The Upper Part Of The Mountains Consists Entirely Of
Siliceous Rock.
We passed on the road several spots where the Bedouins
cultivate Dhourra.
We were well received by the Bedouins of the encampment; who are on good
terms with the people of Szalt: one of the principal Sheikhs of which
place is married to the daughter of the chief of this tribe. They belong
to the Ghanemat, whose Sheikh, called
THE BELKA
[p.368] Abd el Mohsen (Arabic), is one of the first men in the Belka.
The chief tribe in this province, for many years, was the Adouan, but
they are now reduced to the lowest condition by their inveterate enemies
the Beni Szakher. The latter, whose abode had for a long space of time
been on the Hadj road, near Oella (Arabic), were obliged, by the
increasing power of the Wahabi, to retire towards the north. They
approached the Belka, and obtained from the Adouan, who were then in
possession of the excellent pasturage of this country, permission to
feed their cattle here, on paying a small annual tribute. They soon
proved, however, to be dangerous neighbours; having detached the greater
part of the other tribes of the Belka from their alliance with the
Adouan, they have finally succeeded in driving the latter across the
Zerka, notwithstanding the assistance which they received from the Pasha
of Damascus. Peace had been made in 1810, and both tribes had encamped
together near Amman, when Hamoud el Szaleh, chief of the Adouan, made a
secret arrangement with the Pasha’s troops, and the tribe of Rowalla,
who were at war with the Beni Szakher to make a united attack upon them.
The plot was well laid, but the valour of the Beni Szakher proved a
match for the united forces of their enemies; they lost only about a
dozen of their horsemen, and about two thousand sheep, and since that
time an inveterate enmity has existed between the Beni Szakher and the
Adouan. The second chief of Adouan, an old man with thirteen sons, who
always accompany him to the field, joined the Beni Szakher, as did also
the greater part of the Arabs of the Belka. In 1812, the Adouan were
driven into the mountains of Adjeloun, and to all appearance will never
be able to re-enter the Belka.[For the enumeration of the Belka Arabs,
see the classification of Syrian Bedouins, in the Appendix.]
The superiority of the pasturage of the Belka over that of all southern
Syria, is the cause of its possession being thus contested.
ZERKA MAYN
[p.369] The Bedouins have this saying, “Thou canst not find a country
like the Belka.”—Methel el Belka ma teltaka (Arabic); the beef and
mutton of this district are preferred to those of all others. The
Bedouins of the Belka are nominally subject to an annual tribute to the
Pasha of Damascus; but they are very frequently in rebellion, and pay
only when threatened by a superior force.
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