Within are three aisles or rows of arches, of which the
central is much the largest; they rest upon short thick columns of the
worst taste.
At some distance to the north of the village stands a small insulated
tower; over its entrance are three inscriptions, of which I copied the
two following; the third I was unable to read, as the sun was setting
before I had finished the others:
1. [Greek].
[p.77]
2. [Greek]
EL HAIT
There are several similar towers in the village, but without
inscriptions.
The inhabitants of Shakka grow cotton; they are all Druses, except a
single Greek family. To the S.E. of the village is the spring Aebenni
[Arabic] with the ruined village Tefkha, about three quarters of an hour
distant from Shakka. E.b.N. from Shakka one hour lies Djeneine
[Arabic], the last inhabited village on this side towards the desert. Its
inhabitants are the shepherds of the people of El Hait. Half an hour to
the north of Djeneine is Tel-Maaz [Arabic], a hill on which is a ruined
village. This is the N.E. limit of the mountain, which here turns off
towards the S. behind Djeneine. At three quarters of an hour from
Shakka, N.N.W. is El Hait, inhabited entirely by Catholic Christians.
Here we slept.
