Water deposits upon the stones over which it flows in its way
towards the sea, a thick crust, but the colour of the deposit is not the
same from all the springs; in some it is white, in the others it is of a
red yellowish hue, a circumstance which seems to indicate that the
nature of the water is not the same in all the sources. There are no
remains whatever of ancient buildings near the hottest spring.
People from all parts of Syria resort to these baths, which are reckoned
most efficacious in July; they are recommended principally for rheumatic
complaints, and cases of premature debility. Two patients only were
present when I visited them. Some public women of Damascus, who were
kept by the garrison of Tabaria, had established themselves in the
ruined vaults and caverns near the baths.
In the fourteenth century, according to the testimony of the Arabian
geographers, the tomb of Lokman the philosopher was shewn at Tiberias.
Not having been immediately able to find a guide to accompany me along
the valley of the Jordan, I visited a fortress in the mountain near
Medjdel,[See page 320.] of which I had heard much at Tabaria. It is
called Kalaat Ibn Maan (Arabic), the castle of the son of Maan, or
Kalaat Hamam (Arabic), the Pigeon’s castle, on account of the vast
quantity of wild pigeons that breed there.
