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THE LANDS OF THE SARACEN

or, Pictures of Palestine, Asia Minor, Sicily, and Spain.

by

Bayard Taylor.

Twentieth Edition.



1863



To Washington Irving,


This book--the chronicle of my travels through lands once occupied by the
Saracens--naturally dedicates itself to you, who, more than any other
American author, have revived the traditions, restored the history, and
illustrated the character of that brilliant and heroic people. Your
cordial encouragement confirmed me in my design of visiting the East, and
making myself familiar with Oriental life; and though I bring you now but
imperfect returns, I can at least unite with you in admiration of a field
so rich in romantic interest, and indulge the hope that I may one day
pluck from it fruit instead of blossoms. In Spain, I came upon your track,
and I should hesitate to exhibit my own gleanings where you have
harvested, were it not for the belief that the rapid sketches I have given
will but enhance, by the contrast, the charm of your finished picture.

Bayard Taylor.




Preface.



This volume comprises the second portion of a series of travels, of which
the "Journey to Central Africa," already published, is the first part. I
left home, intending to spend a winter in Africa, and to return during the
following summer; but circumstances afterwards occurred, which prolonged
my wanderings to nearly two years and a half, and led me to visit many
remote and unexplored portions of the globe. To describe this journey in a
single work, would embrace too many incongruous elements, to say nothing
of its great length, and as it falls naturally into three parts, or
episodes, of very distinct character, I have judged it best to group my
experiences under three separate heads, merely indicating the links which
connect them. This work includes my travels in Palestine, Syria, Asia
Minor, Sicily and Spain, and will be followed by a third and concluding
volume, containing my adventures in India, China, the Loo-Choo Islands,
and Japan. Although many of the letters, contained in this volume,
describe beaten tracks of travel, I have always given my own individual
impressions, and may claim for them the merit of entire sincerity. The
journey from Aleppo to Constantinople, through the heart of Asia Minor,
illustrates regions rarely traversed by tourists, and will, no doubt, be
new to most of my readers. My aim, throughout the work, has been to give
correct pictures of Oriental life and scenery, leaving antiquarian
research and speculation to abler hands. The scholar, or the man of
science, may complain with reason that I have neglected valuable
opportunities for adding something to the stock of human knowledge: but if
a few of the many thousands, who can only travel by their firesides,
should find my pages answer the purpose of a series of cosmoramic
views--should in them behold with a clearer inward eye the hills of
Palestine, the sun-gilded minarets of Damascus, or the lonely pine-forests
of Phrygia--should feel, by turns, something of the inspiration and the
indolence of the Orient--I shall have achieved all I designed, and more
than I can justly hope.

New York, _October_, 1854.




Contents



Chapter I.

Life in a Syrian Quarantine.

Voyage from Alexandria to Beyrout--Landing at Quarantine--The
Guardians--Our Quarters--Our Companions--Famine and Feasting--The
Morning--The Holy Man of Timbuctoo--Sunday in Quarantine--Islamism--We
are Registered--Love through a Grating--Trumpets--The Mystery
Explained--Delights of Quarantine--Oriental _vs._ American
Exaggeration--A Discussion of Politics--Our
Release--Beyrout--Preparations for the Pilgrimage


Chapter II.

The Coast of Palestine.

The Pilgrimage Commences--The Muleteers--The Mules--The Donkey--Journey
to Sidon--The Foot of Lebanon--Pictures--The Ruins of Tyre--A Wild
Morning--The Tyrian Surges--Climbing the Ladder of Tyre--Panorama of the
Bay of Acre--The Plain of Esdraelon--Camp in a Garden--Acre--the Shore
of the Bay--Haifa--Mount Carmel and its Monastery--A Deserted Coast--The
Ruins of Cæsarea--The Scenery of Palestine--We become Robbers--El
Haram--Wrecks--the Harbor and Town of Jaffa.


Chapter III.

From Jaffa to Jerusalem.

The Garden of Jaffa--Breakfast at a Fountain--The Plain of Sharon--The
Ruined Mosque of Ramleh--A Judean Landscape--The Streets Ramleh--Am I in
Palestine?--A Heavenly Morning--The Land of Milk and Honey--Entering
the Hill Country--The Pilgrim's Breakfast--The Father of Lies--A Church
of the Crusaders--The Agriculture of the Hills--The Valley of
Elah--Day-Dreams--The Wilderness--The Approach--We See the Holy City


Chapter IV.

The Dead Sea and the River Jordan.

Bargaining for a Guard---Departure from Jerusalem--The Hill of
Offence--Bethany--The Grotto of Lazarus--The Valley of Fire--Scenery of
the Wilderness--The Hills of Engaddi--The shore of the Dead Sea--A
Bituminous Bath--Gallop to the Jordan--A watch for Robbers--The
Jordan--Baptism--The Plains of Jericho--The Fountain of Elisha--The
Mount of Temptation--Return to Jerusalem


Chapter V.

The City of Christ.

Modern Jerusalem--The Site of the City--Mount Zion--Mount Moriah--The
Temple--The Valley of Jehosaphat--The Olives of Gethsemane--The Mount
of Olives--Moslem Tradition--Panorama from the Summit--The Interior of
the City--The Population--Missions and Missionaries--Christianity in
Jerusalem--Intolerance--The Jews of Jerusalem--The Face of Christ--The
Church of the Holy Sepulchre--The Holy of Holies--The Sacred
Localities--Visions of Christ--The Mosque of Omar--The Holy Man of
Timbuctoo--Preparations for Departure.


Chapter VI.

The Hill-Country of Palestine.

Leaving Jerusalem--The Tombs of the Kings--El Bireh--The
Hill-Country--First View of Mount Hermon--The Tomb of Joseph--Ebal and
Gerizim--The Gardens of Nablous--The Samaritans--The Sacred Book--A
Scene in the Synagogue--Mentor and Telemachus--Ride to Samaria--The
Ruins of Sebaste--Scriptural Landscapes--Halt at Genin--The Plain of
Esdraelon--Palestine and California--The Hills of
Nazareth--Accident--Fra Joachim--The Church of the Virgin--The Shrine of
the Annunciation--The Holy Places.


Chapter VII.

The Country of Galilee.

Departure from Nazareth--A Christian Guide--Ascent of Mount
Tabor--Wallachian Hermits--The Panorama of Tabor--Ride to Tiberias--A
Bath in Genesareth--The Flowers of Galilee--The Mount of
Beatitude--Magdala--Joseph's Well--Meeting with a Turk--The Fountain of
the Salt-Works--The Upper Valley of the Jordan--Summer Scenery--The
Rivers of Lebanon--Tell el-Kadi--An Arcadian Region--The Fountains of
Banias


Chapter VIII.

Crossing the Anti-Lebanon.

The Harmless Guard--Cæsarea Philippi--The Valley of the Druses--The
Sides of Mount Hermon--An Alarm--Threading a Defile--Distant view of
Djebel Hauaran--Another Alarm--Camp at Katana--We Ride into Damascus


Chapter IX.

Pictures of Damascus.

Damascus from the Anti-Lebanon--Entering the City--A Diorama of
Bazaars--An Oriental Hotel--Our Chamber--The Bazaars--Pipes and
Coffee--The Rivers of Damascus--Palaces of the Jews--Jewish Ladies--A
Christian Gentleman--The Sacred Localities--Damascus Blades--The Sword
of Haroun Al-Raschid--An Arrival from Palmyra


Chapter X.

The Visions of Hasheesh.


Chapter XI.

A Dissertation on Bathing and Bodies.


Chapter XII.

Baalbec and Lebanon.

Departure from Damascus--The Fountains of the Pharpar--Pass of the
Anti-Lebanon--Adventure with the Druses--The Range of Lebanon--The
Demon of Hasheesh departs--Impressions of Baalbec--The Temple of the
Sun--Titanic Masonry--The Ruined Mosque--Camp on Lebanon--Rascality of
the Guide--The Summit of Lebanon--The Sacred Cedars--The Christians of
Lebanon--An Afternoon in Eden--Rugged Travel--We Reach the Coast--Return
to Beyrout


Chapter XIII.

Pipes and Coffee


Chapter XIV.

Journey to Antioch and Aleppo.

Change of Plans--Routes to Baghdad--Asia Minor--We sail from
Beyrout--Yachting on the Syrian Coast--Tartus and Latakiyeh--The Coasts
of Syria--The Bay of Suediah--The Mouth of the Orontes--Landing--The
Garden of Syria--Ride to Antioch--The Modern City--The Plains of the
Orontes--Remains of the Greek Empire--The Ancient Road--The Plain of
Keftin--Approach to Aleppo.


Chapter XV.

Life in Aleppo.

Our Entry into Aleppo--We are conducted to a House--Our Unexpected
Welcome--The Mystery Explained--Aleppo--Its Name--Its Situation--The
Trade of Aleppo--The Christians--The Revolt of 1850--Present Appearance
of the City--Visit to Osman Pasha--The Citadel--View from the
Battlements--Society in Aleppo--Etiquette and Costume--Jewish Marriage
Festivities--A Christian Marriage Procession--Ride around the
Town--Nightingales--The Aleppo Button--A Hospital for Cats--Ferhat.


Chapter XVI.

Through the Syrian Gates.

An Inauspicious Departure--The Ruined Church of St. Simon--The Plain of
Antioch--A Turcoman Encampment--Climbing Akma Dagh--The Syrian
Gates--Scanderoon--An American Captain--Revolt of the Koords--We take a
Guard--The Field of Issus--The Robber-Chief, Kutchuk Ali--A Deserted
Town--A Land of Gardens.


Chapter XVII.

Adana and Tarsus.

The Black Gate--The Plain of Cilicia--A Koord Village--Missis--Cilician
Scenery--Arrival at Adana--Three days in Quarantine--We receive
Pratique--A Landscape--The Plain of Tarsus--The River Cydnus--A Vision
of Cleopatra--Tarsus and its Environs--The _Duniktash_--The Moon of
Ramazan.


Chapter XVIII.

The Pass of Mount Taurus.

We enter the Taurus--Turcomans--Forest Scenery--the Palace of Pan--Khan
Mezarluk--Morning among the Mountains--The Gorge of the Cydnus--The
Crag of the Fortress--The Cilician Grate--Deserted Forts--A Sublime
Landscape--The Gorge of the Sihoon--The Second Gate--Camp in the
Defile--Sunrise--Journey up the Sihoon--A Change of Scenery--A Pastoral
Valley--Kolü Kushla--A Deserted Khan--A Guest in Ramazan--Flowers--The
Plain of Karamania--Barren Hills--The Town of Eregli--The Hadji again


Chapter XIX.

The Plains of Karamania.

The Plains of Karamania--Afternoon Heat--A Well--Volcanic
Phenomena--Karamania--A Grand Ruined Khan--Moonlight Picture--A
Landscape of the Plains--Mirages--A Short Interview--The Village of
Ismil--Third Day on the Plains--Approach to Konia


Chapter XX.

Scenes in Konia.

Approach to Konia--Tomb of Hazret Mevlana--Lodgings in a Khan--An
American Luxury--A Night-Scene in Ramazan--Prayers in the
Mosque--Remains of the Ancient City--View from the Mosque--The
Interior--A Leaning Minaret--The Diverting History of the Muleteers


Chapter XXI.

The Heart of Asia Minor.

Scenery of the Hills--Ladik, the Ancient Laodicea--The Plague of
Gad-Flies--Camp at Ilgün--A Natural Warm Bath--The Gad-Flies Again--A
Summer Landscape--Ak-Sheher--The Base of Sultan Dagh--The Fountain of
Midas--A Drowsy Journey--The Town of Bolawadün


Chapter XXII.

The Forests of Phrygia.

The Frontier of Phrygia--Ancient Quarries and Tombs--We Enter the Pine
Forests--A Guard-House--Encampments of the Turcomans--Pastoral
Scenery--A Summer Village--The Valley of the Tombs--Rock Sepulchres of
the Phrygian Kings--The Titan's Camp--The Valley of Kümbeh--A Land of
Flowers--Turcoman Hospitality--The Exiled Effendis--The Old Turcoman--A
Glimpse of Arcadia--A Landscape--Interested Friendship--The Valley of
the Pursek--Arrival at Kiutahya


Chapter XXIII.

Kiutahya, and the Ruins of OEzani.

Entrance into Kiutahya--The New Khan--An Unpleasant
Discovery--Kiutahya--The Citadel--Panorama from the Walls--The Gorge of
the Mountains--Camp in a Meadow--The Valley of the
Rhyndacus--Chavdür--The Ruins of OEzani--The Acropolis and
Temple--The Theatre and Stadium--Ride down the Valley--Camp at Daghjköi


Chapter XXIV.

The Mysian Olympus.

Journey Down the Valley--The Plague of Grasshoppers--A Defile--The Town
of Taushanlü--The Camp of Famine--We leave the Rhyndacus--The Base of
Olympus--Primeval Forests--The Guard-House--Scenery of the
Summit--Forests of Beech--Saw-Mills--Descent of the Mountain--The View
of Olympus--Morning--The Land of Harvest--Aineghiöl--A Showery Ride--The
Plain of Brousa--The Structure of Olympus--We reach Brousa--The Tent is
Furled


Chapter XXV.

Brousa and the Sea of Marmora.

The City of Brousa--Return to Civilization--Storm--The Kalputcha
Hammam--A Hot Bath--A Foretaste of Paradise--The Streets and Bazaars of
Brousa--The Mosque--The Tombs of the Ottoman Sultans--Disappearance of
the Katurgees--We start for Moudania--The Sea of
Marmora--Moudania--Passport Difficulties--A Greek Caïque--Breakfast with
the Fishermen--A Torrid Voyage--The Princes' Islands--Prinkipo--Distant
View of Constantinople--We enter the Golden Horn


Chapter XXVI.

The Night of Predestination.

Constantinople in Ramazan--The Origin of the Fast--Nightly
Illuminations--The Night of Predestination--The Golden Horn at
Night--Illumination of the Shores---The Cannon of Constantinople--A
Fiery Panorama--The Sultan's Caïque--Close of the Celebration--A Turkish
Mob--The Dancing Dervishes


Chapter XXVII.

The Solemnities of Bairam.

The Appearance of the New Moon--The Festival of Bairam--The Interior of
the Seraglio--The Pomp of the Sultan's Court--Reschid Pasha--The
Sultan's Dwarf--Arabian Stallions--The Imperial Guard--Appearance of the
Sultan--The Inner Court--Return of the Procession--The Sultan on his
Throne--The Homage of the Pashas--An Oriental Picture--Kissing the
Scarf--The Shekh el-Islàm--The Descendant of the Caliphs--Bairam
Commences


Chapter XXVIII.

The Mosques of Constantinople.

Sojourn at Constantinople--Semi-European Character of the City--The
Mosque--Procuring a Firman--The Seraglio--The Library--The Ancient
Throne-Room--Admittance to St.