Opposite to these ruins I copied the following from a stone built in the
wall of one of the private dwellings:
[Greek]
and this from a stone in the court-yard of a peasant's house:
[Greek].
[p.76]On the north side of the village are the ruins also of what was
once an elegant structure; but nothing now remains except a part of the
front, and some arches in the interior. It is thirty paces in length,
with a flight of steps, of the whole length of the building, leading up
to it. The entrance is through a large door whose sides and architrave
are richly sculptured. On each side is a smaller door, between which and
the great door are two niches supported by Ionic pilasters, the whole
finely worked. Within are three aisles or rows of arches, of which the
central is much the largest; they rest upon short thick columns of the
worst taste.
At some distance to the north of the village stands a small insulated
tower; over its entrance are three inscriptions, of which I copied the
two following; the third I was unable to read, as the sun was setting
before I had finished the others:
1. [Greek].
[p.77]
2. [Greek]
EL HAIT
There are several similar towers in the village, but without
inscriptions.
The inhabitants of Shakka grow cotton; they are all Druses, except a
single Greek family. To the S.E. of the village is the spring Aebenni
[Arabic] with the ruined village Tefkha, about three quarters of an hour
distant from Shakka. E.b.N. from Shakka one hour lies Djeneine
[Arabic], the last inhabited village on this side towards the desert. Its
inhabitants are the shepherds of the people of El Hait. Half an hour to
the north of Djeneine is Tel-Maaz [Arabic], a hill on which is a ruined
village. This is the N.E. limit of the mountain, which here turns off
towards the S. behind Djeneine. At three quarters of an hour from
Shakka, N.N.W. is El Hait, inhabited entirely by Catholic Christians.
Here we slept. I copied the following inscriptions at El Hait:
From a stone in one of the streets of the village:
[Greek]
From a stone over the door of a private dwelling:
[Greek].
TEL SHOHBA.
[p.78]Upon a stone in the wall of another house, I found the figure of a
quadruped rudely sculptured in relief.
On the wall of a solid building are the two following inscriptions:
[Greek]
On the wall of another building:
[Greek]
East of El Hait three quarters of an hour lies the village Heitt
[Arabic].
November 16th.--We returned from Hait, directing our route towards Tel
Shiehhan. In one hour we passed the village of Ammera.
