"كتيّب سوريا (بما في ذلك فلسطين). لندن: إدارة استخبارات الأركان البحرية، يونيو ١٩١٩" [و‎‎١‎٩‎٢] (٧٣٨/٣٨٨)

ANTI-LEBANON
377
Toward Beit Jenn on the southern slope of Hermon, alt.
3,490 ft., there is a rocky plateau covered with basalt boulders
and prickly shrubs, and through the village there flows a fine
stream in a wadi the sides of which are lofty and precipitous
and composed of naked white rock. The stream is fringed with
poplar, walnut and apricot-trees ; lower down it is supple
mented by another large spring, and together they form the
upper waters of the N. el-‘Awaj.
From the northern end of the main ridge of Hermon, a
lofty spur runs out eastward and on its southern side is Wadi
Barbar, a deep ravine with a small stream, opening out into
the plain near Qakat Jendel. South of this village is a lofty
peak, the termination of another spur, and south of this
again is a valley, wider, deeper, and longer than the former,
which seems to penetrate the mountain to its centre. From
the main ridge to the bed of this valley there is an unbroken
descent of fully 6,000 ft., and beneath the brow of the mountain
are the small springs which form the Nahr c Arni, the chief
branch of N. el-‘Awaj and the only important stream on the
eastern flank. The eastern plain here penetrates far into the
mountain. Just beyond Qatana, alt. 2,975 ft., is a ravine
marking the north-eastern limit of Hermon and separating
it from the ridge Qalabat el-Mezzeh, which bounds the desert
tract Es-Sahra. This latter ridge is low with gentle slopes
of white naked limestone. The northern base of Hermon is
irregular and of great width, and extends westward to the
village of ‘Aiha, alt. 4,860 ft. At Rakhleh, alt. 5,020 ft.,
a vast gorge runs SW. into the recesses of the mountain
and a fine spring gives fertility to the wild recess.
The Western Chain .—Of the four chains radiating north
ward from Hermon, the western runs N. by E. from Rasheya.
A little S. of Yunta it throws off to 1. a parallel subsidiary
ridge which forms the eastern boundary of El-Biqa‘. The
chain then continues northward in a broken and irregular
form to J. Zebdani from which it is separated by W. el-Qarn ;
this wadi, along with W. el-Harir of the branch ridge, forms
the pass through which the Damascus chaussee is carried.