After A Siege Of Five Months Soleiman Pasba Of
Acre Interceded For Berber, And Youssef Pasha, Glad Of A Pretext
For
retreating, granted the garrison every kind of military honours; the
remaining provisions in the castle were sold to the
Pasha for ready
money, and in February, 1809, Berber, accompanied by the officers of
Soleiman Pasha, left the castle and retired to Acre. He was again named
governor of Tripoli, when Soleiman Pasha of Acre and Damascus was, in
1810, invested with the Pashalik of Tripoli.
Seid Soleiman, Pasha of Damascus, received the same charge in 1812.
During our stay at Tripoli, Berber was in the neigbbourhood of Ladakie,
making war against some rebel Anzeyrys; the castle of Tripoli was
intrusted to the command of an Aga of Arnaouts, without being under the
orders of Berber. It is very probable that Berber may yet become a
conspicuous character in Syrian affairs, being a man of great spirit,
firmness, and justice. The town of Tripoli was never in a better state
than when under his command.
March 12th.--Having spent ten days at Tripoli very pleasantly, I took
leave of my companion, who went to Ladakie and Antioch, and set out with
a guide towards Damascus, with the intention of visiting the Kesrouan,
and paying my respects to the chief of the
DEIR KEIFTEIN.
[p.172] mountain, the Emir Beshir, at Deir el Kammar. On the way I
wished to visit some ruins in the Koura, which I had heard of at
Tripoli. I therefore turned out of the great road, which follows the sea
shore as far as Beirout. We set out in the evening, ascended the castle
hill to the S. of the town, and arrived after an hour and a half at Deir
Keiftein [Arabic], where I slept. The road lay through a wood of olive
trees, on the left bank of the Kadisha; over the lowest declivities of
the Libanus. It is a part of the district El Koura, the principal
produce of which is oil. The Zawye, on the other side of the Kadisha,
also produces oil, and at the same time more grain than the Koura. Every
olive tree here is worth from fifteen to twenty piastres. The soil in
which the trees grow is regularly ploughed, but nothing is sown between
the trees, as it is found that any other vegetation diminishes the
quantity of olives. The ground round the stem is covered to the height
of two or three feet with earth, to prevent the sun from hurting the
roots, and to give it the full benefit of the rains. We met with a few
tents of Arabs Zereykat and El Hayb, who were pasturing their sheep upon
the wild herbs by the road side.
At half an hour's distance to the right runs the Djebel Kella [Arabic]
in a north-easterly direction towards the sea; this mountain is under
the immediate government of Tripoli, the Emir Beshir, to whom the whole
Libanus belongs, not having been yet able to gain possession of it. The
following are the principal villages of the Kella: Deyr Sakoub, Diddy,
Fya, Kelhat, Betouratydj, Ras Meskha, Bersa, Nakhle, Beterran, Besh,
Mysyn, Afs Dyk.
Keiftein is a small Greek convent, with a prior and two monks only; a
small village of the same name stands near it. In the burying ground of
the convent is a fine marble sarcophagus, under which an English consul
of Tripoli lies buried. A long English nscription, with a Latin
translation, records the virtues of John
DEIR DEMITRY.
[p.173] Carew, Esq. of Pembrokeshire, who was fifty years consul at
Tripoli, and died the 5th of May, 1747, seventy-seven years of age.
March 13th.--Our road lay through the olive plantations called El Bekeya
[Arabic], between the Upper Libanus and the Djebel Kella. Half an hour
to the right of the road, upon the latter mountain, is the village
Nakhle, below it, Betouratydj, farther up the hill Fya, then, more to
the south, Bedobba, and lastly, Afs Dyk; these villages stand very near
together, although the Kella is very rocky, and little fit for culture;
the peasants, however, turn every inch of ground to advantage. Half an
hour from Keiftein is the village Ferkahel [Arabic], on the side of the
river; we saw here a few old date trees, of which there are also some at
Nakhle. The inhabitants of the Koura are for the greater part of the
Greek church; in Zawye all the Christians are Maronites. At one hour
from Keiftein is the village Beserma [Arabic]. One hour and three
quarters, continuing in the valley between the Libanus and the Kella, is
the village Kfer Akka; we here turned up the Libanus. Half an hour from
the Kfer Akka, on the side of the mountain, is a considerable village
called Kesba, with the convent of Hantoura [Arabic]. At the same
distance S. of Akka, is the village Kfer Zeroun [Arabic]. Two hours and
a quarter from Keiftein, on the declivity of the mountain, is the
convent of St. Demetrius, or Deir Demitry. I here left my mare, and
walked up the mountain to see the ruins of which I had been informed at
Tripoli. In twenty minutes I reached the remains of an ancient town,
standing on a piece of level ground, but with few houses remaining.
These ruins are called by the people of the country Naous or Namous,
which name is supposed to be derived from the word [Arabic], i.e. a
burying-place; but I think its derivation from the Greek [Greek] more
probable. On the S. side stand the ruins of two temples, which are worth
the
NAOUS.
[p.174]traveller's attention. The smaller one is very much like the
temple of Hossn el Forsul, near Zahle, which I had seen on my way to
Baalbec; it is an oblong building of about the same size; and is built
with large square stones. The entrance is to the east.
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