BSY_FB_17-38

38

Ṭafḥā. May 23, 1900

After leaving Shaḳḳā - on the way to Sheh La
we stopped for the day at Ṭafḥā a little
to the S.W. This ruin is situated, like
many medieval towns in Europe, at the
top of a high truncated conical hill.

The site is fine and commanding.
It has been deserted for several years
but former occupation has rendered
the ruin difficult to study - for the modern
Druses have adapted, almost without
change, the building methods of their
predecessors and their houses are almost
identical with ancient trenches of the
of the cruder and more primitive type.

The church here, one of those published
by de Vogüé, is one of the best preserved
examples of church architecture in the
Haurân. It seems to have been built
on the site of a classic temple and
many classic fragments may still
be seen in its walls. This fact I think