DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36287#0053
PALMYRA AND THE REGION OF THE HAURAN
31
walls of the great square inclosure at the top of Djebel Shekh Berekat are several
Greek inscriptions.* A hurried visit was paid to Kharab Shekh Berekat, a large
group of ruins that lies on the western slope of the mountain, about a half-mile from
the summit. The buildings are much dilapidated. Only one or two houses are still
standing and they are almost without ornamentation. One inscription was found over
a door of a church, but was not copied.
At three in the afternoon we went down the northern slope to Katura, the rendez-
vous agreed upon in the morning. Mr. Butler came from Kal'at Sim'an by way of
Der Sim'an and Refadi. Katura is not an important ruin, but near by are some
interesting rock-cut tombs, in which are a few inscriptions, one of them in Latin, and
some badly weathered bas-reliefs.
This was practically the end of our autumn's work. We had already given more
than the allotted time to the region thus far described, but it was necessary because
of the important discoveries that had been made. Being near at hand, it was felt to
be advisable, and almost necessary from the standpoint of a student of archaeology,
to glance at the country between this region and the Euphrates in order to determine
whether the civilization of the more western country as expressed in its monuments
had extended eastward beyond Aleppo.
Derit 'Azzeh is so hidden away in the rocky valley that it had not been possible
to sight it from any suitable observation point, so after an early start on the 27th a
halt was made on the hillside not far away in order to get bearings to it and to other
points already known. Mounting again, we came after a while to the remarkable
church of Mshabbak. Hardly anything but the roof of the building is lacking.
Around the church are quantities of scattered stones which once formed a part of the
ancient town, but not even the outlines of other buildings now remain.
We halted for lunch not far from the village of Hauwar, and seated ourselves on
the ground in the imperfect shelter of a low stone wall. The whole journey to Aleppo
was uninteresting. The country is gently undulating; the soil is extremely poor,
and is thickly strewn with stones which the natives had not troubled themselves to
remove; here and there are more or less fertile depressions and in them the people
grow their meager crops of wheat and barley; and near them as a rule, at short
distances from our path, are mud and stone villages with occasionally the tiny white
dome of a mosque or shrine in the center. Few signs of life existed about them or
in their narrow passages. A northerly wind that swept over the dreary open plains
with great velocity, and the rapidly falling temperature, made the day a trying one.
There vms, however, a certain charm in the scene, of which we were not unconscious.
It appealed to us as the desert does to one who is familiar with it. Especially
impressive is the first view of the great mass of white houses of Aleppo, surrounded
by the desolate low country of light brown and gray.
^See Part III, p. 104 ff.
31
walls of the great square inclosure at the top of Djebel Shekh Berekat are several
Greek inscriptions.* A hurried visit was paid to Kharab Shekh Berekat, a large
group of ruins that lies on the western slope of the mountain, about a half-mile from
the summit. The buildings are much dilapidated. Only one or two houses are still
standing and they are almost without ornamentation. One inscription was found over
a door of a church, but was not copied.
At three in the afternoon we went down the northern slope to Katura, the rendez-
vous agreed upon in the morning. Mr. Butler came from Kal'at Sim'an by way of
Der Sim'an and Refadi. Katura is not an important ruin, but near by are some
interesting rock-cut tombs, in which are a few inscriptions, one of them in Latin, and
some badly weathered bas-reliefs.
This was practically the end of our autumn's work. We had already given more
than the allotted time to the region thus far described, but it was necessary because
of the important discoveries that had been made. Being near at hand, it was felt to
be advisable, and almost necessary from the standpoint of a student of archaeology,
to glance at the country between this region and the Euphrates in order to determine
whether the civilization of the more western country as expressed in its monuments
had extended eastward beyond Aleppo.
Derit 'Azzeh is so hidden away in the rocky valley that it had not been possible
to sight it from any suitable observation point, so after an early start on the 27th a
halt was made on the hillside not far away in order to get bearings to it and to other
points already known. Mounting again, we came after a while to the remarkable
church of Mshabbak. Hardly anything but the roof of the building is lacking.
Around the church are quantities of scattered stones which once formed a part of the
ancient town, but not even the outlines of other buildings now remain.
We halted for lunch not far from the village of Hauwar, and seated ourselves on
the ground in the imperfect shelter of a low stone wall. The whole journey to Aleppo
was uninteresting. The country is gently undulating; the soil is extremely poor,
and is thickly strewn with stones which the natives had not troubled themselves to
remove; here and there are more or less fertile depressions and in them the people
grow their meager crops of wheat and barley; and near them as a rule, at short
distances from our path, are mud and stone villages with occasionally the tiny white
dome of a mosque or shrine in the center. Few signs of life existed about them or
in their narrow passages. A northerly wind that swept over the dreary open plains
with great velocity, and the rapidly falling temperature, made the day a trying one.
There vms, however, a certain charm in the scene, of which we were not unconscious.
It appealed to us as the desert does to one who is familiar with it. Especially
impressive is the first view of the great mass of white houses of Aleppo, surrounded
by the desolate low country of light brown and gray.
^See Part III, p. 104 ff.