One hour and three quarters, passed
Wady Kefr el Laha [Arabic]. At the end of two hours we reached Aatyl
[Arabic], a small Druse village in the midst of the wood. Here are the
remains of two handsome temples; that which is on the N. side, is in
complete ruins; it consisted of a square building, with a high arch
across its roof; two niches were on each side of the gate, and in front
of it a portico of columns, the number of which it is impossible to
determine, the ground being covered by a heap of fragments of columns,
architraves, and large square stones. This temple is called El Kaszr.
From a small stone in its precincts I copied the following letters:
[Greek].
On the outside wall of the temple is the following inscription in
remarkably fine characters.
[Greek].
On the S.E. side of Aatyl stands the other temple, which is of small
dimensions but of elegant construction. It has a portico of two
[p.223]columns and two pilasters, each of which has a projecting base
for a statue, elevated from the ground about one-third of the height of
the column, like the pillars of the great colonnade at Palmyra. The
columns are Corinthian, but not of the best time of that order.
