. Palestine : the physical geography and natural history of the Holy Land. -water only. The neighbourhood of these reservoirs is covered by a forest of short rock of the mountain consists of sandstone and the basalt of the Haouran. Beyond theseBirkets the road (towards Jacobs bridge) begins to descend gently; and at a distance ofabout four miles from them, just by the road, on the left, is a large pond, called Birket Nefahor Tefah, about 200 paces in circumference. Some of Burckhardts companions asserted thatthe pond contained a spring, but some denied it; and from this he inferr
. Palestine : the physical geography and natural history of the Holy Land. -water only. The neighbourhood of these reservoirs is covered by a forest of short rock of the mountain consists of sandstone and the basalt of the Haouran. Beyond theseBirkets the road (towards Jacobs bridge) begins to descend gently; and at a distance ofabout four miles from them, just by the road, on the left, is a large pond, called Birket Nefahor Tefah, about 200 paces in circumference. Some of Burckhardts companions asserted thatthe pond contained a spring, but some denied it; and from this he inferred that the waternever dries up completely. I take this, he adds, to be the Lake Phiala, laid down in themaps of Syria, as there is no other lake or pond in the neighbourhood. He was evidentlynot aware of the lake which Mangles describes; and he would, doubtless, have admitted itssuperior claims to that which he indicates. Indeed, none of these Birkets are at all in thesituation indicated by Josephus, being about twenty miles to the and of the caveat [Supposed Source of the Jordan.] To that cave we now return. It is on the north-east side of the village of Panias. Thespacious cavern under which the river rises is shown in our engraving. Over the source is aperpendicular rock, in which several niches have been cut to receive statues. The largest of a By a singular oversight, Irby and Mangles fancy that their lake is that described by Seetzen and Burckhardt under the nameof Birket el Ram, observing,—* It appears that this lake has only been remarked by Burckhardt and Seetzen ; those who havegone from Damascus to Panias having taken the route by Raehia and Hasbeya. But this was the route of Seetzen ; and Burck-hardt notices the Birket-el-Ram while travelling the lower route from Damascus to Jacobs Bridge. His Birket is full fifteenmiles to the south of their lake ; and he takes no notice of any lake or Birket when travelling, on auother occasion, on a routep
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