The Houses Are Miserable, And Swarms Of Flies And
Mosquitoes Choke Up The Avenues Of Every Dwelling.
I remained at Tor for
the night; and having heard from the Bedouins that at one hour's
distance was another small village, in an elevated situation, with
abundance of gardens and excellent water, I resolved to take up my
quarters there.
[P.436] It is surrounded by a half-ruined wall: the remains of a small
castle are seen, said to have been constructed by Sultan Selym I., who
fortified all the outposts of his empire. The French intended to rebuild
it, but they left Egypt before the work was begun. Two small villages,
about a mile distance, on both sides of Tor, are inhabited by Arabs,
while in Tor itself none reside but Greeks, consisting of about twenty
families, with a priest, who is under the Archbishop of Mount Sinai.
They earn their livelihood by selling provisions to the ships that
anchor here to take in water, which abounds in wells, and is of a good
quality. Provisions are here twice as dear as at Cairo; and the people
of Tor have their own small boats, in which they sail to Suez for those
provisions. Were it not for the passage of Turkish soldiers, they would
be rich, as they live very parsimoniously; but the rapacity of a few of
these men often deprives them, in a single day, of the profits they have
earned during a whole year. No garrison is kept here by the Pasha.
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