This Route Is Much Frequented
By The People Of Kesrouan, Who Bring This Way The Iron Ore Of Shouair,
To The Mesbek Or Smelting Furnaces At Nebae El Mauradj, Two Hours From
Hence To The North-East, Shouair, Which Is At Least Ten Hours Distance,
Affording No Fuel For Smelting.
The iron ore is carried upon mules and
asses, one day's journey and a half to the Mesbek, where the mountain
abounds in oak.
From Aine Naena we gradually descended, and in three
hours reached Zahle.
October 6th.--At Zahle I found the Catholic bishop, who was absent on
his episcopal tour during my first visit to this place. He is
distinguished from his countrymen by the politeness of his manners, the
liberality of his sentiments, his general information, and his desire of
knowledge, though at a very advanced age. I had letters for him; and he
recommended himself particularly to me by being the friend of Mr.
Browne, the African traveller, who had lived with him a fortnight, and
had visited
ZAHLE.
[p.28] Baalbec in his company. His diocese comprises the whole Christian
community in the Bekaa, and the adjoining villages of the mountain. He
is, with five other bishops, under the orders of the Patriarch at
Mekhalis, and there are, besides, seven monasteries under this diocese
in Syria. The Bishop's revenue arises from a yearly personal tax of half
a piastre upon all the male adults in his diocese. He lives in a truly
patriarchal manner, dressing in a simple black gown, and black Abbaye,
and carries in his hand a long oaken stick, as an episcopal staff. He is
adored by his parishioners, though they reproach him with a want of
fervour in his intercourse with other Christian sects; by which they
mean fanatism, which is a striking feature in the character of the
Christians not only of the mountain, but also of the principal Syrian
towns, and of the open country. This bigotry is not directed so much
against the Mohammedans, as against their Christian brethren, whose
creed at all differs from their own.
It need hardly be mentioned here, that many of those sects which tore
Europe to pieces in the earlier ages of Christianity, still exist in
these countries: Greeks, Catholics, Maronites, Syriacs, Chaldeans, and
Jacobites, all have their respective parishes and churches. Unable to
effect any thing against the religion of their haughty rulers the Turks,
they turn the only weapons they possess, scandal and intrigue, with fury
against each other, and each sect is mad enough to believe that its
church would flourish on the ruins of those of their heretic brethren.
The principal hatred subsists between the Catholics and the Greeks; of
the latter, many thousands have been converted to Catholicism, so that
in the northern parts of Syria all Catholics, the Maronites excepted,
were formerly of the Greek church: this is the case in Aleppo, Damascus,
and in all the intermediate country; communities of original Latin
Christians being found only around Jerusalem and Nablous.
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