In the
summer of 1865 we made a short trip to Annesley Bay, to inspect the
locality. The ruins of Adulis are several miles from the shore,
and, with the exception of a few fragments of broken columns, contain
no traces of the former important colony. The place was even hotter
than Massowah; there was no vegetation, no trace of habitations on
that desolate shore. Fancy our surprise, on reaching the same spot
in May, 1868, to find piers, railways, bazaars, &c. - a bustling
city had sprung out of the wilderness.
The springs of Adulis [Footnote: A short time before our departure
for the interior, some of the water of the hot springs of Adulis
was collected and forwarded to Bombay for analysis.] are only a few
hundred yards from the sea-shore, surrounded by a pleasing green
patch covered with a vigorous vegetation, the rendezvous of myriads
of birds and quadrupeds, who, morning and evening, swarm thither
to quench their thirst.
At Ailat [Footnote: Water collected and sent to Bombay, November,
1864.] the hot spring issues from basaltic rocks on a small plateau
between high and precipitous mountains. At the source itself the
temperature is 141 Fahrenheit, but as the water flows down the
different ravines, it gradually cools until it differs in no way
from other mountain streams. It is palatable, and used by the
inhabitants of Ailat for all purposes:
