Travels in Syria and the Holy Land Part 31

We were well received by the Bedouins of the encampment; who are on good terms with the people of Szalt: one of the princ.i.p.al Sheikhs of which place is married to the daughter of the chief of this tribe. They belong to the Ghanemat, whose Sheikh, called

THE BELKA

[p.368] Abd el Mohsen (Arabic), is one of the first men in the Belka.

The chief tribe in this province, for many years, was the Adouan, but they are now reduced to the lowest condition by their inveterate enemies the Beni Szakher. The latter, whose abode had for a long s.p.a.ce of time been on the Hadj road, near Oella (Arabic), were obliged, by the increasing power of the Wahabi, to retire towards the north. They approached the Belka, and obtained from the Adouan, who were then in possession of the excellent pasturage of this country, permission to feed their cattle here, on paying a small annual tribute. They soon proved, however, to be dangerous neighbours; having detached the greater part of the other tribes of the Belka from their alliance with the Adouan, they have finally succeeded in driving the latter across the Zerka, notwithstanding the a.s.sistance which they received from the Pasha of Damascus. Peace had been made in 1810, and both tribes had encamped together near Amman, when Hamoud el Szaleh, chief of the Adouan, made a secret arrangement with the Pasha?s troops, and the tribe of Rowalla, who were at war with the Beni Szakher to make a united attack upon them.

The plot was well laid, but the valour of the Beni Szakher proved a match for the united forces of their enemies; they lost only about a dozen of their hors.e.m.e.n, and about two thousand sheep, and since that time an inveterate enmity has existed between the Beni Szakher and the Adouan. The second chief of Adouan, an old man with thirteen sons, who always accompany him to the field, joined the Beni Szakher, as did also the greater part of the Arabs of the Belka. In 1812, the Adouan were driven into the mountains of Adjeloun, and to all appearance will never be able to re-enter the Belka.[For the enumeration of the Belka Arabs, see the cla.s.sification of Syrian Bedouins, in the Appendix.]

The superiority of the pasturage of the Belka over that of all southern Syria, is the cause of its possession being thus contested.

ZERKA MAYN

[p.369] The Bedouins have this saying, ?Thou canst not find a country like the Belka.??Methel el Belka ma teltaka (Arabic); the beef and mutton of this district are preferred to those of all others. The Bedouins of the Belka are nominally subject to an annual tribute to the Pasha of Damascus; but they are very frequently in rebellion, and pay only when threatened by a superior force. For the last two years Abd el Mohsen has not paid any thing. The contribution of the Adouan is one- tenth of the produce of their camels, sheep, goats, and cows, besides ten pounds of b.u.t.ter for every hundred sheep.[The hundred of any kind of cattle is here called s.h.i.+lleie (Arabic).] The Arabs of the Belka have few camels; but their herds of cows, sheep, and goats are large; and whenever they have a prospect of being able to secure the harvest against the incursions of enemies, they cultivate patches of the best soil in their territory. In summer they remain in the valleys on the side of the Ghor, in the winter a part of them descend into the Ghor itself, while the others encamp upon the upper plain of the Belka.

July 14th.?We left the encampment of Abd el Mohsen early in the morning, and at one hour from it, descending along a winding valley, we reached the banks of the rivulet Zerka Mayn (Arabic), which is not to be confounded with the northern Zerka. Its source is not far from hence; it flows in a deep and barren valley through a wood of Defle trees, which form a canopy over the rivulet impenetrable to the meridian sun. The red flowers of these trees reflected in the river gave it the appearance of a bed of roses, and presented a singular contrast with the whitish gray rocks which border the wood on either side. All these mountains are calcareous, mixed with some flint. The water of the Zerka Mayn is almost warm, and has a disagreeable taste, occasioned probably by the quant.i.ty of Defle flowers that fall into it. Having crossed the river we ascended the steep side of the mountain Houma (Arabic),

WADY WALE

[p.370] at the top of which we saw the summit of Djebel Attarous (Arabic), about half an hour distant to our right; this is the highest point in the neighbourhood, and seems to be the Mount Nebo of the Scripture. On its summit is a heap of stones overshaded by a very large wild pistachio tree. At a short distance below, to the S.W. is the ruined place called Kereyat (Arabic). The part of the mountain over which we rode was completely barren, with an uneven plain on its top. In two hours and a half we saw at about half an hour to our right, the ruins of a place called Lob, which are of some extent. We pa.s.sed an encampment of Arabs Ghanamat. At the end of three hours and three quarters, after an hour?s steep descent, we reached Wady Wale (Arabic); the stream contains a little more water than the Zerka Mayn; it runs in a rocky bed, in the holes of which innumerable fish were playing; I killed several by merely throwing stones into the water. The banks of the rivulet are overgrown with willows, Defle, and tamarisks (Arabic), and I saw large petrifactions of sh.e.l.ls in the valley. About one hour to the west of the spot where we pa.s.sed the Wale are the ruins of a small castle, situated on the summit of a lower ridge of mountains; the Arabs call it Keraoum Abou el Hossein (Arabic).

In the valley of Wale a large party of Arabs Sherarat was encamped, Bedouins of the Arabian desert, who resort hither in summer for pasturage. They are a tribe of upwards of five thousand tents; but not having been able to possess themselves of a district fertile in pasturage, and being hemmed in by the northern Aeneze, the Aeneze of the Nedjed, the Howeytat, and Beni Szakher, they wander about in misery, have very few horses, and are not able to feed any flocks of sheep or goats. They live princ.i.p.ally on the Hadj route, towards Maan, and in summer approach the Belka, pus.h.i.+ng northward sometimes as far as Haouran. They

WADY MODJEB

[p.371] are obliged to content themselves with encamping on spots where the Beni Szakher and the Aeneze, with whom they always endeavour to live at peace, do not choose to pasture their cattle. The only wealth of the Sherarat consists in camels. Their tents are very miserable; both men and women go almost naked, the former being only covered round the waist, and the women wearing nothing but a loose s.h.i.+rt hanging in rags about them. These Arabs are much leaner than the Aeneze, and of a browner complexion. They have the reputation of being very sly and enterprising thieves, a t.i.tle by which they think themselves greatly honoured.

In four hours and a half, after having ascended the mountain on the S.

side of the Wale, we reached a fine plain on its summit. All the country to the southward of the Wale, as far as the Wady Modjeb, is comprised under the appellation of El Koura, a term often applied in Syria to plains: El Koura is the ?Plains of Moab? of the Scripture; the soil is very sandy, and not fertile. The Haouran black stone, or basalt, if it may be so called, is again met with here. The river El Wale rises at about three hours distance to the E. of the spot where we pa.s.sed it, near which it takes a winding course to the south until it approaches the Modjeb, where it again turns westwards. The lower part of the river changes its name into that of Seyl Heydan (Arabic), which empties itself into the Modjeb at about two hours distant from the Dead sea, near the ruined place called Dar el Ryashe (Arabic). The Wale seems to be the same called Nahaliel in D?Anville?s map, but this name is unknown to the Arabs; its source is not so far northward as in the map. Between the Wady Zerka Mayn and the Wale is another small rivulet called Wady el Djebel (Arabic). At the end of six hours and a half we reached the banks of the Wady Modjeb, the Arnon of the Scriptures, which divides the

[p.372] province of Belka from that of Kerek, as it formerly divided the small kingdoms of the Moabites and the Amorites. When at about one hour?s distance short of the Modjeb I was shewn to the N.E. of us, the ruins of Diban (Arabic), the ancient Dibon, situated in a low ground of the Koura.

On the spot where we reached the high banks of the Modjeb are the ruins of a place called Akeb el Debs (Arabic). We followed, from thence, the top of the precipice at the foot of which the river flows, in an eastern direction, for a quarter of an hour, when we reached the ruins of Araayr (Arabic), the Aroer of the Scriptures, standing on the edge of the precipice; from hence a foot-path leads down to the river. In the Koura, about one hour to the west of Araayr, are some hillocks called Keszour el Besheir (Arabic). The view which the Modjeb presents is very striking: from the bottom, where the river runs through a narrow stripe of verdant level about forty yards across, the steep and barren banks arise to a great height, covered with immense blocks of stone which have rolled down from the upper strata, so that when viewed from above, the valley looks like a deep chasm, formed by some tremendous convulsion of the earth, into which there seems no possibility of descending to the bottom; the distance from the edge of one precipice to that of the opposite one, is about two miles in a straight line.

We descended the northern bank of the Wady by a foot-path which winds among the ma.s.ses of rock, dismounting on account of the steepness of the road, as we had been obliged to do in the two former valleys which we had pa.s.sed in this day?s march; this is a very dangerous pa.s.s, as robbers often waylay travellers here, concealing themselves behind the rocks, until their prey is close to them. Upon many large blocks by the side of the path I saw heaps of small stones, placed there as a sort of weapon for the traveller,

[p.373] in case of need. No Arab pa.s.ses without adding a few stones to these heaps. There are three fords across the Modjeb, of which we took that most frequented. I had never felt such suffocating heat as I experienced in this valley, from the concentrated rays of the sun and their reflection from the rocks. We were thirty-five minutes in reaching the bottom. About twelve minutes above the river I saw on the road side a heap of fragments of columns, which had been about eight feet in height. A bridge has been thrown across the stream in this place, of one high arch, and well built; but it is now no longer of any use, though evidently of modern date. At a short distance from the bridge are the ruins of a mill. The river, which flows in a rocky bed, was almost dried up, having less water than the Zerka Mayn and Wale, but its bed bears evident marks of its impetuosity during the rainy season, the shattered fragments of large pieces of rock which had been broken from the banks nearest the river, and carried along by the torrent, being deposited at a considerable height above the present channel of the stream. A few Defle and willow trees grow on its banks.

The princ.i.p.al source of the Modjeb is at a short distance to the N.E. of Katrane, a station of the Syrian Hadj; there the river is called Seyl Sayde [Seyl means rivulet in this country.] (Arabic), lower down it changes its name to Efm el Kereim (Arabic), or, as it is also called, Szefye (Arabic). At about one hour east of the bridge it receives the waters of the Ledjoum, which flow from the N.E. in a deep bed; the Ledjoum receives a rivulet caled Seyl el Mekhreys (Arabic), and then the Baloua (Arabic), after which it takes the name of Enkheyle (Arabic).

Near the source of the Ledjoum is the ruined place called Tedoun

[p.374] (Arabic); and near the source of the Baloua is a small ruined castle called Kalaat Baloua. The rivulet Salyhha (Arabic), coming from the south, empties itself into the Modjeb below the bridge.

Near the confluence of the Ledjoum and the Modjeb there seemed to be a fine verdant pasture ground, in the midst of which stands a hill with some ruins upon it, and by the side of the river are several ruined mills. In mounting the southern ascent from the Modjeb, we pa.s.sed, upon a narrow level at about five minutes from the bridge, the ruins of a small castle, of which nothing but the foundations remains: it is called Mehatet el Hadj (Arabic), from the supposition that the pilgrim route to Mekka formerly pa.s.sed here, and that this was a station of the Hadj.

Near the ruin is a Birket, which was filled by a ca.n.a.l from the Ledjoum, the remains of which are still visible. This may, perhaps, be the site of Areopolis. My guide told me that M. Seetzen had been partly stripped at this place, by some Arabs. We did not meet with any living being in crossing the Wady. Near the ruins is another heap of broken columns, like those on the opposite bank of the river; I conjecture that the columns were Roman milliaria, because a causeway begins here, and runs all the way up the mountain, and from thence as far as Rabba; it is about fifteen feet broad, and was well paved, though at present in a bad state, owing to a torrent which rushes along it from the mountain in winter time. At twenty-eight minutes from the Mehatet el Hadj are three similar columns, entire, but lying on the ground. We were an hour and three quarters in ascending from the bridge to the top; on this side the road might easily be made pa.s.sable for horses. In several places the rock has been cut through to form the path. The lower part of the mountains is calcareous; I found great numbers of small petrified sh.e.l.ls, and small pieces of mica are likewise met with. Towards

ARABS HAMAIDE

[p.375] the upper part of the mountain the ground is covered with large blocks of the black Haouran stone,[It is from this black and heavy stone, (which M. Seetzen calls basalt, but which I rather conceive to belong to the species called tufwacke by the Germans), that the ancient opinion of there having been mountains of iron on the east side of the Jordan appears to have arisen. Even now the Arabs believe that these stones consist chiefly of iron, and I was often asked if I did not know how to extract it.] which I found to be more porous than any specimens of it which I had seen further northward. On the summit of this steep southern ascent are the ruins of a large square building, of which the foundations only remain, covered with heaps of stone; they are directly opposite Araayr, and the ruins above mentioned are also called Mehatet el Hadj. I believe them to be of modern date.

We had now again reached a high plain. To our right, about three quarters of an hour, was the Djebel Shyhhan, an insulated mountain, with the ruined village of that name on its summit. To our left, on the E.

side of the Ledjoum, about two or three hours distant, is a chain of low mountains, called El Ghoweythe (Arabic), running from N. to S. about three or four hours. To the south of El Ghoweythe begins a chain of low hills, called El Tarfouye (Arabic), which farther south takes the name of Orokaraye (Arabic); it then turns westward, and terminates to the south-west of Kerek. From the Mehatet el Hadj we followed the paved road which leads in a straight line towards Rabba, in a S.W. direction; in half an hour, we met some shepherds with a flock of sheep, who led us to the tents of their people behind a hill near the side of the road. We were much fatigued, but the kindness of our hosts soon made us forget our laborious day?s march. We alighted under the tent of the Sheikh, who was dying of a wound he had received a few days before from a thrust of a lance; but such is the hospitality of these people, and their attention to the comforts

BEIT KERM

[p.376] of the traveller, that we did not learn the Sheikh?s misfortune till the following day. He was in the women?s apartment, and we did not hear him utter any complaints. They supposed, with reason, that if we were informed of his situation it would prevent us from enjoying our supper. A lamb was killed, and a friend of the family did the honours of the table: we should have enjoyed our repast had there not been an absolute want of water, but there was none nearer than the Modjeb, and the daily supply which, according to the custom of the Arabs, had been brought in before sun-rise, was, as often happens, exhausted before night; our own water skins too, which we had filled at the Modjeb, had been emptied by the shepherds before we reached the encampment. This loss was the more sensible to me, as in desert countries where water seldom occurs, not feeling great thirst during the heat of the day, I was seldom in the habit of drinking much at that time; but in the evening, and the early part of the night, I always drank with great eagerness.

July 15th.?We left our kind hosts, who belonged to the Arabs Hamaide, early in the morning, and continued our route along the ancient road. At half an hour from the encampment we pa.s.sed the ruined village El Ryhha (Arabic), in one hour and a half we arrived at the ruins of an ancient city called Beit Kerm (Arabic), belonging to which, on the side of the road, are the remains of a temple of remote antiquity. Its shape is an oblong square, one of the long sides forming the front, where was a portica of eight columns in antis: the columns, three feet in diameter, are lying on the ground. Within the temple, a great part of the walls of which are fallen, there are fragments of smaller columns. The stones used in the construction of the walls are about five feet long, and two feet broad. At one hour and three quarters is the ruined village of Hemeymat (Arabic). This district, which is an even plain, is

KEREK

[p.377] very fertile, and large tracts are here cultivated by the inhabitants of Kerek, and the Arabs Hamaide. At two hours and a half is Rabba (Arabic), probably the ancient Rabbath Moab, where the ancient causeway terminates. The ruins of Rabba are about half an hour in circuit, and are situated upon a low hill, which commands the whole plain. I examined a part of them only, but the rest seemed to contain nothing remarkable. On the west side is a temple, of which one wall and several niches remain, by no means distinguished for elegance. Near them is a gate belonging to another building, which stood on the edge of a Birket. Distant from these ruins about thirty yards stand two Corinthian columns of middling size, one higher than the other. In the plain, to the west of the Birket, stands an insulated altar. In the town many fragments are lying about; the walls of the larger edifices are built like those of Heit Kerm. There are many remains of private habitations, but none entire. There being no springs in this spot, the town had two Birkets, the largest of which is cut entirely out of the rocky ground, together with several cisterns. About three quarters of an hour to the S.E. of Rabba, are two copious springs, called El Djebeyba (Arabic), and El Yaroud (Arabic). From Rabba our road lay S. by E. At four hours are the ruins of Kereythela (Arabic). At the end of five hours we entered a mountainous district, full of Wadys; and after a march of six hours we reached the town of Kerek.

I hesitated where I should alight at Kerek, and whether I should announce myself as a Turk or a Christian, for I knew that the success of my progress southward depended upon the good will of the people of this place. I had a letter of recommendation to the Sheikh of the town, given to me by a Turkish gentleman of Damascus, whose wife was a native of Kerek, and he had mentioned me in such terms as led me to antic.i.p.ate a good reception; but as I knew that I should be much hara.s.sed by inquisitive visitors, were

[p.378] I to take up my lodgings at the Sheikh?s house, I determined to alight at some Christian?s, and then consult upon my future proceeding with the Greek priest, whom I knew by report. I no sooner entered the north gate of the town, where is the quarter of the Christians, than I was surrounded by several of these hospitable people, who took hold of the bridle of my horse, every one insisting upon my repairing to his dwelling; I followed one, and the whole neighbourhood was soon a.s.sembled, to partake of the sheep that was slaughtered in honour of my arrival; still no one had asked me who I was, or whither I was going.

After some conversation with the priest, I thought it expedient to pay a visit of ceremony to the Sheikh, in order to deliver my letter; I soon however had reason to repent: he received me very politely; but when he heard of my intention of proceeding southward, he told me that he could not allow of my going forward with one guide only, and that as he was preparing to visit the southern districts himself, in a few days, I should wait for him or his people to conduct me. His secretary then informed me, that it was expected I should make some present to the Sheikh, and pay him, besides, the sum which I must have given for a guide. The present I flatly refused to make, saying that it was rather the Sheikh?s duty to make a present to the guest recommended to him by such a person as my Damascene friend was. With respect to the second demand, I answered that I had no more money with me than was absolutely necessary for my journey. Our negotiations on this point lasted for several days; when seeing that I could obtain no guide without an order from the Sheikh, I at last agreed to pay fifteen piastres for his company as far as Djebel Sherah. If I had shewn a disposition to pay this sum immediately, every body would have thought that I had plenty of money, and more considerable sums would have been extorted; in every part of Turkey it is a prudent rule not

[p.379] to grant the Turks their demands immediately, because they soon return to the charge. Had I not shewn my letter to the Sheikh, I should have procured a guide with little trouble, I should have had it in my power to see the borders of the Dead sea, and should have been enabled to depart sooner; but having once made my agreement with him, I was obliged to wait for his departure, which was put off from day to day, and thus I was prevented from going to any distance from the town, from the fear of being left behind. I remained therefore at Kerek for twenty successive days, changing my lodgings almost every day, in order to comply with the pressing invitations of its hospitable inhabitants.

The town of Kerek (Arabic), a common name in Syria, is built upon the top of a steep hill, surrounded on all sides by a deep and narrow valley, the mountains beyond which command the town. In the valley, on the west and north sides, are several copious springs, on the borders of which the inhabitants cultivate some vegetables, and considerable plantations of olive trees. The princ.i.p.al of these sources are, Ain Sara (Arabic), which issues from the rock in a very romantic spot, where a mosque has been built, now in ruins; this rivulet turns three mills: the other sources are Ain Szafszaf (Arabic), Ain Kobeyshe (Arabic), and Ain Frandjy (Arabic), or the European spring, in the rock near which, as some persons told me, is an inscription in Frank characters, but no one ever would, or could, shew it me.

The town is surrounded by a wall, which has fallen down in several places; it is defended by six or seven large towers, of which the northern is almost perfect, and has a long Arabic inscription on its wall, but too high to be legible from the ground; on each side of the inscription is a lion in bas-relief, similar to those seen on the walls of Aleppo and Damascus. The town had originally only two entrances, one to the south and the other to the north; they are

[p.380] dark pa.s.sages, forty paces in length, cut through the rock. An inscription on the northern gate ascribes its formation to Sultan Seyf- eddin (Arabic). Besides these two gates, two other entrances have been formed, leading over the ruins of the town wall. At the west end of the town stands a castle, on the edge of a deep precipice over the Wady Kobeysha. It is built in the style of most of the Syrian castles, with thick walls and parapets, large arched apartments, dark pa.s.sages with loop-holes, and subterraneous vaults; and it probably owes its origin, like most of these castles, to the prudent system of defence adopted by the Saracens against the Franks during the Crusades. In a large Gothic hall are the remains of paintings in fresco, but so much defaced that nothing can be clearly distinguished. Kerek having been for some time in the hands of the Franks, this hall may have been built at that time for a church, and decorated with paintings. Upon an uncouth figure of a man bearing a large chain I read the letters IONI, painted in large characters; the rest of the inscription was effaced. On the side towards the town the castle is defended by a deep fosse cut in the rock; near which are seen several remains of columns of gray and red granite. On the south side the castle hill is faced with stone in the same manner as at Aleppo, El Hossn, Szalkhat, &c. On the west side a wall has been thrown across the Wady, to some high rocks, which project from the opposite side; a kind of Birket has thus been formed, which formerly supplied the garrison with water. In the castle is a deep well, and many of the private houses also have wells, but their water is brackish; others have cisterns, which save the inhabitants the trouble of fetching their water from the Wady below. There are no antiquities in the town, excepting a few fragments of granite columns. A good mosque, built by Melek el Dhaher, is now in ruins. The Christians have a church, dedicated to St. George, or El Khuder, which has been

[p.381] lately repaired. On the declivity of the Wady to the south of the town are some ancient sepulchral caves, of coa.r.s.e workmans.h.i.+p, cut in the chalky rock.

Kerek is inhabited by about four hundred Turkish, and one hundred and fifty Christian families; the former can furnish upwards of eight hundred firelocks, the latter about two hundred and fifty. The Turks are composed of settlers from all parts of southern Syria, but princ.i.p.ally from the mountains about Hebron and Nablous. The Christians are, for the greater part, descendants of refugees from Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Beit Djade. They are free from all exactions, and enjoy the same rights with the Turks. Thirty or forty years ago Kerek was in the hands of the Bedouin tribe called Beni Ammer, who were accustomed to encamp around the town and to torment the inhabitants with their extortions. It may be remarked generally of the Bedouins, that wherever they are the masters of the cultivators, the latter are soon reduced to beggary, by their unceasing demands. The uncle of the present Sheikh of Kerek, who was then head of the town, exasperated at their conduct, came to an understanding with the Arabs Howeytat, and in junction with these, falling suddenly upon the Beni Ammer, completely defeated them in two encounters. The Ammer were obliged to take refuge in the Belka, where they joined the Adouan, but were again driven from thence, and obliged to fly towards Jerusalem. For many years afterwards they led a miserable life, from not being sufficiently strong to secure to their cattle good pasturing places. About six years ago they determined to return to Kerek, whatever might be their fate; in their way round the southern extremity of the Dead sea they lost two thirds of their cattle by the attacks of their inveterate enemies, the Terabein. When, at last, they arrived in the neighbourhood of Kerek, they threw themselves upon the mercy of the present Sheikh

[p.382] of the town, Youssef Medjaby, who granted them permission to remain in his district, provided they would obey his commands. They were now reduced, from upwards of one thousand tents, to about two hundred, and they may at present be considered as the advanced guard of the Sheikh of Kerek, who employs them against his own enemies, and makes them encamp wherever he thinks proper. The inhabitants of Kerek have thus become formidable to all the neighbouring Arabs; they are complete masters of the district of Kerek, and have great influence over the affairs of the Belka.

The Christians of Kerek are renowned for their courage, and more especially so, since an action which lately took place between them and the Rowalla, a tribe of Aeneze; a party of the latter had on a Sunday, when the men were absent, robbed the Christian encampment, which was at about an hour from the town, of all its cattle. On the first alarm given by the women, twenty-seven young men immediately pursued the enemy, whom they overtook at a short distance, and had the courage to attack, though upwards of four hundred men mounted on camels, and many of them armed with firelocks. After a battle of two hours the Rowalla gave way, with the loss of forty-three killed, a great many wounded, and one hundred and twenty camels, together with the whole booty which they had carried off. The Christians had only four men killed. To account for the success of this heroic enterprise, I must mention that the people of Kerek are excellent marksmen; there is not a boy among them who does not know how to use a firelock by the time he is ten years of age.

The Sheikh of Kerek has no greater authority over his people than a Bedouin Sheikh has over his tribe. In every thing which regards the Bedouins, he governs with the advice of the most respectable individuals of the town; and his power is not absolute enough to deprive the meanest of his subjects of the smallest part

[p.383] that prevails prevents the increase of wealth, and the richest man in the town is not worth more than about 1000. sterling. Their custom of entertaining strangers is much the same as at Szalt; they have eight Menzels, or Medhafe (Arabic), for the reception of guests, six of which belong to the Turks, and two to the Christians; their expenses are not defrayed by a common purse: but whenever a stranger takes up his lodging at one of the Medhafes, one of the people present declares that he intends to furnish that day?s entertainment, and it is then his duty to provide a dinner or supper, which he sends to the Medhafe, and which is always in sufficient quant.i.ty for a large company. A goat or a lamb is generally killed on the occasion, and barley for the guest?s horse is also furnished. When a stranger enters the town the people almost come to blows with one another in their eagerness to have him for their guest, and there are Turks who every other day kill a goat for this hospitable purpose. Indeed it is a custom here, even with respect to their own neighbours, that whenever a visitor enters a house, dinner or supper is to be immediately set before him. Their love of entertaining strangers is carried to such a length, that not long ago, when a Christian silversmith, who came from Jerusalem to work for the ladies, and who, being an industrious man, seldom stirred out of his shop, was on the point of departure after a two months residence, each of the princ.i.p.al families of the town sent him a lamb, saying that it was not just that he should lose his due, though he did not choose to come and dine with them. The more a man expends upon his guests, the greater is his reputation and influence; and the few families who pursue an opposite conduct are despised by all the others.

Kerek is filled with guests every evening; for the Bedouins, knowing that they are here sure of a good supper for themselves and their horses, visit it as often as they can; they alight at one Medhafe, [p.385] go the next morning to another, and often visit the whole before they depart. The following remarkable custom furnishes another example of their hospitable manners: it is considered at Kerek an unpardonable meanness to sell b.u.t.ter or to exchange it for any necessary or convenience of life; so that, as the property of the people chiefly consists in cattle, and every family possesses large flocks of goats and sheep, which produce great quant.i.ties of b.u.t.ter, they supply this article very liberally to their guests. Besides other modes of consuming b.u.t.ter in their cookery, the most common dish at breakfast or dinner, is Fetyte, a sort of pudding made with sour milk, and a large quant.i.ty of b.u.t.ter. There are families who thus consume in the course of a year, upwards of ten quintals of b.u.t.ter. If a man is known to have sold or exchanged this article, his daughters or sisters remain unmarried, for no one would dare to connect himself with the family of a Baya el Samin (Arabic), or seller of b.u.t.ter, the most insulting epithet that can be applied to a man of Kerek. This custom is peculiar to the place, and unknown to the Bedouins.

The people of Kerek, intermarry with the Bedouins; and the Aeneze even give the Kerekein their girls in marriage. The sum paid to the father of the bride is generally between six and eighthundred piastres; young men without property are obliged to serve the father five or six years, as menial servants, in compensation for the price of the girl. The Kerekein do not treat their wives so affectionately as the Bedouins; if one of them falls sick, and her sickness is likely to prevent her for some time from taking care of the family affairs, the husband sends her back to her father?s house, with a message that ?he must cure her;? for, as he says, ?I bought a healthy wife of you, and it is not just that I should be at the trouble and expense of curing her.? This is a rule with both Mohammedans and Christians. It is not the custom for the

[p.386] husband to buy clothes or articles of dress for his wife; she is, in consequence, obliged to apply to her own family, in order to appear decently in public, or to rob her husband of his wheal and barley, and sell it clandestinely in small quant.i.ties; nor does she inherit the smallest trifle of her husband?s property. The Kerekein never sleep under the same blanket with their wives; and to be accused of doing so, is considered as great an insult as to be called a coward.

The domestic manners of the Christians of Kerek are the same as those of the Turks; their laws are also the same, excepting those relating to marriage; and in cases of litigation, even amongst themselves, they repair to the tribunal of the Kadhy, or judge of the town, instead of submitting their differences to their own Sheikhs. The Kadhy is elected by the Sheikhs. With respect to their religious duties, they observe them much less than any other Greeks in Syria; few of them frequent the church, alleging, not without reason, that it is of no use to them, because they do not understand one word of the Greek forms of prayer.

Neither are they rigid observers of Lent, which is natural enough, as they would be obliged to live almost entirely on dry bread, were they to abstain wholly from animal food. Though so intimately united with the Turks both by common interests and manners, as to be considered the same tribe, yet there exists much jealousy among the adherents of the two religions, which is farther increased by the Sheikh?s predilection for the Christians. The Turks seeing that the latter prosper, have devised a curious method of partic.i.p.ating in the favours which Providence may bestow on the Christians on account of their religion: many of them baptise their male children in the church of St. George, and take Christian G.o.dfathers for their sons. There is neither Mollah nor fanatic Kadhy to prevent this practice, and the Greek priest, who

[p.387] is handsomely paid for baptising, reconciles his conscientious scruples by the hope that the boy so baptized may perhaps die a Christian; added to this, he does not give the child entire baptism, but dips the hands and feet only in the water, while the Christian child receives total immersion, and this pious fraud sets all his doubts at rest as to the legality of the act. The priests pretend nevertheless that such is the efficacy of the baptism that these baptised Turks have never been known to die otherwise than by old age.

Kerek is the see of a Greek bishop, who generally resides at Jerusalem.

The diocese is called Battra (Arabic) in Arabic, and [Greek] in Greek; and it is the general opinion among the clergy of Jerusalem, that Kerek is the ancient Petra;[The Greek bishops belonging to the Patriarchal see of Jerusalem are: 1. Kaisaryet Filistin; 2. Bysan: 3. Battra; 4. Akka; 5. Bethlehem; 6. Nazareth. The Greek bishops in partibus (Arabic) are; 1. Lyd; 2. Gaza; 3. Syna; 4. Yaffa; 5. Nablous; 6. Shabashye; 7. Tor Thabour: 8. Djebel Adjeloun.] but it will be seen in the sequel of this journal that there is good reason to think they are mistaken; Kerek therefore is probably the Charax Omanorum of Pliny. The bishop?s revenue is about six pounds sterling per annum; he visits his diocese every five or six years. During my stay, a Greek priest arrived from Jerusalem, to collect for his convent, which had been at a great expense in rebuilding the church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Greeks delivered to him in sheep to the value of about fifteen pounds sterling.