DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36287#0052
30
TOPOGRAPHY OF NORTHERN CENTRAL SYRIA,
home in a large building which was formerly the "inn." Although it had no roof,
and over the door loose stones were thickly strewn, it served once more in a measure
as a refuge for the traveler. A drizzling rain made our stay uncomfortable, but it did
not prevent us from making the usual investigations. We found no inscriptions and
only a few bits of architectural decoration of any beauty. We were distressed to see
that the magnificent church has been almost completely demolished since M. de Vogue
visited and described it. Only a portion of the south wall remains It has
probably been destroyed to furnish stone for the houses of Termanm.
There was a large square reservoir near by, and connected with it were some cis-
terns. I made an investigation of one of them by sliding down a rope through the
small circular mouth at the surface. A pile of earth and stones about three meters
high was directly under the mouth. Originally the structure was probably eight or
ten meters deep and perhaps thirteen meters in its greatest diameter. The walls were
lined with a heavy coat of cement, which is now broken in many places. A large
central pier supported the ceiling.
After a while we left Der Termanin and ventured upon the fearful road to the town
of Derit 'Azzeh. It took an hour and a half to cover the four miles separating these
two places. The people of Derit 'Azzeh showed some hostility toward us.
Before leaving camp for our day's work on the 26th of November, we were visited
by a relative of the imprisoned Hamdu of Bashmishli, who had walked the whole
distance from that village, perhaps more than eighteen miles, to beg that we intercede
in behalf of his chief. Mr. Butler finally promised that he would send a letter to the
captain soon after our arrival in Aleppo, requesting him to liberate the prisoner. We
started off from Derit 'Azzeh that day in two divisions. Mr. Butler, with a few
attendants, went to Kal'at Sim'an, and the rest, with another train of followers, rode up
the steep hill to the summit of Djebcl Shekh Berekat. The mountain is some 2800
feet above sea-level and rises abruptly out of the low country. Its outline is symmetri-
cal, and it is a striking landmark. The view from the summit is magnificent. The
country was covered with a low-hanging mist that morning, but fortunately it finally
lifted, and to our surprise we were treated to the sight of groups of ruins on all sides
so numerous that they could be counted by the dozen. It was trying to see close at
hand, around and beyond Kal'at Sim'an, so many places that at a distance gave great
promise, when we had not sufficient time to visit them. Kal'at Sim'an is undoubtedly
the most remarkable of all the places we visited during the autumn's journeyd It
stands upon a sharp spur which juts out from the Djebel Sim'an.
In a cold, biting wind observations were taken from the summit of the Djebel
Shekh Berekat. In addition to this difficulty, it was hard to obtain definite informa-
tion from the natives concerning the limits of the surrounding mountains." On the
1 See Part II, pp. 22, 180, 184, etc. 2 ggg p, i^i.
TOPOGRAPHY OF NORTHERN CENTRAL SYRIA,
home in a large building which was formerly the "inn." Although it had no roof,
and over the door loose stones were thickly strewn, it served once more in a measure
as a refuge for the traveler. A drizzling rain made our stay uncomfortable, but it did
not prevent us from making the usual investigations. We found no inscriptions and
only a few bits of architectural decoration of any beauty. We were distressed to see
that the magnificent church has been almost completely demolished since M. de Vogue
visited and described it. Only a portion of the south wall remains It has
probably been destroyed to furnish stone for the houses of Termanm.
There was a large square reservoir near by, and connected with it were some cis-
terns. I made an investigation of one of them by sliding down a rope through the
small circular mouth at the surface. A pile of earth and stones about three meters
high was directly under the mouth. Originally the structure was probably eight or
ten meters deep and perhaps thirteen meters in its greatest diameter. The walls were
lined with a heavy coat of cement, which is now broken in many places. A large
central pier supported the ceiling.
After a while we left Der Termanin and ventured upon the fearful road to the town
of Derit 'Azzeh. It took an hour and a half to cover the four miles separating these
two places. The people of Derit 'Azzeh showed some hostility toward us.
Before leaving camp for our day's work on the 26th of November, we were visited
by a relative of the imprisoned Hamdu of Bashmishli, who had walked the whole
distance from that village, perhaps more than eighteen miles, to beg that we intercede
in behalf of his chief. Mr. Butler finally promised that he would send a letter to the
captain soon after our arrival in Aleppo, requesting him to liberate the prisoner. We
started off from Derit 'Azzeh that day in two divisions. Mr. Butler, with a few
attendants, went to Kal'at Sim'an, and the rest, with another train of followers, rode up
the steep hill to the summit of Djebcl Shekh Berekat. The mountain is some 2800
feet above sea-level and rises abruptly out of the low country. Its outline is symmetri-
cal, and it is a striking landmark. The view from the summit is magnificent. The
country was covered with a low-hanging mist that morning, but fortunately it finally
lifted, and to our surprise we were treated to the sight of groups of ruins on all sides
so numerous that they could be counted by the dozen. It was trying to see close at
hand, around and beyond Kal'at Sim'an, so many places that at a distance gave great
promise, when we had not sufficient time to visit them. Kal'at Sim'an is undoubtedly
the most remarkable of all the places we visited during the autumn's journeyd It
stands upon a sharp spur which juts out from the Djebel Sim'an.
In a cold, biting wind observations were taken from the summit of the Djebel
Shekh Berekat. In addition to this difficulty, it was hard to obtain definite informa-
tion from the natives concerning the limits of the surrounding mountains." On the
1 See Part II, pp. 22, 180, 184, etc. 2 ggg p, i^i.