DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45605#0108
334
Division II Section B Part 6
was of the most common types. The single exception is the one building I have
chosen for publication from Kefr Antin. This house is unusual both in plan and in
the design of its facade (Ill. 380). In the former we find the ground floor consisting
of a large square room spanned at the rear by a broad girder arch, and flanked on
either side by oblong apartments. In front of these three rooms is a porch almost
enclosed but for a doorway in the middle and a large arch at one side of the middle
of the front wall. In the upper floor the large room is divided by a row of piers set
above the arch below, and the upper storey of the porch is almost all walled in like
the lower floor, having a fine arch directly in the middle and a single doorway just
beside the arch. The upper porch was roofed with great slabs of stone. I have not
attempted to restore any of the missing parts of the fagade in my drawing, which
presents the building in its actual state, nor can I account for the lack of symmetry
in the lower storey.
101. SIMKHAR.
There is not a more interesting or beautiful ruin than this in the Djebel SinTan.
It lies in a shallow, sequestered valley to the south of Fafirtin, and is quite invisible
until one actually comes upon it (Ill. 381). In the centre of the town, which is to be
seen in the photograph, there is a group of buildings sufficiently well preserved to
attract immediate notice, yet so fantastically touched by earthquake shocks as to be
most picturesque. Outside the central group there are numerous buildings in a more
or less shattered condition, but wholly intelligible as shops or as private residences,
and, beyond these, a vast area covered with confused heaps of ruins in which only
here and there may be seen standing piers or portals or solitary arches. A few
stunted trees, and several clusters of low shrubs, with here and there a patch of grass,
give touches of deep colour which enhance the beauty of the pale greys and soft
yellows of the stonework.
Church : The church edifice consists of two parts; one an oblong basilica which
is one of the oldest in Syria, the other a small chapel, or large baptistery, added to
Division II Section B Part 6
was of the most common types. The single exception is the one building I have
chosen for publication from Kefr Antin. This house is unusual both in plan and in
the design of its facade (Ill. 380). In the former we find the ground floor consisting
of a large square room spanned at the rear by a broad girder arch, and flanked on
either side by oblong apartments. In front of these three rooms is a porch almost
enclosed but for a doorway in the middle and a large arch at one side of the middle
of the front wall. In the upper floor the large room is divided by a row of piers set
above the arch below, and the upper storey of the porch is almost all walled in like
the lower floor, having a fine arch directly in the middle and a single doorway just
beside the arch. The upper porch was roofed with great slabs of stone. I have not
attempted to restore any of the missing parts of the fagade in my drawing, which
presents the building in its actual state, nor can I account for the lack of symmetry
in the lower storey.
101. SIMKHAR.
There is not a more interesting or beautiful ruin than this in the Djebel SinTan.
It lies in a shallow, sequestered valley to the south of Fafirtin, and is quite invisible
until one actually comes upon it (Ill. 381). In the centre of the town, which is to be
seen in the photograph, there is a group of buildings sufficiently well preserved to
attract immediate notice, yet so fantastically touched by earthquake shocks as to be
most picturesque. Outside the central group there are numerous buildings in a more
or less shattered condition, but wholly intelligible as shops or as private residences,
and, beyond these, a vast area covered with confused heaps of ruins in which only
here and there may be seen standing piers or portals or solitary arches. A few
stunted trees, and several clusters of low shrubs, with here and there a patch of grass,
give touches of deep colour which enhance the beauty of the pale greys and soft
yellows of the stonework.
Church : The church edifice consists of two parts; one an oblong basilica which
is one of the oldest in Syria, the other a small chapel, or large baptistery, added to