It was past three in the afternoon of Thursday, February 14th, when we started from the dwelling of our host, in order to pursue our route in a south-easterly direction. We were agreeably surprised to see fine vineyards at the village called Jelíli; but the cultivation of olive-trees seemed almost to cease here, while the country became quite open, and afforded an unbounded prospect towards the distant southern range, with its peaks, depressions, and steep slopes. But the fine olive-groves of Sgáif proved that we had not yet reached the limit of this useful tree. We were just about to descend the slope into the broad valley called Wady Rán, when, seeing darkness approaching, and frightened by the black clouds rising from the valley, together with a very chilly stream of air, we began to look seriously about for some secure shelter for the night. To our right we had a pleasant little hollow with olive-trees; but that would not suffice in such weather as was apparently approaching, and we therefore descended a little along the cliffs on our left, where our shoush knew that there were caverns called Merwán. Scarcely had we pitched our tent on the little terrace in front of these, when the rain began to pour down, and, accompanied with snow, continued the whole night.
When we arose next morning, the whole country was covered with snow about an inch deep, and its natural features were no longer recognisable. Placed on the very brink of a bank partly consisting of rocky ground, with many holes, partly of marly soil and accordingly very slippery, we could not think of starting. At half-past six, the thermometer stood at 34° Fahr. Fortunately our tent, which had been fitted by Mr. Warrington for every kind of weather, kept the wet out. The caverns were very irregular excavations, used by the shepherds as temporary retreats, and full of fleas. The snow did not melt till late in the afternoon, and the rain fell without intermission the whole night.
In the morning the bad weather still continued, but the cold was not quite so severe. Tired as we were of our involuntary delay in such a place, we decided upon starting; but it was difficult to get our half-frozen people to go to work. At length we set out, accompanied by an old man, whom we hired as guide, on the deep descent into Wady Rán. The soil was often so slippery that the camels could scarcely keep their feet; and we were heartily glad when, after an hour and a quarter’s descent, we at length reached stony ground, though still on the slope. Here the valley spread out before us to right and left, with the village Usíne, inhabited by the Merabetín Selahát, situated on the top of a hill, and distinguished for the quality of its dates, which are of a peculiar kind, short and thick with a very broad stone,—while at the foot of the western heights another village was seen, and on the top of them the castle Bústam. Here the great valley is joined by a smaller ravine, called Wady Nkhal, with a small village of the same name. We crossed two paths leading to Beni Ulíd, passing by Wady Rán, which went parallel to our course on the right, and where there are two springs and a date-grove, while to the left, we obtained a view of Sedi-úris, situated on a cone overtowering the northern end of Wady Kominshát. We then approached closely the steep glen of Wady Rán, and, after some turnings, crossed the small rivulet which flows through it, and, a little further on, recrossed it. Then, traversing the valley called Wady Marníyeh, we entered a fine fertile plain surrounded on all sides by heights, among which the Kelúba Naʿame was conspicuous on our right. But the camels found the marly soil, fully saturated as it was with rain, very difficult, especially after we had entered the “Shʿabet sóda.” For this reason, also, we could not think of following the direct path, which leads over the hills. At the western end of the shʿabet are the villages Deb Beni ʿAbas and Suadíyeh, with olive-groves. All the waters of the district are carried into Wady Rán, which joins the Wady Haera.
The country begins to exhibit decidedly a volcanic character, and from all the heights rise bare basaltic cones, while the lower part is covered with halfa. This character of the country seems to have been well understood by the Arabs, when they gave to these basins, surrounded by basaltic mounts, the name “Shʿabet,” which we have already seen given to the crater of the Tekút. Here, at a short distance on our left, we passed “another Shʿabet,” distinguished as “el Akhera.” At length we found an opening through the hilly chain on our right, behind an indented projection of the ridge called “Sennet el Osis,” and then suddenly changed our course from north-east to south-east. As soon as we had made the circuit of this mount, we obtained a view of the highest points of the Tarhóna, and directed our course by one of them, Mount Bíbel, which is said to be sometimes visible from Tripoli. Tales of deadly strife are attached to some localities hereabouts; and, according to our guide, the torrent which we crossed beyond Wady Ruéra poured down, some years ago, a bloody stream. But at present the scene wants life, the Kasr Kuséba, situated on the apex of a cone, being almost the only dwelling-place which we had seen for five hours. Life has fled from these fertile and pleasant regions; and the monotonous character which they at present exhibit necessarily impresses itself on the narrative of the traveller.
At length, after having entered the gorges of the mountains, we reached the encampment of the Merabetín Bu-ʿAáysha, and pitched our tent at a short distance from it. These people have considerable herds of camels and sheep; as for cattle, there are at present very few in the whole regency of Tripoli, except in the neighbourhood of Ben-gházi. Their chief, ʿAbdallah, who lives in Tripoli, is much respected. The valleys and plains hereabouts, when well saturated with rain, produce a great quantity of corn, but they are almost entirely destitute of trees. Having been thoroughly drenched to-day by heavy showers, we were in a very uncomfortable condition at its close.
About an hour before sunrise, when the thermometer stood at 41°, I set out to ascend an eminence north from our tent, which afforded me an excellent site whence to take the bearings of several prominent cones. After my return to the tent, we started together in advance of the camels, that we might have time to ascend the broad cone of Jebel Msíd, which had arrested our attention. We soon passed a well, or rather fountain, called Bir el ʿAr, which gives its name to some ancient monument (“sanem,” or idol, as it is called by the Arabs) at a little distance, and which the guide described as a kasr tawíl Beni Jehel, “a high fortress of the Romans.” The country was varied and pleasant, and enlivened, moreover, by flocks; but we saw no traces of agriculture till we reached the well called Hasi el abiár, beyond which we entered upon a volcanic formation. As we ascended along a small ravine, and entered another irregular mountain-plain of confined dimensions, we found the basalt in many places protruding from the surface. The more desolate character of the country was interrupted in a pleasant way by the Wady Nekhél, which has received its name from the number of palm-trees which grow here in a very dwarfish state, though watered by a copious spring. Following the windings of another small valley, we reached a plain at the foot of Mount Msíd, while on the right a large ravine led down from the heights. Here we commenced our ascent of the cone; and on the slope of the mountain we met with large pillars similar to those which I had seen in the ruins of Hanshír Settára. The pillars succeeded each other at regular distances up the slope, apparently marking the track to be followed by those ascending for religious purposes. The ascent was very gradual for the first twelve minutes; and twelve minutes more brought us to its summit, which was crowned with a castle of good Arabic masonry of about the thirteenth century. Its ruined walls gave us a little protection against the very strong blasts of wind; but we found it rather difficult to take accurate angles, which was the more to be regretted as a great many peaks were visible from this beautifully shaped and conspicuous mount.
It was a little past noon when we pursued our journey from the western foot of this once holy mount, and, turning its southern side, resumed our north-easterly direction. We then soon came to the “Wady hammám,” which forms here a wider basin for the brook running along it towards Mejenín, so as to produce a pleasant and fresh green spot. Having watered our animals, we entered a plain from which detached basaltic hillocks started up; and some ruins of regularly hewn stones, scattered about, bore testimony that the Romans had deemed the place worthy of fixed settlements. A small limestone hill contrasts handsomely with these black basaltic masses, among which the Leblú, the highest summit of a larger group to our right, is particularly remarkable. At the foot of the Jebel Jemmʿa was an encampment of the Welád ʿAli; but I cannot say in what degree they are connected with the family which has given its name to the valley in the Yefren. From this side in particular, the Jebel Msíd presents the form of a beautiful dome, the most regular I remember to have ever seen. It seems to rise with a proud air over its humbler neighbours. Having then passed a continuous ridge of cones stretching south-south-east, and cleared the basaltic region, we entered a wide plain covered with halfa, and, cutting right across it, we reached the fertile low plain Elkeb, where another encampment of the Welád ʿAli excited the desire of our people to try their hospitality for our night’s quarters; but some distance to the left two enormous pillars were to be seen standing upright, and thither we repaired. Here I had an opportunity of accurately investigating a very peculiar kind of ancient remains, giving a clue, I hope, to the character of the religion of the early inhabitants of these regions, though it seems impossible to give a satisfactory explanation respecting all the details of their structure.
It consists of a pair of quadrangular pillars erected on a common basis, which is fixed into the ground, and measures 3 ft. 1⁵⁄₁₂ in. in length, and 2 ft. 10 in. in width. The two pillars, which measure 2 ft. on each side, being 1 ft. 7²⁄₁₀ in. asunder, are 10 ft. high. The western pillar has three quadrangular holes on the inside, while the corresponding holes in the eastern pillar go quite through; the lowest hole is 1 ft. 8 in. above the ground, and the second 1 ft. ½ in. higher up, and so the third above the second. The holes are 6 in. square.
Over these pillars, which at present lean to one side, is laid another enormous stone about 6 ft. 6½ in. long, and of the same width as the pillars, so that the whole structure bears a surprising resemblance to the most conspicuous part of Stonehenge and other ruins in Malabar. But besides these, there are other very curious stones of different workmanship, and destined evidently for different purposes; some of them are large, flat, and quadrangular, very peculiarly worked, and adapted, probably, to sacrifices. One of them is 3 ft. in length and breadth, but with a projection on one side, as is represented in the woodcut, and 1 ft. 2 in. high. On the surface of this stone, and parallel to its sides, is carved a channel 4⁸⁄₁₀ in. broad, forming a quadrangle; and from this a small channel branches along the projecting part. Several stones of similar workmanship lie about. There is also the remnant of an enormous stone 3 ft. 7½ in. at the back and across, but rounded off at the corners, looking like a solid throne, excepting that on the upper side there is an excavation measuring 1 ft. 3²⁄₁₀ in. at the back, 9⁶⁄₁₀ in. on the front, and 1 ft. 1²⁄₁₀ in. across, and about 10 in. deep, with a small opening. This stone looks very peculiar, and probably formed an altar. These ruins are certainly very remarkable. Any one who looks at them without prejudice or preconceived opinion, will be impressed with the belief that they belonged to a place of worship; though how this peculiar structure could be adapted to religious purposes, I will not undertake to decide. I will only say that my distinct impression on the spot was, that the structure was a rude kind of sundial, combining the vertical with the horizontal principle. That it could not be intended as a common doorway, even if it were connected with another building, is evident from the narrowness of the passage; but it may have had the purpose of serving as a sort of penitential or purgatory passage in consecrating and preparing the worshippers, previous to their offering sacrifices, by obliging them to squeeze themselves through this narrow passage, the inconvenience of which was increased by the awful character attributed to this cromlech. The religious character of the whole structure can scarcely be doubtful, from the nature of the flat stone, the channel in which was certainly intended to carry off the blood of the victim.
It must strike the observer, in regarding these ruins, that while they are so rude in principle, their style of execution evidently bears traces of art; and I think it not improbable that the art may be ascribed to Roman influence. We shall further on see another specimen of these curious pillars combined with the ground-plan of an almost regular Roman temple. But from whatever quarter this artistic influence may have proceeded, there cannot be the least doubt that the character of the structure is, on the whole, not Roman, but indicates quite another race; and if we take into regard what I have just said about the influence of art visible in this structure, and that such influence could scarcely proceed from any other quarter than that of the Carthaginians or the Romans, we must attribute these remains to the Berber race, who, during the historical period, were the exclusive possessors of these inland regions. Analogous structures have been found, however, not only in England and Ireland on the one side, and in several parts of India, principally in the Nilgherries, on the other, but also in Circassia, Southern Russia, on the South Arabian coast, and in the Somali country.
These remarkable ruins are at a short distance from the foot of a fortified hill, which is crowned with ancient fortifications of hewn stone, to which are added later works of small stones. Other ruins of cut-stone buildings lie about; and on an eminence at a little distance eastward is a small castle belonging to the earlier times of the Arabs, while on the highest top of the hilly chain behind the Arab encampment, and which is called Gábes, are likewise ruins. The ruins of a whole village, partly built of regularly cut stone, and even exhibiting the ornament of a column, were found the next morning near our encampment, which our people had placed on the slope of the hills bordering the plain towards the north-east. All these ruins are evident proofs that the fertile plain Elkeb, and the adjoining one, called Madher, were once well cultivated and thickly inhabited. Their situation is very favourable, as the direct road from Tripoli to Beni Ulíd and Sokna, by way of the valley Melgha, passes close by. We had here descended to an average height of about one thousand feet above the level of the sea.
During the night there was heavy rain, which lasted till morning, and delayed our starting till rather late. After about a mile and a half’s march, we ascended a little from the plain to the undulating pastures of the Dháhar Tarhóna, which soon became enlivened by the tents and herds of the Megaigera, and where I was glad to see at length a few cows. The ground, though scantily covered with herbage, was dotted with lilies, which my companion called balúdt, though this name is generally understood to signify the ash-tree. Our guide from Meruán informed me here that the water of this district takes its course not towards the north, as might be expected, but towards the south-east, running from hence to Temásla, on this side of Beni Ulíd, thence into the Wady Merdúm, and thence into Wady Sofejín, which, as is well known, descends towards Tawárgha. A little further on we left, on a small eminence to the left, another hanshír surrounded by cultivated ground. It had been an inconsiderable place, built chiefly of small stones; but even here two enormous pillars or slabs were to be seen standing in the midst of the rubbish. There were two holes in each of these pillars, going quite through, and widening on one side.
At half-past nine o’clock, when passing the Hanshír Bu-Trehébe, at a distance of more than two miles on our left, we had a fine retrospective view of the various peaks of the Ghurián range, while on our left a lower range approached more and more, with two summits rising from it to a greater elevation. About noon we passed another site, called Hanshír Suán, where are the remains of a large castle, with an inner and outer fortification, built of small stones, but in a very neat and regular style. The country, chiefly owing to the murkiness of the sky, had begun to assume a very sombre character, and was crossed by stripes of red sand, which, however, affords the best soil for the growth of the pumpkin; but in the afternoon it improved greatly, showing fine pasture-ground and ample corn-fields and, among the ruins of ancient times, the rare example of a well-proportioned and neatly worked Ionic capital, which I found at the border of a ravine. Further on, upon a detached low rock, which had been hewn into rectangular walls, and surrounded with a ditch, were seen ruins of cut stone, very similar in appearance to those of Kasr Jahalíyeh, near Gargash. We at length found traces of living beings, in an Arab encampment situated in a green hollow, where we learnt that the Kaïd or governor of Tarhóna, whose residence we were in search of, was at present encamped near the spring called ʿAin Shershára.
The country gradually assumes a more diversified aspect, agreeably succeeding its former monotony. A considerable mountain-range, with manifold crags, peaks, and ravines, approaches from the south-south-west and, turning north-east, presents an insurmountable barrier to an advance in that direction, while the plain sweeps nicely in a concave towards its foot; but it is quite bare and desolate, and only now and then is seen a poor remnant of the large olive-grove, consisting, according to the statement of our shoush, of 10,000 trees, which Bey ʿAbd Allah, in Masráta, my host on my former journey, had ventured to plant here five years ago. My people maintained, whether correctly or not I cannot say, that the strong gales which prevail in this plain did not allow the young olive-tree to thrive. I think the failure is due rather to the character of the inhabitants, who, unaccustomed to this branch of culture, have not paid the necessary attention to the young trees.
Having passed a small wady, we came in sight of the encampment of the governor, which stretched out in front of us in a well-chosen situation at the southern foot of a small cone. A Turkish officer’s green tent, pitched a little in advance, was surrounded by several smaller ones, while another group of twelve Bedouin tents, in a higher position up the slope of the mount, contained the household. The governor received us in a very friendly but rather affected manner, which seemed peculiar to him, and might even be thought becoming in a man who has assisted his country’s foes in exterminating all the members of his family, formerly one of the foremost in the country. His friends, who try to represent him as an honest man, say that he was forced to the deed, after having once entered into Turkish service. This man, Bel Kásem el Lohéshi Mahmúdi, has since played a conspicuous part in the present revolution; for he it was who led the Turkish force last year against Ghóma, his near relative but most bitter enemy, who, having been a prisoner in Trebizond for many years, suddenly made his escape from thence during the Russian war, and, issuing from the Tunisian frontier, appeared in Jebel Yefren. El Lohéshi was routed, and taken prisoner, and, according to the first report, slain by the successful rebel. When we visited el Lohéshi, he had occupied his new post only for the last year, having been before governor of the Jebel. During all the period he had been in Tarhóna, he assured us he had not moved his encampment from this place; which I can well understand, as it is a very pleasant spot. His principal business, of course, consists in collecting the tithes, in registering which he was busily employed. He knew very little of the province under his government; and it was to other men that I had to look for information.
Having pitched our tent near that of the governor, we proceeded to make ourselves acquainted with the locality, and, a few paces north from our encampment, stumbled upon the famous brook called ʿAin Shersher, or ʿAin Shershára, which, proceeding from the junction of three springs, forms here a cascade of about twenty-five feet over the firm calcareous rock. Running west a short distance, it then turns north and, breaking through the mountain-slope in a deep picturesque glen, takes the direction of the Wady Ramle, which, however, it only reaches during great floods.
It seems as if this pleasant spot had already been a favourite residence in the Roman times, as is amply shown by the fine ruins of a large building of hewn stone, which the torrent has rent asunder and scattered on both sides. From this place, ascending the side of a very wild ravine, we reached the height which overlooks the Bedouin encampment, and on the morning of the following day made a more distant excursion to the mount called Bu-tauwíl, about three miles north, which was represented to us as affording a very distant prospect, and the name of which seemed to promise more than ordinary elevation.
As to the view we were rather disappointed; yet we were well repaid for our trouble from the character of the country traversed, and the unexpectedly pleasing aspect of the terrace spread out at the western foot of the mountain, which must have formed a favourite retirement in the times of the Romans, so literally strewn is it with the ruins of buildings of hewn stone. In descending it, about three hundred feet below the summit, we first came to a Roman tomb, 8 ft. 7 in. long, and 7 ft. 9 in. broad, rising in two stories, the lower being about 10 ft. high from the base to the moulding, and ornamented with pilasters at the corners. A little further on, to the west, was another tomb, just on the brink of the slope into the valley below; but it has been destroyed, and at present the chief interest attaches to a monumental stone, which most probably stood upright on its top, and fell down when the monument went to pieces, so that it now lies in a merely casual position on the floor of the sepulchre, which has been repeatedly rifled by greedy hands. This stone is 7 ft. 2 in. long, and has on one side, in high relief, the figure of a man, of natural size, clothed in a toga. The workmanship is good, and certainly not much later than the time of Severus. Close at hand are other ruins lying about; and further west are several groups of buildings. Three olive-trees and a palm-tree adorned this beautiful retired spot.
Having returned to our encampment, I and my companion resolved to separate for a few days, Overweg wishing to examine the neighbourhood of the ʿAin Shershára for geological purposes, while I was rather bent upon executing the original plan of our route all round the mountain-range. We agreed to meet again at the castle called Kasr el Jefára in the plain near the sea-shore. We borrowed another tent from the governor for Mr. Overweg during his stay at this place, while I procured a horseman, with whom, together with Ibrahím, our shoush, and one of the camel-drivers, I was ready for starting an hour before noon; for the heat of the sun was not much to be dreaded at this season of the year. Overweg accompanied me as far as Kasr Dóga.
Winding along narrow ravines, after about one mile’s march we passed, on an eminence to our right, another specimen of large pilasters with an impost, and ruins of buildings of large square stones close by. After much winding, we cleared the narrow channel ascending the hills, which were covered with halfa; but here too there was not a single tree to be seen, and my guide said that there were no olive-trees in the Tarhóna except in Máta, a place situated between Mount Bu-tauwíl and Kasr Jefára, from which the tribe Máta derives its name. I have noticed before, as remarkable, the three olive-trees near Bu-tauwíl. It was about one o’clock in the afternoon when we came in sight of the Roman monument called Kasr Dóga; and its brown colour almost induced us to conclude that it was of brick; but on approaching nearer, we found that it was built of hewn stone. We were astonished at the grand dimensions of the monument, as it appeared evident that it was originally a mere sepulchre, though in after times blocked up by the Arabs, and converted into a castle.
The front of the monument faces the south with ten degrees of deviation towards the west. The whole body of the building, rising upon a base of three steps, measures 47 ft. 6 in. in length, and 31 ft. 4 in. in breadth. The entrance or portal, equidistant from both corners, was 12 ft. 6 in. wide; but it has been entirely blocked up with hewn stone, so that it is now impossible to get into the interior of the monument without great labour, and only a glimpse can be obtained of a kind of entrance-hall of small dimensions. Of the interior arrangement, therefore, nothing meets the view; but on the top of the solid mass of building, rising to a height of 28 ft. 10 in., the ground-plan of the third story, which has been demolished to obtain materials for closing the entrance is distinctly visible. Here the vestibule measures 10 ft. 10 in., the wall of the interior chamber or cell being adorned with two columns, which are no less than 3 ft. 10 in. apart: the inner room itself measures 22 ft. 4 in. in length within the walls. The monument, although more massive than beautiful, is a fair proof of the wealth of this district in ancient times. Opposite to it, on a limestone hill of considerable elevation, is another specimen of the cromlech kind in good preservation, besides other ruins. In the hollow at the south-east side of the sepulchre there are six deep and spacious wells sunk in the rock.
Here my companion left me, and I continued my route alone, passing through a well-cultivated tract, till I reached an encampment of the Welád Bu-Séllem, where we pitched our tent. Here I met a cousin of Haj ʿAbd el Hádi el Meráyet, who had once been master of half the Tarhóna district, but was made prisoner by the Turks, and sent to Constantinople. This man also reappeared on the stage last year.
We set out early in the morning, the country continuing flat as far as the chapel of Sidi ʿAli ben Salah, which, standing on a hill, is a conspicuous object for many miles round. At a short distance from this chapel, I observed the ruins of a castle built of large square stones taken from older buildings; it measures 42 ft. in every direction, and exhibits a few bad but curious sculptures, among others an ass in relief. Around are the ruins of a small village, and flat stones of immense size, similar in workmanship to those described above, but no upright pillars.
Beyond the chapel of the saint the country became more hilly, and after some time we entered a ravine joining the Wady Gedaera, which exhibited the remains of three broad and firmly constructed dykes, crossing the ravine at the distance of about eight hundred yards from each other. They were built of small stones, and were evidently intended to exclude the water from the lower part of the valley. Another eight hundred yards below the innermost dyke, the ravine widens out into a fine verdant hollow, stretching from west to east, and provided with several wells. On a detached hill rising in the midst of this basin, is situated the Kasr Dawán, built partly of older materials of hewn stone, partly of small stones, and probably of the same age as the dykes. The whole floor of the basin is strewn with ruins; and a considerable village seems to have extended round the castle: where the ground was free from stones, it was covered with ranunculuses. Altogether, this spot was interesting—the stronghold of a chieftain who appears to have had energy and foresight, but whose deeds are left without a record.
As soon as we emerged from this ravine the whole character of the country changed, and through a pleasant valley we entered a wider plain, bordered in the distance by a high range of mountains, among which the Jebel Msíd, crowned with a zawíya or convent, is distinguished by its height and its form.
The fine pasturage which this plain affords to the cows of the Mehaedi enabled their masters to regale us with fine fresh sourmilk, which interrupted our march very pleasantly. On the site of an ancient village, near the margin of a small torrent, I found the above curious specimens of upright pilasters, together with the impost, remarkable for their height as well as for the rough sculpture of a dog, or some other animal, which is seen on the higher part of one of them. About seven hundred yards beyond the torrent called Ksaea, we had on our right a large building of hewn stone about 140 yards square, besides six pairs of pilasters together with their imposts; but some of them are lying at present on the ground. These structures could never have been intended as doors or passages; for the space between the upright stones is so narrow, that a man of ordinary size could hardly squeeze his way through them. Other ruins are on the left.
Here we entered the mountain-chain which forms the natural boundary between the district of Tarhóna and that of Meselláta, and at the present time separates scenes of nomadic life from fixed settlements. The highest part of the chain round the Jebel Msíd remained on our left, while the height on the right decreased in elevation. The chain has little breadth; and we hardly reached its crest when the country that presented itself to our view had quite a different appearance from that just left behind, presenting among other objects the castle of Meselláta, surrounded by an olive-grove. In this spot ancient sites and modern villages with stone houses are intermixed, while thick olive-groves enliven the whole, and constitute the wealth of the inhabitants.
Having passed a village called Fatír, lying in a ravine that runs south-west, we soon descried, in a hollow at the southern foot of the Kasr Sʿaade (a small ancient fortress), the first olive-plantation and the first orchards belonging to Meselláta. From this place onward they succeed each other at short intervals. Having passed a small eminence, with a fine olive-grove in the hollow at its foot, we entered the beautiful and well-inhabited plain of Meselláta. Here a great deal of industry was evinced by the planting of young cuttings between the venerable old olive-trees, or ghúrs Faraón as the Arabs call them. My shoush affirmed that the inhabitants of Meselláta are the most industrious and diligent people in the whole regency, taking good care of their plantations, and watering them whenever they need it. The whole country has here a different character from that of Tarhóna, the naked calcareous rock protruding everywhere, while in Tarhóna the plains generally consist of a clayey soil. This district is only about one thousand feet above the sea, while the average height of the Jebel (Yefren) and the Ghurián is about two thousand feet. Here the olives had been collected a month ago; in the former districts they remained still on the tree.
Cheered by the spectacle of life and industry around us, we continued our pleasant march, and having crossed an open space of rough rocky ground filled with cisterns, we reached the castle of Meselláta, an edifice of little merit, built with square stones from old ruins, and lying at the northern end of the village Kúsabát, which properly means “the Castles.” While my people were pitching my tent behind the castle, on the only spot which would allow of the pegs being driven into the ground, I went to pay a visit to Khalíl Aghá, who resided in the castle; but I found it to be so desolate and comfortless that I left it immediately, taking with me the sheikh Mesʿaud and a shoush named Ibrahím Tubbát, in order to view the Kalʿa or Gellʿah, a very conspicuous object, visible even from the sea. Keeping along the western side of the village, which consists of from three hundred to four hundred cottages built of stone, and occupies a gentle slope towards the south, the highest point of which, near the mosque, is 1,250 feet above the level of the sea, we reached a pleasant little hollow adorned with gardens, which being fenced with hedges of the Indian fig-tree, rendered the spot extremely picturesque. From hence we ascended the naked calcareous eminence, from the top of which the fortress overlooks a great extent of country. Going round its demolished walls, from east to west, I was able to descry and to take the bearings of a great number of villages belonging to the district of Meselláta, some of them peeping out of olive-groves, others distinguishable only by the smoke rising up from them.
The fortress itself is evidently a work not of Mohammedans, but of Europeans, and was most probably constructed by the Spaniards in the first half of the sixteenth century. It is built in the form of a triangle, one side of which, running north-west and south-east, measures about 108 yards; another, running east-north-east and west-south-west, measures 78½ yards, and the third, S. 5 W. and N. 5 E., 106½ yards. At the corner between the first and the second wall, is a polygonal bastion; between the second and third a round bastion, and a small one also between the third and the first wall. Descending from the fortress, I went with Mesʿaud through the village, the dwellings of which are built in a much better style than is usual in the regency. It is also stated that, in comparison with the rest of the country, its inhabitants enjoy some degree of wealth, and that the market is well supplied.
I rose at an early hour, in order to continue my route, and entered a very pleasant country, rendered more agreeable in appearance by the fineness of the morning. Winding along through hilly slopes covered with luxuriant corn-fields and wide-spreading olive-trees, we reached at half-past eight o’clock an interesting group of ruins consisting of immense blocks, and amongst them one like the flat quadrangular stones represented above, but having on its surface, besides the little channel, a large hole; also a block of extraordinary dimensions, representing a double altar of the curious massive sort described above. Close to these remarkable ruins, in a fine corn-field, is a small castle, situated upon a natural base of rock, in which subterranean vaults have been excavated in a very regular way. Towards the south, at the distance of about half an hour’s march, the large castle of Amámre rises into view. We then reached the fine plantation of Rumíyeh, while on a hill to the left lie other scattered ruins.
We met a good many people going to the Thursday market at Kúsabát. Further on, near another little grove, we found a small encampment of the Jehawát, a tribe which claims the possession of this whole district. We then passed a castle irregularly built of large square stones about twelve yards square. Having crossed a hollow, we obtained a good view over the country, in which the “Merkeb Sʿaid n ʿAli” (the most advanced spur of this chain towards the coast) formed a distinguished point, while we had already reached the last low breaks of the mountain-country towards the east. Meanwhile the greater dimensions of the ruins remind the traveller that he is approaching the famous remains of Leptis. I found here, a little to the right of our path, near a Bedouin encampment, the ruins of a temple of large proportions, called Sanem ben Hamedán, and of rather curious arrangement, the front, which faces the north and recedes several feet from the side-walls, being formed by double ranges of enormous stones standing upright—they can scarcely be called pilasters,—while the inner part is ornamented with columns of the Ionic order. The whole building is about forty paces long, and thirty-six broad; but the architectural merit of its details is not sufficient to repay the trouble of exact measurements. About a thousand yards further on, to the east, are the ruins of another still larger monument, measuring about seventy-seven paces in every direction, and called by the Arabs Kasr Kérker. It has several compartments in the interior—three chambers lying opposite to the entrance, and two other larger ones on the east side. Nearly in the middle of the whole building, there is a large square stone like those mentioned above, but having on one of its narrow sides a curious sculpture in relief.
The camels having been allowed to go on, I hastened after them with my shoush as fast as my donkey could trot, and passed several sites of ancient villages or castles, and numerous fine hollows with luxuriant olive-trees. I scarcely ever remember to have seen such beautiful trees. The country continues undulating, with fertile hollows or depressions. We reached the camels at Wady Lebda, which I found perfectly dry.
Close to our left we had cultivated ground and ruins. Near the sea-shore, the spacious and pleasant site of Leptis spread out on the meadow-land, while a little further, on rose a small ridge, on the top of which is situated the village Khurbet Hammám. After we had passed a pleasant little hollow, the plain became for a while overgrown with thick clusters of bushes; but on reaching the plantation of Swail, an almost uninterrupted line of villages stretched along the sahel (sea-shore) amid corn-fields and groves of olive and date-trees. According to my shoush, a great deal of corn is cultivated also in the valleys behind this plain; and numerous well-trodden paths were seen leading from the sahel into the hilly country on its southern side. After plentiful rains, this part of the plain is inundated by the waters of the Wady Bondári, which is called after the general name of the low range bordering the plain. Having passed several little villages of the sahel, and paid my due tribute of veneration to “el Dekhaele” (the oldest and tallest palm-tree in the whole district), a little before five o’clock in the afternoon I reached the village called Zawíya Ferjáni, where we pitched our tent in the stubble-field near a date-grove, and rested from our pleasant day’s march, experiencing hospitable treatment from our hosts.
The country hereabouts is regarded as tolerably healthy, but ʿAbd eʾ Saʿade, a village a little further eastward, has suffered greatly from malignant fevers, which are attributed to the unwholesomeness of the waters of the Wady Kʿaám, as I noticed on my former journey; hence the population has become rather thin, and industry has declined. At some distance from the wady, cultivation ceases entirely, and, instead of groves and gardens, a wide and wild field of disorder and destruction meets the eye. This rivulet, which is identical with the Cinyps, was in great vogue with the ancients, who knew how to control and regulate its occasional impetuosity. Immense walls, which they constructed as barriers against destructive inundations, remain to testify to their activity and energy. Of these one group, forming a whole system of dykes, some transverse, some built in the form of a semi-circle, is seen near the spot, where a beautiful subterranean aqueduct which supplied Leptis issues from the wady; another enormous wall, 650 yards long, and from 4 to 4½ yards thick, stands about three quarters of a mile higher up the valley.
Having started in the afternoon from the mouth of the wady, I re-entered Zawíya ʿAbd el Ferjáni from the rear, but finding that my people had gone on to Leptis, I followed them, after a little delay, by the way of Wady Súk, where every Thursday a market is held (“Súk el khamís,” a name applied by Captain, now Rear-Admiral, Smyth to the neighbouring village), and then over the open meadow-plain, having the blue sea on my right, and came up with my people just as they were about to pitch my tent at the foot of an enormous staircase leading to some undefined monument in the eastern part of the ancient city of Leptis. During the forenoon I was busily employed in a second investigation of some of the ruins of Leptis, which have been so well described and illustrated by Admiral Smyth. Near the small creek called Mirsá Legátah, and a little east of the chapel of the Merábet ben Shehá, a small castle has been lately built by the Turks, about a hundred paces square. It has quite a handsome look with its pinnacles and small bastions.
Leaving the site of this celebrated city, we proceeded, early in the afternoon, through a diversified hilly country, till we reached the high hill or mount of Mérkeb Sʿaid-n-ʿAli, which is visible from a great distance. This I ascended in order to correct some of my positions, particularly that of el Gellʿah in Meselláta, but found the wind too violent. Passing an undulating country, overgrown with the freshest green, and affording ample pastures to the herds of numerous Arab encampments, I pitched my tent near a small dowar of the Beni Jéhem, who treated us hospitably with sour milk and bazín.
The country continued varied, hill and dale succeeding each other; but beyond Kasr Aláhum (an irregular building of a late age), it became more rough and difficult, especially near the steep descent called Negási. Soon after this we descended into the plain, not far from the sea-shore, where we crossed several flat valleys. From the Wady Bú Jefára, where a small caravan going from Zlíten to the town overtook us, a monotonous plain, called Gwaea mtʿa Gummáta, extends to the very foot of the slope of Meselláta. Having traversed the desolate zone called el Míta mtʿa Terúggurt, whence may be descried the “úglah” near the shore, the residence of my old friend the sheikh Khalífa bú-Ruffa, we reached the broad and rock-bound valley Terúggurt itself, probably the most perfect wady which this part of the coast exhibits. To my great satisfaction, I met Overweg at the Kasr Jefára.
K. Jefára is also called Karabúli, from the name of a Mamlúk who, in the time of Yusuf Basha, built here a sort of convent or chapel. It is rather a “funduk,” or caravanserai, than a “kasr,” or castle, and the gates are always left open; but its situation is important, and it is the residence of a judge or kaíd. A battle between Ghóma and the Turks was fought in 1855 at no great distance from it. The country around is a monotonous plain, enlivened only by three small clusters of palm-trees towards the north. The following morning we proceeded, and encamped on the eastern side of Wady Raml. On Tuesday we returned to Tripoli well satisfied with our little excursion, and convinced that the Regency of Tripoli is not by any means so poor and miserable as it is generally believed to be.