Part I. ■ Travels into the h ev ant. 243 
Firft They go to the Manaftery of Sc. Macharius^ a days Journey from Monaftery of 
Terrana^ and lies right Weft. This is a very ancient Monaftery, the Walls ^"■^^'^'I'^^i^" 
are very high, but it is much decaied. There are many holy bodies in it, but 
only one of thefe approved of by the Church of Rome ; to wit,that of St.Macha- 
rim as alfo five or fix Altar-Tables of lovely Marble. Within the Precindt 
of this Monaftery, there, is a kind of a big fquare Tower, into which you 
enter by a Draw-bridge j and wherein there is a Church, a Well, and all that 
is neceflary for the Service of the Church, and the forry fuftenance of the Re- 
ligious, who fometimes retreat into it. For when they find themfeive abufed, 
and purfued by ftranger Arabs^ they betake themfelves to this kind of ftrong 
Hold, and pull up the Draw-bridge after them, keeping there whatever they 
have of Value in the Monaftery, efpecially all their Books which they fo efteem, 
that no Monk dares to Sell, or put out of the way any of them, under the 
pain oi Anathema. In this manner*, all the three other Monafteries, (of 
which we lhali fpeak hereafter ) have Towers in them. This Monaftery is the 
greateft, but alfo the moft ruinous, and efpecially the Church that feems to 
have been very fair intimes paft. There is no Garden belonging toit, and 
the Water which the Monks drink is fomewhat brackifli. 
From %t. MachariHs^ you go to another, called Amhabkhoye, lying North- 
ward of the former, three or four Hours journey only. Upon the way thither, 
you fee a great many little Eminences, or Rifing-s, about a ftep over, which 
cut the way, and reach far into the Weftern Delart : The Religious fay, and 
find it Recorded in their Books ( which are very ancient, ) that this Rifing was 
made by Angels, to ferve for a path to the Hermites, who many times loft 
their v/ay, when on Sundays they were coming to Mafs in the Monaftery, and 
therefore they call it Tarik el MeUike^ that is to fay, the Angels Way. '^'jTmkdMi' 
the way alfo you fee many old Walls, which are the mines of feveral Mona- hik. 
lleri.es that heretofore have been there, and as the Monks fay, to the number 
of three hundred, round that Mountain ; but the Ruines which remain at pre- 
fent, make it not appear that the number has been fo great. It is true, one 
muft not think, that they have been perfed Monafteries, but only little Houfes 
built by Seculars, who had a mind to retire into the Defart, and lead a Reli- 
gious Life there ; being obliged on Sundays and all Holy Days, to come to 
Mafs in the next Monaftery, there to alTift at Divine Service. And in that 
Monaftery there was an Abbot, with a certain number of refiding Monks, who 
when they had a mind to lead a more auftere Life, and were found to be fuf- 
ficiently qualified for that, by their Supérieur, were fuffered by him to leave 
the Convent, and go live more folitary further off" in the Mountain, where 
they built little Hermitages, and there fpent their lives in great Aufterity, 
Silence, and continual Meditation ^ and this is the account tlic Religious 
give. It is not good to follow that Angels way, nor to be too curious in ask- 
ing queftions of the Arabs about it, for then they would prefently conclude, 
that you were come to the Mountain to fearch for fome Treafure hid in it, 
which they fancy the Franks know of. Among thefe old buildings, you fee the 
ruines of a Monaftery, built in honour of St. John the Little^ and is called 
jMannael Kajtr^ where there is ftill a Dome, and the dry Rod, v/hich being 
watered by that good Hermite,at the command of his Superiour, was changed , 
into a fair Tree, which is to be feen at this day, as a monument of the merit 
of Obedience. The Monks call this Tree Chadgeret el Taa, that is to fay, the chxdgemd 
Tree of Obedience, The Monaftery of Ambabkhoye, is the pleafanteft of all ^^"^ 
the four, for it has a fair Church, a lovely Garden, and good Water, with a 
big Tower in ic, as in that of St. Macharius. There were a great many holy 
bodies therein, which on Palm-Sunday, in the Year 1556. were burnt by a 
fpark that fell from a Taper that had been left burning there ; whereupon 
the Monks being vexed that they had loft their Saints, gave it out that they 
had been carried away by a French Merchant, who came into thofe Quarters 
to buy Natron. But finding that the device would not take, though it coft the 
Merchant Money, ( for the Turks would not let flip that occafion, ) they 
raifed fome dead bodies and brought them into their Church, publilhing that 
they were the bodies of their Saints, v/hich had efcaped out of the French 
Ships, and were come back to their Church. From Ambabichoye you go to 
1 i 2 another 
