LATER VISITORS AT DOR. 



After the Chevalier cV Arvieux, the first explorer to visit Tantura 

 whose writings we possess was Richard Pococke'. In the year 

 1737, accompanied by a retinue sent along with him by the sheik 

 at 'Athlft, Pococke reached "Tortura." This he describes as a 

 small village with a port to the south into which large boats are 

 sometimes forced to put by stress of weather; on such occasions 

 passengers are forced to pay a tax of nine shillings a head. The 

 sheik at Tantiira received him and his companions with great civility. 

 Having visited Caesarea, Pococke on his return travelled along the 

 road a lialf mile to the east of Tantura intending to pass by it. 

 The sheik, however, sent some of his people in pursuit of Pococke 

 with an urgent invitation to dine with him. For fear of giving 

 offense, Pococke returned and accepted his invitation. 



On the 14th of January, 1816, "Tartoura" was visited by J. S. 

 Buckingham". At that time there were forty or fifty dwellings 

 and perhaps 500 Mohammedan inhabitants in the town. Bucking- 

 ham cites Father Julio of Mt. Carmel as authority for the state- 

 ment that the ruined tower at Tantura was for some unknown 

 reason called by the Franks the "Accursed Tower." The Arabs, 

 he says, called it merely " Khallat-el-Ateek " (the Old Castle). 

 During supper he was in characteristic fashion questioned as to his 

 destination arid business by the elders of the village. "They 

 eagerly inquired after Bonaparte, whom they all knew"^ On 

 awaking the following morning Buckingham discovered that all 

 the remaining provisions had been stolen from the baskets during 

 the night. 



Irby and Mangles" passed through "Tortura " on October 15th, 

 1817. They characterize the extensive ruins here as possessing 

 nothing of interest. 



1 A Description of the East and Some Other Countries (London, 1745), II, 

 p. 57. 



- Travels in Palestine, etc. (LondoD, 1822), p. 123. 



^ Napoleon passed along the shore road on his way to the disastroiis engage- 

 ment at Acre. 



* Travels in Egypt and Nubia, Syria and the Holy Land (1844;*, p. 59. 



