DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45601#0056
142
II. B. 3.
are classed as inns for the accommodation of pilgrims to the shrine of St. Simeon at
Kafat Simcan; one of them, in fact, has upon its portal the inscription, referred to above,
which gives the word nay$o'/j.iov. All of these structures, as well as the ruins at Der
Termanin,1 are of the severe style which characterizes this one at Kasr il-Benat near
Dana; most of them are much larger; but, in one of them, there is a small chapel
projecting from the east wall almost exactly similar to the projecting chamber here.
And I assume that this little structure was a sort of chapel. When we consider the
fact that many houses and hotels owned today by Christians of the Eastern Church
have rooms or niches set apart for icons, it is not surprising that we should find an
inn of the earlier Christian centuries with a tiny chapel in it, especially if the inn had
been built partly for the accommodation of religious pilgrims, which is certainly not
impossible in this case. Important features of the inns at Der Simcan are the loggie
in two, or even three, stories that appear upon one or all sides of every building.
Whether these were for “taking the air” only, or were used in warm weather as sleeping
places, is a question that is hardly capable of solution. Certain it is that the building
under discussion was provided with ample accommodations of this kind.
49. RUWEHA.
This is the largest of the villa-towns in the Djebel Riha; it covers many acres
on the crest of a plateau, partly detached from the greater mass of the mountain, and
forming one of a series of foot-hills along its eastern slope. From Ruwfeha the descent
is gradual to the bottom of the broad valley through which the great high-road runs.
The ruins of its imposing edifices can be faintly descried from the high-road; but the
bare rocky hillside and the dressed stone of the buildings that has been quarried from
it have taken on the same grey hue, and the ruins seem to grow out of the natural
rock, or to be a part of it; so that a ruin in this region is not so conspicuous as in
a country where grass-grown slopes and forests make background for the ancient works
of men’s hands. Near the centre of the ruined town is an open square that seems
to have been surrounded by the two-story colonnades of shops; this I took to be the
ancient market place. On all sides of the square there are straight narrow streets,
lined with small houses, that extend a short distance from the market place. This cluster
of buildings is now much ruined, but it appears to have constituted a sort of business
centre — a little city — in the midst of a large number of detached villas. Westward
from this compact group rises the east wall of the old church, a well preserved basilical
structure of medium size, with a group of buildings about a cloister court on the north,
and a large walled garden on the south. This church was published with ground
plans and three photographs, by the American Expedition.3 It represents the severest
style of architecture employed in the churches of Syria, and, as I have said in the
publications mentioned above, may possibly have been a civil basilica before the days
of church building. A judgement based entirely upon its style and construction would
place this building very early in the fourth century or during the latter part of the
third. Beyond the church, farther to the west, are the ruins of many large detached
villas, scattered over a broad area. To the south of the group of buildings about the
market place, is a broad street, with large villas on its south side; other streets separate
1 s.c. Pl. 131.
2 A.A.E.S. II, pp. 99—102.
II. B. 3.
are classed as inns for the accommodation of pilgrims to the shrine of St. Simeon at
Kafat Simcan; one of them, in fact, has upon its portal the inscription, referred to above,
which gives the word nay$o'/j.iov. All of these structures, as well as the ruins at Der
Termanin,1 are of the severe style which characterizes this one at Kasr il-Benat near
Dana; most of them are much larger; but, in one of them, there is a small chapel
projecting from the east wall almost exactly similar to the projecting chamber here.
And I assume that this little structure was a sort of chapel. When we consider the
fact that many houses and hotels owned today by Christians of the Eastern Church
have rooms or niches set apart for icons, it is not surprising that we should find an
inn of the earlier Christian centuries with a tiny chapel in it, especially if the inn had
been built partly for the accommodation of religious pilgrims, which is certainly not
impossible in this case. Important features of the inns at Der Simcan are the loggie
in two, or even three, stories that appear upon one or all sides of every building.
Whether these were for “taking the air” only, or were used in warm weather as sleeping
places, is a question that is hardly capable of solution. Certain it is that the building
under discussion was provided with ample accommodations of this kind.
49. RUWEHA.
This is the largest of the villa-towns in the Djebel Riha; it covers many acres
on the crest of a plateau, partly detached from the greater mass of the mountain, and
forming one of a series of foot-hills along its eastern slope. From Ruwfeha the descent
is gradual to the bottom of the broad valley through which the great high-road runs.
The ruins of its imposing edifices can be faintly descried from the high-road; but the
bare rocky hillside and the dressed stone of the buildings that has been quarried from
it have taken on the same grey hue, and the ruins seem to grow out of the natural
rock, or to be a part of it; so that a ruin in this region is not so conspicuous as in
a country where grass-grown slopes and forests make background for the ancient works
of men’s hands. Near the centre of the ruined town is an open square that seems
to have been surrounded by the two-story colonnades of shops; this I took to be the
ancient market place. On all sides of the square there are straight narrow streets,
lined with small houses, that extend a short distance from the market place. This cluster
of buildings is now much ruined, but it appears to have constituted a sort of business
centre — a little city — in the midst of a large number of detached villas. Westward
from this compact group rises the east wall of the old church, a well preserved basilical
structure of medium size, with a group of buildings about a cloister court on the north,
and a large walled garden on the south. This church was published with ground
plans and three photographs, by the American Expedition.3 It represents the severest
style of architecture employed in the churches of Syria, and, as I have said in the
publications mentioned above, may possibly have been a civil basilica before the days
of church building. A judgement based entirely upon its style and construction would
place this building very early in the fourth century or during the latter part of the
third. Beyond the church, farther to the west, are the ruins of many large detached
villas, scattered over a broad area. To the south of the group of buildings about the
market place, is a broad street, with large villas on its south side; other streets separate
1 s.c. Pl. 131.
2 A.A.E.S. II, pp. 99—102.