KALAAT SEIDJAR.
[p.144]those of the Wye in Monmouthshire. At the bridge of Seidjar, it is nearly as large as the Wye at Chepstow. Just by the bridge is a Khan of ancient construction; probably of the period of the crusades. A paved way leads up to the castle, which is at present inhabited by a few hundred families of peasants. It appears from the style of construction that the castle as it now stands, is of the time of the latter Califes; the walls, towers, and turrets, which surround it on the N., W. and S. sides, are evidently Saracen; but it should seem, from the many remains of Grecian architecture found in the castle, that a Greek town formerly stood here. Fragments of columns and elegant Corinthian and Doric capitals lie dispersed about it: amongst them is a coffin of fine marble, nine feet long, but I could find no remains of any ancient building. On the east side the river runs at the foot of a deep precipice. In the south wall a strong well built tower is still in perfect preservation; near it is a deep well, and a subterraneous passage, which, we were informed, leads down to the river side. We searched in vain for Greek inscriptions; on the above mentioned tower is a fine Arabic inscription, but too high to be copied by such short- sighted people as we both happened to be. On the gate of the castle, which leads through an arched passage into the interior, I copied the following, in which many foreign words are mixed with the Arabic:
[Arabic].
Part of the declivity of the hill upon which the castle is built is paved with flat stones, like the castle hills of Aleppo, El Hossn,
PLAIN OF HAMAH.
[p.145]and Szalkhat. In the plain to the S. and S.W. of the castle are the remains of ancient buildings, which indicate the site of a town; several fragments of columns, wrought stones, and a great deal of rubbish, are lying about. We dug up an altar about four feet and a half high, and one foot and an half square; on one of its four sides was this inscription:
[Greek].
To the S.W. of the bridge is the tomb of a saint named Sheikh Mahmoud, which is to the W. of a small village called Haourein [Arabic]. The rock of the hills, in the neighbourhood of Seidjar, is calcareous, of considerable hardness, and of a reddish yellow colour; on the S. side of the castle the rock seems to have been cut perpendicularly down almost as low as the river, either for the purpose of adding to the defence of the fortress on this side, or to facilitate the drawing up of water from the river.
We now crossed the low hills to the south of Seidjar, and entered the plain of Hamah, which is very little cultivated here. We proceeded in a south-easterly direction. In one hour and a half from Seidjar we passed a number of wells cut close to each other in the rocky ground. At one hour and three quarters is a small bridge over a torrent called El Saroudj [Arabic], which empties itself into the Orontes. In two hours we saw to our left, about half an hour distant, the village Hedjam, on the right bank of the river; in two hours and three quarters, a small village