Athlit:Her People are Great Villains (so are those of et Tireh)
The Bible repeatedly mentions Tantura by the name of Dor and hertowns, and Athlit may have been one of her " towns." But enough about Athlit, except that her people are great villains, and so are those of et Tireh, at the foot of Carmel, north-east of it. AinHaud, on the brow of the mountain, may possibly mark the site of En-haddah, given to Issachar. It is nearly three hours from Athlit to Tantura, and the two villages, Kefr Lam and Surafend, both apparently occupying ancient sites, are between them. Farther inland are Yebla and Ain Ghiizal. The name Yebla resembles Ibleam, which was assigned to Manasseh, though belonging to the lot of Issachar. This geographical survey of Syria's long seaboard, and description of Athlit, has brought us to Tantura.
It is a sad and sickly hamlet of wretched huts, on a bare sea-
beach, with a marshy flat between it and the eastern hills. The
sheikh's residence and the public menzul for travellers are the only respectable houses. Dor occupied a low tell on the shore about half a mile farther north, and there we shall find remains of the ancient city which are of considerable interest
From The land and the Book; or, Biblical illustrations drawn from the manners and customs, the scenes and scenery of the Holy Land (1880-1886)/ Thomson, William McClure, 1806-1894
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We hastened on to 'Ain-Haud, for the sun was
ReplyDeletealready sinking. Our servants and effects, with the
requisite instructions to Shech Soleiman of 'Ain-Haud,
had been sent on before, so that we found dinner ready
for us as soon as we dismounted. 'Ain-Haud lies over
against Athlit on the ascent of Carmel, about 400 feet AIN-HAUD. 315
above the level of the sea. The ancient En-hadda of
Issachar's inheritance probably lay here.* In traversing
the coast-plain, extending from the sea to Carmel, I
observed that it is much broader than in this clear
bright atmosphere one would suppose. I had estimated
the distance from Athlit to 'Ain-Haud at barely
half an hour. Yet we found that it took us a full
hour's time to pass from the one to the other. We
spent a pleasant evening in Shech Soleiman's house at '
Ain-Haud. My philanthropic friend was constantly
surrounded by a large circle of Moslems (the inhabitants
are all Mohammedans), who received counsels
and remedies for soul and body both ; and I was busily
occupied in taking down the names and the localities
as they were given to me by the villagers.
Here, too, great alarm was felt with regard to the
conscription that had been ordered. I remarked, indeed,
that this was not the first time that this recruiting had
taken place in Palestine; for the shech showed me a
firman, transmitted by a former Sultan to one of his
ancestors, whereby the village of 'Ain-Haud, for certain
reasons, was exempted from the operation of the conscription
of that day. Unluckily the conversation on
the subject ended with a request that I would apply to
our ambassador for the Netherlands at Constantinople
to use his influence, in order to have the old firman
confirmed for the present benefit of 'Ain-Haud. I need
not say that I urged that I had no influence whatever
in regard to these internal affairs of the Turkish empire,
and assured the sheen that our ambassador could as
little interfere with them ; but Soleiman understood •
Narrative of a journey through Syria and Palestine