ses feux dans I'espace ? . . les pluies et les rosees demeurent
elles fixees dans les airs ? . . les ruisseauxse sont ils taris ? et
les plantes sont elles privees des semences et de fruit. Le
ciel a-t-il denie a la terre, et la terre a. ses habitans, les biens
que jadis ils leur accordent. Si rien n'a change dans la
creation, si les memes moyens qui existerent subsistent encore,
a quoi tient done, que les races presentes ne soient ce que
furent les races passees ? " — Volney.
Syria, the country so renowned for its wealth and
commerce in antient history, and which, in the
time of Josephus and of Strabo, was supposed to
possess a population of ten millions of inhabitants,
is now reduced to a sad state of desertion and
solitude. At the present time it is poorer, less

PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA. 453
peopled, less cultivated, and possesses, fewer natural
resources than at any period in its history since
the time of Solomon. How is it, we are tempted
to exclaim, that cities formerly so celebrated for
their magnificence and populousness now lie de
serted and in ruins — that plains possessing a fine cul
tivable soil are now desolate and neglected, that the
country generally is deprived of inhabitants, and
that the small population at present existing, is
collected in thinly scattered villages and towns,
while the intermediate district is left uncultivated ?
Does not the country possess the same natural ad
vantages as formerly, and is there not the same
soil and the same climate ? What is become of
the cities which are enumerated in comparatively
recent times, as having been captured by the
Moslems after a stout resistance, or ransomed for a
heavy tribute ? Where is Abyla with its fair, and
the thousands of people who annually assembled
there for purposes of traffic and commerce?
Where Chalcis, which was taxed by the Saracens
" at 5000 ounces of gold, 5000 ounces of silver,
2000 robes of silk, and as many figs and olives as
would load 5000 asses ?" What is the present
state of Antioch, " the throne of the successors of
Alexander, the seat of the Roman government in the
East, which had been decorated by Csesar with

454 PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA.
the title of free, holy and inviolate," and which
was ransomed of the Saracens for 300,000 pieces
of gold ? Where Csesarea, whose citizens solicited
their pardon with an offering to the Saracens of
200,000 pieces of gold ? Where such caravans of
silk and merchandize as are described to have been
captured by the Saracens on their way to the then
populous and wealthy city of Baalbec ? What
now are the state and aspect of Emesa or Hems,
Heliopolis or Baalbec, which under the last of the
Csesars were strong and populous? — "Their turrets
glittered from far, an ample space was covered
with private and public buildings, and the citizens
were illustrious by their spirit or their pride, their
riches or their luxury." *
Of the various cities that are enumerated in the
antient geography of Syria the very sites of many
are now undetermined, and others are dwindled
to a mud village or a heap of ruins. What now
are Antioch and Caesarea, Tyre and Sidon, and
what the antient Berytus ? where its famous law
school which, less than a century before the Sara
cenic invasion, distributed annually its hundreds of
students throughout the eastern empire, to defend
and explain the complicated rights connected with
the property which then existed in the country, but
* Gibbon.

PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA. 455
which no longer exists to employ the talents and
ingenuity of the learned professors of that science ?
" The court of the Praetorian Prefect of the East
could alone furnish employment for one hundred
and fifty advocates, sixty-five of whom were dis
tinguished by peculiar privileges, and two were an
nually chosen with a salary of sixty pounds of
gold to defend the causes of the treasury." *
The inhabitants of these countries were sunk
in effeminacy — they were unaccustomed to war—
they were enervated and relaxed, and were with
out spirit, bravery, or patriotism. The Saracens
poured like a devouring torrent over their peaceful
plains and smiling valleys, — they were animated
by the booty which awaited their grasp, and their
fierce religious zeal hurried them irresistibly for
ward in their enthusiastic course ; they seized the
strongholds of the land, and ruled the country by
the sword ; they were not cultivators of the soil,
nor did they seek to extend their empire by pro
moting the arts of industry and of peace. They
were all mere consumers — they lived themselves
upon the industry of the people whom they con
quered, and on the wealth and capital which they
found in the country when they took possession
of it. * Gibbon.

456 PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA.
From the very first establishment, however, of
the wide extended empire of these fierce spoliators,
it was plainly manifest that it carried with it the
seeds of a sure and rapid decline. The industrious
classes, upon whom these conquerors must of course
have leaned for support, were rapidly diminished
by oppression. The robber chiefs and their wild
bands turned not their attention to the cultivation
of the soil ; the arts of peace were not their trade,
and they very soon destroyed all habits of industry
and all incitement to acquire property among the
population whom they conquered, by their arbitrary
exactions and the insecurity that was felt under
their sway. Production diminished, capital di
minished, and the population, year by year,
gradually declined. The conquered population
felt no motive to acquire property, which was
every moment liable to be taken from them, and
all their labour to be thus spent in vain.
When these ruthless conquerors had devoured
the substance of the vanquished, their cupidity
reacted against themselves ; they fell out, they
pillaged one another, and, from the highest poten
tate to the meanest governor, the land presented
one scene of robbery, plunder, confiscation, and
massacre ; disorder was introduced among all
classes of society ; there were no settled laws or

PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA. 457
fixed principles of justice ; year after year person
and property became more and more insecure ;
the natural incitements to industry were destroyed;
the annual production from employed capital gra
dually diminished ; the wealth of the country
gradually decreased, and the population with the
means of subsistence.
Under the sway of the sultans of Constanti
nople, the country has been desolated by the wars
of rival Pashas, and the unfortunate inhabitants
have been massacred and pillaged in civil strife.
When one Pasha became sufficiently powerful to
excite jealousy at Constantinople, the Ottoman
Porte encouraged and assisted others in humbling
his power. It is only necessary to look into the
modern history of Syria, and peruse the bloodshed
and strife connected with the names of Sheikh
Daher, Osman Pasha, Sheikh Youzeef, Mohammed
Bey, Djezzar Pasha, the Druses, the Bedouins,
&c, &c, to observe a mournful catalogue of pil
lage, spoliation, and massacre, and to see a mise
rable population the victims of the avarice and the
ambition of their rulers. We see the country
unsettled and torn by faction and civil war, — we
mark no lengthened interval of repose and peace,
but we observe both person and property every
where insecure ; crops seized, land going out of

458 PAST AND PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA.
cultivation, and population diminishing. Many
villages and towns are now no longer recognizable,
from the accounts of modern travellers. Baalbec
is described by Burckhardt, when he visited it,
as possessing a population of 5000 persons, several
mosques, the serai of an Emir, and cows and goats
worth from £30 to £35 a piece ! — but what a dif
ferent aspect does it now present !
The attention of Europe has of late been di
rected to the stirring events of which Syria has
been the theatre, and various have been the specu
lations as to the influence which the occupation
of this interesting country by the troops of Mo
hammed Ali may have upon its future destinies.
The leading events of Ibrahim Pasha's cam
paign, are too recent and too well known to need
recapitulation. Many individuals have indus
triously employed themselves in analysing the
motives which prompted Mohammed Ali to the
conquest, and have attempted to give us satisfac
tory reasons for the permanent occupation of the
country by that grasping and ambitious potentate.
There can be no doubt whatever, that Mohammed
Ali had been long planning the conquest of Syria,
and had for a long time been watching a fitting
opportunity for putting his ambitious schemes into
execution. The events of the Greek war mani-

HOW AFFECTED BY MOHAMMED ALl's CONQUEST. 459
fested the Sultan's weakness, and the withdrawal
of Mohammed Ali's forces from the Morea, with
out orders, was the first symptom of a eoolness
between the Sultan and his powerful vassal.
The two chief motives which prompted the
Pasha to undertake the conquest of Syria, were to
obtain recruits for his army among the Syrian
population, and an increase of revenue to his ex
chequer by introducing into the country the same
grinding system of taxation and monopoly as that
which had been introduced into Egypt. The
rapid success of Ibrahim Pasha dazzled the eyes
of Europe; but Syria had been taken completely
by surprise, and there was no organized force to
check the progress of so experienced a general
and so well disciplined an army as that which
invaded the country.
Pompous dispatches were published in the city
of Alexandria during the progress of the campaign,
entitled " Bulletins of the army of Syria," in
which the different exploits of the Egyptian
army were made to appear most brilliant to at
tract the attention of Europe, and gratify the
vanity of Mohammed Ali by giving a high idea
of his military power. From the capture of Acre,
Ibrahim's progress through Syria was a mere
triumphal procession. He took possession of Da-

460 CONQUEST OF SYRIA BY MOHAMMED ALI.
mascus without scarcely firing a shot. He entered
Aleppo and Antioch almost unopposed, although
his contest with the irregular bands of country
men collected together by the Pashas of Aleppo,
Tripoli, and Damascus figured, in the Alexandrian
bulletins, as a great battle fought against^an army
of 20,000 men, in which 2000 were killed, 4500
taken prisoners, and tents, ammunition, and thirty-
one pieces of cannon, &c, &c, captured. Ibrahim
forced the defiles of mount Taurus, and the only
serious opposition that the great general appears to
have encountered was at Koniah.
When the Egyptian army had passed Mount
Taurus, and was encamped in the plains of Asia
Minor, addresses were distributed to the popula
tion, holding out a hope of a better state of things
under the protecting and benignant sway of Ibrahim
Pasha, who was come, in the language of these
documents, to emancipate the country from the
tyranny and oppression under which it had so
long groaned.
By the end of July, 1833, after the conclusion
of peace, Ibrahim repassed Mount Taurus. He
halted at Adana, and employed European engi
neers in fortifying the passes of the mountains, and
strengthening his newly acquired frontier. The
Syrian people were dazzled by his rapid and

IBRAHIM PASHA'S ADDRESSES. 461
brilliant success. They formed great expectations
from the language of the addresses which he had
distributed among them, and from the general re
ports that were circulated, of a better state of
things arising under the government of Mohammed
Ali than under the old system. The tyranny, the
oppression, and the insolence of local governors
would now, it was said, be effectually annihilated;
the sanguinary wars promoted by rival Pashas,
and the pillage and devastation of the country,
would give way to tranquillity and happiness
under a strong government, which would extend
equal protection to all.
The too sanguine hopes of the Syrians were,
however, soon most miserably disappointed. The
principle that the chief aim of government ought
to be to promote the interest and happiness of
those committed to its charge, is not received by
Mohammed Ali, any more than by other Eastern
governors, and the lightening of the burdens of
the people, and affording security to property,
comported not at all with his ambitious views and
designs. The Syrians still possessed property to be seized,
and there was still some small rural population
left which would serve the Pasha for soldiers, of
which he stood in great need. The fair promises,

462 THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT.
therefore, which had been made were not intended
to be realized ; nor was the language of the ad
dresses a true exposition of the principles upon
which the Pasha intended to conduct the govern
ment of the country. The addresses were distri
buted when a powerful army was in front, and a
doubtful population was in the rear. They were
issued to calm the minds of the excited, and to
inspire confidence in the new government. Peace,
however, being concluded, and the frontier fortified
against an attack from the Turks, the real designs
of Mohammed Ali were very shortly unfolded.
The ambition and the grasping propensities of
this potentate had extended his dominion to the
north, east, and south of Egypt. His troops were
already in the occupation of Sennaar, and were
pushed on to the confines of Abyssinia. In the
Hedjaz he was engaged in a difficult and ex
pensive war with the Wahabee Arabs ; and on
the Syrian frontier he was constructing stations
and fortresses, and establishing garrisons to protect
his newly acquired dominions from the attempts
of the Ottoman Porte. To support all these opera
tions men and money were required, and they
were shortly exacted with a merciless rigour. The
hopes of the Syrians were blasted, and the lan
guage of the Pasha's addresses, so full of promise,

INSURRECTIONS. 463
was falsified. The grinding system of taxation,
the heavy exactions that were made in the Syrian
towns and villages, and the harshness employed
to compel the people to enter the military service,
threw the population at once into despair.
In the commencement of 1834, insurrections
broke out in the mountains of Nablous, on Djebel
Khalil, and in various parts of Palestine. Some
of them, it is admitted, were promoted by the
lawless and the disaffected to all settled govern
ment ; others were fostered by the Sheikhs, who
were discontented at their exactions from Christian
pilgrims being put an end to, and many by the
Bedouin Arabs and the mountaineers of Lebanon,
who were discontented that the contributions they
had been in the habit of imposing upon villages
had been stopped. The Egyptian regiments were
discomfited in the neighbourhood of Nablous by
the insurgents from the mountains, with great
loss. The Bedouin Arabs crossed the Jordan
from the eastward, drove back the Egyptians,
and threatened Jerusalem, and the aspect of affairs
in Syria generally was so alarming, that Moham
med Ali left Egypt on the 24th of June for Jaffa
with 8,000 men. This reinforcement soon quieted
the country ; the villages in the mountains of Na
blous were carried at the point of the bayonet, the

464 INSURRECTIONS IN SYRIA.
insurgents and Bedouin Arabs were defeated with
great loss, the town of Nablous itself surrendered,
and the whole district shortly submitted to Mo
hammed Ali. The war carried on here and in the
Haouran was of a most exterminating nature. The
orders given to the soldiery were, to take all
males available for the army and navy, and to
exterminate the rest of the inhabitants. In Octo
ber, 1834, an insurrection broke out in Aleppo,
caused by the impressment of soldiers and the
despotic acts of authority. It was suppressed
after sanguinary conflicts and numerous executions.
Revolts took place at Beirout and Antioch, and
the population of Kesrouan, a part of Anti-Leba
non, rose in arms.
These outbreaks sufficiently manifested the un
popularity of the government, but must not be
entirely attributed to despotic acts of authority ;
some were promoted by the Bedouins, whose in
terest it was to keep the country in a state of
weakness and turbulence, and others were ebulli
tions of discontent, partly caused by the favour
and protection shewn to Christians.
Ibrahim Pasha, to keep the people in due sub
jection to his government, disarmed the whole po
pulation, and forbad any individuals, on pain of
the bastinado, to carry dirks, daggers, or muskets

CONSCRIPTIONS. 465
about with them. Large sums continued to be
expended in fortifying the new frontier, and men
and money continued to be unrelentingly exacted.
The villages and the towns were surrounded by
troops, and the youngest, the healthiest, and the
strongest of the population were marched off into
Egypt, to be trained as soldiers. Of all the arbi
trary measures, none created such abhorrence as
this; young men maimed themselves, and women
maimed their children ; some were blinded, arid
others had their fingers cut off, to avoid the con
scription, until the Pasha enforced a stern decree
to shoot all such offenders. Many of the most
vigorous of the young men were drafted from
Beirout ; their resistance was overcome with
threats and blows, and they were marched off
amid the bitter anguish and consternation of their
relations, to die of sickness in the interior of
Africa, or to leave their bones to whiten on the
desert sands of the Hedjaz.
The war in that part of the world proceeded
very unfavourably; the troops which had been
dispatched to the conquest of Yemen were at
tacked and utterly defeated by the Arabs ; their
magazines, stores, and provisions all fell into the
hands of the victors, and the Egyptian army was
VOL. II. H H

466 LATE EVENTS IN SYRIA.
obliged to fall back upon Mecca, and from thence
to flee into Egypt : hence arose the demand for
more men and more money, fresh conscriptions
and fresh exactions.
In the commencement of the present year, the
houses of Damascus were surrounded by troops
during the night, and in the morning the strongest
and healthiest of the population were picked out
and carried off for soldiers. Shortly afterwards,
the commander of the garrison at Beirout gave
orders to arrest every man, young and old, in
order to select from among them those most
proper for the military service. All the avenues
of the town were guarded by sentinels, and sen
tinels were placed at the doors of the different
consulates to prevent individuals fleeing there for
protection. Men were knocked down hi the
streets amid the screams of women and children ;
the doors of the houses of all ranks were indiscri
minately broken open, and the aged and the infirm
were driven into the streets for a proper selection
to be made for the service of the army.
At this present time, Syria may be said to be
everywhere tranquil ; insurrection and rebellion
have been crushed by the vigour of the govern
ment. The mountaineers of Lebanon have been

EFFECT OF MOHAMMED ALl's GOVERNMENT. 467
entirely disarmed, and the trained regiments of
Ibrahim Pasha, everywhere overawe the popula
tion into obedience to the government.
Under such circumstances the question naturally
asked is, Do you not consider that Ibrahim
Pasha's rule is beneficial to the country, and that
there is now a hope of the natural resources of these
fine regions being again developed, and some
chance of their antient prosperity being again
restored ? An answer in the negative is re
ceived with astonishment, or a smile of incredu
lity. What! you are asked, — is not the country tran
quillized, and the population everywhere reduced
to subjection to the law ? Can you not now travel
everywhere with perfect safety ? Is not the whole
population now protected without distinction of
creed ? And are not the rights of the Christians
now asserted with the same vigour as those of the
Mussulman ? Are not the incursions of the Bedouin
Arabs, and the contributions levied by them upon
villages, put a stop to ? Are not the jealousies and
quarrels of the rival Pashas entirely suspended,
and the probability of civil war rendered much
more remote ? Is there not a powerful, well dis
ciplined army maintained in Syria ; and is not
the country stronger in a military point of view
H H 2

468 LATE EVENTS IN SYRIA.
than it ever has been since the downfall of the
Caliphs ?
All these queries must be answered in the
affirmative ; and yet it will be maintained that
the condition of the people has not been at all
bettered by the late changes, nor the constant
decline manifested by all this part of the world
for centuries past at all checked. Both person
and property are even less secure under the pre
sent government than they were under the late,
and the natural incitements to industry and ex
ertion are even more thoroughly repressed.
To form a correct opinion upon the increasing or
diminishing prosperity of a country, we must not re
gard its momentary military strength, the splendour
of its fleets and armies, and the imposing expen
diture of a monarch ; but we ought to compare
closely the internal state of the country at two
different periods of time, in a strict observation of
its general aspect, in examining whether new
houses are built, whether waste land has been
brought into cultivation, whether towns and
villages are generally on the increase, whether
the population is generally better clothed, whether
they seem to be in the enjoyment of more com
forts, whether they are generally more indus
trious, and lastly, whether the amount of capital

STATE OF THE COUNTRY. 469
fixed on the soil, is increasing, stationary, or di
minishing. Within the scope of my own observa
tion, I can discover no improvement here ; I see
no new houses building, no land brought into cul
tivation which before laid waste. In no direction
do I find towns and villages on the increase, but
on the contrary, everywhere decreasing; the old in
habitants will point out Baalbec, Kerak, Kusby,
&c, in the antient Ccelesyria, and many others in
other parts, as much larger villages when they first
knew them than they are now, and surrounded
by a much larger circle of cultivated ground. All
the intermediate districts between the detached
villages will be found uncultivated and deserted
of inhabitants; you see no produce growing on the
soil which is of any value, but where the land is
cultivated on the banks of a stream, or in the en
virons of a village, fruit, roots, and perishable com
modities chiefly are grown, such as afford the
bare means of subsistence, and hold out no tempt
ation to the grasping cupidity of the government.
Knowing that the passing observations of a
traveller are liable to be erroneous, I made en
quiries among different classes of individuals
for facts connected with the present state of the
country as compared with what they could re
collect time back, and the statements I have re-

470 PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA.
ceived in connexion with my own observation, do
not convey any hope or expectation that the cir
cumstances of the country are improving. I make
an extract from a written statement furnished me
by one of the principal English merchants of
Beirout, whose opinion I requested upon the pre
sent state of the country.
" With regard to the effect produced on this
country," says he, " by its passing under the
Egyptian rule, I think it impossible that any per
son having opportunities of remarking can arrive at
any other conclusion than that the much vaunted
reforms of Mahomet Ali are a curse to the country.
" In the first place, new imposts have been
levied on all the the staple products of the coun
try (or at least most of them). On silk a new tax
of one piastre for each mulberry tree has been
imposed, and very heavy ones on grain of all sorts,
flour, oil, cotton, wool, &c. Meat at the present
time in Beirout is just 100 per cent, and bread
50 per cent or more, dearer than when first I
arrived six years ago, and this after making due
allowance for the depreciation of the currency ; nor
has this rise taken place from a greater abundance
of specie, but entirely from augmented taxation and
increased value of labour caused by the heavy
drain made on the country for soldiers, and the

MOHAMMED ALl's GOVERNMENT. 471
exterminating war carried on two or three years
since in the revolted districts south-west of Aleppo,
and in the districts of Nablous and the Haouran.
" In all these places the orders given to the sol
diery were to take all males available for the army
and navy, and to exterminate the rest of the inha
bitants ; and many villages before well inhabited
are now totally abandoned, and land once culti
vated now lying waste. I have known all com
merce entirely put a stop to for a month together,
by the strict press among the sons of merchants
and shopkeepers in Damascus and Aleppo. In
the latter place, a few months ago, the troops
broke into the houses by night and took by force
7000 men, of whom 700 were ultimately retained
for soldiers ; and the mosques have been frequently
beset during prayer time, and the young and ser
viceable men entrapped.
" In the summer of 1835, thirteen persons were
taken from the house of Mr. Farren, whither they
had fled for refuge, by a party of armed men sent
by night by the governor.
" Whenever the government requires to trans
port troops, stores, or ordnance, the mules, horses,
camels, &c, are immediately seized, and a stop put
to all sorts of business for weeks at a time.
A capitation tax of from three to fifteen pounds

472 PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA.
per annum is imposed on all the male inhabitants
throughout the country, in addition to the kharaj
paid by the Christians.
" The sale of soap, meat, wine and spirits, and
many other similar articles, are farmed out to the
highest bidder, who buys the exclusive right to
deal in them, and then retails them at a greatly
augmented price.
" The government frequently prohibits the sale
of different kinds of produce, till they have bought
a certain quantity themselves, and at a price arbi
trarily fixed, in consequence of which the growers
lose heavily, and the exporters are at a stand still.
Attempts have been made in some instances to
monopolize the whole growth of produce, as silk,
wool, and cotton ; but as yet the remonstrances
of the consuls in Egypt have prevented their suc
cess, though not without greatly inconveniencing
the merchants in the interior.
" To avoid the oppressive acts of government,
the natives frequently pay considerable sums to
the European consuls to extend to them the pro
tection of their governments, and pass off Arab
vessels, &c, as their own property, which causes
frequent disputes with the local authorities, and
casts contempt on the Europeans. But I never
knew their authority to be thus abused for profit

PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA. 473
by any British consul, though they cannot always
prevent their employes from misusing it.
" The best instance, perhaps, that I can adduce
of the effect the Egyptian rule has on the coun
try is, that until lately Syria exported large quan
tities of grain, so much so, that the late Mr.
Abbot, consul at Beirout, had at the breaking
out of the Greek war three English vessels load
ing wheat. Now, however, a regular supply
comes from Cyprus, and I have seen in Beirout,
for sale, cargoes of wheat from the Black Sea and
flour from Europe, and this not in a season of par
ticular scarcity.
" The above are facts for the truth of which I
will vouch and speak more clearly than opinions.
" I do not think the British trade with Syria
susceptible of much further increase under exist
ing circumstances on the present rate of export of
about 400,000/. per annum. With a good govern
ment, I believe it might readily be trebled in ten
years at farthest. Indeed, I consider the country
with fair play capable of anything. " 
The admirers of the Pasha tell us that he is
employing Mr. Brettell, an English engineer, on
Mount Lebanon, to search for coal, which when
purified at a great expense will be a benefit to the
country. They tell us he is sending individuals

474 PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA.
into Europe to be instructed in the science of war ;
that others have been dispatched to the West
Indies to study the production of sugar. That
Mohammed Ali employs English engineers in con
structing cotton mills, steam engines, cannon
founderies, printing presses, &c, &c. They bid
us mark his new and splendid arsenal at Alexan
dria. They point to the splendour of his fleets,
to his trained bands of soldiers, and then exult-
ingly ask us whether the Pasha is not a bene
factor to the country. Alas, it is this very display,
this very love of parading his mighty mind and
transcendent genius before the nations of the
world, that causes the misery and impedes the
prosperity of the country. It is the outlay re
quired for the support of all these vast establish
ments that creates the drain upon the land for
men and money, and destroys all the incitements
to active industry by rendering person and pro
perty insecure. As long as personal rights are
constantly violated, a feeling of insecurity per
vades all classes, and it is folly to expect that the
country can become more prosperous, that the
people will be rendered more industrious, and that
wealth will be accumulated. A man of Moham
med Ali's penetration must plainly perceive that
the country can never prosper under the present

SPIRIT OF THE GOVERNMENT. 475
system. What cares he, however, for the pros
perity of the country, or what it may come to after
he is gone. His only object is to maintain his pre
sent elevated position, and make some stir in the
world whilst he is alive. He feels that the only
title he possesses to the country which he rules
rests on the sword, and that his only safety lies in
the maintenance of a strong army and navy, and
on the assumption of an imposing military attitude.
The Pasha is a mere military usurper; he pos
sesses no hereditary right, he has no claim upon
the affections or gratitude of the people, and there
is no influential class upon whom he can rest for
support. He has a powerful enemy in the Sultan,
who feverishly watches his movements, and
crouches in the constant anxious hope of meeting
with an opportunity of springing upon him and
hurling him from the power which he has clutched
so cleverly. Mohammed Ali's only support, there
fore, rests upon his army and navy, and his only
object is to maintain these on a respectable footing,
heedless of the eventual consequences to the coun
tries over which he reigns. His sugar and rice
mills, his cotton manufactories, and printing presses
in Egypt are all the result of vanity, and are
established for the sake of gaining an eclat, a
name in Europe, rather than from an honest desire

476 PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA.
of doing good to the country and bettering the
condition of his people. When I hear individuals
maintain that the Pasha is seeking to do good, to
better the condition of the population under his
rule, to make them more happy, prosperous and
comfortable, rather than to aggrandize himself
and to keep his hold of his present usurped author
ity, I wish they could see the scene of excite
ment, terror and agony in a Syrian village when a
press for soldiers is going on, the exasperation
among the villagers when their horses and mules
are seized for the use of the government, and the
stupid despair of some poor cultivator of the
ground who sees all his hopes of acquiring a little
competence for his family blasted by the grinding
exactions made for an arrear of taxes.
' The Pasha cares for the country and wishes to
improve it, say his admirers. The Pasha cares for
himself and for his own aggrandizement, but he
cares little what the country he rules may come
to after he is gone, " il est arrive que, pousses a
bout par la tyrannie et l'outrage, des villages se
sont revokes ; et le Pasha s'en est rejoui : il leur
a fait la guerre, il a prit d'assaut leurs maisons,
pille leurs meubles, enleve leurs animaux; et quand
la terre a demeure cleserte ; Que niimporte ? a-t-il
dit, je men vats domain."

THE CONSCRIPTIONS. 477
Unfortunately, the most important class of the
population — the cultivators of the soil, possess
the qualities most calculated to make excellent
soldiers ; and this, with the Pasha of Egypt, in
his present situation, and with his present objects,
is a primary consideration ; and the circumstance
that the country will be in the end ruined by the
abstraction of these productive classes, is with him
quite a secondary feeling. To a paternal govern
ment, one that has been long established, where
the family on the throne are desirous of pro
moting the national prosperity and the national
strength, and of handing down to their children
after them an improving kingdom and a noble
possession, the encouragement of the hardy rural
peasantry is their first care, as it is their most
sacred duty. These are the only truly important
class ; these are the men of toil upon whom the
entire population leans for subsistence ; these are
the men attached to the soil upon which they
w ere born, and to the princes who protect
them in their just rights ; these are the true
defenders of the country in time of need ; and
policy will prompt every wise government to
render their lot happy, did not humanity and
justice command it. The tendency of all the
Pasha's measures is assuredly to complete the

478 PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA.
utter destruction of this class much more rapidly
than it was being accomplished under the old
system of government. Egypt is arrayed against
Turkey, and Turkey against Egypt, and both
nations press with increased weight upon the
productive classes ; and the rural population in
both is in the course of being utterly annihi
lated. We are told that the revenue has increased,
and the fact is pointed out to us as a proof of in
creased prosperity. What a fallacious test ! A
spendthrift with 500/. a year, is gradually ruining
himself by spending 1,000/. per annum ; and then,
when he cuts further into his capital, and spends
1,500/., the fact is pointed to us as a proof that he
is becoming more prosperous. The government,
by increasing its expenditure beyond the natural
surplus income of the country, and by dispro-
portioning its expenses to its natural resources,
clearly entrenches upon the fimds destined for the
employment of productive labour, and year by
year gradually diminishes the capital of the
country employed in the hands of the industrious
classes in producing an annual valuable return.
Whenever in a state the number of the con
sumers preponderates over the productive classes,
either from habits of idleness becoming diffused

EFFECT OF THE LATE MEASURES. 479
among the population, or by a despotic govern
ment so increasing its military establishment and
the number of mere consumers, as to render their
consumption greater than the annual produce
which is abstracted from the soil by the in
dustrious classes; from that moment the capital
of the country becomes diminished, and the wealth
of the nation begins to decline.
If we look at the immense army kept up in
Syria, and the heavy expenses of the government
as compared with the present resources of this im
poverished country, it is evident that the govern
ment is preying upon the capital of the country,
is squandering away the property of private indi
viduals, and that its career must be at last stopped
by the universal impoverishment it will produce.
All the individuals who have been taken from
the plough, and from the different occupations by
which they gained a livelihood, to shoulder a
musket, no longer leave any result of their labours
behind them,. nor add in any degree to the wealth
of the state. When engaged in agricultural oc
cupations, their labour produced an annual va
luable return to the community which is now lost,
and they yearly consume so much grain, corn, and
capital, without in any way replacing it. The
labour of every individual so taken away is lost

480 PRESENT STATE OF SYRIA.
to the community, he becomes a mere consumer,
and lives upon the industry of the remaining por
tion of the population. The present system will
go on only until the substance of the country is
entirely wasted away ; and that it carries the
germ of destruction with it, unless some change
takes place, is very evident.
But the great evil of these arbitrary and ty
rannic measures, is the utter destruction they
cause to all feeling of " security of person, and se
curity of property ;" and when once that feeling
is entirely destroyed by the oppressive acts of the
government, a nation can never prosper. "It is
better," says the proverb, "to play for nothing
than to work for nothing." What permanent in
terest can the cultivator feel in the soil ? What
motive has he to employ his labour in its im
provement — to expend his little stock of capital in
purchasing trees whose fruit he may expect to
reap in after years, when at a moment's notice he
may be kidnapped for a soldier and borne away
from his blooming garden to the sandy wilds of
Egypt and Arabia ? Where in this land of des
potism is the cheering motive to industry — the in
citement to a love of toil ? What motive is there
to induce a man to expend the vigorous labour of
his younger .years in increasing the value of an

EFFECTS OF MISGOVERNMENT. 481
immovable possession which he may be forced to
quit at a moment's notice ? Where that animating
incitement to exertion, the desire of securing a
heritage to our children, and of establishing our
family upon some little secluded spot whose
blooming beauties are the result of our own labour
and toil expended on the land? Where those
cheering impulses to bring into the world a
young family, and the desire to see ourselves
surrounded by a numerous offspring, for whose
happiness and subsistence we hope to provide by
our toil and labour, when we see that we are only
ushering them into a land of oppression and misery,
where we live in constant expectation of having
them torn from us to perish in distant inhospitable
climes ?
What encouraging hope is there of bettering our
own condition by industry and exertion, — what
motive to rack our brains and tax our ingenuity
to invent improvements in husbandry, for the
purpose of increasing the productive power of the
soil ? Alas ! in this unhappy country, every step
that the poor peasant takes in advance serves
only to aggravate his wretchedness, by more com
pletely shewing him his abject condition, and the
desperately despotic nature of the authority to
which he is subject. From the oppressive mea
VOL. II. i i

482 THE STATE OF SYRIA.
sures that are being carried on around him, he
sees that he has no certainty of enjoyment, no
secure heritage — nothing, in fact, that he can call
his own — or one single temporal possession that
he feels any security of being able to retain. His
next door neighbour is carried off for a soldier, and
he waits with trembling anxiety for his own turn
to come ; or, wearied with a life of fear and of
constant uneasiness, he flies to the mountains to
escape his persecutors, and dies perhaps of hunger
and fatigue, or throws himself upon the mercy of
the Bedouin Arabs, and takes up with their wan
dering life in the desert. Of what avail to him
are the fruitfulness of the soil and the propitious-
ness of the seasons ? — he has no permanent partici
pation in the bounties of nature.
However industriously disposed, however de
sirous of acquiring property and of adding to his
possessions and comforts, he is deterred from em
ploying his industry and his labour on the soil, as
the result of every day's experience teaches him
this sad lesson, and gives him this melancholy
warning : —
The land on which you labour is not your own,
and you have no security of enjoying the increased
production which will be the result of your in
dustry, therefore acquire not too much affection

EFFECTS OF MISGOVERNMENT. 483
for it ; toil not in draining the marshes ; expend
not the few shillings you possess in purchasing
and planting trees whose fruit you may hope to
reap in after years ; cut no canals for irrigation ;
do not exhaust your little capital and your labour
in the planting of vineyards ; expend not a shilling
upon the soil which you may run the risk of
losing ; trouble not yourself to clear the ground.
Improve the present moment, if you can, but think
not of the future, and build no expectations of a
permanent occupancy, for you may be carried away
for a soldier, or pillaged by the rapacious governor.
You have no secure laws to appeal to; equity
and justice are unknown in the land. The strong
will dispossess you of your acquired enjoyments,
and you will only reap bitterness, and disappoint
ment, and vexation of spirit.
Thus it is that we see the land lie waste, the
fertile plains unfilled and devoid of inhabitants ; a
fine country, blessed with all the bounties of na
ture, and possessing every capability of supporting
a numerous population, covered only with the
fleeting ruins of modern times, or with the lofty
columns and crumbling buildings of antiquity, —
memorials of wealth that no longer exists, and of a
happy and industrious population, now annihilated.
In every direction misery and desolation, poverty

484 THE STATE OF SYRIA.
and wretchedness meet our view. A storm of
destruction has swept over the breadth and length
of the land; industry and happiness no longer
exist within its borders, its numerous advantages
are neglected, and the once luxuriant, populous,
and fertile country is now covered with a gloomy
nakedness. " How has kind Heaven adorned the happy land,
And scattered blessings with a wasteful hand !
But what avail her unexhausted stores,
Her blooming mountains and her sunny shores,
With all the gifts that heaven and earth impart,
The smiles of nature, and the charms of art,
While proud oppression in her valleys reigns,
And tyranny usurps her happy plains !"
ADDISON.

THE END.

G. Woorlfall, Printer, Angel Court, Skinner Street, London.

fALE UNIVERSITY L

3 9002 08837 1928

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