ZEBDENI.
The above mentioned plain is about
the remains of a bridge.
three-quarters of an hour in breadth, and three hours in length ; it
is called Ard Zebdeni, or the district of Zebdeni ; it is watered by
the Barrada, one of whose sources is in the midst of it ; and by
the rivulet called Moiet* Zebdeni (), whose source is in the
mountain, behind the village of the same name. The latter river,
which empties itself into the Barrada, has, besides the source in
the Ard Zebdeni, another of an equal size near Fidji, in a side
branch of the Wady Barrada, half an hour from the village Husseine. -
The fall of the river is very rapid. We followed the plain
of Zebdeni from one end to the other : it is limited on one side
by the eastern part of the Anti-Libanus, called here Djebel Zebdeni. -
Its cultivable ground is waste till near the village of Beroudj
(), where I saw plantations of mulberry trees, which seemed to
be well taken care of. Half an hour from Beroudj is the village of
Zebdeni ), and between them the ruined Khan Benduk (the
bastard Khan). Zebdeni is a considerable village; its inhabitants
breed cattle, and the silk-worm, and have some dyeing houses.
I had a letter for the Sheikh of Zebdeni from a Damascene;
the Sheikh ordered me an Argiler and a cup of coffee, but went
to supper with his household, without inviting me to join them.
This being considered an insult, I left his house and went to sup
with the muleteers, with whom I slept upon an open piece of
ground before a ruined bath, in the midst of the village. The
inhabitants of Zebdeni are three-fourths Turks, and the remainder
Greek Catholics ; it is a place much frequented by those passing
from Damascus to the mountain.
September 24.—Left the village before day-light and crossed the
Anti-Libanus, at the foot of which Zebdeni lies. This chain of
* Moye—Water.
* Argile—A Persian pipe, in which the smoke passes through water.
