DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36287#0079
55
PALMYRA AND THE REGION OF THE HAURAN
called il-'Alad Some of the party had paid a hurried visit to it the day before, but
found it less interesting than it promised from a distance to be. There are few
settlements along this route and the country is little cultivated. The asphodel was
just then beginning to bloom and it covered much of the ground.
In Hama we avoided the inn and lived in the tents on high but sheltered ground
near the northern border of the city. On the way to the camping-place we passed a
single tent, belonging to a foreigner, which was pitched among the graves of a
neglected cemetery. Owing in part to the slight illness of one member of our party,
and in part to the intermittent rain, four days were spent at Hama. The tents were
so saturated with water that their weight would have been too great for the mules to
carry, especially in view of the deep mud that they would have had to struggle
through.
We finally managed to leave on the 15th. The road was bad, but we succeeded
in reaching Rabat Sedjar. The bridge over the Nahr Sarut, called Djisr il-Madjdal,
is a substantial structure most of which dates from Roman timesS The river is said
to be nearly dry in summer, but we found it a raging torrent. It was so high that it
nearly reached the top of the bridge.
Rabat Sedjar, anciently known as Larissa, has a remarkable site. It is built on a
narrow, rocky hill that forms one side of a deep gorge through which races the water
of the Orontes.^ The castle and the modern village, built within the ancient inclo-
sure, are approached over a partly rock-hewn moat and through a huge gateway.
The best part of the ruin is now turned into a sheepfold. We went up into the
tower by way of the sheepfold and had a good view of the surrounding country.
The following day we rode on to Rabat il-Mudik, the ancient Apamea. This name
is still known among the natives, though under the form of Famia. Apamea must
have rivaled Palmyra in its best days. Fortified and enlarged by Seleucus Nicator
and named after his wife Apama, it was an important city for many centuries. It was
still flourishing in crusading times. In 638 A.D. it capitulated to Abu 'Ubeidahd The
ruins still above ground are extensive, but without doubt systematic digging would
bring to light much valuable archaeological material. There used to be a great
colonnade about a mile in length through the center of the city, and to-day it can be
traced throughout its course. West of the ruins is a high hill upon which the ancient
acropolis stood. The Moslems built a great castle there, and within the large castle
inclosure is the modern village. The only approach to the top of the hill is by a steep
path which rises perhaps more than a hundred feet from the narrow valley on the
south. Some hostility toward us was manifested by the natives, and although we knew
1 This is both a different place and a different name from 3 part jy p 209, photograph.
Djebel il-A'la. The latter means " the higher mountain " ; 4 Le Strange, p. 384 ; Smith : Dictionary of Geography,
il-'Ala means "the plateau." 1. 152.
3 See p. 88; Part II, p. 46, photograph.
PALMYRA AND THE REGION OF THE HAURAN
called il-'Alad Some of the party had paid a hurried visit to it the day before, but
found it less interesting than it promised from a distance to be. There are few
settlements along this route and the country is little cultivated. The asphodel was
just then beginning to bloom and it covered much of the ground.
In Hama we avoided the inn and lived in the tents on high but sheltered ground
near the northern border of the city. On the way to the camping-place we passed a
single tent, belonging to a foreigner, which was pitched among the graves of a
neglected cemetery. Owing in part to the slight illness of one member of our party,
and in part to the intermittent rain, four days were spent at Hama. The tents were
so saturated with water that their weight would have been too great for the mules to
carry, especially in view of the deep mud that they would have had to struggle
through.
We finally managed to leave on the 15th. The road was bad, but we succeeded
in reaching Rabat Sedjar. The bridge over the Nahr Sarut, called Djisr il-Madjdal,
is a substantial structure most of which dates from Roman timesS The river is said
to be nearly dry in summer, but we found it a raging torrent. It was so high that it
nearly reached the top of the bridge.
Rabat Sedjar, anciently known as Larissa, has a remarkable site. It is built on a
narrow, rocky hill that forms one side of a deep gorge through which races the water
of the Orontes.^ The castle and the modern village, built within the ancient inclo-
sure, are approached over a partly rock-hewn moat and through a huge gateway.
The best part of the ruin is now turned into a sheepfold. We went up into the
tower by way of the sheepfold and had a good view of the surrounding country.
The following day we rode on to Rabat il-Mudik, the ancient Apamea. This name
is still known among the natives, though under the form of Famia. Apamea must
have rivaled Palmyra in its best days. Fortified and enlarged by Seleucus Nicator
and named after his wife Apama, it was an important city for many centuries. It was
still flourishing in crusading times. In 638 A.D. it capitulated to Abu 'Ubeidahd The
ruins still above ground are extensive, but without doubt systematic digging would
bring to light much valuable archaeological material. There used to be a great
colonnade about a mile in length through the center of the city, and to-day it can be
traced throughout its course. West of the ruins is a high hill upon which the ancient
acropolis stood. The Moslems built a great castle there, and within the large castle
inclosure is the modern village. The only approach to the top of the hill is by a steep
path which rises perhaps more than a hundred feet from the narrow valley on the
south. Some hostility toward us was manifested by the natives, and although we knew
1 This is both a different place and a different name from 3 part jy p 209, photograph.
Djebel il-A'la. The latter means " the higher mountain " ; 4 Le Strange, p. 384 ; Smith : Dictionary of Geography,
il-'Ala means "the plateau." 1. 152.
3 See p. 88; Part II, p. 46, photograph.