Ba6 Maundrell’^ "Travels Book IIL 
Situation, being feated by the Sea-fide in a fertile Soil, 
which abounds with frelh Springs flowing down from 
the Hills. The Emir Faccardine had his chief Refi- 
dence here, in the Reign of Sultan Morat^ the fourth 
Emir or Prince of the Drufes ; who not contented to be 
penn*d up in the Mountains, enlarged his Dominions 
into the Plain, all along the Sea-Coaft, as far as from 
this Place to Acra^ but was driven back again to the 
Mountains by the Grand Signior. We went to his Pa- 
lace, and found at the Entrance a Marble Fountain of 
greater. Beauty than is ufually feen in Turkey. 
The beft Sight that the Palace affords, which is much 
ruin’d, is the Orange-Garden, which contains a large 
quadrangular Plat of Ground, divided into fixteen lefier 
Squares, four in a Row, with Walks between them, 
which are fhaded with Orange-trees of a fine Growth, 
on which the Fruit hung thicker than ever I faw Apples, 
in England. Every one of thefe fixteen Squares was 
bordered with Stone, and in the Stone-work v/ere 
Troughs artificially contrived for conveying the Water 
all over the Garden, there being little Outlets cut at 
every Tree for the Stream, as it pafs’d by, to flow out 
and water it. But the Turks have fo little Senfe of fuch 
refin’d Delights, that they ufe it now as a Fold for 
Sheep and Goats. In another Garden we faw feveral 
Pedeflals for Statues, and at one Corner of it, a Tower 
about fixty Foot high, whofe Walls were twelve Foot 
thick, from whence we had a View of the whole City, 
and faw a large Chriftian Church, which was faid to have 
been confecrated to St. John the Evangelifl, but is now 
the chief Mofque of the Turks. 
There is another Church, that being a very mean 
Fabrick, remains in the Hands of the Greeks., which rs 
adorn’d with many old Pidures ; and among the reft, 
I faw one with this Infcription in Greek, Coartus the firfi, 
ArchUfhop <?/Berytus, and juft by it the Figure of INejto- 
rius, who commonly makes one in the Greek Church of 
his Se£t, though they do not now profefs, nor, I believe, 
know, his Herefy. But there was one very odd Figure 
of a Saint, at full Length, with a large Beard reaching 
down to his Feet, and the Curate told us, that this was 
St. Nicephorus, who^ wanting the Ornament of a Beard 
to fet off his other Endowments, fell into a deep Melan- 
choly ; whereupon the Devil tempted him to comply with 
his Suggeftions, by promifing to give him a Beard ; but 
this beardlefs Saint rejefled the Temptation, and at the 
fame Time taking the downy Tuft upon his Chin in his 
Hand, he found the Hair immediately ftretch with the 
Pluck he gave it, and he never left jpulling his Beard till 
he had drawn it down to his Feet. At the Eaft-end of 
Beroot are to be feen feven or eight Pillars of Granite, and 
feveral Pieces of Marble, having Greek and Latin In- 
fcriptions. Fragments of Statues, and other poor Re- 
licks of its ancient Grandeur. On the Sea-fide is an old 
Caftle, and fome Remains of a Mole. 
19th. Leaving Beroot, we came into a large Plain, and 
at the Entrance of it there is a Grove of Pine-trees of 
Faccardineh Plantation, and at a Diftance we faw a fmall 
Village called Suckfoat, which belongs to the Drufes, who 
poffefs at this Day a long Trad of Mountains as far as 
from Cajiravan to Carmel. Their prefent Prince is 
Achmet, Grandfon to Faccardine, an old Man, and one 
who keeps up the Cuftorn of his Anceftors. of turning 
Day into Night, from a traditional Perfuafion among 
them, that Princes can'never fleep fecurely but by Day, 
when Mens Adions and Defigns are beft obferv’d by 
their Guards, and, if Need be, moft eafily prevented : 
but in the Night it concerns them to be always vigilant, 
left the Darknefs fb.ould give Tray tors an Opportunity 
CO affault them with Dagger or Piftol. 
Two Hours from Faccardine’s Grove brought us to 
the fifth Caphar, and another Hour to the River Darner, 
anciently c^W&d. Tanor as. Here were Country Fellows 
who had ftript themfelves naked to alTift us in palling 
over I and to make their Help more necelfary, they 
brought us to a Place where the Water was deepeft, 
which Cheat we faw them impofe upon other Travellers *, 
but we found a Place of the Stream which was broader 
and ftiallower, where we pafiTed without their Affiftance, 
gnd juft by we faw the Ruins of a Stone Bridge, which 
might have been ftill entire, had not thefe Villains broke 
it down to make their Advantage of PalTengers, eitiw 
in conduding them over for^ good Pay, or elfe, if they 
have Opportunity, drowning them for their Spoils. On 
the other Side of the River the Mountains came clofer 
to the Sea, leaving only a narrow rocky Way between. 
From Darner, in two Hours Time, we came to ano-~ 
ther confiderable River, not mentioned by any Geogra- 
pher ^ but the Maronite Patriarch at Canobine told me 
it was called Awle, and had its Fountain near Barock in 
Mount Libanus. At this River we were met by feveral 
French Merchants from Sidon, who have there the moft 
confiderable Fadory they have in the Levant and be- 
ing arrived at Sidon, they conduded us to a large Kane 
clofe by the Sea, where the Conful and all the Nation 
are quartered together. Before this Kane is an old Mole 
running into the Sea, which was filled up with Rubbifii 
by Faccardine, to prevent the Turkifh Gallies from com- 
ing hither ; fo that all Ships that take in their Bur- 
then here, are forc’d to ride at Anchor under a final! 
Ridge of Rooks about a Mile from the Shore. 
Sidon is well enough flock’d with Inhabitants, but is 
very much Ihrunk from its ancient Extent, and more 
from its Splendor, as appears from many beautiful Pil- 
lars that lie in the Gardens without the Walls. On the 
South-fide ftands an old Caftle, faid to be built by St. 
Lewis IX. of France ; and not far from the Caftle is 
an old Palace of Faccardine^s, which ferves the Bafha 
for his Seraglio. Near to Sidon begins the Precinds of 
ihQ Holy Land, particularly of that Parc which was al- 
lotted to AJher^ the Borders of which Tribe extended 
from Carmel as far as Great Zidon, as appears from 
JoJhuaxix. 26,28. But the People on theSea-coafts 
were never adually matter’d by the Ifraelites, being left 
to be Thorns in their Sides for a Reafon given, Judges 
ii. I, 2, 3, Cfr. He who is the French Conful at Sidon^ 
has alfo the Title of Conful of Jerufalem, and is obli- 
ged to vifit the holy City every Eafler with whom 
we defired to join in this Year’s Pilgrimage, but he fee 
out from Sidon the Day before our Arrival there. 
II. The 20th. We fet out next Morning from Sidon, 
hoping to overtake the Conful, and travelling in a fruitful 
Plain, in half an Hour we met with a large Pillar of 
Granite lying crofs the Highway, on which was a Frag- 
ment of an Infcription *, and fome Englijh Gentlemen, in 
1699, found another Pillar with the like Infcription, 
about Midway between Jerufalem and Sidon, by which 
we may obferve the Exadnefs of the Romans in mea- 
furing out their Roads, and marking down on every 
Pillar the Number of Miles, as 1,2, 3, Cfr. 
A little beyond this Pillar we pafs’d in Sight of Korie, 
a large Village on the Side of the Mountains, and in 
twelve Hours and half more came to Sarphan, fuppofed 
to be the ancient Sarephath or Sarepta, fo famous for the 
Refidence and Miracles of Elijah. From hence, in feven 
Hours, we arrived at Cafimeer, a large River running 
down to the Sea, which had once a good Stone Bridge, 
of which there remains Nothing now but the Supporters, 
between which are laid Beams and Boards to fupply the 
Room of Arches. This River, by modern Geographers, 
is falfly thought to be the old Eleutherus, as has been 
fhewn before *, but it feems to be that River mentioned 
by Strabo, p. 521. falling into the Sea near Tyre, for 
within a Bow-fhot of this River Cafimeer, is a Kane of 
the fame Name, from which, keeping near the Sea-fide, 
you arrive in an Hour at Tyre. 
This City ftanding in the Sea upon a Peninfula, pro- 
mifes fomething magnificent at a Diftance, but when you 
come to it, you find Nothing like the Glory for which of 
old it was fo renown’d, as it is deferibed, Ezek. 26, 27, 
28. On the North-fide it has an old Turkijh Caftle, 
befides which there is Nothing here but a mere Babel of 
broken Walls, Pillars, Vaults, Gfc. there being not fo 
much as one entire Houfe left. Its prefent Inhabitants 
are only a few poor Wretches that harbour in Vaults, 
and fubfift upon Fiftiing, whereby God appears to have 
fulfilled his Word concerning Tyre, viz. That it fhould he 
as the Top of a Rock, a Place for Fifhers to dry their Nets 
on, Ezek. xxvi. 14. 
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