Princeton Expeditions to Syria (1899, 1904-1905, 1909)

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Plain Churches

Khirbit Ḥasan d 507 Dâr Kitā d. 536 in baptistry 520 Dauwâr Kefr Finshi [Beuta] Kh. el Khaṭîb Khirbet el-Khaṭîb

Churches with relief mouldings

Ḳalb Lauzeh Bāḳirḥā West ch & Bapistry Bāḳirḥā East Ch Bashmishli Dar Kilā S.Ch Burdj id-Dērûnī Kо̄kanâya S. Ch. Kasr Iblesu Bānḳûsa Djūwanîyi Dersêta Kh. Tezin Khirbit Tēzîn Ruwêḥā Baʿuda Ḥâṣṣ 'Arshîn

April Monday 17 1905 Dâr Kîtā 7-15 A.M. Temp. 56° Baro. L. 28.225, clear, light JY. air. Heavy shower 11-10 + some hail to 11-35 then light drizzle until 12-30 another shower at 5-00 P.M. light. All working between showers This tour commands to the W.to.N. a most beautiful view. far down to the broad green valley in which is the Lake of Antioch, a few villages & beyond the towering ranges of the Taurus mtns, the higher peaks of which are capped with snow. and at their feet in the valley spreads softly a light haze. The scene looks very peaceful and nature seems asleep: But through those mtns. by the Gate of Syria (Alexander the Great, The Persians, Darius III, Cyrus, Pompey, Aurelia[n/us], ?) passed. with their armies.

I saw three little Arabs children in the ruins playing house just like children in our country so. They had a minature Beduin tent pitched, with little bedding stacked in the middle and a rag doll.

April Thursday 20 1905 Dâr Kîtā day about as yesterday Barometer L. 28.08. Broke camp. 8-17 going N. crossing steep wadi and well up opposite hill side to 8-45 Khirbit Tēzîn a small ruined town with well preserved church. Left 10-24 going N. draw E. side of a hill 10-32 Ḳasṛ Iblîsū a small R. town on a shoulder projecting toward N. to few foot hills and then plain - 2 churches, one standing one in foundations. Left 11-32 going E. down hill to small cultivated valley + then E. to E. S. E. up wadi in which are remains of Roman Road to 'Ain Dilfeh, a R. town in wadi widly scattered poor ruins on both side of road many signs of Arabic occupancy. 2 Built fountains out of which burst springs of clear water Left 12-15 following road up Wadi passing 12:30 Kasr il-Benât, a cluster of ruined buildings well preserved with a high tower standing the ruin of a large convent. Followed up wadi still on R. road which in places is cut through the solid rock in ?(mins (approx. 10) passing 2 inscriptions cut in the rock in recessed plate, one stating that under Marcus Auralius Augustus the road was changed to a higher level and the other dated in 6th century (588 AD) fixing the boundaries of the country of the Kaprobaradi + the (?Biziki). In another 7 mins we branched up a wadi to the N.W. ascending in 20 mins to a table land crossing this to N.N.W. arriving in another 15 mins at Serdjibleh a ruined town class B. uninhabited but some tents pitched near it and part of the table land under cultivation in 3 mins we descended wadi winding to N.W. for 15 mins + then up a steep rocky hills side to in 10 mins. Kfellūdîn, inhab. by 3 or 4 families of Turksman a small ruin of a town but nothing worth seeing. From there after lunching for 1 h 17m we rode to W. over contd.

March Cash Rec'd Paid

April 15th 1905 Excited talk, and crowds of the people in the streets. The women just as in many of one street fights & riots, being the wildest. There were weird looking tall men bare legged to above the knees with short white skirts on and long hair projecting on all sides from under little skull caps finely embroidered in many brilliant colors and carry clubs (line drawing of a club) like bludgeons. I thought they were a lot of fanatics and had made trouble for our people who were not visible anywhere. There seemed to be a labarinth of narrow streets. P+J. rode into the crowd to find out what the matter was. It was over a woman and the people were fighting among themselves. Everything seemed to be mixed up. We rode out of the town by a back way, and discovered that the rest of our party had left 4:05 proceeding W. through grain fields most of way and on the plain arriving 4:47 Sermeda, an inhabited town on the plains (pop. est. 500) tall tower of mosque (minaret). No stops. at 5:15 we left the plains and ascended to the W. N. W. a narrow valley winding and very rough & rocky until on a table land we reached 5:45 Bārbiskā, an uninhabitited ruined town class "A" proceeding on ascent in same direction we arrived at camp at Dâr Ḳitā 6:10.

Apr. 20th 1905 A slight rise of ground & then descended to a pocket between the hills with a wadi decscending to S.E.arriving in 10 mins. at Kfellūsîn. A quite widely scattered ruined town, tower standing 1 church standing, 1 in foundation, walls of a good quality house partly standing. Left at 5 12 going down wadi to S.E. for 6 mins then following another wadi in which is a road to Dana. We covered a low rocky hill about 6 30 and arrived at plains of Sumeda passing by Ḥizreh 7 00, Tell 'Adeh 7 30 & arriving at camp Dêr Tell 'Adeh