KUXAWAT. 45 



a mantle of greenery, sucli as is seldom seen in tlie East. 

 Some of the water flows down a conduit, to work an ancient 

 mill, still perfect, and in use. It is an old one-storied 

 chamber; the windows have the usual stone shutters, and 

 nothing, except perhaps the millstone, has been changed 

 since it was built. On the steep path leading down into 

 the gorge, we remarked several fine stone doors, one 

 of which was ornamented with vine-leaves, and another 

 with bosses. In the centre of the town is an old Christian 

 church, now used as a storehouse ; inside another build- 

 ing we saw a very flat arch of great span. Kunawat 

 would repay a much more careful inspection than we 

 were able to give it. Descending over a beautiful j)iece 

 of Roman pavement, to the bridge, we turned aside to 

 inspect the remains on the right bank. Here there is a 

 quaint little theatre, and a temple with a fountain in 

 its centre, both on a very small scale. Steps cut in 

 the rock lead up to the brow, on which stood a tower- 

 tomb. Kunawat is the religious centre of the Hauran 

 Druses, and a great Sheikh lives here ; but, anxious to 

 spend all our time in the ruins, we did not make any 

 advances, and our intercourse, although friendly, was slight. 

 To-day we again sent our luggage on by a short cut. The 

 ride down to Suleim is very pretty. Although there are no 

 large trees, the environs of Kunawat are clothed in luxuri- 

 ant vegetation, and the ground was painted with anemones, 

 varying between bright scai'let and pure white, through 

 numerous shades of pink and purple. 



In the middle of a wood we turned off" the path, to visit 

 an isolated ruin placed on a slight eminence. There was 

 a large quadrangle, enclosed by walls, against one of which 

 stood a small building, with some good carving on the 

 doorway. Suleim is in the bare country ; its principal 

 attraction is a small ternple with an exquisite frieze : we 



