Reached the oak of Sibta in twenty-eight hours after leaving it, well pleased with having been able tovisit Beersheba, the scene of many ancient and holy transactions, in the days when the great patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, walked humbly with their God, and God gave them a faith capable of overthrowing mountains.
In conclusion, I may express my regret that, although residing in the country many years afterwards, I could not get an opportunity of visiting either Beer-la-hai-roi or Isaac’s well of Esek. (Gen. xxvi. 20.) Concerning the former we find some indications in an appendix to Williams’Holy City; and I have been assured personally that the latter is still held in estimation by the Bedaween tribes, under the name ofEsâk, and frequented as a rendezvous for making truces and covenants.
On breaking up our camp at Abraham’s oak, the family took the direct road for Jerusalem, while I struck across the Philistine plain for Jaffa.
With one horseman and a kawwâs, I diverged westwards from the common road just before the descent to ’Ain Dirweh, between it and the ruined town of Bait Soor, (Bethzur of Joshua xv. 58,) leaving Hhalhhool of the same verse on my right hand. Advanced gradually down a woody glen of the usual evergreen oak and pine. The higher part of the valley is in excellent cultivation, with careful walls, and drains to keep off the winter rains that descend from the hills, although no villages were in sight except in one place on aneminence to the left, where an apparently well-built village was entirely abandoned. It is calledMa’naeen; and the history of it, as I have since learned, is that it was only a few years before built by a colony of refugees from oppression in sundry villages, who concerted to set up on their own account, without regard to the authority of their family connexions, or of the hereditary shaikhs. So daring an innovation upon national customs was resented by a coalition of all the country round, who made war upon them, and dispersed the people once more to their miserable homes. The Turkish Government allowed of this proceeding, on the ground that to suffer the establishment of new villages (which of course implies new shaikhs to rule them) would derange the account-books of the taxes, which had been definitely fixed years before under the Egyptian Government.
Lower down, where the glen became narrow and stony, a large rock has been hewn into a chamber for some ancient hermit, not unlike the one in the Wadi Ahhmed between Rachel’s sepulchre and Batteer (Bether) near Jerusalem, only in this case the entrance is shaded by venerable karoobah-trees, so large as to cover the road also with their branches.
We were met by various camel-parties carrying kali for the glass-works of Hebron during the approaching winter, also fine mats and other goods from Damietta, which, after being landed at Jaffa, are thus conveyed by reliefs of camels totheir destination of Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jerusalem.
On emerging from the valley (Wadi Arab or Shaikh) into the open Vale of ’Elah, we hadKharâsperched on an eminence close at our right, andNubasimilarly posted to our left.
Also the ruins of’Elahwere on our left, and far behind our left hand, in among the hills, on a commanding height, was Keelah.
We were now traversing the Valley of ’Elah, which runs north-westwards, and which I have described in my former journey. Now, as on that visit, I saw young shepherd lads pasturing large flocks as David may have done over the same ground.
This time, however, I had entered the valley from a different point—viz., from its eastern end at Kharâs, and not where Shocoh and Bait Nateef lie opposite to each other.
We then traversed the same country as then as far as the village ofKhuldah, which is a very thriving place, and where, as usual, on the wide plains there are not many flocks of sheep, but herds of horned cattle instead, driven by men on horseback. This is an indication of insecurity, on account of forays of Bedaween Arabs, from whom on their approach they have to scamper as fast as they can.
The same insecurity is attested by each of these villages having itsShuneh, or little rude towerwith a breast-work, in which the peasants may defend themselves when in sufficient force to do so.
Next cameSaidoon, where we obtained a distant prospect of Ramlah and Lydd, with Gimzo at the mouth of the Bethhoron Pass, (2 Chron. xxviii. 18,) and Ras-el-Ain still beyond, with its fountains and rich lands conspicuous on the Great Plain, backed by the hills of Ephraim. Then we passed the poor clay-built village ofDeâneh, where the people were winnowing a large harvest of millet, and the Government tax-farmers with their soldiers, lent by the authorities, measuring the heaps.
Lastly, we entered the vast olive grounds belonging to Ramlah, and found our tents (which had been sent on by another road) just as the Moeddin in the minaret was calling to sunset prayers.
I am never weary of the scenery about Ramlah; we have there the most picturesque Orientalism of all Palestine—a warm climate, numerous waving palm-trees, with the large reservoir for cattle drinking, all gilded in brilliant sunlight, together with the busy voices of a considerable population.
A burly fellow of a wandering durweesh or sorcerer, with rows of large black beads round his neck, came up to us, and bellowed out one of the ninety-nine attributes of God, according to the Moslems: “Ya Daeem,” (O thou everlasting!) This was by way of asking alms. My companion gave him some, which I would not have done.
In the morning we ascended to the top of the great White Tower, called “the Tower of the Forty,” meaning forty martyrs. This is a favourite appellation of ancient ruins in Palestine. I do not know what it alludes to. And from among the Comandalune windows I copied the following vignette.
Window of the White Tower
Who has ever stood upon the Scopus hill, north of Jerusalem, (his mind first prepared by biblical reading and biblical feeling,) facing northwards, and seeing at one glance, as upon a map, the land of the tribe of Benjamin, without desiring to wander about there, were it only to experience the reality of standing and breathing upon the sites of ’Anathoth, Michmash, Gibea of Saul, and Gibeon? It can be most of it performed in one day, and sometimes a line through it is traversed in that time by English residents of Jerusalem, namely, from Jerusalem to Michmash and Bethel, and the return.
There is also a pleasant spot above Lifta, in a grove of olives, figs, and pomegranates, where Europeans have sometimes established summer camps for their families. At that spot it is delightful to repose in the evening shadows cast by the trees, and gaze over the landscape of Benjamin, with a deep valley sinking in immediate front, only to rise again to the greater height of Nebi Samwil and a landscape view extending as far as the rockRimmon, which stands in pyramidal form upon the horizon.
There are, however, several ancient and biblical sites known to exist within that circuit that are not visible from either of those stations, and only to be perceived on reaching the places themselves. For instance, Bait Hhaneena of Nehemiah xi. 32.
There is’Adâsa, the scene of a great victory gained by Judas Maccabaeus over the mighty host of Nicanor; this I discovered from the peasants ploughing one day, while resting after a gazelle chase. It is not far from Gibeon. “So Nicanor went out of Jerusalem, and pitched his tents in Bethhoron, where an host of Syrians met him. But Judas pitched in Adasa with three thousand men. . . . So the thirteenth day of the month Adar [i.e.on the eve of Purim] the hosts joined battle: but Nicanor’s host was discomfited, and he himself was first slain in the battle . . . . Then they pursued after them a day’s journey, from Adasa unto Gazera, sounding an alarm after them with their trumpets,” (Macc. vii. 39-45,)i.e.a day’s journey for an army, perhaps, that day’s journey after fighting; for it is a pleasant ride with respect to distance, as I proved by riding toJadeerah, passing through Beer Nebâla.
And on another day’s expedition alone, I was riding near ’Anâta (Anathoth) eastwards from the village, thinking over the faith of the prophet Jeremiah, in purchasing a family estate, the future occupation of which was contrary to all humanprobability, and after recounting to myself the cities of Benjamin allotted to the priests, as Anathoth, (to which the treasonable priest Abiathar belonged, 1 Kings ii. 26,) Gibeon, and Geba, wondering what had become of the fourth city Almon, (Josh. xxi. 17, 18,) I came up to a hill on which appeared some remains of an ancient town; there my horse carried me up the steep side, and while passing among the lines of foundations on the summit, a peasant who joined me said the place was called’Almân. Some time afterwards, I was riding on the other side of the same hill, in the direction ofHhizmeh, (the Az-maveth of Neh. vii. 28, as I suppose,) when a peasant informed me that the place on the hill was namedAlmeet. This corresponds to the other name of the town as given in 1 Chron. vi. 60, and vii. 8, where it is Alemeth. So remarkable a preservation of both names by another people than the Jews, after long or perhaps repeated desolations, appears to me almost miraculous, and is a fresh illustration of the exact verbal inspiration of Holy Scripture.
I once visited the rock Rimmon of Judges xx. 47. The first part of the journey was made in company with Lieutenant Vandevelde, going from Jericho to Bethel, a totally-unknown road; it must have been the same as that taken by Joshua after the fall of Jericho.
This was in 1852. The Arabs were unwilling to take us in that direction, probably on accountof some local hostilities to which they might be exposed. At first they denied there was any road that way, then said it was so difficult that we could not reach Bethel in less than two days, which was ridiculous, considering the shortness of the distance. At length we resolved to find a road without them, and ordered the luggage to go round by Khatroon, or if necessary by Jerusalem, but to meet us at Bethel that night.
Shaikh Mohammed el Hejjâz then sent with us his slave Sulimân. By his having that Moslem name, I should suppose this to be a freed-man, inasmuch as it is not the custom to give Moslem or Christian names to slaves; they may be only called Jewel, Diamond, Cornelian, Thursday, Friday, etc. It is not uncommon for a freed-man to be still called in popular speecha slave; but not in serious earnest or in matters of business, and not unless they are blacks from Africa.
It is not unusual in the East for a slave, even though still in bondage, to be educated in reading and writing, to be trained in military accomplishments, and so to be employed as confidential agent of property, or trainer of children in the family, riding the best horses and carrying weapons of best quality. And this Sulimân was a bright specimen of that class of men,—of good bodily presence, merry-humoured, and well-accoutred.
The first part of the journey in crossing the Quarantana mountain was precipitous, and evendangerous for strangers; but the summit being attained, the whole of the remaining distance was a level plain. We were upon remains of an ancient road, with wells frequently occurring by the wayside; many of them, however, choked up with stones and earth.
Plodded quietly along, when, about two hours from Jericho, we were surprised by hearing human wailing and cries for mercy near us. This was discovered to come from a boy of about twelve years of age who had concealed himself behind a bush ofret’m, (juniper of Scripture.) He had never seen Europeans before, and, on perceiving the Hejjâz slave at our head, was apprehensive that we should plunder him of his ass and her foal. He was a peasant ofDair Dewân,[203]a village on the way before us.
In half an hour more we came up to a cleanly-dressed and pleasant-looking shepherd lad, who was not at all afraid of us. He conducted us to a well of good water, namedBeer Mustafa, a little off the road, at the heading of the small wadiKrishneh; there we rested half an hour.
In another hour we reached the ruins of Abu Sabbâkh, from which we hadRemmoonvisible on our right.
During all the day’s journey we passed through a good deal of wheat and barley cultivation, the crops ripening fast, it being at the beginning of May.
In another half hour we arrived at Dair Dewân, the Beth-aven of Scripture,[204]a flourishing village,—remarkably so, as evinced by its buildings, its fruit orchards, and corn fields all around. Progress in such affairs is a sure token of a village being peopled by Christians. In the well-kept cemetery belonging to the place, it was pleasant to see an enormous quantity of large blue iris flowers growing between the graves, and often concealing them from view till nearly approached.
Turning abruptly westward, in twenty minutes we came to the hill of stones called Tell-el-hajjar, which I had on a former occasion identified as the site of Ai, lying as it does between Beth-aven and Bethel, (Josh. viii.,) and having the deep valley alongside northwards. Here Vandevelde took bearings, with his theodolite, of points within sight; and in a quarter of an hour from this we reached Bethel, (now called Bait-een,) that is in less than five hours, including an hour’s stoppage at the Tell from the ’Ain-es-Sultân by Jericho, where the Arabs had, for their own reasons, tried to persuade us that the journey was impossible, or would at least occupy two days.
Our tents and luggage arrived soon after we did. Bait-een has been so often described, and its biblical events so often quoted by travellers, that it is not necessary to do so while professedly dealing onlywith byeways in Palestine; yet this may be said, that no distance of time can entirely efface the exquisite pleasure of exploring ground and sites so accurately corresponding as this did to the topography of the Bible, and belonging to events of such antiquity as the acts of Abraham and Joshua.
In the morning I separated from my friends, who were preceding towards Damascus, and, accompanied by Sulimân and a kawwâs, went on my way toRemmoon, (the rock Rimmon.) Started at half-past seven in a thick shirocco atmosphere, keeping on the northern high road for about a quarter of an hour in the direction ofYebrood, then turned sharply eastwards over corn-fields, and descended into a deep hot valley. The flowers of the field were chiefly cistus, red or white, and hollyhocks four feet high. Then ascended to at least a corresponding height into terraces of fruit-trees well-cultivated; and still mounting, to a fine plain of wheat, at the end of which was Remmoon, one hour and a quarter from Bait-een.
The village is built upon a mass of calcareous rock, commanding magnificent views towards the south, including the Dead Sea and the line of the Jordan; higher hills bounded the north, on which was conspicuous the town ofTayibeh, near which is aweliormezâr(pilgrimage station) named after St George, who is an object of veneration to both Moslems and Christians. The people of Tayibehare all or mostly Christians, and have a church with a resident priest.
We rode up the street of Remmoon, and found the shaikh and principal men of the town lazily smoking in the shadow of a house.
My object was of course to inquire for a cavern that might be capable of containing six hundred men during four months. The people all denied the existence of such a cavern, but after some parley I was conducted to two separate caverns on the west side of the hill, then to two others on the eastern side which are larger, and to each of which we had to arrive through a house built at its opening. They told me of two others upon the hill, but of much inferior size. Those that I entered were not remarkable for dimensions above the many that are to be found over the country. It is probable that the whole of the refugees might sleep in these several places, if there were no village there at the time, which seems probable; but it was merely my own preconceived notion that they all lived in one vast cavern. The text of Judg. xx. 47 does not say so.
The village is in good condition, and the cultivation excellent in every direction around it. On leaving it for the return to Jerusalem I proceeded due southwards. In the fields the people were industriously clearing away stones—a sure symptom of peace, and consequent improvement.
Crossed a valley namedMa’kook, and arrived atMukhinâs(Michmash) in less than two hours from Remmoon. Rested in the fine grove of olive-trees in the valley on the north of the town for an hour. The birds were singing delightfully, though the time was high noon, and our horses enjoyed some respite from the sanguinary green flies which had plagued them all the way from Remmoon; their bellies and fetlocks were red with bleeding. In this matter I particularly admired the benevolence of the slave Sulimân. Yesterday, after a sharp run across a field, perhaps in the vain hope of escaping the tormentors, he dismounted, and the mare followed him, walking like a lamb. He then sat down to switch away the flies, and rub her legs inwards and outwards. To-day he had taken off his Bedawi kefieh, or bright-coloured small shawl, from around his head, and suspended it between her legs, then, as he rode along, was continually switching between her ears with a long bunch of the wild mustard-plant.
On leaving Mukhmâs in the hottest part of the day, we had to cross the WadiSûaineet, along which to our left appeared the northern extremity of the Dead Sea. At a short distance down the valley there are remarkable precipices on each side, which must be the Bozez and Seneh,[207]renowned for the bold adventure of Jonathan and his armour-bearer,and near these projections are some large old karoobah-trees.
Emerging upwards from this wadi one comes toJeba’, (the Gibeah of Saul, so often mentioned,) upon a table-land extending due east, in which direction I visited, five years before, an ancient ruin, which the people of Jeba’ callEl Kharjeh; it consisted of one principal building of contiguous chambers, built of nicely squared stones, put together without cement, like several of the remains at Bethel.
These stones are gray with weather stains, but seldom more than three courses in height remain in their places, though in one place five.
From this site, as well as from Jeba’, there is a very striking view of the northern extremity of the Dead Sea.
The guide told us of a vast cavern in the Wadi Sûaineet capable of holding many hundred men, near to the above-mentioned karoobah-trees, and therefore just the suitable refuge for the Israelites, (I Sam. xiv. 11,) besides the Bozez and Seneh; and he told us that half-way down the precipice there is a course of water running towards the Ghôr.
Few incidents in the Bible are so real to the eye and feelings as the narrative of Jonathan and his office-bearers when read upon the spot of the occurrence, or near it at Jeba’.
We passedJeba’at about a quarter of a mile toour right, and in another quarter of an hour were at the strange old stone parallelograms underHhizmeh, which had been often before visited in afternoon rides from Jerusalem.
These are piles of large squared stones of great antiquity, carefully built into long parallel forms, and now deeply weather-eaten. No use of them can be imagined. I have visited them at all seasons of the year, and at different hours of the day, but they still remain unintelligible. They are disposed in different directions, as will be seen in the following drawing of them, carefully taken by measurement in my presence, and given me by a friend now in England, the Rev. G. W. Dalton of Wolverhampton.
Stone constructions under Hhizmeh
On one face of No. 4 is a kind of entrance, and on the top surface a round hole about two feet in depth, but they lead to nothing, and are probably the work of modern peasantry, removing stones from the entire block; in the former case for the mere object of shade from the sun, and the latter for the charitable purpose common amongMoslems, who often cut basins into solid rocks, to collect rain or dew for birds of the air or beasts of the field.
Corroded monuments like these, in so pure and dry an atmosphere, bespeak a far more hoary antiquity than the same amount of decay would do in an English climate.
I know of a spot on the side of a wild hill upon the way between Ai (as I believe the place called theTellto be) and Mukhmâs, where there are several huge slabs of stone, rather exceeding human size, laid upon the ground side by side exactly parallel. These can be nothing else than gravestones of early Israelitish period, but of which the memorial is now gone for ever.
Crossing the torrent-bed from the parallelogram, and mounting the next hill, we were at Hhizmeh; then leaving ’Anâta on the left, we traversed the Scopus near the Mount of Olives, and reached Jerusalem in four hours and a half of easy riding from Remmoon.
One ought not to quit the mention of this land of Benjamin by omitting theWadi Farah.
This is a most delightsome valley, with a good stream of water, at a distance of rather more than two hours from Jerusalem to the N.E.
The way to it is through ’Anâta, already described, from which most of the stones were quarried for the English church in the Holy City, and then alongside the hill on which standsthe ruins with the double name of ’Almân and ’Almeet, discovered by me as above-described.
Once, in the autumn season, a party of us went to Wadi Farah, and arriving on its precipitous brink found the descent too difficult for the horses; these, therefore, were left in charge of the servants, while we skipped or slid from rock to rock, carrying the luncheon with us.
The copious stream was much choked near its source, which rises from the ground, by a thick growth of reeds, oleanders in blossom, and gigantic peppermint with strong smell. There were small fish in the stream, which was flowing rapidly; wild pigeons were numerous, and a shepherd boy playing his reed pipe, brought his flock to the water. Need it be said, how refreshing all this was to us all after the long summer of Jerusalem.
There were remains of a bridge and considerable fragments of old aqueducts,i.e., good-sized tubes of pottery encased in masonry, but now so broken as to be quite useless; these lead from the spring-head towards the Jordan at different levels, one above another. There was also a cistern of masonry, with indications of water-machinery having been at one time employed there; but all these evidences of population and industry are abandoned to savages and the action of the elements.
Dr James Barclay of Virginia, author of “The City of the Great King,” believes this site to bethat of “Ænon, near to Salim,” where John was baptizing, “because there was much water there,” (John iii. 23.)
There can scarcely be a doubt that it is theParah, belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, in Josh. xviii. 23, and that therefore it was a settled and cultivated place before the children of Israel took possession of the land.
The district around,—indeed, all eastwards of ’Anâta,—is now unappropriated; parts of it, however, are sown—not always the same patches in successive years—by the people of the nearest villages in a compulsory partnership with the petty Arabs of the Jordan plain. The peasantry are forced to find the seed and the labour, and yet are often defrauded of their share of the produce by the so-called partners bringing up friends and auxiliaries from the plain, just as the grain is ripening, and carrying off the produce by night, or setting fire to whatever they cannot seize in this hasty operation; and this takes place about two hours from the citadel and garrison of Jerusalem. Do not ask where is the Turkish government!
The people are driven to sow the grain upon these conditions, under risk of having their own crops destroyed or devastated near their homesteads, and in no case dare they offer any resistance.
I was once unwillingly present at a grievous scene near Elisha’s fountain. Nâs’r Abu’ N’sair,shaikh of the Ehteimât, one of the parties at all times in the above-described partnerships, was seated smoking his chibook beneath an old neb’k tree when some Christian peasants fromTayibehapproached him with deep humility, begging permission to sow grain upon that marvellously fertile plain of Jericho. For some reason which did not appear, it suited him to refuse the favour. In vain the suppliants raised their bidding of the proportion to be given him from the proceeds; they then endeavoured to get me to intercede in their behalf, frequently making the sign of the cross upon themselves, thereby invoking my sympathy as a fellow-Christian on their side; but on several accounts it seemed most prudent for me to leave the parties to their own negotiations, only speaking on their behalf afterwards by sending a kawwâs to recommend kindness in general to the Christian villages. It may be that this step met with success, but I could not but be sincerely desirous to have such Arab vermin as these mongrel tribes swept off the land.
In October, 1848, I found myself at Sebustieh, the ancient Samaria, having come thither from Jerusalem by the common route through Nabloos,i.e., Shechem. Since that time I have often been there, but never without a feeling of very deep interest, not only in the beauty of its site, worthy of a royal city, or in the Roman remains still subsisting, but also in the remarkable fulfilments of Biblical prophecy which the place exhibits. The stones of the ancient buildings are literally poured down into the valley, and the foundations thereof discovered, (Micah i. 6.)
We left the hill and its miserable village by the usual track through a gateway at its eastern side. Down in the valley lay fragments of large mouldings of public buildings, and the lid of a sarcophagus reversed, measuring eight feet in length.
At first we took the common road northwards, and ascending the hill aboveBurka, from the summit had a glorious prospect of the sea on oneside, and of the populous village country, well cultivated, stretched before us; we left the common road toSanoorandJeneen, turning aside underSeeleh, a double village nearest to us, withAtârafurther west.
The muleteers had preceded us during our survey of Sebustieh, on the way to ’Arâbeh, and we could see nothing of them before us—the road was unknown to us, and no population could be seen, all keeping out of sight of us and of each other on account of the alarm of cholera then raging in the country.
At Nabloos that morning, two hours before noon, we had been told of twenty having been already buried that day, and we saw some funerals taking place. At Sebustieh, the people had refused for any money to be our guides; one youth said, “he was afraid of the death that there was in the world.”
So my companion and I, with a kawwâs, paced on till arriving near sunset at a deserted village standing on a precipice which rose above a tolerably high hill, and which from a distance we had been incorrectly told was ’Arâbeh; at that distance it had not the appearance of being depopulated, as we found it to be on reaching it. Numerous villages were in view, but no people visible to tell us their names. The district was utterly unknown to maps, as it lies out of the common travellers’ route. This village, we afterwardslearned, isRami, and antique stones and wells are found there. Though our horses were much fatigued, it was necessary to go on in search of our people and property, for the sun was falling rapidly.
Observing a good looking village far before us to the N.W., and a path leading in that direction, we followed it through a wood of low shrubs, and arrived at the village, a place strong by nature for military defence, and its name isCuf’r Ra’i. There was a view of the sea and the sun setting grandly into it.
For high pay, we obtained a youth to guide us to ’Arâbeh; shouldering his gun, he preceded us. “Do you know,” said he, “why we are called Cuf’r Ra’i?—It is because the word Cuf’r means blaspheming infidels, and so we are—we care for nothing.” Of course, his derivation was grammatically wrong; for the word, which is common enough out of the Jerusalem district and the south, is the Hebrew word for a village, still traditionally in use, and this place is literally, “the shepherd’s village.”
We passed an ancient sepulchre cut in the rock by our wayside, with small niches in it to the right and left; the material was coarse, and so was the workmanship, compared to ours about Jerusalem.
The moon rose—a jackal crossed a field within a few yards of us. We passed through a large village calledFahh’mah,i.e., charcoal, withfragments of old buildings and one palm-tree. Forwards over wild green hills, along precipices that required extreme caution. The villages around were discernible by their lights in the houses. At length ’Arâbeh appeared, with numerous and large lights, and we could hear the ring of blacksmiths’ hammers and anvils—we seemed almost to be approaching a manufacturing town in “the black country of England.”[217]
Arrived on a smooth meadow at the foot of the long hill on which the place is built, I fired pistols as a signal to our people should they be there to hear it, and one was fired in answer. To that spot we went, and found the tents and our people, but neither tents set up nor preparations for supper. Village people stood around, but refused to give or sell us anything, and using defiant language to all the consuls and pashas in the world.
Till that moment I had not been aware that this was the citadel of the ’Abdu’l Hadi’s factions, and a semi-fortification. [Since that time, I have had opportunities of seeing much more of the people and the place.]
Sending a kawwâs to the castle, with my compliments to the Bek, I requested guards for the night, and loading my pistols afresh, stood with them in my hand, as did my second kawwâs with his gun, and we commenced erecting the tents.
Down came the kawwâs in haste to announce that the Bek was coming himself to us, attended by his sons and a large train.
First came his nephew from his part, to announce the advent; then a deputation of twenty; and then himself, robed in scarlet and sable fur, on a splendid black horse of high breed. I invited him to sit with me on my bed within the tent, widely open. The twenty squatted in a circle around us, and others stood behind them; and a present was laid before me of a fine water-melon and a dozen of pomegranates.
Never was a friendship got up on shorter notice. We talked politics and history, which I would rather have adjourned to another time, being very tired and very hungry.
He assured me that when my pistols were heard at the arrival, between 700 and 800 men rushed to arms, supposing there was an invasion of their foes, the Tokân and Jerrâr, or perhaps an assault by the Pasha’s regulars from Jerusalem, under the pretext of cholera quarantine—in either case they got themselves ready.
He stayed long, and then went to chat with my Arab secretary in his tent, leaving me to eat my supper. He gave orders for a strong guard to be about us for the night, and a party to guide us in the morning on our way to Carmel.
This personage (as he himself told me) had been the civil governor inside of Acre during theEnglish bombardment of 1840; and his brother had first introduced the Egyptians into the country eleven years before that termination of their government.
* * * * *
In 1852 I had arrived at ’Arâbeh from Nabloos by a different route, and turned from this place not seawards as now, but inland to Jeneen: whence I again visited it on my return. It seems worth while to give the details of this route.
Starting from Nabloos at half-past ten we passedZuwâtahclose on our right, andBait Uzanhigh up on the left. Here the aqueduct conveying water from the springs under Gerizim to gardens far westwards, was close to the high-road. Arriving atSebustiehand going on toBurkawe quitted the Jeba’ road, and turned toSeelehwhich lay on our left, andFendecomîahigh up on the right,Jeba’being in sight.
Soon after this we turned sharply north-west to’Ajjeh, and thence arrived at ’Arâbeh in five and a half hours from Nabloos.
After leaving ’Arâbeh for Jeneen we got upon a fine plain, namely, that of Dothan. On this, near to another road leading to Kabâtiyeh, is a beautiful low hill, upon which stands Dothan, the only building left to represent the ancient name being a cow-shed; however, at the foot of the hill is a space of bright green sward, whence issues a plentiful stream of sparkling water, and hereamong some trees is a rude stone building. This spot is now calledHafeereh, but the whole site was anciently Dothan, this name having been given me by one peasant, and Dotan by another.
On my return hither a few days later I found a large herd of cattle, and many asses going to drink at the spring. Dothan is well known to shepherds now as a place of resort, and must have been so in ancient times. Here then, in the very best part of the fertile country of Ephraim, is the pasture-ground to which Joseph’s brethren had removed their flocks from the paternal estate at Shechem, and where they sold their brother to the Arab traders on their way to Egypt. This may help to mark the season of the year at which Joseph was bought and sold. It could only be at the end of the summer that the brethren would need to remove their flocks from exhausted pasture-ground at Shechem to the perennial spring and green watered land at Dothan; this would also be naturally the season for the Ishmaelite caravan to carry produce into Egypt after the harvest was ended. Be it remembered that the articles they were conveying were produce from the district of Gilead—(“balm of Gilead” is mentioned later in Scripture)—and it is specially interesting to notice that Jacob’s present, sent by his brethren to the unknown ruler in Egypt, consisted of these same best fruits, “Take of the best fruits of the land, balm, honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds.”
Dothan is about half an hour distant from ’Arâbeh, and therefore six hours or a morning’s walk for a peasant from Shechem.
More solemn, however, than the above interesting recollection, was that of the horses and chariots of fire which had encircled the very hill upon which I stood, when Elisha “the man of God,” lived in Dothan, and smote the Syrian army at the foot with blindness, and led them away to Sebustieh, (Samaria,) 2 Kings vi.
After leaving Dothan, at the falling in of this road to Jeneen with that from Kabâtieh, stands a broken tower on an eminence above the wellBelâmeh, which Dr Schultz has identified with the Belmen, Belmaim, and Balamo of the Book of Judith, (chap. iv. 4; vii. 3; viii. 3.)
* * * * *
To resume—Away early in the morning. Paid the night-guard and sent a present of white loaf bread and some tea to the Bek.
It was promised that we should reach Carmel in nine hours, across an unknown but pretty country in a different direction from Lejjoon and Ta’annuk (Taanach of Judges i. 27,) which I had designed for my route, and towards the sea-coast.
Our guides were gigantic men, beside whom my tall peasant servant Khaleel appeared to disadvantage, and their guns were of a superior description to what one commonly sees in Palestine. The peasantry also were large men with good guns.
First, due west for quarter of an hour towardsKubrus, situated upon a hill, but before reaching it, turned sharply northwards, through a rocky defile of ten minutes, when we fell in with a better road which, they said, came also from ’Arâbeh, and on towards a fine village namedYaabadin a lovely plain richly cultivated; there were after the earlier crops young plantations of cotton rising, the fields cleared of stones and fenced in by the most regular and orderly of stone dykes.
Before reachingYaabad, we turned due west, our guides alone being able to judge which of the many footpaths could be the right one.
Reached the poor villageZebdeh, then over a green hill with a prospect of the sea. Cæsarea visible at a distance, and in the middle distanceJitandZeita. Near us were ruins of a strong place calledBurtaa, said to have a supply of delicious water. Our journey was all over short evergreens rising from stony ground. So lonely—none in sight but ourselves for hours after hours. “Green is the portion of Paradise” exclaimed our people.
AtCuf’r Kara, a clean mud village in the fragments of columns lying about, we rested beneath some huge fig-trees while the luggage, guarded by some of the escort, jogged forwards; for muleteers never like resting their animals, or at least do not like unpacking them before the end of the day’s march; the trouble is too great in reloading them. The riding horses were tied up under thetrees, and we got some melons and eggs from the village.
After an hour we remounted and went on steadily north-west. Soon reachedKaneer, where was a cistern with wide circular opening of large masonry, bespeaking high antiquity.
Then toSubâriyehon a small rise from a hollow with one palm-tree. The well was at a distance from the village, and the women washing there. One man asked one of them to move away while he filled our matara (leathern bottle.) She said she would not even for Ibrahim Pasha, whereupon he roared out, “One sees that the world is changed, for if you had spoken in that manner to one of Ibrahim’s meanest of grooms, he would have burned down your town for you.” The matara was then filled.
In another quarter of an hour we were pacing through a wide Riding (as we use the term in the old English Forests for a broad avenue between woods.) This opened into a plain of rich park scenery, with timbered low hills all about, only of course no grass: in the centre of this standsZumâreen, perched on a bold piece of rock. Many of the trees were entirely unknown to us Southerners; some of the evergreens were named to us as Maloch, etc., and there were bushes of Saris with red berries.
Out of this we emerged upon the plain of the sea-coast, at a wretched village bearing theattractive name ofFuradees(Paradise.) Here the people were sifting their corn after its thrashing, and we got a boy to refresh us with milk from his flock of goats. Only those experiencing similar circumstances of hot travelling, can conceive the pleasure of this draught, especially after having had to gallop round the boy, and coax and threaten him to sell the milk for our money.
The way lay due north, hugging to the hills parallel to the sea, but at a distance from it: numerous wadis run inland, and at the mouth of each is a village. The first wasSuâmeh, the next’Ain el Ghazâl, (Gazelles fountain,) wretched like the rest, but in a pretty situation—thenModzha, andMazaal, and’Ain Hhood, (a prosperous looking place,) andTeeri.
The sun set in the blue water, and we were still far from Carmel—our animals could scarcely move: sometimes we dismounted and led them—passed the notable ruins of Tantoorah, (Dora of the Bible,) and Athleet on our left—moonlight and fatigue. There was a nearer way from Zumâreen, but it would have been hilly and wearisome. After a long while we overtook our muleteers without the baggage, for the Kawwâs Salim, they said, had been so cruel to them that they had allowed him to go on with the charge towards Carmel.
At length we climbed up the steep to the convent. Being very late we experienced great difficulty in gaining admission. There was no foodallowed to the servants, no barley for the horses, and for a long time no water supplied.
In the morning we found great changes had taken place since 1846. The kind president had gone on to India—the apothecary Fra Angelo was removed to a distance—John-Baptist was at Caiffa and unwell. The whole place bore the appearance of gloom, bigotry, dirtiness, and bad management.
In the afternoon I left the convent, in order to enjoy a perfect Sabbath on the morrow in tents at the foot of the hill, open to the sea breeze of the north, and with a grand panorama stretched out before us.
And a blessed day that was. We were all in need of bodily rest, ourselves, the servants and the cattle—and it was enjoyed to the full—my young friend and I derived blessing and refreshment also from the word of God. The words, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” seemed to have a reviving significance, as well as those of “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
Such a Sabbath in the Holy Land is true enjoyment.
May1851.
From Jeneen, (En-gannim, Josh. xxi. 29,) to Acre,i.e., towards the north-west, and skirting the great plain under the line of the hills of Samaria,—thus following the western coast of Zebulon to the south of Asher.
The road was enlivened by numerous companies of native people travelling from village to village.
In an hour and a half from Jeneen we were atSeeleh, a cheerful and prosperous-looking place; and in three-quarters of an hour more we were abreast of bothTa’annukandSalim, at equal distances of quarter of an hour from the highway; the former on our left hand, and the latter on the right. These places were at that time tolerably well peopled.
Here we gained the first view of Mount Tabor from a westerly direction, and indeed it was curious all along this line to see in unusual aspects the well-remembered sites that lie eastwards or northwards from Jeneen, such as Zera’een (Jezreel,)Jilboon (Gilboa,) Solam (Shunem,) or Fooleh and Afooleh. In fact, we overlooked the tribe or inheritance of Zebulon from Carmel to Tabor.
With respect to the circumstance of numerous passengers, whom we met this morning, it was a pleasant exception to the common experience of that district, where it is often as true now as in the days of Shamgar the son of Anath (see Judges v. 6), that the population fluctuates according to the invasions or retiring of tyrannical strangers. That vast plain affords a tempting camping-ground for remote Arabs to visit in huge swarms coming from the East with their flocks for pasture; and in the ancient times this very site between Ta’annuk and Lejjoon, being the opening southwards, gave access to the Philistines or Egyptians arriving in their chariots from the long plain of Sharon, or a passage over this plain to that of the great hosts of Syria under the Ptolemies, with their elephants.
In all ages the poor peasantry here have been the victims of similar incursions, “the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byeways.” Yet though chased away from their homes, the populations returned, whenever possible, with pertinacious attachment to their devastated dwellings, and hence we have still the very names of the towns and villages perpetuated by a resident people after a lapse of almost thirty-three hundred years since the allotment made by Joshua, (xiii.-xxi., etc.,) and the names were not then new.
I have myself known villages on the Plain of Esdraelon to be alternately inhabited or abandoned. At one time Fooleh was a heap of ruins, while its neighbour Afooleh had its residents; on my next visit it was Fooleh rebuilt, and the other a heap of overthrown stones, or next time both of them lying in utter silence and desertion. The same withMekebleh, sometimes inhabited, but more frequently a pile of broken-down houses, with some remains of antique sculpture lying on the surface of its hill; and the same occasionally, though not so frequent in vicissitude, withIksal.
From this exposure to invasion of royal armies or of nomad tribes, (“children of the East,” Judges vi. 33,) it has always been the case that no towns were built in the central parts of this plain; and even when the kings of Israel had their country residence at Jezreel, that situation was selected because it was nestled close to the hills, and had ravines on two sides of it, serving as fortifying trenches made by nature.
At the present time there are no trees upon that broad expanse, not even olives, to furnish lights for dwelling, either of villages or tents. The wretched people grow castor-oil plants instead for that purpose, sown afresh every year, because these afford no temptation to the hostile Arabs.
That year, however, of 1851, and probably for some time previous, the plain (Merj ibn Amer is its Arabic name,) had been at peace, unmolested bystrangers; consequently I saw large crops of wheat there, and fields of barley waving in the breeze. These were mostly the property of a Turkomân tribe, who, like the Kenites of old, reside there in tents, neither building houses nor planting vineyards, though to some extent they sow seed. They have been long upon that ground, but move their tents about, according to the exigencies of pasture for their flocks and herds. I believe, however, that they pay “khooweh” (brotherhood,)i.e.tribute and military aid, to the Sukoor Arabs for protection and peace under common circumstances.
We had frequently to cross small streams issuing from the ranges of hills, along the base of which our road lay; but they accomplished only short courses, for they were soon absorbed into the ground or settled into morasses, which emitted strong miasma under the influence of the sun. Some petty springs were seen rising from the ground itself, and near each of these were sure to be met some relics of antiquity, such as good squared building stones, or door-posts, or broken olive presses, or fragments of sarcophagi, while the adjacent hills exhibited the hewn lines in the form of steps, remaining from ancient quarrying. The deep alluvium of the plain furnishes no stone whatever for such purposes.
In forty minutes from Ta’annuk, we came to the small mills ofLejjoon, (the RomanLegio, named from a military station there.) At that time of theyear the body of water was not considerable, and there is no village there.
In fifty minutes more we crossed a rivulet namedMenzel el Basha, (the Pasha’s halting-place,) and in twenty minutes more, the’Ain Kaimoonwith abundance of water. This is at the foot of a hill which has on its summit the vestiges of the large ancient townKaimoon.
This hill is long, narrow, and curved like a cucumber, lying at the south-east end of Mount Carmel, and having the Kishon river on its outer or north-eastern side. Here, therefore, we come distinctly upon the western geography of the Zebulon tribe. In Joshua xix. 11, the border of Zebulon is given as reaching “to the river that is before Jokneam.” I do not doubt that this river is the Kishon, or that Jokneam is the “Jokneam of Carmel,” in chapter xii. 22, which was given to the Levites “out of the tribe of Zebulon, Jokneam with her suburbs,” (chap. xxi. 34.) This place, Kaimoon or Yokneam, must have been one of particular value in a military point of view, commanding as it did the pass of the Kishon valley on one side, and theWadi Mel’hhon the other. Such a post would be in good hands, when intrusted to the bold and warlike tribe of Levi. In the same way several other defensible posts were committed to their charge all over the country.[230]
On my present journey I passed round the outer line of Tell Kaimoon, having Kishon on the right. In so doing we crossed various tributary streams—the first one, in quarter of an hour from ’Ain Kaimoon, was inWadi el Kasab, (valley of reeds or canes)—the stream was bordered by reeds and a profusion of tall oleander in gorgeous pink flower.
In this neighbourhood, the Turkomâns had commenced reaping their grain. They are a race of people not to be mistaken for Arabs, men of strong build, and with a smiling expression on their clear, ruddy countenances. Besides Arabic, they speak their own coarse dialect of Turkish—several of them came running to us with handfuls of wheat from their harvest. They possess large herds of oxen with good horses.
In another half hour we were at’Ain el Sufsâfeh, (the “fountain of the willow-tree,”) where the water issues from a rock, and in its bed are two willow-trees; upon the bank were plenty of blackberry bushes.
Just before this we had by the roadside a common looking Arab burial-place, namedShaikh Sâd; probably from some Mohammedan devotee of that name interred there; and among the stones about the graves is a fragment of an ancient cornice, deeply sculptured in the pattern here shown.
Fragment of Sculpture at Shaikh Sâd
In a quarter of an hour further we passedWadi Keereh, with its full stream of water, and plenty of oleander for adornment.
Thence in about half an hour we arrived atWadi Mel’hh(“Salt valley,”) with its rivulet and wild holly-oaks, in which is a great highway leading southwards. This separates the Samaria ridge and Kaimoon from the extremity of the long Mount Carmel.
Having thus passed from one end to the other along the side of the hill of Kaimoon, we turned aside from the road, for taking refreshment under a large oak halfway up that hill, where wild holly-oaks were springing from the ground to mingle with the sombre yet shining boughs of the tree. This was at the sudden contraction of the country into a narrow neck leading to the Plain of Acre.This strait is bounded on one side by Carmel, and on the other by the Galilean hills, both sides clothed with abundance of growing timber; and through its midst is the channel of the Kishon, deeply cut into soft alluvial soil, and this channel also is bordered with oleander and trees that were enlivened with doves, thrushes, linnets, and gold-finches. The modern name of the river is theMokatta(the ford,) and that of the valleyEl Kasab, derived from the spring and valley before-mentioned.
At the narrowest part of this “Kasab” stands a hill, forming a serious impediment to the progress of armies, namedTell el Kasees(Hill of the Priest,) which name may be a traditional remembrance of Elijah, slaying the priests of Baal; but inasmuch as the word “Kasees” is in the singular number, the appellation may be more likely derived from some hermit residing there in a later age. At any rate, this Tell lies immediately below the site of that memorable sacrifice, and at the point where the Kishon sweeps round to the foot of the mountain a path descends from the “Mohhrakah,”i.e., the place of the burnt-offering, to the river. It must therefore, have been the spot where the priests of Baal were slain, whether the hill be named from the fact or not; and nothing can be more exact than the words of the Bible in 1 Kings xviii. 40.
We were preparing to remount for continuing the journey when our guide espied four wild-lookingArabs walking with long strides up the hill, so as to pass behind and above us; they were well armed, and made no reply to our challenge. As our horses and the guide’s spear would have benefited us little on the steep hill-side, but on the contrary were tempting prizes, and as our fire-arms were not so numerous as theirs, we thought fit to pace away before they should obtain any further advantage of situation over us.
In another quarter of an hour we left the straight road to Caiffa, and struck out northwards, crossing the Kishon at a fort opposite a village on a hill calledEl Hharatheeyeh, just before we should otherwise have come to a low hill covered with a ripe crop of barley, which, from its formation and other circumstances, bore the appearance of an ancient fortified place. This hill was named’Asfi, as I wrote it from pronunciation. This, with theHharatheeyeh, one assisting the other, would prove a good military defence at this end of the valley, as Kaimoon and the Kasees were at the other.
Dr Thomson, in his “Land and the Book,” chap. xxxi., considers this site to be that of “Harosheth of the Gentiles,” (Judges iv. 13,) and I have no doubt that his supposition is correct; the topography agrees, and the etymology in both Hebrew and Arabic is one, viz., “ploughed land.” This author, however, makes no mention of’Asfithough he speaks of “the double Tell.”
Whether ’Asfi was an aboriginal home of thepeople in the modernEsfiaon the summit of Carmel, I have no means of knowing; but that a population, when emigrating to a new settlement, sometimes carried their name with them, appears in Scripture in the instance of Luz, (Judges i. 26,) and of Dan in the 19th chapter.
Previous to this day’s journey I had no adequate idea of the quantity of water that could be poured into the Kishon channel by the affluents above-mentioned, (since our passing the Lejjoon stream which runs in an opposite direction,) namely, the Menzel el Basha, the ’Ain Sufsâfeh, Wadi Keereh, and Wadi Mel’hh, all these on the Carmel side of the river, and omitting the more important spring calledSa’adeh, nearBeled esh Shaikh, on the way to Caiffa.
Still portions of the channel are liable to be dried up in that direction, although the bed extending to Jeneen if not to Gilboa contains springs from the ground at intervals, but the level character of the country and the softness of the ground are unfavourable to the existence of a free river course. There was but little water at Hharatheeyeh when we crossed in the month of May. The ’Ain Sa’adeh, however, which I did not then visit, never fails, and in full season, the Kishon near the sea becomes a formidable river, as I have more than once found.
To return to the valley “El Kasab,” we were assured that in winter time the whole breadthis sometimes inundated, and even after this has subsided, the alluvial soil is dangerous for attempting to travel in, it becomes a bog for animals of burden. Thus it is quite conceivable that at the occurrence of a mighty storm, divinely and specially commissioned to destroy, the host of Sisera and his chariots would be irretrievably discomfited.
Where the scene opened upon the plain of Acre there was extensive cultivation visible, and the town of Caiffa appeared with the grove of palm-trees in its vicinity.
The view hence of the Caiffa bay reminds us of the prophetic blessing pronounced by the patriarch Jacob. “Zebulon shall dwell at thehavenof the sea, and he shall be for a haven of ships.” I am convinced that this Hebrew root פוח (Englishhavenand the Germanhafen) is perpetuated not only in those words but in the modern appellation, Caiffa, or as it may be more properly writtenHhaifa. The Arabic letter ح is the real equivalent for ח in Hebrew; by grammatical permutation the letter ו rightly becomes ي in Arabic, and this we have
Arabic word
Hhaifa which Europeans turn into Caiffa.
We then reached a low natural mound on which are ruined walls of great thickness, the levelled surface on the summit had been probably all occupied by one castle with its outworks, but we saw it yellow with a ripe crop of barley. This place isHurbaj, and the neighbourhood abounds with destroyed villages, the natural consequence ofbeing so near to Acre, and being thepalœstraor wrestling ground of great nations in successive ages.
We arrived at Acre in exactly twelve hours from Jeneen, and pitched the tents outside upon a bank between two trenches of the fortification, commanding extensive views in every direction, and were fanned by sea breezes from the bay.
In conclusion, I may observe that the plain called by the GreeksEsdraelon, as a corruption of Jezreel, is that named “Megiddo” in Old Testament Scripture. In the New Testament it bears the prefix of the Hebrew wordHar(mountain) minus the aspirate, being written in Greek, and so becomes “Armageddon” in the book of Revelation.
For topographical reasons it is very likely that the city of Megiddo was at Lejjoon. There is a village ofMujaidelon the north side of the plain, not far from Nazareth, but this is a diminutive of the ArabicMejdal, so common in Palestine as a variation from the Hebrew Migdol.
* * * * *
Besides the above journey I made an excursion in 1859 on the summit of Carmel itself.
Leaving the Convent, which is at the western termination of the mountain, we proceeded along the top of its main ridge to the opposite extremity, theMohhrakah, undoubtedly the locality of Elijah’s miraculous sacrifice in presence of King Ahab with the priests of Baal and of the groves; thence wereturned to encamp for a time at the cleanly Druse village of’Esfia; after which a few hours’ ride westwards led us by the village ofDâliet el Carmel,[238]also inhabited by Druses, to the romantic’Ain ez Zera’ahand over the sites of ruined places,Doomeen,Shelâleh, andLubieh, where the hewn stones lying scattered over the ground were indications of much better buildings than those of modern villages.
Then down the long and wearisome descent toTeerion the sea-coast south of Caiffa.
For topographical purposes chiefly, let me give an outline of a few other journeys made about the same neighbourhood.
Sept.1846.
Going in the direction of the sea, that is, from Naphtali downwards into Zebulon, we crossed westwards theJebel Rama, a long hilly range ending in the south at Rama, and richly wooded, but to our surprise there were numerous fires left by the people to consume trees and large shrubs at discretion, for the making of charcoal. Fortunately for us there was no wind blowing, but several times asthe fiery ashes had been drifted upon the road, our horses had no choice but to step into them. On that eminence I picked up specimens of Geodes which abound there, being lumps resembling fruits outside, but when broken found to be a crust of bright spar, and hollow in the centre; some of these were remarkably large. The hills were fragrant with wild herbs, and the views from them delightful.
AfterSemwanwe strayed from the right road and got toShemuâta, where we procured a guide to conduct us in the direction of Carmel; he undertook to conduct us as far asAbu ’Atabeh, from which Carmel would be visible, and the distance equal either to Acre or to Caiffa. From the heights we descended toEkwikât, and there found ourselves too tired to get further that night.
In the morning we passed theBahhjah, which had been the luxurious summer residence of Abdallah Pasha, but was in a ruinous condition, and came toAbu ’Atabeh, which is not a village but a collection of a few houses, perhaps formerly some outlying dwellings belonging to the Bahhjah. Here was a fountain, and a small aqueduct for conveying water to gardens.
Crossed theNaamànriver, anciently named theBelus, on the banks of which, according to Pliny, the primitive idea of glass-making was discovered by accident. Along the beach we came to the Mokatta’ or Kishon, found it deep for fording, butgot over to Caiffa, and mounted to the Convent of Carmel.
Oct.1849.
PassingSefoorieh, (the Sepphoris so often mentioned in Josephus) with a distant view of Carmel on the left, like a huge rampart of dark blue, we came to the ruined Khan with a fountain called the’Ain el Bedaweeyeh, then through delightful wooded glades, on issuing from which we sawShefa ’Amer, a handsome-looking place, with which I made better acquaintance in after years.
On the plain of Acre I picked up a cannon ball, probably a twelve pounder.
(This journey was repeated in March 1852, and in March 1859.)
March1850.
FromHhatteento’Eilaboon, a quiet and pretty village, after which we had a long stretch of “merrie greenwood” with furze in golden blossom, birds singing, and the clucking of partridges. At one place where the old trees echoed the shouts of country children at their sports, there rose above the summits a bold round tower, which on nearer approach we found to be an outwork of the fortification of a venerable convent calledDair Hhanna, which in comparatively recent times had been converted into a castle, but convent, castle, and tower are now become a picturesque ruin.
Near this we saw squatted on the ground a family of three generations, almost entirely naked; they had a fire lighted, and the women were washing clothes in the water heated by it, a great rarity in Palestine, for they usually wash with cold water at the spring. Some Metâwaleh peasants ran away from our party when we wished to make some inquiries of them.
From an eminence we saw before us a flat plain inundated like a lake, left by the wintry floods. This occurs there yearly around the flourishing village of’Arâbet el Battoof, at which we soon arrived, after which we galloped for miles over green pastures of grass interspersed by trees.
In three quarters of an hour further we came toSukhneen, a large village with good cultivation extending far around. Still traversing green undulations with wooded hills to the right and left, in another hour we were at a small place calledNeâb, where the scenery suddenly changed for stony hills and valleys. In a little short of another hour we sawDamoonehat half an hour’s distance to the left. In twenty minutes more we stopped to drink at the wellBerweh, then pressed forward in haste to arrive at Acre before the gates (being a fortification) should be closed. We got there in fifty minutes’ hard riding from’Ain Berweh.