DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.32867#0035
THE COUNTRY
5
In the plain east of Damascus, the black stone shows itself at Dmer, a town of
considerable size, grouped about a well-preserved temple of the Roman period in
black basalt. A little to the southwest of Dmer one encounters three columns of
another Roman temple, also of basalt, towering above another village of mud, called
Harran il-‘Awamid, or “ Harran of the Columns.” South of this no buildings of
antiquity were found until the edge of the Ledja was reached. The two buildings in
the plain, alluded to above, will be described together with those of the Hauran.
The physical conditions of these three districts have been described in detail in Part I
of this publication; I shall review them here only in certain aspects which bear directly
upon the subject of architecture. It is perfectly evident from thc abundant remains
of ancient building activity in each of the regions that all were densely populated
in antiquity. It is equally plain that the population was wealthy and to a certain
extent luxurious. The first two districts are to-day poor and in many places entirely
deserted, the northern half of the limestone mountain country of Northern Central
Syria having one small town called Kurkanya near its center, and a few settlements
among its ruined towns; the southern half, the region of the Djebel Riha, containing
several villages and a few scattered habitations among its ruins. The second district
is occupied almost exclusively by settled Bedawin.
i. Northern Central Syria. The Djebel il-A‘la, in the first district, is a high,
rocky ridge with steep, almost inaccessible sides, seeming entirely barren when viewed
from a distance; but upon traversing the mountains it will be found that there are
little rock-bound valleys with rich soil in their bottoms, where olives are grown, and
where grain is sown. On the level plateaus, too, a little soil is sometimes found,
rnuch more shallow than that in the valleys, but sufficient for the support of a few
olive-trees. The population of the whole range is extremely sparse, being made up
almost exclusively of a few families of Druses who have built their homes in the ruins
of the ancient towns.
The Djebel Barisha is somewhat more thickly settled, though here there are larger
tracts embracing many ruined towns where there are no inhabitants. There is, as
I have said, one town of considerable size, Kurkanya, that derives its subsistence
from the arable valley between the Djebel Barisha and the Djebel il-ATa. There are
42 ruined cities and towns in the district, 14 of which are inhabited by a few
Mohammedan families. 1 here are other villages of fair size situated near the eastern
slope of these mountains, in the fertile strip between the mountains and the desert.
The Djebel Barisha is less steep and craggy than the Djebel il-A‘la, and there are
small patches of soil here and there in its valleys and upon its flat plateaus, where
olives and grain are grown; but the general effect of the range is that of a dreary
waste of barren rock, presenting a very rough and uneven surface, over which one
travels with the utmost difficulty.
5
In the plain east of Damascus, the black stone shows itself at Dmer, a town of
considerable size, grouped about a well-preserved temple of the Roman period in
black basalt. A little to the southwest of Dmer one encounters three columns of
another Roman temple, also of basalt, towering above another village of mud, called
Harran il-‘Awamid, or “ Harran of the Columns.” South of this no buildings of
antiquity were found until the edge of the Ledja was reached. The two buildings in
the plain, alluded to above, will be described together with those of the Hauran.
The physical conditions of these three districts have been described in detail in Part I
of this publication; I shall review them here only in certain aspects which bear directly
upon the subject of architecture. It is perfectly evident from thc abundant remains
of ancient building activity in each of the regions that all were densely populated
in antiquity. It is equally plain that the population was wealthy and to a certain
extent luxurious. The first two districts are to-day poor and in many places entirely
deserted, the northern half of the limestone mountain country of Northern Central
Syria having one small town called Kurkanya near its center, and a few settlements
among its ruined towns; the southern half, the region of the Djebel Riha, containing
several villages and a few scattered habitations among its ruins. The second district
is occupied almost exclusively by settled Bedawin.
i. Northern Central Syria. The Djebel il-A‘la, in the first district, is a high,
rocky ridge with steep, almost inaccessible sides, seeming entirely barren when viewed
from a distance; but upon traversing the mountains it will be found that there are
little rock-bound valleys with rich soil in their bottoms, where olives are grown, and
where grain is sown. On the level plateaus, too, a little soil is sometimes found,
rnuch more shallow than that in the valleys, but sufficient for the support of a few
olive-trees. The population of the whole range is extremely sparse, being made up
almost exclusively of a few families of Druses who have built their homes in the ruins
of the ancient towns.
The Djebel Barisha is somewhat more thickly settled, though here there are larger
tracts embracing many ruined towns where there are no inhabitants. There is, as
I have said, one town of considerable size, Kurkanya, that derives its subsistence
from the arable valley between the Djebel Barisha and the Djebel il-ATa. There are
42 ruined cities and towns in the district, 14 of which are inhabited by a few
Mohammedan families. 1 here are other villages of fair size situated near the eastern
slope of these mountains, in the fertile strip between the mountains and the desert.
The Djebel Barisha is less steep and craggy than the Djebel il-A‘la, and there are
small patches of soil here and there in its valleys and upon its flat plateaus, where
olives and grain are grown; but the general effect of the range is that of a dreary
waste of barren rock, presenting a very rough and uneven surface, over which one
travels with the utmost difficulty.