Orders Have In Consequence Been Given To Strike Off His
Head.
Although his strong fortress enables him to defy these orders, his
dread of being surprised induces him to try every means in his power to
obtain his pardon from the Porte, and he has even sent considerable sums
of money to Constantinople.
[Damascus. April 28, 1812.--In the latter
end of March, Milly Ismayl went to Hamah on some private business, and
during his absence with his troops Topal Aly quietly seized upon the
castle. The former now lives in retirement at Hamah, while the power and
reputation of Topal have been thus considerably increased in the
northern parts of Syria.] Under these circumstances my companion and
myself were afraid that he might lay hold of us, in order to make our
deliverance subservient to his purposes; we therefore passed by the foot
of the hill, while we sent in our attendants to buy some provisions. The
castle is built upon an almost insulated hill, communicating on its
eastern side only with the mountain called Djebel
VALLEY OF THE ORONTES.
[p.139]Oerimy [Arabic], the southernmost point of Djebel Shaehsabou,
which turns off here towards the east, and continues for about three
hours in an easterly direction. To the south of Oerimy the undulations
of the mountain continue for about three hours, and terminate in the
plain of Terimsy, of which I shall speak presently. The castle of Medyk
is built of small stones, with several turrets, and is evidently of
modern construction. On the E. side, close to the gate, are ruined
habitations; and to the S. on the declivity of the hill, is a mosque
enclosed by a wall, which forms a kind of out-work to the castle. Within
the castle wall are thirty or forty houses, inhabited by Turks and Greek
Christians. I was told that the only relic of antiquity is a wall in the
governor's palace, built with large blocks of stone. At the western foot
of the hill is a warm sulphureous spring, the water from which forms a
pond; on the edge of the pond I found a fragment of a fine fluted Doric
column. Near the spring is a large Khan for the accommodation of
travellers. On the N. side of the hill are several columns scattered
about.
As we wished to follow the valley of the Orontes as far as possible, we
continued in the direction S. by W. along the plain, instead of taking
the straight road towards Hamah. Half an hour from Kalaat el Medyk is
Ayn Djoufar [Arabic], a rivulet flowing down the eastern hills through
Wady Djoufar; it runs towards the castle, and empties itself into the
pond at the castle spring. Up in the hills, in the direction of Wady
Djoufar, are the villages of Keframbouda [Arabic], Kournas [Arabic],
Sheikh Hadid [Arabic], and Djournye [Arabic], a little beyond Ayn
Djoufar we passed the spring Ayn Abou Attouf [Arabic]. In three quarters
of an hour, another rivulet called Ayn el Sheikh Djouban [Arabic], whose
source is up in the hills. The valley El Ghab continues here of the same
breadth as below. In the plain, about three quarters of
SEKEYLEBYE.
[p.140]an hour from Kalaat el Medyk, is a broad ditch, about fifteen
feet deep, and forty in breadth, which may be traced for an hour and a
half, towards the Orontes; near it is the village El Khandak (or the
Ditch.) This ditch is not paved, and may formerly have served for the
irrigation of the plain.
After proceeding for two hours from the castle, our two guides refused
to go any farther, insisting that it would be impossible to continue
longer in the valley; to say the truth, it was in many parts covered
with water, or deep mud, for the rains had been incessant during several
months, and the road we had already come, from the castle, was with
difficulty passable; we were therefore obliged to yield, and turning to
our left a little way up the hill, rested at the village of Sekeylebye
[Arabic], situated on one of the low hills, near a rivulet called Wady
Sekeylebye. I may here observe that the springs coming from the eastern
mountains of the Ghab never dry up, and scarcely even diminish during
the height of summer.
From a point over the village, which belongs to Hamah, I took the
following bearings: Tel Zeyn Abdein, near Hamah, S.E. Djebel Erbayn,
between Hamah and Homs, S.S.E. The gap which separates the Anti-Libanus
from the northern chain, to the W. of Homs and Hamah, S.by E. The
highest point of Djebel Szoleyb, to the W. of Hamah and Homs, S. Tel
Aasheyrne, in the plain, S. by W., Djebel Maszyad S.W. The eastern
termination of Djebel Shaehsabou N.E. by E. To the S. and E. of
Sekeylebye open the great plains which extend to the desert. To the S.
distant one hour, near the borders of the hills which enclose the valley
of the Ghab on this side, lies the Anzeyry village of Sherrar [Arabic],
a quarter of an hour from whence is an insulated hill called Tel
Amouryn. Two hours southward of Sekeylebye is Tel Aasheyrne, and half an
hour farther, Tel el Shehryh. In the valley,
[p.141]about one hour and a half S.W. of Sekeylebye, lies the village El
Haourat [Arabic], with a ford over the Orontes, where there is a great
carp [Arabic] fishery. On the other side of the river is the insulated
hillock Tel el Kottra [Arabic]. The highest point of the mountain of the
Anzeyrys, on the W. side of the Orontes, appears to be opposite to
Kalaat el Medyk; it is called Kubbet Neby Metta [Arabic], and has a
chapel upon it, dedicated to the saint Metta, who is held in great
veneration by the Anzeyrys. The principal villages in this mountain,
belonging to the Anzeyrys, who live there upon the produce of their
excellent tobacco plantations, are the following:
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