Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/381

Rh and built over a grotto said to contain two headless bas-reliefs which we were very anxious to see. To our great disappointment the door was shut, so we proceeded to examine the numerous natural caves in the vicinity, which appears to have been the principal city quarry. In some of these parties of Christians were making keif, i.e., taking their pleasure and drinking . In a few others we observed several open sarcophagi, but no inscriptions whatever.

Descending the hill to the western side of the town we came to a chapel belonging to the Armenians, and dedicated to S. Serghees, but commonly called Khudhr Elias, for the same reason that other Christian temples in the East are so called, viz., to secure to them the toleration and respect of the Mohammedans. There is nothing worth noticing in the chapel, which is situated in an inner court, from whence a descent of four steps leads into a grotto containing four recesses, and opening into an adjoining subterranean cave, the roof of which is supported by four irregularly placed pillars. In this latter are eight tombs, the largest of which is said to cover the remains of S. Ephrem Syrus, and another the ashes of Theodorus, both held in high  veneration by the Jacobites and Syrians, who have had many a battle for the exclusive possession of the sacred precincts. Even as late as last year a scuffle ensued between the rival communities, and some hard blows were dealt on both sides before the