DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36287#0059
PALMYRA AND THE REGION OF THE HAURAN 37
After a while we drew near a chff of gypsum, and our attention was drawn to the
large holes that perforated it in long, regular lines. Soon we noticed minute objects
moving up and down the nearly perpendicular cliff and in and out of the holes. As
we rode nearer they turned out to be the inhabitants of this strange place, which is
called Kirk Mughar, or the " Forty Caves. ' This small group of people lives in sur-
roundings which are exceptionally primitive even for Syria. They approach the
entrances to their homes by paths rising at a steep angle from the deep gully at the
bottom of the cliff. They are of Turkish origin and speak Turkish/ In the gully
there is a small stream which hows eastward and forms a tributary to the Euphrates.
A few minutes later we came out of the hills and turned northward into the fertile
valley at a point not far from the great river. The thorny cotton plant covered much
General view of the ruins of Djerabis, the ancient ELarkemish, looking N.E.
of the soil just about us; yet in spite of the poor pasturage in and near the valley, large
hocks of sheep and goats were apparently finding enough to thrive upon. Great hocks
of wild birds^ filled the air or were feeding in the helds as we passed by.
Early in the afternoon of the fourth day of the journey eastward from Aleppo, we
reached Djerabis, the ancient Europus and the still earlier Karkemish of the Hittites,
the goal toward which we were aiming during this part of the journey. We were
disappointed to hnd little above ground to indicate that this place was once a great
metropolis. It consists now of an irregular mound rising abruptly from the river, and,
south of the mound, a space of a few acres in area surrounded by a line of smaller
mounds which indicate the position of the city wall. Strewn over the ground are
many pieces of hewn stone, hardly one standing upon another, and minute fragments
of pottery, glass, and mosaic.
There are four bas-reliefs, two of basalt and two of limestone, still standing in the
1 See pp. 92 and 102. 2 See p. g6.
After a while we drew near a chff of gypsum, and our attention was drawn to the
large holes that perforated it in long, regular lines. Soon we noticed minute objects
moving up and down the nearly perpendicular cliff and in and out of the holes. As
we rode nearer they turned out to be the inhabitants of this strange place, which is
called Kirk Mughar, or the " Forty Caves. ' This small group of people lives in sur-
roundings which are exceptionally primitive even for Syria. They approach the
entrances to their homes by paths rising at a steep angle from the deep gully at the
bottom of the cliff. They are of Turkish origin and speak Turkish/ In the gully
there is a small stream which hows eastward and forms a tributary to the Euphrates.
A few minutes later we came out of the hills and turned northward into the fertile
valley at a point not far from the great river. The thorny cotton plant covered much
General view of the ruins of Djerabis, the ancient ELarkemish, looking N.E.
of the soil just about us; yet in spite of the poor pasturage in and near the valley, large
hocks of sheep and goats were apparently finding enough to thrive upon. Great hocks
of wild birds^ filled the air or were feeding in the helds as we passed by.
Early in the afternoon of the fourth day of the journey eastward from Aleppo, we
reached Djerabis, the ancient Europus and the still earlier Karkemish of the Hittites,
the goal toward which we were aiming during this part of the journey. We were
disappointed to hnd little above ground to indicate that this place was once a great
metropolis. It consists now of an irregular mound rising abruptly from the river, and,
south of the mound, a space of a few acres in area surrounded by a line of smaller
mounds which indicate the position of the city wall. Strewn over the ground are
many pieces of hewn stone, hardly one standing upon another, and minute fragments
of pottery, glass, and mosaic.
There are four bas-reliefs, two of basalt and two of limestone, still standing in the
1 See pp. 92 and 102. 2 See p. g6.