We are enabled to present to our readers two or three engravings illustrative of a country and people, which have latterly, by the mooting of the Syrian question attracted no small share of the attention of the rest of the globe. We commence with a view of Beyrout, the scene of so much active enterprize, both in the way of attack and defence, during the late Syrian warfare. Beyrout was a Phonician city of great antiquity, but now contains few traces of its former splendour. A bath, pieces of granite columns, several of which were still standing when Pococke visited the place, and a few other fragments, are all that now remain. But a great number of granite columns may be seen along the shore beneath the water, and part of the present mole is composed of them. From the debris without the present walls, it appears that the ancient town occupied a larger space than the modern, which is but a small place. The walls are strengthened by several towers, and there are five gates to the city. It receives a copious supply of water from a small river called Nahr Beirut, which rises in Mount Libanus, and flows into the sea a short distance from the town; the water is conveyed by the canal before-mentioned, and received into reservoirs and fountains. The streets are narrow and dirty, like those of all Turkish towns: the houses are mostly built of stone. The town is commanded by some low hills to the S.E. Its population is estimated at 6000 souls, of whom the Turks form one-third. There is a large and well-built mosque in the city, formerly a Christian church, dedicated to St. John, and there was a Capuchin convent. The suburbs of the town are as large as the city itself.
In point of locality, Beyrout is as pleasantly situated as any town in Syria: it stands at the verge of a beautiful plain, varied with small hills, and extending to the foot of Mount Libanus, The surrounding country is covered with kiosks, and enriched with groves of vines, olives, palms, and orange, lemon, and mulberry trees; behind which rises the lofty chain of Libanus. No corn is produced around the town; a small red wine is made on Mount Libanus, which is cheap and good; but raw silk is the staple, which, with cotton, olives, and figs, is exported to Cairo, Damascus, and Aleppo. Game is abundant, the beef from Libanus is excellent, and supplies of all sorts may be procured good and cheap.
In a work just written by Sir Charles Napier, that gallant officer gives an interesting description of the whole of this part of the country, and among other objects of interest, selects for notice Emir Bechir’s palace of Ibtedeen.
The narrative of Napier’s visit to this place is amusing and characteristic, and we take from it the following descriptive episode:—
“As active operations seemed now entirely at an end, notwithstanding the reinforcements which were constantly arriving, some of whom were sent to Sidon and Tyre, but none to the mountains, I obtained leave from the admiral to pay a visit to the grand prince’s palace, and was accompanied by his nephew, a fine young man of about twenty-two, and next heir to the government of Lebanon.
After a long ride of eight hours, through a most beautiful mountainous country, we arrived at Deir el Kammar, the capital of Lebanon, a tolerably well-built small town; as the plague was said to exist there, we passed on without entering it, and on rounding a projecting cliff the palace of the prince opened to our view; it is situated half-way up the mountain, and has a very grand appearance; above it stands another palace, smaller than the first, and the houses of two of the emir’s sons-they were all in an unfinished state; the large palace had been originally constructed in wood, but the late emir had been many years employed in converting it into a more solid shape. The entrance into the court-yard is very strong, and capable of resisting anything but artillery, which could not easily be brought against it; the court-yard is large, and surrounded by a high wall, and in the time of the late prince several hundred armed men were constantly kept in the barracks adjoining, and a body of horse, richly caparisoned in the eastern style, were always ready in the yard. Some of the rooms are handsome, particularly those of the harem, but mostly unfurnished, the emir having removed everything he could to Sidon, and from thence to Malta. The stables were large, and capable of containing five hundred horses, the greater part of which were gone; the emir’s stud had been magnificent, and although the whole of his property was guaranteed to him, many of the best horses fell into the hands of the Turks. We were well received by some of the family who remained, and tolerably well entertained; but even in the palace of the grand prince of Lebanon our slumbers were much disturbed by the occupants he had left behind. After dinner we visited the small palaces, which were also in an unfinished state, though built in a tasteful style.”
To this notice of the residence of Emir Bechir, we add a characteristic grouping of other Lebanon chiefs.
The two foreground figures of this picture are represented as having personal identity with the two chieftains of Lebanon now on a visit to this country, and, we believe, sojourning in the metropolis.
The Illustrated London News, London, England, Week Ending July 23, 1842
