It Is
A Common Saying And Belief Among The Turks, That All The Animal Kingdom
Was Converted By Their Prophet To The True Faith, Except The Wild Boar
And Buffalo, Which Remained Unbelievers; It Is On This Account That Both
These Animals Are Often Called Christians.
We are not surprised that the
boar should be so denominated; but as the flesh of the buffalo, as
Well
as its Leben or sour milk, is much esteemed by the Turks, it is
difficult to account for the disgrace into which that animal has fallen
among them; the only reason I could learn for it, is that the buffalo,
like the hog, has a habit of rolling in the mud, and of plunging into
the muddy ponds in the summer time, up to the very nose, which alone
remains visible above the surface.
The territory of Djissr Shogher extends as far as Howash; from thence,
southward, begins the district of Kalaat el Medyk. The Sheikh of Howash,
called Mohammed el Omar, is noted in the adjoining districts for his
hospitality; but within bthese few years he
AYN UKTOL.
[p.136]has been reduced from great wealth to poverty by the extortions
of Topal Aly of Djissr Shogher, and of Milly Ismayl of Kalaat el Medyk;
the troops which are continually passing from one place to another are
consuming the last remains of his property. The night we slept at his
house, there were at least fifty people at supper, of whom about thirty
were poor Arabs of his village; the others were all strangers.
We left Howash early in the morning, and rode along the eastern
mountains, in this beautiful valley, which I can compare only to the
valley of the Bekaa between the two Libani; the Ghab, however, has this
great advantage over the Bekaa, that it is copiously watered by a large
river and many rivulets, while the latter, in summer time, has little or
no water. At half an hour from Howash we met with several fragments of
shafts of columns, on the side of an ancient paved causeway. We followed
this causeway for upwards of an hour, although in some places no remains
of it were visible; at the distance of a quarter of an hour (at the rate
of about three miles and a half an hour), from the first heap of
fragments of columns, we met with a similar heap; then at an equal
interval a third, and again a fourth; not more than four columns seemed
to have stood together in any of these places. We conjectured that this
had been a Roman road, and the columns its milliaria. The causeway was
traced here and there farther to the south, but without any appearance
of stations; it probably followed the whole length of the valley from
Apamea to Djissr Shogher. One hour and a quarter from Howash is Ayn
Houyeth [Arabic], a copious spring. The Roman road is here about sixteen
feet in breadth. To the right, in the plain, is the village of Houyeth,
and near it another village, called Ain Uktol [Arabic]. On our right was
a perpendicular rock, upon which were patches of rich verdure.
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