"كتيّب سوريا (بما في ذلك فلسطين). لندن: إدارة استخبارات الأركان البحرية، يونيو ١٩١٩" [ظ‎‎٢‎٠‎٩] (٧٣٨/٤٢٣)

412 RIVER SYSTEMS OF NORTHERN SYRIA
the town of Tripoli, at the north end of which it is crossed by
a bridge carrying the Homs carriage-road, it takes a north
westerly direction to the sea 23, miles distant.
Nahr el-Bdrid .—The sources of this river are in the northern
slopes of Lebanon at the base of J. ‘Akkar. Above the village
of Sir there is a spring, Neba‘ el-Mas-hur, which is very copious
in spring and early summer from the percolation of melted
snow. The main channel runs north-west through a gorge
forming the southern boundary of the district of ‘Akkar and,
a few miles from the coast, the stream in July is deep and rapid
with a stony bottom, and is fordable with difficulty. Before
falling into the sea 9 miles north of Tripoli, it passes under a
3-arched masonry bridge which carries the Tripoli-Homs road;
here it is about 50 yds. wide and 2 ft. deep and has a rapid
current.
Nahr l Aklcdr .—This stream takes its name from the district
of Jurd ‘Akkar where it rises and its sources consist of numerous
rivulets which tumble down from the rugged mountains and
unite below the castle of ‘Akkar. The stream issues from the
hills into the plain 21 miles east of the bridge of three arches
carrying the Homs road. A large canal is here carried off to
irrigate the plain and, from this point, the stream is also
known as N. Khureibeh. It empties into the bay of ‘Akkar.
About 6 miles from the sea it is crossed by a bridge bearing
the Tripoli-Homs railway, and here the stream is 50 ft.
wide and very deep, with a gravelly bed and clay banks.
Near its mouth it is spanned by an old bridge carrying the
coast road.
Nahr el-Kehlr .—This is the largest of the streams which
intersect the coastal plain of ‘Akkar. Its most remote source
is in W. Khalid, which runs irregularly northwards along the
high northern slopes of the Lebanon range and then trends
westward in its descent to the Buqei‘ah plain, between the
Lebanon and Ansariyeh mountains. The other main feeder
of the river, W. Nasir, runs down from the trap mountains
of the Ansariyeh north-east of Qal‘at el-Husn, but contains
no permanent stream. From the junction to the sea, the