I walked into the town, and was shocked at the misery that displayed itself. A large mosque, the governor’s house,[67] and a bath, formed, as it were, the whole of it: for the houses of the inhabitants were so mean that wretchedness itself could not be lodged worse. The clothes of the artisans and mechanics at work in their shops indicated either real or affected misery: for the garb of poverty is generally so common in Turkey, wherever the law cannot control the oppression of the ruler and his deputies, that no argument can be drawn from it of the real state of people’s pockets. Nor is a province always accounted the poorer because apparently groaning under oppressive management—nay, it often happens that, under a licentious soldiery, the profits of manual labour and goods are greater: witness the desire so often expressed in Cairo for the return of the Mamelukes, under whose reign there was so little security for property, and so much rapacity on the part of the Beys: yet were large fortunes often amassed, and much more speedily than now.
In the bazar lazy soldiers were sitting, smoking and drinking iced water; for the weather was become exceedingly hot: others were at the doors of barbers’ shops. A few squalid and poorly dressed Christians were moving about on their business. Wishing to hear the news of the day, I entered a barber’s shop. As is customary, a round looking-glass with a handle to it (such as mermaids are represented as holding,) was handed to me to see my face in. This is the usual compliment to such as merely enter to gossip, and they place a para or two upon it when presented to them.
Surgery forms part of a barber’s education in the East. Whilst sitting there, a man came in to have blood taken from his ears, which was very expeditiously and neatly done in the following manner. The patient held a handkerchief round his neck, which he was desired to draw as tight as he could bear, and this he did so effectually that he soon became black in the face: scarifications were then made on the upper edge of the ear by scoring it with a razor. Not much blood came away; although, on other occasions, I have seen it flow very freely.
Mr. B. paid a visit to Topal Ali, and on his return to the tents a horse was sent to him as a present. Topal Ali desired his katib (or secretary) to seek me out, and ask me to call on him, which I did. He assumed more importance than I had observed in several of the first men of the empire, and seemed a vain-glorious man. He asked me for remedies to render him more amiable in the eyes of his harým: but I told him I was unable to afford him the assistance he required.
In the evening, we were disquieted by an officious peasant, who came to inform us, with much mystery, that twelve soldiers had been seen lurking at a short distance from the encampment, and that, as the gates of the town were shut, these men could not be there with any good intention. This information created some alarm, and we were somewhat on the alert throughout the night; but nobody molested us.
To-day the messenger returned from Laodicea, and brought letters which denied the existence of the plague there: we accordingly set off the next day at eight o’clock. On quitting Shogr, the road begins to ascend into the mountains. These, unlike Mount Lebanon, were clothed with trees and covered with verdure. Their ascent was more gentle, and their breaks were less precipitous: there were slopes for corn fields, and levels capable of irrigation. We continued to mount, and passed a large village called Damat. We then came to a small river, near which is Castel el Frange, which is the extent of Topal Ali’s district in this direction, and may be about three hours and a half from Geser. At three o’clock we came to another river, Ayn-el-Zerky, and encamped there for the night.
At half-past seven in the morning, we left Ayn-el-Zerky. Soon after eight, we crossed a small bridge, built over a cleft in the rock thirty feet deep, at the bottom of which ran a small river. It is called Shaykh-el-Agûf. It is not more than six feet over, but, when looked into, had so much the appearance of a horrible chasm as to make us shudder.
About noon we reached the foot of Mount Sekûn. The tract we had passed, which begins at Damat and ends here, is called Gebel-el-Kerád. The road this day had presented some of the most beautiful scenery that nature can boast of. Our course, as it wound among the mountains, led us sometimes through groves of plum, fig, and pomegranate trees; sometimes over a wild of myrtles, arbutuses, and other flowering shrubs: again it conducted us along the banks of a river, which, taking its source from the spring where we had encamped over night, had now increased to a large stream, and, as it meandered in the valley, or rushed down some descent, gave an admirable finish to the landscape. Oaks and firs covered the highest mountains; corn-fields and agricultural produce the valley. Scattered cottages, here and there, wore the appearance of English farms, and recalled the idea of my country, with embellishments in which a colder climate cannot be dressed. Altogether, the valley of Sekûn was a most rich and luxuriant scene.
On our way, the remains of an aqueduct, made of finely cemented brick-work, were to be seen in one or two small patches. It is probable that the water of the river, or a portion of it, was anciently carried to some town,[68] and there were certain indications that a road had once run along by its side.
When our tents were pitched, several inhabitants of the neighbouring hamlets came to stare at us. We were now in the midst of the Ansáry, a tribe of mountaineers, of whom we had heard many strange stories. Gebel Sekûn,[69] which overhung our encampment, is said to contain many impregnable fortresses, to which, when attacked by a superior force, the inhabitants flee for refuge. It is one of the highest of that chain of mountains which runs parallel to the sea-coast, north and south, from the termination of Mount Lebanon, a few miles to the north of Tripoli, up to Antioch; and seems to be one of the strongholds which secure the independence of this warlike race; for all those who dwell upon and about it are comparatively free, whilst those between it and the sea pay tribute to the governor of Latakia.