September 24.--Left The Village Before Day-Light And Crossed The Anti-
Libanus, At The Foot Of Which Zebdeni Lies.
This chain of
EL KANNE
[p.4] mountains is, by the inhabitants of the Bekaa and the Belad
[Belad--District, province.] Baalbec, called Djebel[Djebel--Mountain.]
Essharki (or the eastern mountain), in opposition to Djebel el Gharbi,
the western mountain, otherwise called Djebel Libnan (Libanus); but that
part of it which lies nearer to Zebdeni than to the great valley, is
called Djebel Zebdeni. We travelled for the greater part of the morning
upon the mountain. Its rock is primitive calcareous, of a fine grain;
upon the highest part I found a sandy slate: on the summit and on the
eastern side of this part of the Anti-Libanus there are many spots,
affording good pasturage, where a tribe of Turkmans sometimes feed their
cattle. It abounds also in short oak trees [Arabic], of which I saw none
higher than twelve or fifteen feet. Our road lay N.W. Two hours and a
half from Zebdeni we passed a spot with several wells, called Bir[Bir--
Well.] Anhaur, or Bekai. The western declivity of the mountain, towards
the district of Baalbec, is completely barren, without pasture or trees.
After five hours and three quarters riding we descended into the plain,
near the half-ruined village of El Kanne [Arabic], and passed the river
of El Kanne, whose source is at three hours distance, in the mountain.
It empties itself into the Liettani, in the plain, two hours below
Kanne. I here left the caravan and took a guide to Zahle, where I meant
to stay a few days. Our way lay W.b.N. across the plain; passed the
village El Nahrien Haoush Hale, consisting of miserable mud cottages.
The plain is almost totally uncultivated. Passed the Liettani [Arabic]
at two hours from El Kanne. Half an hour, on the other side of it, is
the village Kerak, at the foot of the Djebel Sannin; it consists of
about one hundred and fifty-houses and has some gardens in the plain,
which are watered by a branch of the Berdoun, or river of Zahle. Kerak
is entirely inhabited by Turks; it belongs to:
ZAHLE
[p.5] the dominions of the Emir of the Druses, who some years ago took
it by force from the Emir of Baalbec. On the southern side of the
village is a mosque, and adjoining to it a long building, on the eastern
side of which are the ruins of another mosque, with a Kubbe still
remaining. The long building contains, under a flat roof, the pretended
tomb of Noah [Arabic]; it consists of a tomb-stone above ten feet long,
three broad and two high, plastered all over; the direction of its
length is S.E. and N.W. The Turks visit the grave, and pretend that Noah
is really buried there. At half an hour from Kerak is the town of Zahle
[Arabic], built in an inlet of the mountain, on a steep ascent,
surrounded with Kerums (vineyards). The river Berdoun [Arabic] here
issues from a narrow valley into the plain and waters the gardens of
Zahle.
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