[Map not included] a, The town gate; b, the Serai or palace of the Mutsellim, a spacious building, which has lately been repaired; c, the mosque, a fine building, but in bad condition; d, the Catholic church; e, the gate of the Jews quarter; f, a mosque; g, a range of large vaults; h, a small town-gate now walled up; i, a newly built Bazar. The mosque (f) is a handsome arched building, and was anciently a church. The range of vaults at g, which are close to the sea shore, communicate with each other by cross alleys and have very low roofs, which terminate at top in a point: they are well built with stones joined with a very thick cement, and appear to have been destined for warehouses; in summer they are almost the only cool places in the town. I could not find any inscriptions, that might assist in determining their date.
Tabaria, with its district of ten or twelve villages, forms a part of the Pashalik of Akka. Being considered one of the principal points of defence of the Pashalik, a garrison of two or three hundred
[p.322] men is constantly kept here, the greater part of whom are married, and settled. During the reign of Djezzar a colony of two hundred Afghan soldiers were persuaded by the Pasha to establish themselves at Tabaria; many of them were natives of Kashmir: and among others their Aga, who was sent for expressly by Djezzar. After the Pashas death they dispersed over Syria, but I found two Kashmirines still remaining, who gave me the history of their colony in broken Arabic.
The Christian church is dedicated to St. Peter, and is said to have been founded on the spot where St. Peter threw his net. It belongs to the community of Terra Santa and is visited annually on St. Peters day by the Frank missionaries of Nazaret, who celebrate mass in it on this occasion. In the street, not far from the church, is a large stone, formerly the architrave of some building; upon which are sculptured in bas-relief two lions seizing two sheep.
There are about four thousand inhabitants in Tabaria, one-fourth of whom are Jews. The Christian community consists only of a few families, but they enjoy great liberty, and are on a footing of equality with the Turks. The difference of treatment which the Christians experience from the Turks in different parts of Syria is very remarkable. In some places a Christian would be deprived of his last farthing, if not of his life, were he to curse the Mohammedan religion when quarrelling with a Turk; while in others but a few hours distant, he retorts with impunity upon the Mohammedan, every invective which he may utter against the Christian religion. At Szaffad, where is a small Christian community, the Turks are extremely intolerant; at Tiberias, on the contrary, I have seen Christians beating Turks in the public Bazar. This difference seems chiefly to depend upon the character of the local
[p.323] government. That of Soleiman Pasha of Akka, the successor of Djezzar, is distinguished for its religious tolerance; while Damascus still continues to be the seat of fanatism, and will remain so as long as there are no Frank establishments or European agents in that city.
A Bazar has lately been built at Tabaria, in which I counted about a dozen retail shops. The traffic of the inhabitants is principally with the Bedouins of the Ghor, and of the district of Szaffad. The shopkeepers repair every Monday to the Khan at the foot of Mount Tabor, where a market, called Souk el Khan (Arabic) is held, and where the merchandize of the town is bartered chiefly for cattle. The far greater part of the inhabitants of Tabaria cultivate the soil; they sow the narrow plain to the west of the town, and the declivity of the western mountain, which they irrigate artificially by means of several springs. The heat of the climate would enable them to grow almost any tropical plant, but the only produce of their fields are wheat, barley, Dhourra, tobacco, melons, grapes, and a few vegetables. The melons are of the finest quality, and are in great demand at Akka and Damascus, where that fruit is nearly a month later in ripening. Knowing how fond the Syrians in general are of the early fruits, I sent to my friends at Damascus a mule load of these melons, which, according to eastern fashion, is a very acceptable and polite present. About three hundred and fifty pounds weight English of melons sell at Tabaria for about eight shillings. I was informed that the shrub which produces the balm of Mecca succeeds very well here, and that several people have it in their gardens.[Strabo mentions the [Greek], as growing on the lake, p. 755. Ed.] It was described to me as a low shrub, with leaves resembling those of the vine, the fruit about three inches long and in the form of a cucumber, changing from green to a yellow colour when ripe; it is gathered in June, oil is then poured over
[p.324] it, and in this state it is exposed to the sun, after which the juic[e] forming the balm is expressed from it.
The Jews of Tiberias occupy a quarter on the shore of the lake in the middle of the town, which has lately been considerably enlarged by the purchase of several streets: it is separated from the rest of the town by a high wall, and has only one gate of entrance, which is regularly shut at sunset, after which no person is allowed to pass. There are one hundred and sixty, or two hundred families, of which forty or fifty are of Polish origin, the rest are Jews from Spain, Barbary, and different parts of Syria. Tiberias is one of the four holy cities of the Talmud; the other three being Szaffad, Jerusalem, and Hebron. It is esteemed holy ground, because Jacob is supposed to have resided here, and because it is situated on the lake Genasereth, from which, according to the most generally received opinion of the Talmud, the Messiah is to rise. The greater part of the Jews who reside in these holy places do not engage in mercantile pursuits; but are a society of religious persons occupied solely with their sacred duties. There are among them only two who are merchants, and men of property, and these are styled Kafers or unbelievers by the others, who do nothing but read and pray. Jewish devotees from all parts of the globe flock to the four holy cities, in order to pass their days in praying for their own salvation, and that of their brethren, who remain occupied in worldly pursuits. But the offering up of prayers by these devotees is rendered still more indispensible by a dogma contained in the Talmud, that the world will return to its primitive chaos, if prayers are not addressed to the God of Israel at least twice a week in these four cities; this belief produces considerable pecuniary advantage to the supplicants, as the missionaries sent abroad to collect alms for the support of these religious fraternities plead the danger of the threatened chaos, to induce the rich Jews to send supplies of money, in
[p.325] order that the prayers may be constantly offered up. Three or four missionaries are sent out every year; one to the coasts of Africa from Damietta to Mogadore, another to the coasts of Europe from Venice to Gibraltar, a third to the Archipelago, Constantinople, and Anatolia; and a fourth through Syria. The charity of the Jews of London is appealed to from time to time; but the Jews of Gibraltar have the reputation of being more liberal than any others, and, from four to five thousand Spanish dollars are received annually from them. The Polish Jews settled at Tabaria send several collectors regularly into Bohemia and Poland, and the rich Jewish merchants in those countries have their pensioners in the Holy Land, to whom they regularly transmit sums of money. Great jealousy seems to prevail between the Syrian and Polish Jews. The former being in possession of the place, oblige the foreighers to pay excessively high for their lodgings; and compel them also to contribute considerable sums towards the relief of the indigent Syrians, while they themselves never give the smallest trifle to the poor from Poland.