The only remains are large heaps of black hewn
stones, many foundations of houses, and the fragments of a few columns.
I saw only a single shaft of a column standing. In one of the valleys is
a large mound of earth, which appeared to me to be artificial; it was
the site perhaps of a castle for the defence of the town. On the left
bank of the stream is a large Khan, where the caravans repose which take
the shortest road from Jerusalem to Damascus.
The present village of Bysan contains seventy or eighty houses; its
inhabitants are in a miserable condition, from being exposed to the
depredations of the Bedouins of the Ghor, to whom they also pay a heavy
tribute. After waiting here some time for the arrival of the caravan, we
rode across the valley, till we reached the
VALLEY OF THE JORDAN
[p.344] banks of the Jordan, about two hours distant from Bysan, which
bore N.N.W. from us. We here crossed the river at a ford, where our
companions arrived soon afterwards.
The valley of the Jordan, or El Ghor (Arabic), which may be said to
begin at the northern extremity of the lake of Tiberias, has near Bysan
a direction of N. by E. and S. by W. Its breadth is about two hours.
