Page:The Nestorians and their rituals, volume 1.djvu/410

352 Birejik. Though the figures on the latter are considerably injured, yet enough remains to show that they were intended to represent a man and woman, and the words "Christos" and "Barnabas" in the Greek inscription determine their date to be posterior to the commencement of the Christian era.

We were not a little vexed on reaching Aleppo in November, 1849, to find that we should have to perform a quarantine of twelve days either at Aintâb or at Birejik before we could be allowed to pursue our journey into Mesopotamia. We chose the latter for our prison, and were allowed to reside in the castle instead of the miserable Khan lately built as a on the western bank of the river. We had not been in our new quarters long when the absurdity of the detention as a sanatory measure became too obvious. Caravans which had performed quarantine at Aintâb mixed on the road with those which had come direct from Aleppo, and on reaching the Euphrates the former were allowed to proceed on their way, while the latter were lodged in the Khan to undergo their purification. The guardiano set over us freely went into the town and purchased for us whatever we required; individuals just released from the Khan came and paid friendly visits to their friends in the castle, whose term of durance was not yet expired, sat in the same room with them, smoked in their company, and then separated. The Nâzir, or superintendent, took the same licence; he politely rowed over a Turkish officer who had come in charge of a detachment of troops on their way to Urfah, took him to his own apartment, chatted with him all day, breakfasted and dined with him, and went into the city whenever he felt disposed. To escape this annoyance many of the natives cross the river by stealth, some to the north and others to the south of the town. Nor is it the detention merely which renders this measure so vexatious, especially to the trading portion of the community; but it is the heavy tax which is levied not only upon the individuals but upon the merchandize passing this way. Each mule-load must pay so much, and if the weight happens to exceed the regulated scale, twice the sum is exacted; so that in fact all merchandize passing into the interior from the sea-coast is subjected to a fresh custom duty in contravention of the treaties made with Turkey by the different European powers. I mention