m 



SYRIA. 



STRIA. 



778 



jornseJem ; for in this part *v*u the mountain* that form 

 ii border of the Ubio-Und are comparatively barren, but 

 fcHtier eootii they are fertile. 



yortk of the parallel of Jerusalem the unevenneo* of the table-land 

 b much greater, and the hill* frequently rise to the height of moun- 

 tain*. Such are the mountains of Ephralm (north of 32 N. Uu), 

 which are covered with wood* and buahes. The depressions between 

 tow hiUe are of oonaiderablo extent The slopes of the surrounding 

 fcill* in gentle, and generally cusoptible of cultivation, which is 

 Orcted by making Urraoes on thir declivities. At a few places there 

 are vaUera, MHM between the bills, and others formed by the action 

 of the rirers in the more level country. The country i much less 

 naked ****" it is farther south ; at several place* forests consisting of 

 high tree* occur, and large tracts are covered with bushes. Cultiva- 

 tion is attended to in some degree, but large tracts lie waste. Fruit- 

 trees are very common, and olive- and fig-trees in some places cover 

 several square miles in extent 



Tbere are two rainy seasons on the table-land. The early rainy 

 MMon lets in about the beginning of November, and last* till the 

 beginning of January. The late rainy season sets in at the beginning 

 of April and somewhat later. The winter is rather cold, and frost in 

 January and even February is not rare. Snow falls also, and some- 

 time* very heavily. The summers are very hot. The thermometer 

 sometimes rise* to more than 100, when the dry south east and east 

 winds, which blow from the Arabian and Syrian desert, have continued 

 for several days. 



4. On the west of the table-land of Judoa is the Plain of Falastin, 

 as the ancient country of the Philistines is still called by the Beduins. 

 It extends from the Tyh, to the base of Mount Carmel, 150 miles, but 

 the width varies greatly. It is widest on the south, where it is more 

 than 60 mile* across, or rather 120 miles, as it extends to the Isthmus 

 of Suex and to the delta of the Kile. In the parallel of Gaza it is 

 about 25 miles wide or somewhat more, but to the northward it grows 

 gradually narrower, and near Mount Carmel it is only a few miles 

 wide. The most southern portion of the plain, between the delta of 

 the Mile and the town of Gaza is a scorched sandy deacrt, and the sand 

 blown from it into the sea is the principal reason why all the harbours 

 of the Syrian coast as far north as Cape Carmel are choked up, and 

 admit only small vessels. On the sea-coast the desert terminates near 

 Gaza ; but at the foot of the table-land of Judaoa it extends about 

 10 miles farther north. The fertile portion of the plain of Falastin 

 consist* of a tract extending along the sea, with an average width of 

 6 or 6 miles, as far north as 31 40' N. lat., where it widens so as to 

 reach the table-laud of Judaea. A tract with a sandy barren soil, and 

 an entirely level surface, extends along the sea ; but farther inland 

 the country is undulating, or interspersed with low hills, between 

 which there often occur cultivable spots which contain plantations of 

 fruit-tree*. The most fertile part of the plain extends on both sides 

 of 32 N. lat., and is known by the name of the Plain of Uamleb, or 

 Rama. The soil, consisting of a reddish sand intermixed with gravel, 

 has a considerable degree of fertility where it can be irrigated, and 

 produces good crop* of grain, 6gs, olives, pomegranates, oranges, and 

 lemons ; the water-melons of this tract are of superior quality. There 

 are many date-trees, sycamores, prickly pears, and aloes. The surface 

 is interspersed with numerous small isolated hills ; only a compara- 

 tively small portion is under cultivation, for want of water. The 

 most northern part of the plain, or the narrow tract between the base 

 of Mount Curtuel and the Mediterranean, has a still better soil, and, 

 where cultivated, produces wheat, barley, and cotton ; but a great 

 pert of it has been converted into a swamp by the rivulets descending 

 from Mount Carmel, and not finding their way into the sea owing to 

 a series of sand-bills which have been thrown up along the shore by 

 the south-west winds, which prevent their discharge. These swamps 

 make rich pasturage for cattle. 



6. Mount Carmel is noticed in a separate article. [CARVEL.] 



. Between Mount Carmel and the north-east corner of the table- 

 land of Judaa, which come* close up to the Lake of Tabarieh, extends 

 the plain of Ebn Omer, the ancient plain of Esdraelon. At its eastern 

 extremity, near the mountains on the banks of the Lake of Tabarieh, 

 it is only from 6 to 6 miles wide ; and in the middle of it rises a 

 round isolated summit, Jebel Tor, or Tabor. Farther west the plain 

 widen*, and between Nazara (Nazareth) and Jenin it is nearly 15 mile* 

 wide. It* extent from east to west probably does not exceed 15 miles. 

 At the foot of Jebel Tor the surface to 466 feel above the sea ; but it 

 lower* rapidly to the westward, so that the greater part of it has a 

 Yry moderate elevation above the sea-leveL The Nahr-el-Mekana 

 (the snci-nt Kiobon), which traverses the plain, inundates the adjacent 

 country aftr the heavy rains, and convert* it into a swamp ; but the 

 swamp supplies good pasture for cattle, which in this plain are of a 

 larger sis* than In any other part of Syria. Though the soil is of 

 ooneiderabl. fertility, only a small portion of this tract is inhabited. 

 Corn and cotton are grown. Near the base of the hill* and mountain* 

 surrounding the plain there are fon-st* of evergreen oak, and in these 

 pert* then- are also plantations of fruit-trees. 



7. To the north of the plain of Ebn Omer extends the hilly region 

 of Oalilw, which is th> most fertile part of southern Syria. The 

 orfsee present* great varieties. The hills rise with gentle aoclivitie., 

 Md subside into plain* several miles in extent, or are separated by 



wide valley*. The highest hills He west and north-west of Nazara, 

 which attain an elevation of from 1700 to 1800 feet above the sea. 

 The town of Nasara is in a flat valley on the declivity of a hi 

 feet above the sea-level. The whole region seems to be fit for cultiva- 

 tion, and a considerable portion of it is cultivated, though there are 

 extensive tracts, especially in the smaller valleys, which are covered 

 with forest-tree*. Corn and cotton are extensively grown, and form 

 considerable articles of internal commerce. The olive- and fig-tree* 

 cover considerable tracts. Date-trees do not succeed. 



The country west of the southern valley, between Safed and Sur, in 

 thus described by Dr. Robinson : After having crossed three valleys, 

 a wide plain is entered by a considerable ascent Volcanic rocks are 

 dispersed over it, and they increase in number towards the north-west, 

 until they cover the whole surface of the ground. In the midst of 

 this plain is a depression, which seems to have been the crater of a 

 volcano ; the lowest part of it is occupied by a lake. The whole tract 

 is entirely barren. From this high ground a descent leads into another 

 basin-like plain of smaller extent, which is cultivated and surrounded 

 by busby hills, and separated by a valley from a high undulating 

 table-land, the soil of which ia fertile and cultivated, and which is 

 inclosed by swelling hills covered with shrubs and trees. So far the 

 country i.i drained by water running to the Bahr-el-Houleh. A higher 

 ground, interspersed with hills, but otherwise presenting an almost 

 level tract on the top, forms the watershed between the Bahr-el-Houleh 

 and the Mediterranean. This tract is covered with dwarf oaks. The 

 remainder of the country presents a succession of wooded hills and 

 valleys, of which the cultivated portion is small, the whole being 

 employed as pasture for cattle, which are so numerous, that butter is 

 here used instead of oil, which is the case in no other part of Pales- 

 tine. The hills are much more thickly wooded than in any other part 

 of southern Syria west of the Great Valley, and lire-wood is a consi- 

 derable article of export from Sur, to which it is brought from this 

 country. In approaching Sur, an extensive undulating and well- 

 cultivated region is passed, which is 1200 to 1500 feet above the sea- 

 level. The elope from this high ground to the .Mediterranean presents 

 numerous ridges and valleys opening towards the sea, in which there 

 are woods of prickly oak, maple, arbutus, and sumach, and extensive 

 plantations of tobacco. 



8. Along the Mediterranean extends the Plain of Akka, which begins 

 on the south at the base of Mount Carmrl, and extends northward to 

 Itas-el-Abiad, a distance of more than 20 miles. Between Mount Carmel 

 and the town of Akka (Acre) it may be four or five miles wide, but 

 farther north it rarely exceeds two miles in width. The southern and 

 wider portion has a sandy soil in the vicinity of the sea, but farther 

 east it is tolerably fertile and moderately cultivated. In the northern 

 district there are some stony tracts, though in ireueral it is stated that 

 the country possesses a considerable degree of fertility, but nearly the 

 whole ia uncultivated. 



9. We pass to the east of the Southern valley. The most southern 

 part of Syria is occupied by the extensive table-land of Petnea, which 

 contains the mountain regions of Shera and Belka, which inclose the 

 Wady Arabah, the Dead Sea, and the Ghor on the east, and also an 

 extensive plain lying east of these regions, and continuing in that 

 direction to the desert of Arabia. The Syrian Hadji road runs along 

 the eastern declivity of the mountain regions of Belka and Shera, 

 having on the east a continuous chain of hills called Kl-Zoble : thus 

 the rood traverses a long valley, in which, wherever there is water, 

 wheat and dhurra are cultivated, and extensive plantations of vines 

 are found. The El-Zoble range terminates on the south at the source 

 of the river Modjeb, and farther south the Hadji road lies within the 

 plain ; but dhurra and barley are grown only at a few places, though 

 in several other places, especially at Moan, there are large plantations 

 of pomegranates, apricots, and peaches ; with the exception of these 

 isolated spots along the road, the plain is only used a* pasture-ground 

 by the Beduins. 



The mountain region of Shera extends from Jebel llesma to the 

 river Modjeb, from 29 iff to 81 30' N. lat, between the Hadji road 

 on the east and the Wady-el-Arabah on the west, and occupies about 

 20 miles in width. When Been from the Wady-el-Arabah it has the 

 appearance of a high range, at least 1000 feet higher than tho moun- 

 tains which inclose the Wody on the west, or about 8000 feet above 

 the level of the valley : but when s. en from the east, or the great 

 plain, the mountains appear only as hills a few hundred feet elevated 

 above the level of the plain, which shows that the great plain of 

 Petrtoa is also at a considerable height above the sea. The mountain 

 region of Shera comprehends three districts, of which the southern 

 properly is called Shera, that in the centre Jebal, and the northern 

 Kerek. The southern part of this region consists of high ridges 

 running generally from south-east to north-west, and separating deep 

 and iu some instances wide, depressions from one another. Tliu 

 largest of these depressions is that called El-Ghmyer, which is upwards 

 of 12 miles across at its eastern extremity, but it is narrower towards 

 the west. The surface is rocky and uneven, and it is intersect 

 numerous glens and by three or four valleys, watered by rivulets, 

 which unite and flow into the Arabab. This basin is noted for its 

 excellent pasture. Villages are rather numerous iu these depressions, 

 and are mostly inhabited by Beduin tribes, who have applied them- 

 selves to Agriculture. Tbey cultivate wheat, barley, and dhurra, and 



