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THE THISTLE and THE CEDAR OF LEBANON,
THE THISTLE and THE CEDAR OF LEBANON,
by HABEEB RISK ALLAH EFFENDI, m.r.c.s. , and associate of king’s college . “And Jehoash the king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon, sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife; and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle.”—2 Kings xiv. 9. second edition . LONDON: JAMES MADDEN, 8 LEADENHALL STREET. 1854 london : printed by wertheimer and co. finsbury circus ....
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PREFACE to the first edition.
PREFACE to the first edition.
The following pages were written in compliance with the solicitations of many esteemed friends, who were desirous that I should lay before the public an outline of my life and travels, and give to the English nation a description of the domestic habits and religious opinions of my countrymen in Syria. However incompetent I may have proved for the task, I trust that what I have written may not be wholly uninteresting; and above all, it is my earnest hope, that my feeble efforts to arouse the gen
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INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
In presenting the British public with the following pages, containing a brief sketch of my life and travels, together with a description of the customs and present condition of my native land, I am actuated solely by motives which, I trust, a careful perusal of this work will prove to be disinterested. All nations are more or less patriotic; none more so than the inhabitants of the British isles. With them the inducements to this love of home are all-sufficient, for their religion is the purest
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CHAPTER I. SCENES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD.
CHAPTER I. SCENES OF EARLY CHILDHOOD.
My earliest recollections are associated with the lovely and rural village of Shuay-fât, my birth-place, on the Lebanon; and where, if not the happiest, certainly the most innocent years of my childhood were passed. My late father had no fixed residence at that place, but he, with the rest of his family, usually resorted there to spend the summer months and part of the autumn and spring. In winter the cold became intense, owing to the elevated position of the village; consequently most of its
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CHAPTER II. PIRATICAL ATTACK ON BEYROUT.
CHAPTER II. PIRATICAL ATTACK ON BEYROUT.
Months rolled on. Merchants were at that period carrying on a comparatively thriving trade at Beyrout. The novelty of the scene that presented itself on my first arrival there had gradually worn off. In my leisure hours I rambled along the sandy beach, gathering shells, and wading ankle deep into the surf, at first with ill-suppressed fear and trembling; but the example of other boys emboldening me to venture into the water, I finished by becoming quite an adept in the art of swimming. Then
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THE STORY OF THE JINN AND THE SCOLDING WIFE.
THE STORY OF THE JINN AND THE SCOLDING WIFE.
Once upon a time, many years ago, when good people were rather scarce upon the earth, and such men as Noah had ceased to exist, there dwelt a certain poor man at the city of Aleppo, whose name was—I forgot now exactly what; but as his heirs might not take it in good part, we had best leave the name-part of the business alone altogether. However, he was fortunate enough to pick up with a pretty little wife, whose smiles, so thought the lover, were like the dew of Hermon; instead of which, they p
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CHAPTER IV. THE AMERICAN MISSIONARIES AT BEYROUT.
CHAPTER IV. THE AMERICAN MISSIONARIES AT BEYROUT.
After a residence of upwards of two years at Damascus, I was suddenly, in the spring of the year, recalled to Beyrout, this latter town having, in my absence, grown into considerable importance as a commercial sea-port. The traffic with European countries daily augmenting, had given an impetus to several enterprising young Syrians, who wished to acquire a knowledge of European languages; and as precedents were not wanting of this knowledge having led to preferment and subsequent opulence, my fr
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CHAPTER V. EXCURSION TO CYPRUS.
CHAPTER V. EXCURSION TO CYPRUS.
Quitting my kind friends the Americans in 1839, I was appointed by the Government to accompany a distinguished European, travelling on a diplomatic mission through the East. He was an affable, kind man; and though I have often since made the tour of the places we then visited, I never so much enjoyed a journey as in his pleasant and instructive company. Our plan of route was to first visit Cyprus and Asia Minor, then the northern towns and villages of Syria, and so travel southwards as far as
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CHAPTER VI. ALEPPO.
CHAPTER VI. ALEPPO.
Hiring an Arab boat at Ayas, we crossed over the Gulf of Scanderoon, passing close to the lagoons near that place, which are very dangerous for navigation; in fact, so much so, that in speaking of it we say in Arabic, “As dangerous as the Black Sea.” They, however, abound in fine turtle, such as would meet with a ready and profitable market in London. We landed at Scanderoon, a wretched and deserted village, surrounded with pestiferous marshes on all sides. The fever was at that period preval
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CHAPTER VII. ANTIOCH AND LATTAKIA.
CHAPTER VII. ANTIOCH AND LATTAKIA.
In Antioch our stay was, much to our regret, comparatively short; for who would willingly quit so fair a spot—a perfect Paradise, and rich in the fairest gifts of nature? A healthy climate, a cloudless sky, luxuriant fruits and flowers, meadows and pasturages, high hills and valleys; the mountain and the plain bespangled with trees, the wild myrtle and other fragrant shrubs, intersected by a glorious river; the earth producing nourishment for droves upon droves of cattle, and domestic as well a
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CHAPTER VIII. FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND.
CHAPTER VIII. FIRST VISIT TO ENGLAND.
It sometimes happened that the naval officers belonging to the ship-of-war stationed at Beyrout, took up their temporary residence with some friend on shore, being always welcome guests at the houses of the inhabitants. It was in this way that I first came to cultivate an acquaintance with the captain of Her Majesty’s steamer, “Hecate,” so that we were much thrown together. On one occasion, whilst he was a guest at our house, he proposed that I should accompany him on a pleasure cruise as far
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CHAPTER IX. VISIT TO PARIS.
CHAPTER IX. VISIT TO PARIS.
Orientals who visit Paris for the first time are at a loss to conceive anything more magnificent than its streets and its palaces and gardens. After having been in England, however, their opinion is materially altered, though I must still admit that there are some striking features in Paris; amongst these, the Boulevards, Champs Elysées, Tuileries, the Louvre and Luxembourg, are the most attractive. Of the greater part of the streets of Paris I can say but little; and there are some so filthy,
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CHAPTER X. STAY AT CONSTANTINOPLE.
CHAPTER X. STAY AT CONSTANTINOPLE.
Even at this distance of time, my spirit is filled with melancholy, when I think of that kind friend with whom I passed the greater portion of my time whilst at Constantinople: perhaps a description of one evening spent in his society may be of interest. The Emir Sayed—a wreck of greatness, whose fond dream of life’s realities can only find an echo in the past—the shattered fragment of one born to command—second only to a supreme sovereign—he is a helpless broken-hearted man, supported on the al
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CHAPTER XI. EGYPT.
CHAPTER XI. EGYPT.
Resuming my narrative, my readers will be interested by a slight sketch of Egypt. This country, now called by the natives “Messir,” was styled, in the Hebrew Scriptures, “The land of Mizraim”—a strange similarity in the two names, which places it beyond a doubt that, however much the face of the country may have been changed since the days of Moses and the children of Israel, and though consecutively under the sway of governments and people whose language and dialects varied in the extreme, the
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VISIT TO CHELTENHAM.
VISIT TO CHELTENHAM.
From Bath I went to the above place, and during my stay I took up my quarters at the Plough Hotel, where I was most comfortable, and received every attention from the proprietor. I should be unmindful, and thankless indeed, were I to forget to express my grateful thanks to friends generally for the kind reception given me, and for the interest evinced on behalf of my beloved country, and I shall ever retain a lively remembrance of the Rev. J. Brown, Incumbent of Trinity Church. Wherever he is k
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CHAPTER XIII. IMPRESSIONS OF ENGLAND.
CHAPTER XIII. IMPRESSIONS OF ENGLAND.
Many of my fair friends have been exceedingly anxious for me to give them my first impressions of England. After so long a residence in the country, I must confess my habits have become completely Anglicised; I have, however, the pleasure of offering them a translation of portions of some letters written to a friend at Constantinople during my first visit to England:— “You asked me, before leaving Stamboul, to convey to you as well as I could by letter my first impressions of England and the En
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I.
I.
Alas! and ah well a-day, that my rose-faced love, my intimate, my soul’s companion, should be enveloped in her shroud! That tongue, once familiar, with so many languages, gives utterance now to none. I listen vainly and am astonished not to hear thy once-loved voice....
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II.
II.
Tell me, O Grave, tell me, is her incomparable beauty gone? Has she, too, faded, as the petals fall from the sweetest flower, and her lovely face changed—changed and gone! Thou art not a garden, O Grave; nor yet heaven; still all the fairest flowers and the brightest plants are culled by thee....
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III.
III.
O black, mysterious Ground, tell me how or wherefore have we sinned, that thou art prone to hug the beautiful, the chaste, the rare—and yet so cold thy love. Stones alone hast thou for pillows for the tender, the loved, the fair....
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IV.
IV.
O Ground—confusion to thy face!—think not the treasure that is withering in thy grasp is thine. O no! Thank God, her soul, her immortality, is far beyond thy reach....
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V.
V.
Earth, unfeeling Earth, thy heart is adamant; nor hope nor pity find a place in thee. Yet seeds sown in thy bosom spring up as flowers beautiful and rare. Without thee, a solitary soul—a blank is the world to me—nor merry laugh nor cheerful glance has now a charm....
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VI.
VI.
Sometimes I weep alone to think that I have lost thy love for ever—and then, oh! bitterly weep to see thy mother’s furrowed brow—full well she feels the treasure lost—the young child and the beautiful. I marvel not, angel, that thou art gone—for heaven were better fitted for thy home than earth; but I marvel that we can live yet awhile on earth—live without thy smile....
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VII.
VII.
And thou who couldst barely resist the cold—thy fate is hard—nor friend to whisper comfort, nor careful eye to watch—in thy cold, solitary, mysterious grave—none can give comfort. But how foolish! I speak to dust. Thy soul, thank God! is far beyond the hurt of man or evil spirit....
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CHAPTER XV. SYRIA AND HER INHABITANTS.
CHAPTER XV. SYRIA AND HER INHABITANTS.
In this chapter I shall endeavour to take a brief review of the country and people—the drawback to the advancement and welfare of the latter—and the inducements held out by the former for colonisation by emigrants—with the mutual benefits accruing therefrom. That portion of the Turkish dominions which lies to the southward of Tyre, and includes all the country comprised within the boundary limits of Gaza and Hebron to the south, and Tyre to the north, is with very few exceptions, an uncultivated
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CHAPTER XVI. SYRIA, HER INHABITANTS, AND THEIR RELIGIONS, CONTINUED.
CHAPTER XVI. SYRIA, HER INHABITANTS, AND THEIR RELIGIONS, CONTINUED.
The desire to benefit my countrymen by an influx of European emigrants has tempted me to wander from the subject of the preceding chapter; to forget the actual inhabitants for a moment, while painting the delights of a residence in Syria to those who can only become so in future. I must now proceed with my survey of the different races of people who inhabit the country, and I shall endeavour to make this sketch of their peculiarly national and religious characteristics as clear as possible. The
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CHAPTER XVII. CHRISTIAN INHABITANTS.
CHAPTER XVII. CHRISTIAN INHABITANTS.
Among the Christian inhabitants of Syria, the Maronites, in point of numbers, if not in the simplicity of their faith, certainly take rank next to the devout followers of the Orthodox Eastern Church, and the brief review I propose to take of their history and position will, I think, sufficiently establish for them a claim to be placed among the most interesting Christian races or nations which can be found in any part of the globe. To the present hour they continue to inhabit the mountains of Le
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CHAPTER XVIII. THE POPULATION OF SYRIA, CONTINUED.—THE PAGAN INHABITANTS.
CHAPTER XVIII. THE POPULATION OF SYRIA, CONTINUED.—THE PAGAN INHABITANTS.
Having dwelt at some length upon the several bodies of Christian inhabitants of Syria, I must entreat my readers’ pardon if I endeavour to make my description of the unbelieving portion as brief and condensed as possible. Of course, I need not advert to the Mahommedans, the faithful followers of the Prophet. As I have stated before, they comprise by far the largest proportion of the inhabitants of the towns and lowlands of Syria, and are lords and masters over the rest of the population. But,
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CHAPTER XIX. APPEARANCE AND COSTUMES OF THE PEOPLE.
CHAPTER XIX. APPEARANCE AND COSTUMES OF THE PEOPLE.
I fear my readers will consider that I have been rather tedious in the last few chapters, but what I have said I consider indispensable to put them in possession of the real state of my beloved country; and to make them generally acquainted with the character, the religion, and the manners of its inhabitants. I shall now devote a few pages to a description of the appearance and costumes of the different races. The large tract of territory extending from Aleppo, in the north, as far as the deser
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CHAPTER XX. THE OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE.
CHAPTER XX. THE OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE.
It is early in spring. The snow that last week lay ancle deep in the plains and valleys of Mount Lebanon, has rapidly dissolved under the genial heat of the April sun. Storms that wildly raged along the sea-girt coast, outriders of Æolus, as he swept by in his hurricane-car, drawn by equinoctial gales; these have been lulled into repose, and the turbulent billows of the deep have forgotten their rough playmate, and are hushed into tranquility. The winter garb of the forest is fast being set a
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CHAPTER XXI. THE COMPARATIVE INFLUENCES OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT FAITHS IN SYRIA.
CHAPTER XXI. THE COMPARATIVE INFLUENCES OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT FAITHS IN SYRIA.
There is perhaps no country in the world which so much engages the attention of the Propaganda of Rome as Syria and the Holy Land. To possess a leading influence on its destinies, has ever been the ambition of the Pope. What could have been more iniquitous than the absurd pretensions of the Roman Catholics in the Jerusalem question? It may be necessary to go back a little, and to acquaint the reader, that France has for many years claimed a sort of protection over the Romish Churches in Syria
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CHAPTER XXII. THE REMEDY.
CHAPTER XXII. THE REMEDY.
From the earliest days of Christianity, the blessed truths of the Gospel were almost invariably accompanied by acts of mercy and love. At first, these truths were impressed upon the memories of reckless and darkly ignorant multitudes by signs and wonders, well suited to the times and people; and miracles, resulting in immediate temporary benefit to the afflicted, were apt, though but faint, illustrations of the incalculable boon about to be conferred on the immortal souls of the believers and f
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APPENDIX. NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY OF SYRIA,
APPENDIX. NOTES ON THE GEOLOGY OF SYRIA,
( Kindly communicated to me by my friend , Professor Edward Forbes .) My Dear Sir ,—It is much to be desired that a careful geological exploration of your interesting country should be undertaken by an able investigator. All that we know of the structure of Syria is fragmentary, and in great part unsatisfactory. Sufficient, however, is known to indicate the scientific importance of the region, and to hold out a promise of a rich harvest for the practical geologist who may undertake its descrip
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NOTES.
NOTES.
[3] Canticles iv. 13–15. [8] The supposed tomb of the prophet Jonah is distinctly visible from this spot. [10] This favourite dish is something similar to forced-meat balls, being made of dried boiled wheat, finely-chopped suet and meat, pepper, salt, and red chillies. The whole is mashed into a paste, then squeezed by the hand into a globular shape, and afterwards either boiled or baked. [21a] In the houses of Mahomedans the texts are from the Koran. [21b] Afterwards Pasha of Damascu
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