They Are Well Built With Stones Joined With A Very
Thick Cement, And Appear To Have Been Destined For Warehouses; In Summer
They Are Almost The Only Cool Places In The Town.
I could not find any
inscriptions, that might assist in determining their date.
Tabaria, with its district of ten or twelve villages, forms a part of
the Pashalik of Akka. Being considered one of the principal points of
defence of the Pashalik, a garrison of two or three hundred
[p.322] men is constantly kept here, the greater part of whom are
married, and settled. During the reign of Djezzar a colony of two
hundred Afghan soldiers were persuaded by the Pasha to establish
themselves at Tabaria; many of them were natives of Kashmir: and among
others their Aga, who was sent for expressly by Djezzar. After the
Pasha’s death they dispersed over Syria, but I found two Kashmirines
still remaining, who gave me the history of their colony in broken
Arabic.
The Christian church is dedicated to St. Peter, and is said to have been
founded on the spot where St. Peter threw his net. It belongs to the
community of Terra Santa and is visited annually on St. Peter’s day by
the Frank missionaries of Nazaret, who celebrate mass in it on this
occasion. In the street, not far from the church, is a large stone,
formerly the architrave of some building; upon which are sculptured in
bas-relief two lions seizing two sheep.
There are about four thousand inhabitants in Tabaria, one-fourth of whom
are Jews. The Christian community consists only of a few families, but
they enjoy great liberty, and are on a footing of equality with the
Turks. The difference of treatment which the Christians experience from
the Turks in different parts of Syria is very remarkable. In some places
a Christian would be deprived of his last farthing, if not of his life,
were he to curse the Mohammedan religion when quarrelling with a Turk;
while in others but a few hours distant, he retorts with impunity upon
the Mohammedan, every invective which he may utter against the Christian
religion. At Szaffad, where is a small Christian community, the Turks
are extremely intolerant; at Tiberias, on the contrary, I have seen
Christians beating Turks in the public Bazar. This difference seems
chiefly to depend upon the character of the local
[p.323] government. That of Soleiman Pasha of Akka, the successor of
Djezzar, is distinguished for its religious tolerance; while Damascus
still continues to be the seat of fanatism, and will remain so as long
as there are no Frank establishments or European agents in that city.
A Bazar has lately been built at Tabaria, in which I counted about a
dozen retail shops. The traffic of the inhabitants is principally with
the Bedouins of the Ghor, and of the district of Szaffad. The
shopkeepers repair every Monday to the Khan at the foot of Mount Tabor,
where a market, called Souk el Khan (Arabic) is held, and where the
merchandize of the town is bartered chiefly for cattle. The far greater
part of the inhabitants of Tabaria cultivate the soil; they sow the
narrow plain to the west of the town, and the declivity of the western
mountain, which they irrigate artificially by means of several springs.
The heat of the climate would enable them to grow almost any tropical
plant, but the only produce of their fields are wheat, barley, Dhourra,
tobacco, melons, grapes, and a few vegetables. The melons are of the
finest quality, and are in great demand at Akka and Damascus, where that
fruit is nearly a month later in ripening. Knowing how fond the Syrians
in general are of the early fruits, I sent to my friends at Damascus a
mule load of these melons, which, according to eastern fashion, is a
very acceptable and polite present. About three hundred and fifty pounds
weight English of melons sell at Tabaria for about eight shillings. I
was informed that the shrub which produces the balm of Mecca succeeds
very well here, and that several people have it in their gardens.[Strabo
mentions the [Greek], as growing on the lake, p. 755. Ed.] It was
described to me as a low shrub, with leaves resembling those of the
vine, the fruit about three inches long and in the form of a cucumber,
changing from green to a yellow colour when ripe; it is gathered in
June, oil is then poured over
[p.324] it, and in this state it is exposed to the sun, after which the
juic[e] forming the balm is expressed from it.
The Jews of Tiberias occupy a quarter on the shore of the lake in the
middle of the town, which has lately been considerably enlarged by the
purchase of several streets: it is separated from the rest of the town
by a high wall, and has only one gate of entrance, which is regularly
shut at sunset, after which no person is allowed to pass. There are one
hundred and sixty, or two hundred families, of which forty or fifty are
of Polish origin, the rest are Jews from Spain, Barbary, and different
parts of Syria. Tiberias is one of the four holy cities of the Talmud;
the other three being Szaffad, Jerusalem, and Hebron. It is esteemed
holy ground, because Jacob is supposed to have resided here, and because
it is situated on the lake Genasereth, from which, according to the most
generally received opinion of the Talmud, the Messiah is to rise. The
greater part of the Jews who reside in these holy places do not engage
in mercantile pursuits; but are a society of religious persons occupied
solely with their sacred duties. There are among them only two who are
merchants, and men of property, and these are styled Kafers or
unbelievers by the others, who do nothing but read and pray. Jewish
devotees from all parts of the globe flock to the four holy cities, in
order to pass their days in praying for their own salvation, and that of
their brethren, who remain occupied in worldly pursuits.
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