ILLUSTRATIONS AT THE HEADS OF CHAPTERS. Chapter 1 View of Mount Tabor and the Plain of Esdraelon....... 4 Horsemen and Females at a Fountain....... 5 Encampment of Arabs, East of the Dead Sea....... 6 Tower and Ruins in the Land of Moab. ...... 7 Passage of the River Zerkah, in Bashan..... 8 Mosque between Geraza and Adjeloon...... 9 Village in the Valley of Adjeloon ...... 10 Interior of a Caravanserai in the Haurān 11 Castle and Ruins of Salghud ........... 12 Scene in the Mountains East of the Hauran... 13 Roman Ruins at Gunnawat........ 14 Caravan on the Plains of the Hauran...... 15 Street View, in the Interior of Damascus....... 16 Turkish Females at the Tombs of their Husbands.... 17 Mosque, Buildings, and Costume of Damascus. ..... . 18 Turkish Pasha and Suite of Attendants 19 Scene, near the River Barrady, on leaving Damascus ...... 20 Castle and Port of Seyda, the ancient Sidon...... 21 Roman Road and ancient Sculptures on the Coast of Syria........ 22 Mountain Scene, near the Cedars of Lebanon........ 23 Ruined Temple of the Sun at Baalbeck........ 24 Castle and Plain of Hhoms, or Emessa 25 Fortifications and Harbour of the ancient Orthosia.... 26 Mosque and Valley near Landicea ....... 27 Modern aspect of the City of Antioch ....... 28 General Character of the Entrances to Saracen Cities...... Page 1 21 40 60 82 97 112 133 154 174 194 224 248 269 298 318 339 358 385 410 434 461 480 501 519 538 556 578 FROM NAZARETH, THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE JORDAN, TO ASSALT. NAZARETH, Tuesday, February 20. 1816.- My previous excursions in Syria had so impressed me with the difficulty of getting to Damascus or Aleppo from hence, in the present state of the country, and the consequent delay I should experience in the prosecution of my intended journey to India (by the route of the caravans from the latter city), that I thought it best to ascertain if there were any hopes of my being able to proceed from hence to Assalt, a town on the east of the Jordan; from thence to Karak, on the east of the Dead Sea; and so on through the Bedouin tribes that encamp on the Desert from the borders of Palestine to the banks of the Euphrates, and from that stream to the Tigris and the neighbourhood of Baghdad. B As the town of Nazareth is constantly frequented by persons from Assalt, who come here to purchase many of their supplies, there happened to be a party just now on the point of setting out on their return to that place; which furnished an excellent opportunity of journeying thus far in their company. To render myself as secure of accomplishing this as possible, I sought after a guide, and succeeded in procuring a Christian Arab of Nazareth, named Georgis, who had often been at Assalt, and knew most of the residents there, and who consented to accompany me on very easy conditions: I therefore closed with him, as my enquiries had been answered in a manner that strengthened my hopes of being able to accomplish the ultimate object of my wishes in getting to Baghdad by the route proposed. As, however, caution and secrecy are necessary to be observed by those who study their safety on journies in the East, I abstained from communicating to any one, in direct terms, the full extent of my intended progress in this direction, leaving this until I should be able to ascertain at Assalt or Karak how far it was certain of being successfully attained. Mr. Bankes, my former companion in our journey from Jeru- • salem to Jerash, had a great desire to accompany me as far as Assalt; but an excursion to Nablous, for which he had made some engagements that could not well be put off, rendered this impracticable, without involving a further delay on my part, which my desire to get to my destination as speedily as possible would not permit. I accordingly began to prepare for this new and hazardous journey, among the people of a country hitherto untravelled by Europeans. My Turkish clothes were laid aside, and their place supplied by a Bedouin Arab dress of the meanest kind; as it was thought safest and best to assume the appearance of extreme poverty, in order to lessen, as much as possible, the temptation to robbery or molestation on the way. The few papers that I possessed were rolled up in a small and dirty sack, or purse, of coarse cloth, and the little money that I intended to take with me on my way was concealed in the keffeah, or Arab handkerchief, which covered my head. My |