ALEPPO

ALEPPO, or HALAB, the capital of a pachalic,
and of all Syria, and the ordinary residence of the pa-
cha, is situated in the vast plain which extends from
the Orontes to the Euphrates, and which towards the
south terminates in the desert. It is built on eight
hills or eminences, on the highest of which the castle
is erected, and is supposed to be the ancient Bersea.
This mount is of a conic form, and seems in a great
measure to be raised with the earth thrown up out of
a deep broad ditch which surrounds it. The suburbs
to the north-north-east are next in height to this, and
those to the west-south-west are much lower than the
parts adjacent, and than any other part of the city.
The houses are large and commodious, having terraces
on their tops, and generally sky-lights in form of a
dome to let the light into the rooms, which from their
loftiness, the gilding on the window shutters, cup-
board doors, &c. have at first entrance a very grand
and agreeable effect. They are all so equal in height,
that there are seldom any steps to ascend or descend in
going from one house to another; while several large
vaulted streets increase the facility of communication,
by affording a passage to every part of the city free
from the embarrassment of the open streets. They are
carefully paved; have gutters and a foot-pavement on
each side; and the middle of the street is laid with
brick, the small end upwards, for the convenience of
the horses. There is also a cleanliness observed here
unknown to the other cities of Turkey, and which is
not attended with the trouble of our scavengers, there
being ass-drivers who go about the city and take up
the rubbish and dust, which each inhabitant is obliged
to sweep together; and though the heat of the climate

renders this labour more easy, the same heat obliges
them to greater cleanliness in order to preserve the sa-
lubrity of the air.

The mosques in Aleppo are numerous, and some few
of them magnificent. Before each of them is an area,
with a fountain in the middle, designed for ablutions
before prayers; and behind some of the larger there
are little gardens. There are many large khans, or ca-
ravaneras, consisting of a capacious square, on all sides
of which are a number of rooms, built on a ground-
floor, used occasionally for chambers, warehouses, or
stables. Above stairs there is a colonnade or gallery
on every side, in which are the doors of a number of
small rooms, wherein the merchants, as well strangers
as natives, transact most of their business.

The bazars or market-places are long covered nar-
row streets, on each side of which are a great number
of small shops, just sufficient to hold the tradesman and
his goods, the buyer being obliged to stand without.
Each separate branch of business has a particular bazar,
which is locked up, as well as the streets, an hour and
a half after sunset: but the locks are of wood, though
the doors are eased with iron. The slaughter houses
are in the suburbs, open to the fields. The tanners
have a khan to work in near the river. To the south-
ward in the suburbs they burn lime; and a little be-
yond that there is a village where they make ropes and
catgut. On the opposite side of the river, to the west-
ward, there is a glass-house, where they make a coarse
white glass, in the winter only; for the greatest part
of this manufacture is brought from a village 35 miles
westward.

The situation of Aleppo, beside the advantage of
a rich and fruitful soil, possesses also that of a stream
of fresh water, which never becomes dry. This rivu-
let, which is about as large as that of the Gobelins at
Paris, or the New river near London, rises in the
mountains of Aentab, and terminates six leagues be-
low Aleppo, in a morass full of wild boars and pelicans.
Near Aleppo, its banks, instead of the naked rocks
which line them in the upper part of its course, are
covered with a fertile earth, and laid out in gardens,
or rather orchards, which, in a hot country, and espe-
cially in Turkey, cannot but be delightful. The city
is in itself one of the most agreeable in Syria, and is
perhaps the cleanest and best built of any in Turkey.
On whatever side it is approached, its numerous mi-
narets and domes present an agreeable prospect to the
eye, fatigued with the continued sameness of the brown
and parched plains. In the centre is an artificial mount-
ain surrounded by a dry ditch, on which is a ruinous
fortress. From hence we have a fine prospect of the
whole city, and to the north discover the snowy tops
of the mountains of Bailan; and, on the west, those
which separate the Orontes from the sea; while to the
south and east, the eye can discern as far as the Eu-
phrates. In the time of Omar, this castle stopped the
progress of the Arabs for several months, and was at
last taken by treachery, but at present would not be
able to resist the feeblest assault. Its slight wall, low,
and without a buttress, is in ruins; its little old towers
are in no better condition; and it has not four can-
non fit for service, not excepting a culverine nine
feet long, taken from the Persians at the siege of
Bassora. Three hundred and fifty janizaries, who
should

^Aleppo. should form the garrison, are busy in their shops, and the aga scarcely finds room in it to lodge his retinue. It is remarkable that this aga is named immediately by the Porte, which, ever suspicious, divides as much as possible the different offices. Within the walls of the castle is a well, which, by means of a subterraneous communication, derives its water from a spring a league and a quarter distant. In the environs of the city, we find a number of large square stones, on the top of which is a turban of stone, which are so many tombs. There are many rising grounds round it, which, in case of a siege, would greatly facilitate the approaches of the assailants. Such, among others, is that on which the house of the Derviches stands, and which commands the canal and the rivulet: Aleppo, therefore, cannot be esteemed a place of importance in war, though it be the key of Syria to the north; but, considered as a commercial city, it has a different appearance. It is the emporium of Armenia and Diarbekar; sends caravans to Bagdad and into Persia, and communicates between the Persian gulf and India by Bassora, with Egypt and Mecca by Damascus, and with Europe by Scanderoon (Alexandretta) and Latakia. Commerce is there principally carried on by barter. The chief commodities are raw or spun cottons, clumsy linen fabricated in the villages, silk stuffs manufactured in the city, copper, bourres (coarse cloths) like those of Rouen, goats hair brought from Natolia, the gall nuts of the Kourdestan, the merchandise of India, such as shawls and muslins, and pistachio nuts of the growth of the neighbourhood. The articles supplied by Europe are the Languedoc cloths, cochineal, indigo, sugar, and some other groceries. The coffee of America, though prohibited, is introduced, and serves to mix with that of Moka. The French have at Aleppo a consul and seven counting-houses; the English and the Venetians two, and the merchants of Leghorn and Holland one. The emperor appointed a consul there in 1784, in the person of a rich Jew merchant, who shaved his beard to assume the uniform and the sword. Russia has also sent one very lately. Aleppo is not exceeded in extent by any city in Turkey, except Constantinople and Cairo, and perhaps Smyrna. The number of inhabitants has been computed at 200,000; but in these calculations certainty is impossible. However, if we observe that this city is not larger than Nantes or Marseilles, and that the houses consist only of one story, we shall perhaps not think it probable they exceed 100,000. The people of this city, both Turks and Christians, are with reason esteemed the most civilized in all Turkey; and the European merchants no where enjoy so much liberty, or are treated with so much respect.

The air of Aleppo is very dry and piercing, but at the same time very salubrious for all who are not troubled with asthmatic complaints. The city, however, and the environs, are subject to a singular endemial disorder, which is called the ringworm or pimple of Aleppo: it is in fact a pimple which is at first inflammatory, and at length becomes an ulcer of the size of the nail. The usual duration of this ulcer is one year; it commonly fixes on the face, and leaves a scar which disfigures almost all the inhabitants. It is alleged that every stranger who resides there three months is attacked with it; experience has taught that the best

mode of treatment is to make use of no remedy. No reason is assigned for this malady: but M. Volney suspects it proceeds from the quality of the water, as it is likewise frequent in the neighbouring villages, in some parts of Diarbekar, and even in certain districts near Damascus, where the soil and the water have the same appearances. Of the Christian inhabitants the greater number are Greeks, next to them the Armenians, then the Syrians, and lastly the Maronites; each of whom has a church in the quarter called Judida; in which quarter, and the parts adjacent, most of them reside. The common language is the vulgar Arabic, but the Turks of condition use the Turkish. Most of the Armenians can speak the Armenian, some few Syrians understand Syriac, and many of the Jews Hebrew; but scarce one of the Greeks understands a word of Greek. The people in general are of a middle stature, and tolerably well proportioned; but they seem neither vigorous nor active. Both sexes are handsome when young: but the beard soon disfigures the men: and the women, as they come early to maturity, also fade very soon; females are generally married from 14 to 18 years of age, and many under 14. The people of rank here are polite and affable, making allowances for that superiority which the Mahometan religion instructs its votaries to assume over all who hold a different faith. The bread is generally of wheat flour made into thin cakes, but very ill prepared, and is generally eaten as soon as it comes out of the oven. The principal people have small loaves of finer flour, which are well fermented and baked. Besides these, there are a variety of biscuits, most of which are strewed on the top with some kind of seeds. The Europeans have very good bread, baked and prepared in the French manner. All the inhabitants of both sexes smoke tobacco to great excess; even the very servants have almost constantly a pipe in their mouth. Coaches or carriages are not used here; therefore persons of quality ride on horseback in the city, with a number of servants walking before them, according to their rank: ladies of the first distinction are even compelled to walk on foot in the city, or to any place at a moderate distance; in longer journeys they are carried by mules, in a kind of couch close covered up. There are a number of public bagnios in this city, which are used by people of all ranks, except those of the highest distinction, who commonly have baths and every other convenience in their own houses. Aleppo is 70 miles east of Scanderoon, on the sea-coast, and 175 north-by-east of Damascus. E. Long. 37. 4. N. Lat. 36. 12.