DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36287#0046
24
TOPOGRAPHY OF NORTHERN CENTRAL SYRIA
fallen. It is evident that the natives have helped to destroy it during the past
forty years. In a stone of one of the buildings of Bankusa were discovered the fossil
remains of a part of a vertebrate.
Soon after three o'clock in the afternoon we went to the interesting ruin called Der
Seta, which lies about an hour's ride eastward. Near the center of the town is a
paved court in a good state of preservation, and at one corner of the court are three
or four side walls of a hexagonal baptistery, the only one of its kind we saw. We left
the work there unfinished in order to reach camp before night, but this was impossible,
though we returned by nearly the same route we had followed eastward, for it took
more than an hour and a half to cover the five miles to Ma rata. The last part of the
ride was lighted, however, by a brilliant moon.
On November 18th, shortly after eight in the morning, we started off southward
and soon began to ascend the exceedingly rough and steep eastern slope of the Djebel
il-A'la, at the point where this mountain and the Djebel Barisha are merged into one.
Before reaching Kefr Mares we passed several groups of Druses, most of them women,
who were said to be on their way to Kefr Binneh to attend a wedding. Their many-
colored costumes, with white flowing head-pieces and high boots of red or yellow,
were very picturesque. After an hour's ride we came to Kefr Mares, and at once
began to hunt for inscriptions, but our success was not great.
At noon we went on to Taltita, a ruined town and a modern village near the highest
point of the Djebel il-A'la. They are not far from Kefr Mares, and the path between
them is good. It winds through an olive grove and then goes up a gentle slope. We
gained a splendid view from the summit. The outlook toward the south and southeast
was especially fine, for in that direction we looked down into the plain in which lies the
large town of Idlib, and beyond could be seen the Djebel Riha, a mountainous region
similar to the one we were then in. We also saw Kefr Tkherin and a number of other
villages in the valley to the west, but the Orontes river was concealed behind a low ridge.
The ruins of Taltita are striking landmarks. A large sarcophagus, standing on its
broken base, and overlooking the Djebel Barisha and the plain of Idlib, is particularly
prominent. It bears no inscription to tell the traveler the name of the person in
whose memory it was built. We reluctantly left this spot shortly before four o'clock
and rode slowly down the steep hill and back to camp.
On Sunday, the 19th, we concluded to take full advantage of the good weather
while it lasted and started away once more upon the rough but familiar path to Koka-
naya. After a little while we turned toward the south and headed for Kefr Finsheh,
the first of a series of ruined places which were known only to the natives prior to our
visit. The chapel of Kefr Finsheh is an important ruin and in it are two inscriptions/
but the other buildings are completely destroyed.
1 See Part III, insers. 31 and 32.
TOPOGRAPHY OF NORTHERN CENTRAL SYRIA
fallen. It is evident that the natives have helped to destroy it during the past
forty years. In a stone of one of the buildings of Bankusa were discovered the fossil
remains of a part of a vertebrate.
Soon after three o'clock in the afternoon we went to the interesting ruin called Der
Seta, which lies about an hour's ride eastward. Near the center of the town is a
paved court in a good state of preservation, and at one corner of the court are three
or four side walls of a hexagonal baptistery, the only one of its kind we saw. We left
the work there unfinished in order to reach camp before night, but this was impossible,
though we returned by nearly the same route we had followed eastward, for it took
more than an hour and a half to cover the five miles to Ma rata. The last part of the
ride was lighted, however, by a brilliant moon.
On November 18th, shortly after eight in the morning, we started off southward
and soon began to ascend the exceedingly rough and steep eastern slope of the Djebel
il-A'la, at the point where this mountain and the Djebel Barisha are merged into one.
Before reaching Kefr Mares we passed several groups of Druses, most of them women,
who were said to be on their way to Kefr Binneh to attend a wedding. Their many-
colored costumes, with white flowing head-pieces and high boots of red or yellow,
were very picturesque. After an hour's ride we came to Kefr Mares, and at once
began to hunt for inscriptions, but our success was not great.
At noon we went on to Taltita, a ruined town and a modern village near the highest
point of the Djebel il-A'la. They are not far from Kefr Mares, and the path between
them is good. It winds through an olive grove and then goes up a gentle slope. We
gained a splendid view from the summit. The outlook toward the south and southeast
was especially fine, for in that direction we looked down into the plain in which lies the
large town of Idlib, and beyond could be seen the Djebel Riha, a mountainous region
similar to the one we were then in. We also saw Kefr Tkherin and a number of other
villages in the valley to the west, but the Orontes river was concealed behind a low ridge.
The ruins of Taltita are striking landmarks. A large sarcophagus, standing on its
broken base, and overlooking the Djebel Barisha and the plain of Idlib, is particularly
prominent. It bears no inscription to tell the traveler the name of the person in
whose memory it was built. We reluctantly left this spot shortly before four o'clock
and rode slowly down the steep hill and back to camp.
On Sunday, the 19th, we concluded to take full advantage of the good weather
while it lasted and started away once more upon the rough but familiar path to Koka-
naya. After a little while we turned toward the south and headed for Kefr Finsheh,
the first of a series of ruined places which were known only to the natives prior to our
visit. The chapel of Kefr Finsheh is an important ruin and in it are two inscriptions/
but the other buildings are completely destroyed.
1 See Part III, insers. 31 and 32.