Kahab, described in Jos 2' as njii rtfx, is said (but see Dillm. ad loc. ) by the Chaldee paraphrase to have been an ' innkeeper.' (See also Jos. Ant. v. i. 2). The instance given in Jebamoth xvi. 7, where the innkeeper's word is not relied on without material corroboration, cannot be quoted as showin;,' that she was regarded with special suspicion (Smith, DB, art. Inn), since her evidence is placed on the same level as that of the daughter of a priestly house ; but it is significant that Jewish writers seem to have used n-pnia or «n'piiis, formed from the Greek TvavSoKeirrpia, as the equivalent of either 'hostess 'or .ijn (David Kimchi on Jos 2'). The idea of an ' inn ' was therefore familiar to them. From Aboda Zara ii. 1 we gather that the P^;l^, from the Gr. Traxooxeioi', was a place where cattle jniglit be sheltered as well as men ; it seems to have corresponded in character with the modern kluln or caravanserai. Of this order certainly was the ' inn ' (irafooxrtov, Lk 10^) to which the Good Samaritan carried the victim of outrage, and which by tradition is located at Khan Hiulrfir, on the way to Jericho. The modern ijuilding is probably only the last of a succession erected on the same spot, as in that wild district the need of some such place of retreat would always be felt. Along the great trade and pUgrimage routes in the course of time these khfms or caravanserais were raised, to which the chains of mouldering ruins tliat stud the sides of the main highways stand to bear testimony. Many of these buildings stood apart, and were of considerable strength, to guard against marauders. Occasionally, as at Khan et- Tujjdr, under the brow of Tabor, a fortress over- looked and defended the place of rest. From the days when the sea was so infested with pirates as to render navigation perilous, probably date the ruinous buildings on the caravan routes from Aleppo, Baghdad, Damascoa, and Haurdn, which met on the southern border of Esdraelon, followed the common path by Antipatris to Gaza, and passed thence to Egypt. When these pests were cleared away, and transport by ship became both safe and cheap, the deserted roads were soon grass- grown, and the khans were left to crumble (Thom- son, Land and Book, i. 106). Those built of old by the Persian magnates on the pilgrimage roads from Baghdad (Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, p. 478) probably resembled in some ways the ' castles ' that mark the desert route of the Syrian haj. One great object of the latter is to preserve for the use of the pilgrims the water collected during the rainy season. Provision for pilgrims has long been made on a liberal scale by the Greek and Roman Churches ; hospices for their entertainment are found near to most of the holy places the faithful are accustomed to visit. In khan and hospice alike the sojourner furnishes his own food ; and he is wise to have also, if possible, his own bedding. The person in charge — the Khdnjy (cf. vavSoxtv^ of Lk IC) — will supply water to man and horse : nothing more is expected. For this and slielter the natives pay a trifling sum, known as hak el- khdn, ' the price of the khan.'
In every tovnx of any size in Syria more than one khan will be found, commonly resorted to by muleteers, in which the traveller's horses and native attendants are accommodated at merely nominal charges. These are often very miserable places, quite unlike the imposing buildings that once fringed the highways. There are, however, several famous khans which represent them at • Instead of nn3, however, there are weighty reasons for reading nh-ia ' pens or folds." So Josephua and Aquila, followexl bj Hitzig «nd others.
their best ; e.g. that of Antfln Beg in Beyrout, and that of As'ad I'aslia in Damascus. The lattei is one of the linest specimens of Arabian archi- tecture in the country . . . the stone carving above the gateway and around the stalactite vaults is of the most elaborate character.' The khan ia constructed of black basalt and white limestone in alternate layers, and is about two hundred feet square. The interior court is about half that size, with a large round fountain in the centre, above which is a lofty dome, resting upon four arches, each supported by four clustered pillars. These are connected with the walls by a series of similar arches and domes — eight in all. Those domes have each sixteen large windows through which light, air, and sunshine penetrate to the rooms and the court below. Around the sides are vaulted magazines of various sizes, for the dis- posal of merchandise of every description at wholesale.
' On either side of the main entrance a staircase leads up to an arched corridor, which extends quite around the buildiiitr .irid communicates nith the small retail shops and otiices o> the merchants. It forms a fine promenade, from where one can look down on the strange and truly oriental scene in the court below, free from the noise and confusion which there charac- terize each commercial transaction, large or small. To Khan As'ad Pasha come caravans from Uaghdiid, Mosul, Aleppo, Beyrout, and elsewhere. On entering, the muleteers and camel-drivers, with mighty din and uproar, throw down their loads of merchandise in this court, and here they must remain until the owners settle with the custom-house olHcials' (Tiiom- son, Land and Book, iii. 373, 374). With this corresponds Lane'a description of the Wakaleha in Cairo {Mod. Kyyp. ed. 1895, p. 325).