May 8th.--Our route lay N.E. At two hours from Nowa is the village Kasem [Arabic], which forms the southern limits of the district of Djedour, and the northern frontier of Djolan; some people, however, reckon Djolan the limits of Nowa. One hour E.b.S. of Kasem stands the village Om el Mezabel [Arabic]; one hour and a half E.N.E. of Kasem. the great village Onhol [Arabic]. In two hours and a half from Nowa we passed, to the left, distant about half an hour, the Tel el Hara [Arabic], with the village of the same name at its foot; this is the highest Tel in the plains of Haouran and Djolan. Three hours and a quarter is the village Semnein [Arabic]; and three hours and three quarters, the village Djedye [Arabic]. The plain was badly cultivated in these parts. From hence our road turned N.N.E. At five hours is Kefer Shams [Arabic], with some ancient buildings; all these villages have large Birkets. At five hours and three quarters is Deir e Aades [Arabic], a ruined village in a stony district, intersected by several Wadys. Six hours and a quarter, Tel Moerad [Arabic]; eight hours Tel Shak-hab [Arabic], a village with a small castle, and copious springs; it lies about an hour and a half to the west of Soubbet Faraoun. The cattle of a large encampment of Naym wa spread over the whole plain near Shak-hab. At eight hours and three quarters, there was on our left a rocky country resembling the Ledja; it is called War Ezzaky [Arabic], and has a ruined Khan called Ezzeiat [Arabic]; the millstones for the supply of Damascus are hewn in this War, which consists of the black Haouran stone. In ten hours we reached Khan Denoun; and in ten hours and three quarters, long after sun-set, the village El Kessoue. May 9th.--We arrived early in the morning at Damascus. [p.285] POLITICAL DIVISIONS OF THE COUNTRY TO THE SOUTHWARD OF DAMASCUS WITH REMARKS ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE HAOURAN. Before I submit to the reader, a few general remarks upon the inhabitants of the Haouran, I shall briefly recapitulate the political divisions of the country which extends to the southward of Damascus, as far as Wady Zerka. 1. El Ghoutta [Arabic]. Under this name is comprehended the immediate neighhourhood of Damascus, limited on the north by Djebel Szalehie, on the west by the Djebel el Sheikh, on the south by Djebel Kessoue, and on the east by the plain El Merdj. It is under the immediate government of the Mutsellim of Damascus. All the gardens of Damascus are reckoned in the Ghoutta, which contains upwards of eighty villages, and is one of the most fertile districts in Syria.