Travels in Syria and the Holy LandBurckhardt, John Lewis
History
Travels in Syria and the Holy Land
Burckhardt, John Lewis
Palestine -- Description and travel; Syria -- Description and travel
We left the village about mid-day, and crossed the mountain in a
northerly direction, by the short foot way to Rieha; in half an hour we
reached the point of the mountain directly over Rieha. It is this part
of the Djebel Rieha which is properly called Djebel Erbayn. In the last
century a summer residence was built here just above the town; but it is
now abandoned, although a most beautiful spot, surrounded by fruit trees
of all sorts, with a copious spring, and presenting a magnificent view
over the plains of Aleppo and Edlip. A spring, which here issues from
under the rock, collects in front of the building into a large basin,
from whence it flows down to Rieha. I here took the following bearings;
Edlip N. by E.; Sermein N.E.b.N.; Mount St. Simon N.N.E.; Khan Touman
E.N.E.; Djebel el Ala N.; Djebel Akra W.N.W. About one hour N.E. of
Rieha lies the village Haleya.
From Djebel Erbayn we continued our road in a S.S.W. direction, on the
declivity of the mountain of Rieha. In half an hour
EL BARA.
[p.129] we passed a copious spring, enclosed by a square building,
called El Monboaa [Arabic]. In the plain to the right we saw the village
Kefrzebou [Arabic], and half an hour to the west of it another, called
Ourim [Arabic]. We met with several sepulchral caves on our road.
Wherever, in these parts, the soil admits of culture, wheat and barley
are sown among the rocks. If such spots are distant from a village, the
cultivators pitch a few tents for the purpose of watching the seed and
crop; such encampments are called Mezraa [Arabic]. In an hour and ten
minutes we reached Nahle; two hours and forty minutes the village
Meghara [Arabic], with many remains of ancient buildings. Here I saw a
neat sepulchral cave with a vaulted portico supported by two pillars. In
three hours we reached the village Merayan [Arabic]; the direction of
our route sometimes S.W. sometimes S.S.W. Just by Merayan is a large
coffin, cut in the rocky ground, like those of Kefr Lata; and near it a
spring, with ancient walls. In three hours and twenty minutes we came to
Ahsin [Arabic], half an hour to the west of which is the village Eblim
[Arabic]. The principal produce of all these villages is grapes, which
are carried to the Aleppo market, and there sold, in ordinary years, at
about nine shillings per quintal; or else they are boiled to form the
sweet glutinous extract called Debs, which is a substitute for sugar all
over the East. At the end of four hours and a half we reached the
village El Bara [Arabic], where we finished our day's journey; but we
met with a very cold reception, although I had taken the precaution of
obtaining a letter of recommendation to the Sheikh of the village from
the proprietor of it, Taleb Effendi, of the family Tcheleby Effendi Toha
Zade, the first house of Aleppo.
Half an hour N.W. of Bara lies the village Belyoum. A high hill,
contiguous to the Djebel Rieha, called Neby Ayoub [Arabic], bears N.W.
from El Bara, distant about an hour and three
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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