DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5073#0180
ZOUK JIEIIAYL.
169
the stain of the blood which still remains on the spot
where the holy warrior washed his hands, after finishing
the dragon with a knife. Then we wound through
some lanes and came out on the sands, taking a brisk
canter along the edge of the waves till we reached the
promontory of the Nahr el Kelb: the pleasant sands
were strewed with the remains of vessels driven ashore
during the past winter, two of which were English.
Several ships are lost every year in this bay. After
crossing the beautiful river, we rode a good hour further
along meadows and gardens to the village of Zouk
Mehayl, where one of the chief fabricants of pretty silk
and gold stuffs had been requested to make us welcome.
He took us to his house and spread piles of mattresses
f°r us in the guest-room, his mother and pretty sister
bringing snow-sherbet and coffee, and nargilehs for
some of our party. We reposed for some time, for it
was very hot, before we went up the village to see the
fabriques; nearly every house or even hut in the place
W its loom, sometimes many were at work together,
^he cloth is a woof of bright-coloured silks on a warp of
thick cotton threads, gold or silver thread being laid in
^ith the colours of the pattern : it is shaped in pieces for
cushions, slippers, bags and caps, which are very pretty
and durable, but somewhat costly, and they asked more
f°r them here than in Beyrout Some were also weaving
silk scarfs and shawls —a poor imitation of the Damascus
Manufacture. Zouk is a thriving town, and very prettily
situated on the side of the mountain sloping down into
the lovely little Bay of Jouneh. We came home at a
great pace in the cool evening air, thinking how chann-
el? a winter residence this bay would make for an
^vabd; it is a pity that this coast is not more sought
h those who are obliged to seek a warmer climate than
our own; there are manv places on the coast which
169
the stain of the blood which still remains on the spot
where the holy warrior washed his hands, after finishing
the dragon with a knife. Then we wound through
some lanes and came out on the sands, taking a brisk
canter along the edge of the waves till we reached the
promontory of the Nahr el Kelb: the pleasant sands
were strewed with the remains of vessels driven ashore
during the past winter, two of which were English.
Several ships are lost every year in this bay. After
crossing the beautiful river, we rode a good hour further
along meadows and gardens to the village of Zouk
Mehayl, where one of the chief fabricants of pretty silk
and gold stuffs had been requested to make us welcome.
He took us to his house and spread piles of mattresses
f°r us in the guest-room, his mother and pretty sister
bringing snow-sherbet and coffee, and nargilehs for
some of our party. We reposed for some time, for it
was very hot, before we went up the village to see the
fabriques; nearly every house or even hut in the place
W its loom, sometimes many were at work together,
^he cloth is a woof of bright-coloured silks on a warp of
thick cotton threads, gold or silver thread being laid in
^ith the colours of the pattern : it is shaped in pieces for
cushions, slippers, bags and caps, which are very pretty
and durable, but somewhat costly, and they asked more
f°r them here than in Beyrout Some were also weaving
silk scarfs and shawls —a poor imitation of the Damascus
Manufacture. Zouk is a thriving town, and very prettily
situated on the side of the mountain sloping down into
the lovely little Bay of Jouneh. We came home at a
great pace in the cool evening air, thinking how chann-
el? a winter residence this bay would make for an
^vabd; it is a pity that this coast is not more sought
h those who are obliged to seek a warmer climate than
our own; there are manv places on the coast which