El Yuba Dam - Odem

Submitted by scott on

Ian Strathcarron has identified what was El Yuba Dam as Odem, in the Golan Heights.
Sam and the pilgrims were warned by their dragoman not to stop and ask for water at this location. The Quaker City Itinerary places the date for this as September 17, traveling from Kefr Hauwar to Baniyas.

I've plotted the location of the Odem Mountain Winery, which according to Ian Strathcarron, is located at this site.

Abana River - Barada

Submitted by scott on

The Barada (Arabic: بردى‎ / ALA-LC: Baradá; Greek: Chrysorrhoas) is the main river of Damascus, the capital city of Syria. It flows through the spring of ‘Ayn Fījah (عين فيجة), about 27 km north west of Damascus in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, but its source is Lake Barada, located at about 8 km from Zabadani. The Barada descends through a steep, narrow gorge named "Rabwe" before it arrives at Damascus, where it divides into seven branches that irrigate the oasis of Ghouta (الغوطة). The 'Barada' name is thought to derive from 'barid', i.e. 'cold'.

Pharpar River

Submitted by scott on

Pharpar (or Pharphar in the Douay-Rheims Bible) is a biblical river in Syria. It is the less important of the two rivers of Damascus mentioned in the Book of Kings (2 Kings 5:12), now generally identified with the A`waj (i.e. crooked), though if the reference to Damascus be limited to the city, as in the Arabic version of the Old Testament, Pharpar would be the modern Taura. In the early Baedeker Guides it was identified as the Al-Sabirani, a fairly downstream tributary of the A`waj.

Lebanon Mountains

Submitted by scott on

Mount Lebanon (Arabic: جبل لبنان‎; Jabal Lubnān, Syriac: ܛܘܪ ܠܒܢܢ; ṭūr lébnon), as a geographic designation, is a Lebanese mountain range, averaging above 2,200 meters in height and receiving a substantial amount of precipitation, including snow, which averages around four meters deep. It extends across the whole country along about 170 km (110 mi), parallel to the Mediterranean coast with the highest peak, Qurnat as Sawda', at 3,088 m (10,131 ft). Lebanon has historically been defined by these mountains, which provided protection for the local population.