PLAIN OF BEIROUT.
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hour south of it, in the mountain, is the village Dhobbye (),
and behind the latter the village Soleima (A,), with a. convent of
the Terra Santa. The road from El Mellaha continues for an hour
and a half on the sandy beach; about three quarters of an hour
from the basin we passed the rivulet Nahr Antoun Elias, so called
from a village and convent of that name, to the left of the road.
Near the latter lies the village of Abou Romman (C„), in the
narrow plain between the mountain and the sea, and a little farther
south, El Zeleykat (). The district of Kesrouan (s),
extends, to the south, as far as a small Khan, which stands a little
beyond the Mellaha; farther south commences the Druse country
of Shouf (,2). At the termination of the sandy beach are seen
ruins of Saracen buildings, with a few houses called Aamaret Selhoub ¬
( e).
We now left the sea shore to our right, and rode across the triangular ¬
point of land on the western extremity of which the town of
Beirout is situated. This point projects into the sea about four miles
beyond the line of the coast, and there is about the same distance in
following that line across the base of the triangle. The road we took
was through the fine cultivated plain called El Boudjerye (),
in a direction S. by W. Two hours and three quarters from El
Mellaha is the village Hadded (Ȉ). Before we came to it, we
crossed the Nahr Beirout, at a place where I saw, for the first
time, a grove of date trees. Beyond the river the country is called
Ard el Beradjene, from a tower by the sea side called Berdj el
Beradjene); the surrounding country is all planted with
olive trees. In three hours and a quarter we crossed the Wady
Ghadiry ), on the other side of which lies the village Kefr
Shyna (). Upon the hills about three quarters of an hour
S. E. of the place where the Ghadiry falls into the sea, stands the
convent Mar Hanna el Shoeyfat. At the end of three hours and
