The town of Szalt is situated on the declivity of a hill, crowned by a castle, and is surrounded on all sides by steep mountains. It is the only inhabited place in the province of Belka, and its inhabitants are quite independent. The Pashas of Damascus have several times endeavoured in vain to subdue them. Abdulla Pasha, the late governor, besieged the town for three months, without success. The population consists of about four hundred Musulman and eighty Christian families of the Greek church, who live in perfect amity and equality together: the Musulmans are composed of three tribes, the Beni Kerad (Arabic), the Owamele (Arabic), and the Kteyshat (Arabic), each of which has its separate quarter in the town; the principal Sheikhs, at present two in number, live in the castle; but they have no other authority over the rest than such as a Bedouin Sheikh exercises over his tribe. The castle was almost wholly rebuilt by the famous Dhaher el Omar,[See the history of Sheikh Dhaher, the predecessor of Djezzar Pasha in the government of Akka, in Volney. Voyage en Egypte et en Syrie, vol. ii. chap. 25. Ed.] who resided here several years. He obtained possession by the assistance of the weakest of the two parties into which the place AIN DJEDOUR [p.350] was divided, but he was finally driven out by the united efforts of both parties. The castle is well built, has a few old guns, and is surrounded by a wide ditch. In the midst of the town is a fine spring, to which there is a secret subterraneous passage from the castle, still made use of in times of siege. In a narrow valley about ten minutes walk from the town, is another spring called Ain Djedour (Arabic), the waters of both serve to irrigate the gardens and orchards which lie along the valley. Opposite to Ain Djedour is a spacious sepulchral cave cut in the rock, which the people affirm to have been a church. In the town, an old mosque is the only object that presents itself to the antiquary. The Christians have a small church, dedicated to the Virgin, where divine service is performed by two priests, who each receive annually from their community about £4. They are not very rigid observers either of their prayers or fasts; and although it was now the time of Lent with the Greeks, I daily saw the most respectable Christians eating flesh and butter.