terminates at Dâmôn; west of which, in the plain, stands the isolated Tell Kisôn; which we afterwards visited. The plain now widened out on the north, to the next and longer line of hills running down on the north side of the next Wady coming from the direction of the plain of Râmeh. The plain of this Wady is narrower than that we had traversed; and looking up it we could see Birweh on the southern ridge. At 12.30 there was a well, with watering-troughs of stone forming two sides of a square. The well was furnished with a wheel; and two men were drawing water by treading the wheel; illustrating, perhaps, the ancient mode of "watering with the foot." At 3.15 we were opposite to the end of the northern hills; and the eye now wandered over the great plain unhindered, quite to the promontory of Râs en-Nâkûrah, the Scala Tyriorum. An extensive low hill, shaped on this side like a fortification, was on our right at 3.45, lying along on the east of the city. At 3.50 there was another public well with a wheel; soon after which we came out upon the beautiful beach of hard sand, with the light waves of the Mediterranean rippling at our feet. At 4 o'clock we reached the only land-gate of 'Akka, on the southern shore; and ten minutes later were welcomed at the house of the American consular agent, Mr. Jirjis Jemâl. Here we remained until Monday. A visit to 'Akka was not included in our original plan; we came hither for a single definite object; and so soon as that could be accomplished, after the rest of Sunday, we desired to hasten away. To effect this, arrangements were begun on Saturday afternoon, and completed early on Monday morning. The house in which we lodged was not far from the middle of the city, towards the southwest. It was one of the better class, two stories high; and furnished in some of the rooms with glazed windows, in others not. Here, as in Smyrna, Beirût, and other oriental commercial cities, the family occupied the upper floor; while the rooms below serve as stables and storehouses. The house, as usual, enclosed a court; small on the ground, but larger above as a sort of terrace. A broad staircase of stone came up in the middle of this terrace; with a thin breastwork around it above, decorated with pots of flowers. The floor of the terrace was of stucco, laid with pebbles of different colours, arranged in ornamental figures. The principal rooms were at the four corners, with smaller rooms and offices between. At the west end, the space between the corner rooms was covered by the roof, with windows looking out upon the Mediterranean and Carmel: but on the inside not enclosed. afforded a pleasant retreat; and I gazed here many times upon 1 Deut. 11, 10. See Vol. II. p. 22. [ii 351.] VOL. III.-8* the blue waters of the sea and bay; upon the long ridge of Carmel rising suddenly from the waves, with the convent and church upon its extremity; as also upon Haifa, at the base of Carmel, and rising along the foot of its slope. According to the custom of the country, we set up our own beds in the room assigned to us. Our host's family consisted of his widowed mother, a younger brother, and two sisters, all unmarried. An older sister is the wife of the British consul at Yâfa. Both the sons had been educated at the seminary connected with the mission at Beirût; and the youngest sister had likewise just completed the full course in the female school of the same mission. They all (except the mother) spoke English to some extent; and exhibited the intelligence and ease acquired by mingling in good society. They were originally of the Greek church, and from Beirût; but were now Protestants. The youngest sister, in her desire to impart the good which she had herself received, had opened a small school for young girls; in which, at first, the teaching did not go far beyond knitting, sewing, and reading. Yet even these humble efforts had been publicly denounced in the Greek churches; though only two pupils had been taken away. The family lived with simplicity and good taste. The parlour table exhibited quite a show of good English books. The meals were served in Frank style; possibly in part on our account; and the females all partook with us. Our host was turning his attention to commercial pursuits; and manifested an intelligent acquaintance with the public affairs of his own and other countries. We had here a pleasant and quiet Sabbath. The weather could not be finer; and the beauty of Carmel stood forth revealed. Many of the leading inhabitants, friends of the family, called; and my companion found many opportunities for religious conversation. Early on Monday morning our friend took me to the flat roof of the house, which affords a view of 'Akka and the region around it. On the south, at the distance of eight or ten miles, is Carmel with its long level ridge; on the east the hills and mountains of Galilee at nearly a like distance; the intervening great and fertile plain stretches away in the north to Râs enNâkûrah; beyond which we could see the White cape, Râs elAbyad, running down to the sea. On the right, and south of the ridge of en-Nakûrah, the great chasm of Wady el-Kurn was seen breaking down through the mountains to the plain. Still south of this, on the northern side of a deep and shorter valley, Wady Jedîn, a ruined fortress was conspicuous, Ku❜lat Jedin; apparently the Castellum Indi of the Teutonic knights.' Brocardus c. 4. So Mariti, II. p. 144. The Sahil, or plain itself, teems with fertility, wherever tilled; and yields the finest grain and most delicious fruits. Cotton has also long been cultivated.' But, like the adjacent though smaller plain of Esdraelon, it lies in great part neglected. Yet there are here more villages. 'Akka itself is little more than a fortress in the sea. The plain here throws out a low triangular projection, forming the northern limit of the great bay; and this is covered by the city. From the southwestern extremity the remains of a former mole run out towards the coast; and here was the ancient harbour. It is now shallow and unsafe; and vessels usually lie in the road of Haifa opposite, under Carmel. Massive fortifications guard the city towards the sea on both sides. The thick walls and bastions might furnish a noble promenade; but it is not open to the public. In the northeast corner an old castle was still in ruins from the bombardment of 1840. On the land side there is a double rampart; of which the exterior one was constructed by Jezzâr Pasha, after the retreat of the French in 1799. The low broad hill on the east of the city, which was on our right as we approached, seems to have been the Turon of the crusaders; on which king Guido of Jerusalem pitched his camp during the siege of 'Akka; and where too the French in 1799 erected their batteries. The streets of 'Akka are much wider than those of Beirut ; and the town more open. The court of the great mosk built by Jezzâr, looked pleasant with its trees and fountains, as we passed by. An aqueduct from the northeast, built originally also by Jezzâr, usually supplies the city with water; but it was now out of repair, and water was brought in from a fountain a mile distant. I was disappointed in the extent of 'Akka. The area on which it stands is small. The present population, according to our host, is reckoned at only 5000 souls; although the census gives 3171, as the number of males. Of these there are 2378 Muslims and Druzes; and 793 Christians and Jews. 'Akka at the present day is the seat of a Turkish Pasha; whose jurisdiction extends over the districts of the Sâhil, the Jebel, the Shaghûr, Shefa 'Omar, Safed, Tiberias, Nazareth, and Atlit and Haifa. The chief exports are grain and cotton. The place is visited by French, Italian, and Austrian vessels; but by few from Great Britain. Vessels of much size anchor at Haifa. Sandys mentions, that in his day (1611) cotton grew "abundantly in the country adjoining;" p. 160. Along this plain lies the great northern road to Tyre, Sidon, and Beirût. I subjoin an Itinerary of the route between 'Akka and Tyre by Capt. Newbold. See Note II, end of the volume. Marmont's Voyage, etc. III. p. 79. Bowring's Report on the Commercial We were indebted to Mr Jemâl for a document giving the statistics of the province of 'Akka, viz. its population, yokes of oxen, villages, taxes in money and produce, its productions, and the number of mosks, churches, and synagogues. This document is given in full at the end of the volume.1 4 This city is the Accho of the Old Testament; from which Asher did not drive out the Canaanites.2 It would hence appear to have lain in the territory of that tribe; although not mentioned in the distribution of Joshua. Afterwards it took the name of Ptolemais, probably from one of the earlier Ptolemys of Egypt; though the occasion is unknown. It is referred to in the New Testament, as visited by Paul on his way to Jerusalem. Several times it is mentioned as Ptolemais in the books of the Maccabees; and also frequently by Josephus, who correctly describes its position, and assigns it to Galilee. Strabo speaks of it as a great city; of which the Persians availed themselves as a point from which to attack Egypt. By Pliny it is called a colony of the emperor Claudius; and it bears the same appellation on coins. In the early centuries of the Christian era, it is mentioned by Eusebius and Jerome ; and was the seat of a Christian bishopric. This latter, however, seems to have possessed no extensive influence; since no historical notice of it has come down to us, except the names of five or six of the incumbents; and that only in the signatures of councils." Upon the capture of Jerusalem by the Khalif Omar, in A. D. 637, his victorious armies followed up the conquest of Palestine; and after the surrender of Cæsarea, the other cities, including Ptolemais or 'Akka, yielded without resistance, in A. D. 638, to the summons of the invaders.1 11 Little more is known of the city until the time of the crusades. Among the inhabitants of the land its Greek appellation, as in so many other instances, was forgotten; and Arabian writers know the place only as 'Akka. With the crusades began a comparatively brief but palmy period of prosperity and The first host of pilgrims in 1099, in their haste to renown. Strabo 16. 2. 25. p. 758. Pliny H. N. 5. 17, colonia Claudii Cæsaris Ptolemais, quæ quondam Ace. Comp. 36. 65.-For the coins, see Reland p. 538. Earlier coins, struck under Alexander the Great, see in Gesen. Monumm. Phoen. p. 269, and Tab. 35. • Onomast. art. Accho. Hieron. Comm. in Am. i. 2. 10 See the names in Reland, p. 542. Comp. le Quien Oriens Christ. III. p. 775. Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, ch. 51. reach the Holy City, left 'Akka as well as other cities in the hands of the Muslims as they hurried by; receiving from the governor of 'Akka a pledge to surrender to them the city when they should have captured Jerusalem, unless he should be relieved. This promise was of course not kept. In 1103 king Baldwin I, with an army of five thousand men, sat down before 'Akka. The possession of the place was regarded by the Latins as of great importance, on account of the good and secure harbour; which at this time was enclosed by the walls of the city.2 For five weeks the Christians carried on a vigorous siege; but drew off their forces on the arrival of a fleet from Tyre and Tripoly for the relief of the garrison. The next spring, however, in 1104, king Baldwin renewed the siege with the aid of a Genoese fleet; and pressed it with such vigour and success, that after twenty days the city was delivered over to the Christians." 'Akka speedily became to the crusaders, next to Jerusalem, the most important city of the Holy Land; and ultimately the residence of the Christian sovereigns. To its port came the fleets of the Pisans, Genoese, Venetians, and others, laden with crusaders and pilgrims, and also with stores, wares, and merchandise. These circumstances account for the massive fortifications and the numerous palaces, hospitals, arsenals, and warehouses, which now gave strength and importance to the city. In 1148 a grand council assembled here to deliberate upon the affairs of the kingdom of Jerusalem. Three sovereigns took part in the council; Conrad III. of Hohenstaufen, Louis VII. of France, and Baldwin III. of Jerusalem; besides many princes and barons, spiritual and temporal, including the Grand Masters of the two great orders of Templars and Hospitalers." Yet with all its wealth and splendour and might, the accumulated results of more than fourscore years of prosperity, 'Akka, in 1187, two days after the disastrous battle of Hattin, surrendered without resistance on the approach of Saladin. The booty was immense." But the possession of 'Akka, as the entrance and key of Syria, was too essential to the Christians, for them to suffer it to remain long in the hands of the infidels, without an effort to recover it. Near the end of August, 1189, king Guido, with a force not exceeding ten thousand men, pitched his camp upon the hill Turon on the east side of 'Akka. The city, which in Raim. de Ag. in Gesta Dei, p. 173. Wilken, I. p. 267 sq. Fulcher. Carn. c. 30, "nobis valde necessaria, quoniam inest ei portus adeo utilis, ut intra moenia secura naves quam plurimas sane concipere valeat." * Fulcher. Carn. c. 23. Albert. Aquens. 9. 18. Wilken II. p. 194. 4 Fulcher. Carn. c. 30. Alb. Aq. 9. 27– 29. Will. Tyr. 10. 26. Wilken II. p. 195 sq. 5 Comp. Benj. of Tud. I. 63 sq. See a list of those present, Will. Tyr. 16. 1. Wilken III. i. p. 236. n. " Bohaed. Vita Salad. p. 71. Geof. Vinisauf I. 5, 6. Wilken III. ii. p. 292. |