Part Of The Suite Of The Aga Of Tabaria, Consisting
Of Moggrebyns, Was Quartered At Erbad.
From hence I wished to visit the
ruins of Beit el Ras [Arabic], which are upon a hill at about one hour
and a half distant.
I was told that the ruins were of large extent, that
there were no columns standing, but that large ones were lying upon the
ground. From Beit el Ras I intended again to cross the mountain in order
to see the ruins of Om Keis, and from thence to visit the Djolan.
We were shewn the road from Erbad, but went astray, and did not reach
Beit el Ras. One hour and a half N. by W. of Erbad we passed the village
Merou [Arabic]; from thence we travelled W.N.W. to El Hereimy [Arabic],
two hours from Erbad; and from El Hereimy N.N.W. to Hebras [Arabic],
three hours from Erbad. Hebras is the principal village in the district
of Kefarat, and one of the largest in these countries. It is inhabited
by many Greek Christian families. One hour and a half to the N.E. of it
are the ruins of Abil [Arabic], the ancient Abila, one of the towns of
the Decapolis; neither buildings nor columns remain standing; but I was
told that there are fragments of columns of a very large size.
OM KEIS.
[p.270]May 5th.--I took a guide from hence to shew me to Om Keis, which,
I was told, was inhabited by several families. I there intended to pass
the night, and to proceed the next day to Feik, a village on the E. side
of the lake of Tabaria. In half an hour from Hebras we passed the spring
Ain el Terab [Arabic], in a Wady, which farther to the north-westward
joins the Wady Szamma, and still lower down unites with the Wady Sheriat
el Mandhour. At one hour and a quarter to our right was the village
Obder [Arabic], on the banks of Wady Szamma, which runs in a deep
ravine, and half an hour farther north-west, the village Szamma
[Arabic]. The inhabitants of the above villages cultivate gardens of
fruit trees and all kinds of vegetables on the side of the rivulet. The
villages belong to the district of Kefarat. To the left of our route
extends a country full of Wadys, called the district of Serou [Arabic],
to the southward of which begins that of Wostye [Arabic]. At one hour
and a half to our left, distant half an hour, we saw, in the Serou, the
village Faour [Arabic]. Between Hebras and Szamma begins the Wady el
Arab [Arabic], which continued to the left parallel with our route; it
is a fertile valley, in which the Arabs Kelab and others cultivate a few
fields. There are several mills on the water-side. Our route lay W. by
N. and W.N.W. across the Kefarat, which is uneven ground, rising towards
the west, and is intersected by many Wadys.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 179 of 453
Words from 92634 to 93141
of 236498
