AMMAN.
35
lost in the earth one hour below the pond, that it issues again, and
takes the name of Ain Ghazale (); then disappears a
second time, and rises again near a ruined place called Reszeyfa
(ai,); beyond which it is said to be lost for a third time, till it reappears ¬
about an hour to the west of Kalaat Zerka, otherwise called
Kaszr Shebeib (), near the river Zerka, into which it empties -
itself. Ain Ghazale is about one hour and a half distant from
Amman, Kalaat Zerka is four hours distant. The river of Amman
runs in a valley bordered on both sides by barren hills of flint, which
advance on the south side close to the edge of the stream.
The edifices which still remain to attest the former splendour of
Amman are the following: a spacious church (b), built with large
stones, and having a steeple of the shape of those which I saw in
several ruined towns in the Haouran. There are wide arches in
the walls of the church.—A small building (c), with niches, pro—A ¬
temple (d), of which a part of the side walls,
bably a temple.—
and a niche in the back wall are remaining; there are no orna-A ¬
curved wall
ments either on the walls, or about the niche.(e) -
along the water side, with many niches: before it was a
row of large columns, of which four remain, but without capitals,
I conjecture this to have been a kind of stoa, or public walk ; it does
-A high arched bridge
not communicate with any other edifice.(f) -
over the river ; this appears to have been the only bridge in the
town, although the river is not fordable in the winter. The banks
of the river, as well as its bed, are paved, but the pavement has
been in most places carried away by the violence of the winter torrent. ¬
The stream is full of small fish. On the south side of the
river is a fine theatre, the largest that Ihave seen in Syria. It has
forty rows of seats; between the tenth and eleventh from the bottom
occurs a row of eight boxes or small apartments, capable of holding
about twelve spectators each; fourteen rows higher, a similar row
