We were now approaching fast to Acre, and it seemed that Lady Hester’s coming had excited much curiosity there. The shaykh of Tontûra, accompanied by six horsemen, solicited permission to escort her to the next town; for the pasha, his master, he said, would surely reprimand him if he were wanting in respect to so illustrious a person, whom they were charged to receive with all the honours their means allowed of. Accordingly, on the following morning, well armed and mounted, they took the lead in the van of the cavalcade, along a smooth road.
The slip of land between the mountains and the coast still continued to narrow. There is a chain of rocky hills which is seen from the road, and which at first seems to be the foot of the lofty mountains in the background; but behind it will be found another valley, running from Tontûra up as far as Mount Carmel. Our path wound between low shrubs, which gave it sometimes the appearance of a serpentine walk in a garden. After about one hour’s riding, the shaykh and myself hurried on in order to mark out a proper spot for our encampment.
Aatlýt, the place to which we were going, had been in sight from the time we quitted Tontûra. When we were within about a mile of it, the road became still more picturesque. On our left was a vast pool of water, about which were flocks of storks: before us, on a promontory jutting into the sea, were the ruins of the castle of Aatlýt (the Castel Pellegrino of the Venetians); and, on the right, lofty mountains which crowned the whole view with their majestic appearance. We arrived at the walls of the place; and, entering by the south gate, crossed a bare space, the site of the ancient city, but now entirely covered with turf and mould; then, passing to the north-west angle, we ascended for a few yards a road both rough and uneven, and strewed with hewn stones of a vast size. Here we entered the gateway of the ancient castle, within the ruins of which is built the modern village. The shaykh, having regaled me with a cup of coffee and a pipe, and satisfied himself as to who we were, whither we were going, and about such matters as concerned him, gave me to understand that we could encamp in security anywhere within the confines of the walls below; accordingly, on the arrival of the camels, Lady Hester having stopped, as usual, on the road, the tents were pitched, and everything was made comfortable for the night.
Thus far, the sea-coast of Syria (wherever we had seen it) has, generally speaking, a sandy strand; but from Aatlýt northward to Latakia it is rocky, with the exception of the deep bays, such as that of Acre.
Aatlýt was once a considerable city.[42] The ancient walls are still standing, and are built of rustic stones of a vast size. They have no battlements or embrasures.[43] Facing the site of the city is a small inlet of the sea, enclosed to the south by the city wall, and to the north by the small promontory on which the modern village stands. Close to the strand is a well, from which the present inhabitants drink. Round the walls was anciently a ditch, probably filled from the lake which has been mentioned as existing to the south of the place. Within the walls of the present village are many fragments of columns scattered about. There is likewise part of a beautiful church still standing, attributed to the Venetians. The mud cottages in the midst of the ruins demonstrate forcibly the decline of the arts under the Turks; for the walls are composed of such rubbish as lies scattered on the ground, cemented with common mould.
The shaykh of Aatlýt at this time was brother to the shaykh of Hartha, a district of which I shall speak presently. Nothing happened to disturb the tranquillity of the night, excepting the molestation caused by musquitoes, which, as the weather was become exceedingly hot, rendered it impossible to sleep without a musquito net.
Our road was now no longer considered insecure. On the following morning we departed for Häyfa.[44] As we advanced along the seashore, the mountain on our right drew nearer and nearer. The plain was well cultivated. About two leagues from Aatlýt, on this mountain, we perceived a village, distinguished by a white building near to it, which was the jamâ or mosque of the inhabitants, who are Mahometans. On inquiry, the camel-driver gave it the name of Tooty.[45]
In about four hours’ time we arrived at the promontory of Mount Carmel, where the flat land, which had hitherto continued along the seashore, comes to a point, leaving just room enough at the foot of the precipice to pass round. Beyond it the spacious bay of Acre opened upon our view, and the mountains again receded some leagues inland: for Mount Carmel runs E. and W., and the mountains which we had observed on our right, extending N. and S. parallel to the seashore, seem as if they issued from its side. What is called Mount Carmel by Europeans is a part of a district which goes by the name of Beled Hartha, comprehending the mountain and plain from Häyfa down to Mharrem. This district was commanded by Shaykh Messâd, a man of ancient family in these parts, and who resided at Yethem, his principal burgh.
The road, after passing the foot of the promontory, turns to the right or E. over a level and well cultivated soil of a fine black mould. One hour more brought us to the gate of Häyfa. Our conductor, Yusef, accompanied me to the governor, who, when he learned our business, immediately gave orders to his people to see that we were provided with what we wanted. The tents were pitched close to the W. gate, on a plot of sand by the sea-side beneath the shade of some fig-trees. The heat was excessive. There were two or three of the poor inhabitants who spoke Italian, and who, for a trifle, made themselves useful in what we wanted.
Häyfa is a walled town; but the mountain rises at the back of it so steep and rapidly as to enable a person, at half pistol-shot distance, to look down into the courtyards of the houses. It consists of one long street, with a few shops, and derives its principal traffic from vessels that anchor in the bay. The bay, although open to the W., is considered one of the most secure in all Syria, and, as Acre has but a small and very shallow port, all European vessels bound thither ride at Häyfa. It is of a semicircular form. Acre is plainly distinguishable across it. There was a monastery, if a house of two or three rooms can be so named. One Carmelite priest was residing there: but the monastery, where that order of cenobites flourished, is on the promontory itself. It was much damaged by the French during their invasion of Syria, and has since been rebuilt on a very extensive plan. In the summer months, several European and other families resort thither for the benefit of the air, which, as in other elevated situations, is preferred to the low, hot, and contaminated atmosphere of Acre. Half down the promontory is a large grotto or cave, hewn out of the rock, and said to have been a hiding-place of St. Elias. Häyfa has a mosque, and a building called a castle. The town walls are thin, and only sufficient to secure the inhabitants from Bedouin Arabs, or other enemies who have no artillery. At nightfall guards were placed around our encampment.