We had lost our camp altogether. At
last, by dint of shouting, some men came out with a torch and welcomed
us. Tired as I was, I saw all the horses groomed, fed, watered and
tethered in a sheltered spot for the night. We were then able to
eat a water-melon, and were soon sound asleep on our saddle-cloths
in the open.
The next day's ride was as bad. The scenery, however, was very wild
and beautiful. We breakfasted at the place we ought to have arrived
at the previous night, and then we resumed our second bad day in the
Kasrawan, the worst desert of Syria. The horses were tired of jumping
from ledge to ledge. We passed some Arab tents, and camped for the
night.
The following morning we rode to the top of Jebel Sunnin, one of the
three highest points in Syria, and we had another six hours of the
Kasrawan, which is called by the Syrians "The road of Genna." We
were terribly thirsty, and at last we found a little khan, which gave
us the best _leben_ I ever tasted. I was so thirsty that I seemed as
if I could never drink enough. I could not help laughing when, after
drinking off my third big bowl, the poor woman of the khan, in spite
of Arab courtesies, was obliged to utter a loud "Mashallah!" We were
still surrounded by amphitheatre-shaped mountains, with the points to
the Sea of Sidon. The sunset was splendid, and the air was cool and
pleasant. We debated whether to camp or to go on; but the place was
so tempting that we ended by remaining, and were repaid by a charming
evening.
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