For Some Days Our
Course Lay Along A Deep Ravine Between Stupendous Cliffs; This Was The
Bed Of A Torrent, That, After Heavy Storms, Flowed Through The
Mountains, Inclining To The East; In This Were Pools Of Most Beautifully
Clear Water.
In many places the nooks among the cliffs were fringed with
lovely green trees.
It was extraordinary to observe the activity of the
camels in climbing the most difficult passes, and in picking their way
among the rocks and stones that obstructed the route. In many places
camels might be seen grazing upon the green mimosa bushes, that growing
among the rocks high upon the mountains had tempted the animals into
places that I should not have believed they could have reached.
After a journey of twenty-four days from the Nile at Berber, we emerged
from the mountain-pass, and from the elevated embouchure we obtained a
sudden and most welcome view of the Red Sea. We now quickly descended:
the heat increased every hour; and after a long day's march, we slept
within a few miles of Souakim. On the following morning we entered the
town.
Souakim is a considerable town; the houses are all built of coral. The
principal dwellings, and the custom house and Government offices are
situated on an island in the harbour. We were received with much
attention by the Governor, Moomtazze Bey, who very kindly offered us a
house. The heat was frightful, the thermometer 115 degrees F and in some
houses 120 degrees F.
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