DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.32867#0034
4
NORTHERN CENTRAL SYRIA AND THE HAURAN
To the south of the long ridges of the Djebel il-A‘la and the Djebel Barisha, and
separated from them by a broad plain, lies the region of the Djebel Riha, a group of
hills quite as broad as the two groups north of it together, but lower, and extending
well to the south, almost as far as Kal'at il-Mudik, the site of ancient Apamea. The
researches of M. de Vogiie extended well over this region. We have for the first
district, then, a mountainous region about io miles broad, extending from a point a
little north of a line drawn eastward from Antioch, almost as far south as Apamea,
bounded on the east by a stretch of fertile plain and on the west by the Orontes
and the region of Antioch. The hills of this entire district are composed of calcareous
rock, and may be referred to as the limestone region.
The second district is separated from the first by a tract of country that is chiefly
a flat plain, though a small pointed hill, the Djebel il-Ts, rises from the midst of it,
above the site of ancient Chalcis, or Kinnesrin, now a small village of no importance.
The western edge of this plain, along the foot of the mountains described above, is
fertile, and is dotted with villages of mud huts. Through this fertile strip passes
the highroad to Damascus and the south. It isWounded on the northeast by
il-Matkh, the marsh into which flows the Kuweik, the river of Aleppo. Southeast
of it stretches the desert, and north of the latter rise two groups of hills ; the first,
a long, low ridge running northwest and southeast, called the Djebel il-Hass. The
other, still farther east and separated from the former by a level stretch of desert, is a
plateau, of oval form, with several deep indentations on the north; this is the Djebel
Shbet. Both groups of hills rise from the desert plain, the Djebel il-ITass at an
easy angle, the Djebel Shbet abruptly, and both are comparatively flat at the top.
They have every appearance of being of volcanic origin and are, in fact, composed
largely of black basalt. There are several wells in the Djebel il-Hass and one in
the Djebel Shbet, which bring the Bedawin frequently to the hills ; but there are few
villages in either region. The great salt lake called is-Sabkha is shown upon ordi-
nary maps as lying to the north of these two groups of hills.
The third district of which the architecture is to be discussed in this publication —
the Djebel Hauran — has been well mappcd and requires no description. In going
from the basalt region of Djebel il-Idass and Djebel Shbet to the basalt region of the
Hauran, we did not follow the black stone belt which may be traced with a few
breaks from this northern region to the Djebel Hauran, but set out in a south-
easterly direction toward Palmyra, soon finding ourselves in a limestone region
again at Isriyeh, where one of the buildings herein described is located. Before
going to the Djebel il-Hass we had made an excursion from Homs to Selemiyeh, which
is 65 miles to the southwest of that group of hills and is also in the basaltic belt.
The architectural details of Selemiyeh will therefore be treated in connection with
those of the Djebel il-Hass and the Djebel Shbet. Homs itself, it should be
remarked, is in the region of basalt, while Hama lies just outside of it.
NORTHERN CENTRAL SYRIA AND THE HAURAN
To the south of the long ridges of the Djebel il-A‘la and the Djebel Barisha, and
separated from them by a broad plain, lies the region of the Djebel Riha, a group of
hills quite as broad as the two groups north of it together, but lower, and extending
well to the south, almost as far as Kal'at il-Mudik, the site of ancient Apamea. The
researches of M. de Vogiie extended well over this region. We have for the first
district, then, a mountainous region about io miles broad, extending from a point a
little north of a line drawn eastward from Antioch, almost as far south as Apamea,
bounded on the east by a stretch of fertile plain and on the west by the Orontes
and the region of Antioch. The hills of this entire district are composed of calcareous
rock, and may be referred to as the limestone region.
The second district is separated from the first by a tract of country that is chiefly
a flat plain, though a small pointed hill, the Djebel il-Ts, rises from the midst of it,
above the site of ancient Chalcis, or Kinnesrin, now a small village of no importance.
The western edge of this plain, along the foot of the mountains described above, is
fertile, and is dotted with villages of mud huts. Through this fertile strip passes
the highroad to Damascus and the south. It isWounded on the northeast by
il-Matkh, the marsh into which flows the Kuweik, the river of Aleppo. Southeast
of it stretches the desert, and north of the latter rise two groups of hills ; the first,
a long, low ridge running northwest and southeast, called the Djebel il-Hass. The
other, still farther east and separated from the former by a level stretch of desert, is a
plateau, of oval form, with several deep indentations on the north; this is the Djebel
Shbet. Both groups of hills rise from the desert plain, the Djebel il-ITass at an
easy angle, the Djebel Shbet abruptly, and both are comparatively flat at the top.
They have every appearance of being of volcanic origin and are, in fact, composed
largely of black basalt. There are several wells in the Djebel il-Hass and one in
the Djebel Shbet, which bring the Bedawin frequently to the hills ; but there are few
villages in either region. The great salt lake called is-Sabkha is shown upon ordi-
nary maps as lying to the north of these two groups of hills.
The third district of which the architecture is to be discussed in this publication —
the Djebel Hauran — has been well mappcd and requires no description. In going
from the basalt region of Djebel il-Idass and Djebel Shbet to the basalt region of the
Hauran, we did not follow the black stone belt which may be traced with a few
breaks from this northern region to the Djebel Hauran, but set out in a south-
easterly direction toward Palmyra, soon finding ourselves in a limestone region
again at Isriyeh, where one of the buildings herein described is located. Before
going to the Djebel il-Hass we had made an excursion from Homs to Selemiyeh, which
is 65 miles to the southwest of that group of hills and is also in the basaltic belt.
The architectural details of Selemiyeh will therefore be treated in connection with
those of the Djebel il-Hass and the Djebel Shbet. Homs itself, it should be
remarked, is in the region of basalt, while Hama lies just outside of it.