If The Knowledge Of The Natural History
Of Syria And Arabia Was The Principal Object Of M. Seetzen’S Researches,
He was perfectly right in the course which he adopted, but if he
considered these countries only as intermediate steps
Towards the
exploring of others, he placed his ultimate success in the utmost peril;
and though he may have succeeded in elucidating the history of the brute
creation, he had little chance of obtaining much information on the
human character, which can only be done by gaining the confidence of the
inhabitants, and by accommodating our notions, views, and manners, to
their own. When M. Seetzen visited these mountains, the Towaras were
not yet reduced to subjection by Mohammed Ali; he was obliged, on
several occasions, to pay large sums for his passage through their
country, and the Mezeine would probably have executed a plot which they
had laid to kill him, had not his guides been informed of it, and
prevented him from passing through their territory.
I had much difficulty in soothing Ayd; he remained quiet during the rest
of the journey, but after our return to the convent, the
RAS METHNA
[p.521] report spread among the Arabs that I was a writer like those who
had preceded me, and I thus completely lost their confidence.
May 11th.—We continued along the coast S.S.W. and at four hours passed a
promontory, called Djebel Abou Ma [Arabic], consisting of granite. From
hence we proceeded S.W. by S. and at seven hours came to a sandy plain,
on the edge of a large sheltered bay. We found here some Bedouin girls,
in charge of a few goats; they told us that their parents lived not far
off in the valley Omyle [Arabic]. We went there, and found two small
tents, where three or four women and as many little children were
occupied in spinning, and in collecting herbs to feed the lambs and
kids, which were frisking about them. Ayd knew the women, who belonged
to his own tribe of Mezeine. Their husbands were fishermen, and were
then at the sea-shore. They brought us some milk, and I bought a kid of
them, which we intended to dress in the evening. The women were not at
all bashful; I freely talked and laughed with them, but they remained at
several yards distance from me. Ayd shook them by the hand, and kissed
the children; but Hamd, who did not know them, kept at the same distance
as myself. Higher up in the Wady is a well of good water, called Tereibe
[Arabic].
From hence we went S.W. by S. and at eight hours came to Ras Methna
[Arabic], a promontory whose cliffs continue for upwards of a mile close
by the water side. Granite and red porphyry here cross each other in
irregular layers, in some places horizontally, in others
perpendicularly. The granite of this peninsula presents the same
numberless varieties as that above the cataract of the Nile, and near
Assouan; and the same beautiful specimens of red, rose-coloured, and
almost purple may be collected here, as in that part of Egypt. The
transition from primitive to secondary rocks, partaking of the nature of
grünstein or grauwacke,
WADY METHNA
[p.522] or hornstein and trap, presents also an endless variety in every
part of the peninsula, so that were I even possessed of the requisite
knowledge accurately to describe them, it would tire the patience of the
reader. Masses of black trap, much resembling basalt, compose several
insulated peaks and rocks. On the shore the granite sand carried down
from the upper mountains has been formed into cement by the action of
the water, and mixed with fragments of the other rocks already
mentioned, has become a very beautiful breccia.
At the end of eight hours and three quarters we rested for the night, to
the south of this promontory, in a valley still called Wady Methna. From
some fishermen whom we met I bought some excellent fish, of a species
resembling the turbot, and very common on this coast. These with our kid
furnished an abundant repast to ourselves as well as to the fishermen.
The love of good and plentiful fare was one of Ayd’s foibles; and he
often related with pride that in his younger days he had once eaten at a
meal, with three other Bedouins, the whole of a mountain goat; although
his companions, as he observed, were moderate eaters. Bedouins, in
general, have voracious appetites, and whoever travels with them cannot
adopt any better mode of attaching them to his interests than by feeding
them abundantly, and inviting all strangers met with on the road to
partake in the repast. Pounds given as presents in money have less
effect than shillings spent in victuals; and the reputation of
hospitality which the traveller thus gains facilitates his progress on
every occasion. My practice was to leave the provision sack open, and at
the disposal of my guides, not to eat but when they did, not to take the
choice morsels to myself, to share in the cooking, and not to give any
orders, but to ask for whatever I wanted, as a favour. By pursuing this
method I continued during the remainder of the journey to be on the best
terms with my companions,
DAHAB
[p.523] and had not the slightest altercation either with Hamd or Ayd.
On the eastern shore of the gulf, opposite the place where we rested,
lies a valley called Mekna [Arabic], inhabited by the tribe of Omran.
Close to the shore are plantations of date and other fruittrees. The
inhabitants of Mekna cross the gulf in small boats, and bring to this
side sheep and goats for sale, of which they possess large flocks, and
which are thus more plentiful in this part of the peninsula than in any
other. The mountains behind Mekna recede from the sea, and further to
the south take a more eastern direction, so as to leave a chain of hills
between them and the shore, rising immediately from the water-side.
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