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. From Ammera our way lay direct towards Tel Shiehhan. The village Um Ezzeitoun lay in the plain below, one hour distant, in the borders of the Ledja. Upon the top of Tel Shiehhan is a Meziar. Tel Szomeit [Arabic], a hill in the Ledja, was seen to the N.W. about three hours distant; Tel Aahere [Arabic], also in the Ledja, to the west, about four hours distant. The Tel Shiehhan is completely barren up to its top: near its eastern foot we passed the Wady Nimri w-el Heif, close to a mill which works in the winter SOUEIDA. [p.79]time. From hence we passed between the Tel Shiehhan and Tel Es- Szoub; the ground is here covered with heaps of porous tufa and pumice stone. The western side of the Tel Shohba seems to have been the crater of a volcano, as well from the nature of the minerals which lie collected on that side of the hill, as from the form of a part of the hill itself, resembling a crater, while the neighbouring mountains have rounded tops, without any sharp angles.