DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.11448#0447
CHAP. XIV.]
THE LEBANON.
137
creased ; each hill that we crowned revealed a noble panorama
of the tract that lay between the mountains and the sea. On we
went merrily : now among wild groves of myrtle or laurustinus;
now emerging upon craggy cliffs, or descending into a green wil-
derness. Sometimes a forest of pines lent us a friendly shade ;
sometimes we passed through some flat-roofed village, receiving
and returning the salutations of the Druse or Maronite maid or
matron. The men were all out at labour on the mountain's side,
which is admkably cultivated.
The change from the lowland vassal to the mountain freeman
is very striking. This fearless look, the bold bearing of the for-
mer, and that respectfulness which so generally accompanies
self-respect, showed in strong contrast to the slave-peasantry of
Palestine. There would almost seem to be something geographi-
cal in courage : the Tyrol, the Alps and Pyrenees, the Circassian,
the Affghan and the Atlas mountains have in all ages produced a
hero-peasantry; the low countries of the world, with the excep-
tion perhaps of Holland and poor Poland, have never been sim-
ilarly endowed.
We rode, as it seemed, over the roofs of the picturesque vil-
lage of Ananook, renowned for the beauty of its women. On
the left hand, the cottages stood up against the precipice ; on the
right, their tops were level with the path, and looked out upon the
valley far below. Occasionally, a fortress or a convent crowned
a hill, or a hamlet peeped from beneath the foliage ; but generally
the way was wild and lonely. As soon as we crowned the sum-
mit of the Lebanon, the great valley of Caalesyria opened on our
view ; a magnificent sweep of wide plains, watered by the Liet-
tani, and richly varied by glade and forest, and piled-up cliffs.
The descent was long and difficult and dangerous ; but at length
we came to the picturesque stream of the Damour, and halted at
a Khan by an old bridge. We bathed luxuriously in the bright
mountain stream; and delightful it was to change the hot saddle
and 'the labouring horse for that clear, sparkling water, flowing
capriciously among shadowy rocks and flowering oleanders.
About sunset we arrived at the antique, crag-perched town of
Derr el Kamar, and pitched our tent in an open space without
the walls. The name of this stronghold of the Druses implies
THE LEBANON.
137
creased ; each hill that we crowned revealed a noble panorama
of the tract that lay between the mountains and the sea. On we
went merrily : now among wild groves of myrtle or laurustinus;
now emerging upon craggy cliffs, or descending into a green wil-
derness. Sometimes a forest of pines lent us a friendly shade ;
sometimes we passed through some flat-roofed village, receiving
and returning the salutations of the Druse or Maronite maid or
matron. The men were all out at labour on the mountain's side,
which is admkably cultivated.
The change from the lowland vassal to the mountain freeman
is very striking. This fearless look, the bold bearing of the for-
mer, and that respectfulness which so generally accompanies
self-respect, showed in strong contrast to the slave-peasantry of
Palestine. There would almost seem to be something geographi-
cal in courage : the Tyrol, the Alps and Pyrenees, the Circassian,
the Affghan and the Atlas mountains have in all ages produced a
hero-peasantry; the low countries of the world, with the excep-
tion perhaps of Holland and poor Poland, have never been sim-
ilarly endowed.
We rode, as it seemed, over the roofs of the picturesque vil-
lage of Ananook, renowned for the beauty of its women. On
the left hand, the cottages stood up against the precipice ; on the
right, their tops were level with the path, and looked out upon the
valley far below. Occasionally, a fortress or a convent crowned
a hill, or a hamlet peeped from beneath the foliage ; but generally
the way was wild and lonely. As soon as we crowned the sum-
mit of the Lebanon, the great valley of Caalesyria opened on our
view ; a magnificent sweep of wide plains, watered by the Liet-
tani, and richly varied by glade and forest, and piled-up cliffs.
The descent was long and difficult and dangerous ; but at length
we came to the picturesque stream of the Damour, and halted at
a Khan by an old bridge. We bathed luxuriously in the bright
mountain stream; and delightful it was to change the hot saddle
and 'the labouring horse for that clear, sparkling water, flowing
capriciously among shadowy rocks and flowering oleanders.
About sunset we arrived at the antique, crag-perched town of
Derr el Kamar, and pitched our tent in an open space without
the walls. The name of this stronghold of the Druses implies