New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1852-09-30


rills of filth which trayer,e tae streets, ioTrins
their central avenues, we passed through several
lines Of bazlaIs to large aod dreary -Ioo"iHs
khan. the keeper Of which gavsus the best va ant
chamber-a mario place, fall OF hsas'
Antioch presents not even & shadow Of Us 'oi
ner solepdor. Except the great walls, zen u NJ
,een niles in circuit, which the Turks nave oon0
| their best to Destroy every vesese OF tue o'' ~
has disappeared. The houses are al OF Que ,..J'
/ on account Of earthquakes, from winch 49,
bas suffered more than any other CITY III WV
world. At one tine, during the hidoie AGES
,o., 100 600 inhabitants in one day. It's si'"a.iIA
| :. ,,.,iecant and the modern town, not"i'n'
...,d,,s ;ts filth. wears a bright and busy aspect
s;,r.,sd at the base ofa lofty mountain IL over
Iook. toward the East, plain thirty or ior'y
IL IN Ienstb. with lake in the center, and pro-
d,,r;ro the most abundant harvest. great NUN,
rof The Inhabitants are workers in wood ana
leather. and very thrifty and cheerful peope '"''
appear to be. ,h;.b
We remained till the next day at noon, oy "i'I"
time gray -bearded scamp, the chiei Oh 'uo "'1
koirees. or mueteers, succeeded IN ge'Vns 10
e,e n;,e,obIe beasts for the Jurney 10 AIePP''
On leayinr the city, Travelled along 'o''i'',
80. NJ Antioch. part Of the ancient pavement
.'n-.;n;,r and after two miles came to the
o,h .aI n circuit which we passed by massive
gateway. of Roman time. Ii is no" caiied bao
Rovlos. or st. Paul's Gate. Christianity, 10 VIII
he remem bcred, was planted in Antioch BY Raul
and Barnabas, and the Apostle Peter was the i'rSt
bishop of the city. We now entered the great
nls;n If the Orontes-a level sea, rloting IN the
wealth of it's ripening harvests. The river, lined
with luxuriant thckets, meandered through the
center of this glorious picture. We crossed IL
| during the afternoon, and, keeping on our east
ward course, encamped at night near the tents O.
some wandering Turcomans, who furnished us
with butter and milk from their herds.
Leaving the plain the next morning, we traV'
eled due east all day, over long sony ranges OF
mountains, inclosing only one valley, which bore
evidence Of great fertility. 1t was circular, ABOUT
ten m les il its greatfst diameter, and bounded on
the ,rth by the broad peak OF DJebel Samao, OF
! Mount ST. Simon. In the NOR hing. we passed
mined castle, standing in dry, treeless dell,
among be hot hills. The muateers called it the
Maidtn's Palace, and said that it was built long
ago by a powerful Sultan, as a prison for his
daughter. For several hours there after our road
dating from the time of the Greek Empire. There
were tombs temples Of massive masonry, though
in q bad style of architecture, and long rows Of
arched chambers, which resembled store houses.
They we're all more or less shattered by earth.
duakes, but in one place noticed twenty such
arches each at least twenty feet span. All the hills.
on either hand, as far we could see, were covered
with the rem aims of buildings. In the plain Of st.
Simon, saw two superb pillars, apparently part
Of portico, or gateway, and the village of Dana
is formed almost entirely of churches and coavents,
of the Lower Empire. There were but few inscrip-
tons, and these could not read but the whole
of this region would no doubt richly repay an anti
ouarian research. | am told here that the entire
chain OF hills, which extends southwark for more
than a hundred miles, abounds with similar re-
mains, and that, in many places, whole cities
stand almost entire, as if recently deserted by
their inhabitants.
During the afternoon, we came upon portion
of the ancient road from Antioch to Aleppc,
which is still perfect a. when first constructed.
1t crossed very stony ridge and is much the
finest specimen Of rosd.making | ever saw, quite
putting to shame the Appian and Flau inian Ways
at Rome. 1t is twenty feet wide, and laid with
blocks of white marble, from two to four feet
square. 1t was apparently rised upon more
IN cient road. which DIVORCES here and there from
the line, showing the depply-cut traces of the Ro
man chariot wheels. In the barren depths Of
those mountains we found every hour csterns cut
in the rock and filed with water left by the win
ter rains. Many Of them, however, are East dry
ing up, and msnth later this will be desert road.
Toward night we desct nded from the hills upon
the Plain of Keith, which stretches south. west
ward from Aleppo, till the mountain streams
which fertilize it are dried up, when it becomes
the S,ritn Desert. Its northern edge, along
which we travelled. is covered with fields of wheat,
cotton, and castor beans. We stopped all night
at village called rsreb, planted at the foot of
tumnlus, older than tradition. The people were
in great dread Of the Aney zeh Arabs who come in
| from the Desert to destroy their harvests aud
carry of their cattle. They wanted us to take
guard, but after our experience on the Anti
Lebanon, we felt safer without one.
Yesterday, we travelled for seven hours over
wide, rolling country, now waste and barren, but
ormerly covered with wealth and supporting an
abundant population, evidences OF which are
found in the buildings everywhere scattered over
the hills. On and on we toiled in the heat, over
this inhospitable wilderness, aad though we knew
Aleppo must be very near, yet We could see
neither sign Of cultivation nor rha5 itants. Finally
about O'clock the top OF line of shattered wall
and the points Of some mnsrets issued out Of the
earth, several miles in front Of us, and on climbing
glazing chalsy ridge, the renowned city burst at
! once upon our view. Ii filed a wide hollow or
| basin among the white hills, against which its
whittier houses and domes glimmered for miles.
scarcely relieved by the narrow belt Of gardens on
the nearer side, the orchards OF pistachio trees
beyond. In the center Of the city rose asseep,
abrupt mound, crowned with the remains of the
ancient citadel and shining miuaIets shot up.
! sinsly or in clntters around ifa hnse The me-