[69] Or Sehyûn (Abulfeda, p. 122). This is called by him an impregnable fortress, and one of the most celebrated in Syria. In the neighbourhood is a valley where grows an abundance of fruits.
[70] “The news that a foreign hakým or doctor was passing through the country was very soon spread abroad, and at every halt our camp was thronged with the sick, not only of the village near to which we were encamped, but of all the surrounding villages.” Morier’s Second Journey through Persia, p. 52.
[71] It was built by Seleucus Nicator, and named after his mother (Strab. i. xvi). Formerly it was famous for its vineyards, which occupied the hills behind the city.
[72] Abulfeda speaks of this building (p. 113). “In it (i. e. Ladakyah) is a monastery ... called El Farûs, a beautiful structure.”
[73] “Then answered Amos and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet’s son; but I was a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit.”—Amos, vii. 14.
[74] Kumrukgi, the collector of the customs and captain of the port.
[75] I observe, in a recent publication, however, that an Egyptian pasha caused several Arabian chiefs at Sennāar to be impaled. These were Mahometans, and therefore my assertion is not quite correct.
[76] It was remarkable that these words were said to me by a man who was so like me in person, that I once had been spoken to for him, even by the fanatic shaykh, who, finding his mistake, went away repeating “Istagfar Allah—deliver me, Lord:” i. e. forgive me for having given the selàm to a Christian instead of a Mussulman.
[77] Vide Gibbon, vol. x., p. 103, 8vo.
[78] Ebn Hani is probably the site of the ancient Heraclia.