At About Seven Hours Above The Lake, This River
Is About The Size Of The Cam Near Cambridge; It Regularly But Moderately
Overflows In Spring-Time, And Is Full Of Carps And Barbles; But The
Turkmans Have No Implements Of Fishing.
Besides the Afrin there are
numerous smaller rivers and sources, which water the valleys.
One of the
must considerable of these is the river of Goul, which takes its rise
near a Turkman encampment [p.634] of the same name, about six hours
distant from St. Simon, to the W. by N. in a small lake, about one mile
and a half in circumference, and joins the waters of the Afrin, eight
miles from its source. This beautiful little lake is so full of fish,
that the boys of Goul kill them by throwing stones at them. The river
turns several mills near Goul, and five or six more at six miles
distance, at a place called Tahoun Kash, near a spot where the chieftain
of the Ryhanlu, Mursal Oglu Hayder Aga, has built a house for his winter
residence, and has planted a garden. On the right bank of the Afrin,
about three quarters of an hour distant from it, and at three hours ride
to the N.-westward of the tent of Mohammed Ali, my Turkman host, are two
warm springs at half an hour's walk from each other. I only saw the
southernmost, which is strongly impregnated with sulphur, and made my
thermometer rise to 102°; it constantly bubbles from a bottom of coarse
gravel, in the middle of the bason, which is about twenty feet in
circumference, and four feet deep. The sulphureous smell begins to be
sensible at a distance of twenty-five yards from it, and I was told that
the northern spring was still more sulphureous. The Turkmans hold the
medicinal powers of these springs, as baths, in great estimation: women
as well as men use them for the cure of violent headaches, which are
very prevalent amongst them. The fields of the Turkmans are sown with
wheat, barley, and several kinds of pulse. Their wheat was sown only a
fortnight before my arrival, viz, about the twentieth of February. As it
is only a short time since they have become agriculturists, they have
not yet any plantations of fruit trees, although the olive, pomegranate,
and fig would certainly prosper in their valleys. Thirty years ago the
hills which they now inhabit were partly covered with wood; the trade of
firewood with Aleppo, however, has entirely consumed these forests. At
present they cut the wood for the Aleppo market, in the mountains of the
Kurds on the northern side of the Afrin, and when that shall fail,
Aleppo must depend for its fuel upon the coast of Caramania, from whence
Egypt is now supplied. The Turkman hills are inhabited by vast numbers
of jackals; wolves, and foxes are also numerous; and I saw flocks of
Gazelles, to the number of twenty or thirty in each flock; among a great
variety of birds is the Francoline, which the Syrian sportsmen esteem
the choicest of all game. In the mountains of Badjazze, which borders on
the Turkman plains, stags are sometimes killed. The Turkmans are
passionately fond of hawking; they course the game with grey-hounds, or
if in the plain, they run it down with their horses.
The population of the Ryhanlu Turkmans may be roughly calculated from
the number of their tents, which amount to about three thousand; every
tent contains from two or three to fifteen inmates. They can raise a
military force of two or three thousand horsemen, and of as many
infantry. They are divided into thirteen minor tribes: 1. The
Serigialar, or tribe of the chief of the Ryhanlu Turkmans, Hayder Aga,
has five hundred horsemen. 2. Coudanlut, six hundred. 3. Cheuslu, two
hundred. 4. Leuklu, one hundred. 5. Kara Akhmetlu one hundred and fifty.
6. Kara Solimanlu, fifty. 7. Delikanlu, six hundred. 8. Toroun, sixty.
9. Bahaderlu, one hundred. 10. Hallalu, sixty. 11. Karken, twenty. 12.
Aoutshar, twenty. 13. Okugu, fifty. The Serigialar derive their origin
from Maaden, the Cheuslu from the [p.635] neighbourhood of Badjazze, the
Babaderli from the mountains of St. Simon, the Halalis from Barak. Each
tribe has its own chief, whose rank in the Divan is determined by the
strength his tribe; Hayder Aga presides amongst them whenever it is
found necessary to call together a common council. His authority over
the Ryhanlus seems to be almost absolute, as he sometimes carries his
motions in the Divan even against the opinion and will of the assembled
chiefs. He settles the disputes, which occur between these chiefs, and
which are often accompanied by hostile incursions into one another’s
territory. The chiefs decide all disputes among their own followers
according to the feeble knowledge which they possess of the Turkish
laws; but appeals from their tribunal may be made to that of the grand
chief. The whole Ryhanlu tribe is tributary to Tshapan Oglu, the
powerful governor of the eastern part of Anatolia, who resides at
Yuzgat. They pay him an annual tribute of six thousand two hundred and
fifteen piastres, in horses, cattle, &c. He claims also the right of
nominating to the vacant places of chieftains; but his influence over
the Turkman Ryhanlu having of late much diminished, this right is at
present merely nominal. The predecessors of Hayder Aga used to receive
their Firmahn of nomination, or rather of confirmation, from the Porte.
When the tribute for Tshapan Oglu is collected, Hayder Aga generally
gives in an account of disbursements incurred during the preceding year
for the public service, such as presents to officers of the Porte
passing through the camp, expenses of entertaining strangers of rank,
&c. &c. The tribute, as well as Hayder Aga’s demands, are levied from
the tribes according to the repartition of the minor Agas; and each
chief takes that opportunity of adding to the sum to which his tribe is
assessed, four or five hundred piastres, which make up his only income
as chief.
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