Since the late change in the government of Damascus, Syria enjoys perfect tranquillity, the whole of the country, excepting only the territory of Aleppo, being now in the hands of Soleiman Pasha of Damascus. It is said, that he is determined to set out next winter with the Hadj, but I very much doubt whether he will be able to make good this promise to the Porte. The Wahabi chief has been for some time past embarrassed by domestic dissensions. Three of his sons have become rebels; in December last they plundered a part of their father’s treasures at Derayeh, while the latter was sacrificing upon Mount Arafat near Mekka, and they have now retired to the city of El Hassa, near the Persian gulf, where Ibn Saoud is preparing to besiege them. At Aleppo the power is still in the hands of the rebellious Janissaries. A few hundred of them set out last summer to join the grand Vizier’s army before Adrianople, but they returned at the approach of winter; these are the only troops which the Sultan has been able to draw from Syria.
Aleppo, Sept. 7, 1811.
The most untoward circumstances have prevented until now my long projected excursion into the desert towards the Euphrates. Since my last, I have been continually endeavouring to find means to re-enter the desert, with some degree of security, but the state of the country has always thrown insurmountable obstacles in my way. The neighbourhood of Aleppo has been infested since spring, until about a month ago, by great numbers of Aenezy Arabs, who had declared war against the towns people as well as against the Manali Arabs, who are looked upon as the hereditary friends of the Aleppo government. The Aenezy have ruined about forty villages, have eaten up the whole harvest of the open country, and have rendered the roads so insecure that nobody dares travel but in the company of a large caravan. I repeatedly tried to take some of the Aenezy for my guides, and had chosen one from each of the principal tribes who surrounded Aleppo, as the only means left to me to execute my design; but the exorbitant demands of these people greatly exceeded my powers, and I was moreover informed that the Aenezy had declared war upon the Arabs of the Zor, or valley of Euphrates, which was exactly the country I wished to visit; I was therefore obliged to wait till the Aenezy should have retired from this neighbourhood. It is now about a month since they returned into the interior of the desert, to meet the autumnal rains; and I am now on the point of setting out. A caravan arrived here a few days ago from Sokhne, a village in the desert, five days journey from hence on the Bagdad route. The people of that village, together with the inhabitants of Tedmor or Palmyra, bring to Aleppo once or twice every year alcali, which they collect in the desert. The day after tomorrow the caravan is to return to Sokhne, and I intend to proceed with it in order to visit from thence Deir, the ancient Thapsacus, and several ruined places which I have heard much spoken of. I intend to return if possible along the shores of the Euphrates, although I am afraid that the eternal quarrels of the Arabs of the Zor may put many obstacles in my stay. The Shikh of Sokhne, to whom I am strongly recommended, and to whom I carry some small presents, is a powerful man in those parts, and will certainly take care of my safe return to Aleppo; I shall then only remain as long in Aleppo as will be necessary to copy my Journal and put it in order, and proceed to Damascus, to trace my way from thence into Egypt round the Dead Sea. My present tour will take up about seven or eight weeks.i[6]
My time at Aleppo has been exclusively taken up in endeavours to enlarge my knowledge of Arabic. I have completed the perusal of several of the best Arabic authors, prosaic writers as well as poets; I have read over the Koran twice, and have got by heart several of its chapters and many of its sentences; I am likewise nearly finishing a thorough course of the precepts of the Mohammedan religion, a learned Effendi having taken upon himself the task of explaining to me the book of Ibrahim Halebi on the religious laws of the Turks. This is the book upon which D’Ohsson has grounded his excellent work.
There is no kind of political news in these parts. It is a long time since we have heard of the Wahabi. Aleppo continues in the hands of the Janissaries, but it is said that Gharib Pasha, whom the Porte has lately named Pasha of Aleppo, is collecting in Anatolia a considerable force to subdue these rebels. Damascus, Tripoli, and Acre, are completely under the dominion of Soleiman Pasha, but it is known that Mohammed Aly, Pasha of Egypt, spares neither intrigues nor money to dispossess Soleiman at least of one of his Pashaliks. The pilgrimage from Damascus to Mecca is again put off for another year. There is a great scarcity all over Syria; wheat has risen to an exorbitant price, and the two last years having been remarkably dry, almost every kind of vegetable has failed. The same quantity of wheat which at the time of my arrival at Aleppo sold for six piastres and a half, is now worth twenty-seven. Such scarcity makes travelling much less pleasant, and the natives much less inclined to forward the stranger’s purposes.
Damascus, May 30, 1812.
The last, which I had the honour to address you, was from Aleppo. It was accompanied by a large chest of Arabic manuscripts. Incessant rains delayed my departure from Aleppo, until the 14th of February. I arrived on the 3d of March at Tripoli, and on the 22d at Damascus. Being very desirous of visiting the Haouran once more before I should leave Syria, in order to examine those parts which I had not been able to see during my first tour through that country, I set out with this object, as soon as I was satisfied of the tranquil state of the Pashalik. I left this city on the 21st April, and returned to it on the 9th May. One of the packets of papers herewith inclosed contains my notes on this journey through the Haouran, and part of the ancient Decapolis; the second consists of my observations during the previous journey from Aleppo to Damascus. The third paper contains corrections and annotations to the description of Bedouin manners, which I hope has long since reached you.
I intend to set out from hence in a few days. It is my wish to proceed along the eastern borders of the Dead Sea into Arabia Petræa, to visit there if possible, some unknown districts, and to make my way from thence straight to Cairo.
Although my arrival in Egypt will thus be still further delayed, I trust that the Committee will not be displeased at this delay. The countries I have seen, and am now about to visit, are of difficult access, and not without interest to literature; and without going to great expense, or knowing the language and manners of the country, European travellers cannot expect to be able to explore them. Thinking myself in some measure qualified for the journey, I perform it, as a general would take possession of any strong post on his way, even without any express commands to that purpose. Such, indeed, have been my only motives for undertaking these journies, which are sufficiently laborious and hazardous, not to be mistaken for tours of pleasure. That which I am now entering upon is certainly subjected to almost as many difficulties as any African travels can be. In performing it, I hope to complete my preliminary exercises, and at the same time to obtain some information upon the geography of an unknown region. The Committee will decide whether I do right or wrong. Their disapproval indeed would far outweigh any satisfaction I may derive from the success of the journey.
I cannot quit Syria without repeating that the kind services and most friendly treatment of Mr. Barker, the British Consul at Aleppo, have put me under everlasting obligations to him. He is a most worthy man and of very superior talents. Being at present the only Englishman established in these countries, the important care of the English interests in Syria is exclusively confided to him; and the reputation which he has acquired in every part of the country by his prudent and generous conduct proves him fully equal to the charge.