The Chief, Who Resides In The Castle, Is Styled Emir; His Name Is Zogheby [Arabic], Of The Family Of Soleiman;

He informed me that his family had been possessors of the Emirship from remote times, and that they are recognised

As such by express Firmahns from the Porte; Zogherby is a nephew of Mustafa, the Emir who was slain by the Anzeyrys. Some of his relations command in the Ismayly castles of El Kadmous, El Kohf, El Aleyka, and El Merkah, in the mountains towards Ladakie. After what has lately taken place, it

[p.154]extreme: they are, apparently, at peace, but many secret murders are committed: "Do you suppose," said a handsome young man to me, while his eyes flashed with anger, "that these whiskers shall turn gray before I shall have taken my revenge for a slaughtered wife and two infant children?" But the Ismaylys are weak; I do not think that they can muster eight hundred fire-locks, while the Anzeyrys are triple that number.

The principal produce of the neighbourhood of Maszyad is silk. They have large plantations of mulberry trees, which are watered by numerous rivulets descending on all sides from the mountain into the valley; and as few of them dry up in summer, this must be a delightful residence during the hot season. There are three or four Ismayly villages in the neighbourhood of Maszyad.

From the castle the ruins called Deir Szoleib bear W. distant about two hours and a half. I was told that there are large buildings at that place constructed with immense blocks of stone, and bearing infidel inscriptions; but the natives of these countries are unable to distinguish sculptured ornaments from letters in unknown languages, and travellers are often deceived by reports of long inscriptions, which prove to be nothing more than a few decorations of architecture.

February 29th.--Having been disappointed in our hopes of finding any thing remarkable at Kalaat el Maszyad, we directed our course to Tripoli. We began to fear that the incessant rains would make the torrents impassable, particularly the Saroudj, which we crossed yesterday. The Emir gave us one of his men to guide and protect us through his territories. After travelling for an hour and a half across the moor, along the side of the upper ridge of the mountains of Maszyad, we arrived at the village Soeida, near to which is the Mezar Sheikh Mohammed, with some plantations of mulberry trees. E. of it half an hour is

NYSZAF.

[p.155]Kherbet Maynye, a ruined village, with some ancient buildings; and in the mountain above it, the ruined castles Reszafa [Arabic], and Kalaat el Kaher [Arabic]. There are several other ruined castles in this district, which appear to have been all built about the twelfth century. At two hours and a half is Beyadhein [Arabic] a village inhabited by Turkmans; to the E. of it, about half an hour, is a Tel in the plain, with an arched building upon it called Kubbet el Aadera, or the dome of the Virgin Mary, reported to be the work of the Empress Helena.

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