At Three
Hours And Three Quarters From The Convent We Reached The Foot Of This
Mountain, Which Is Bordered By A Broad, Gravelly Valley.
This is the
boundary of the upper mountains of Sinai on this side; they extended in
an almost perpendicular
Range on our right towards Wady Szaleh, and on
our left in the direction W.N.W. We now entered Wady Solaf [Arabic],
“the valley of wine,” coming from the N. or N.E. which here separates
the upper Sinai range from the lower. At five hours we passed, to our
right, a Wady coming from the north, called Abou Taleb [Arabic], at the
upper extremity of which is the tomb of the saint Abou Taleb, which the
Bedouins often visit, and where there is an annual festival, like that
of Sheikh Szaleh, but less numerously attended. Our road continued
through slightly descending, sandy valleys; at the end of five hours and
a quarter, after having
[p.598] passed several encampments without stopping, we turned N. by W.
where a lateral valley branches off towards the sea shore, and
communicates with the valley of Hebran, which divides the upper Sinai
from the Serbal chain. Wady Hebran contains considerable date-
plantations and gardens, and this valley and Wady Feiran are the most
abundant in water of all the Wadys of the lower country. A route from
the convent to Tor passes through Wady Hebran, which is longer than the
usual one, but easier for beasts of burthen.
At six hours and three quarters we halted in Wady Solaf, as I found
myself somewhat feverish, and in want of repose. We saw great numbers of
red-legged partridges this day; they run with astonishing celerity along
the rocky sides of the mountains, and as the Bedouins do not like to
expend a cartridge upon so small a bird, they are very bold. When we
lighted our fire in the evening, I was startled by the cries of Hamd “to
take care of the venemous animal!” I then saw him kill a reptile like a
spider, to which the Bedouins give the name of Abou Hanakein [Arabic],
or the two-mouthed; hanak meaning, in their dialect, mouth. It was about
four inches and a half in length, of which the body was three inches; it
has five long legs on both sides, covered, like the body, with setae of
a light yellow colour; the head is long and pointed, with large black
eyes; the mouth is armed with two pairs of fangs one above the other,
recurved, and extremely sharp. Hamd told me that it never makes its
appearance but at night, and is principally attracted by fire; indeed I
saw three others during this journey, and always near the evening fire.
The Bedouins entertain the greatest dread of them; they say that their
bite, if not always mortal, produces a great swelling, almost instant
vomiting, and the most excruciating pains. I believe this to be the
Galeode phalangiste,
WADY RYMM
[p.599] at least it exactly resembles the drawing of that animal, given
by Olivier in his Travels, pl. 42-4.
May 31st.—A good night’s rest completely removed my feverish symptoms.
Fatigue and a check of perspiration often produce slight fevers in the
desert, which I generally cured by lying down near the fire, and drawing
my mantle over my head, as the Bedouins always do at night. The
Bedouins, before they go to rest, usually undress themselves entirely,
and lie down quite naked upon a sheep’s skin, which they carry for the
purpose; they then cover themselves with every garment which they happen
to have with them. Even in the hottest season they always cover the head
and face when sleeping, not only at night but also during the mid-day
hours.
We continued in Wady Solaf, which was entirely parched up, for an hour
and three quarters, and passed to the left a narrower valley called Wady
Keyfa [Arabic], coming from the Serbal mountains. At two hours we passed
Wady Rymm [Arabic], which also comes from the same chain, and joins the
Solaf; from thence we issued, at three hours, into the Wady el Sheik,
the great valley of the western Sinai, which collects the torrents of a
great number of smaller Wadys. There is not the smallest opening into
these mountains, nor the slightest projection from them, that has not
its name; but these names are known only to the Bedouins who are in the
habit of encamping in the neighbourhood, while the more distant Bedouins
are acquainted only with the names of the principal mountains and
valleys. I have already mentioned several times the Wady el Sheikh; I
found it here of the same noble breadth as it is above, and in many
parts it was thickly overgrown with the tamarisk or Tarfa; it is the
only valley in the peninsula where this tree grows, at present, in any
great quantity, though small bushes of it are here and there met with in
other parts. It is from the Tarfa that the manna is obtained, and it is
very strange that the fact should have remained unknown
WADY EL SHEIKH
[p.600] in Europe, till M. Seetzen mentioned it in a brief notice of his
tour to Sinai, published in the Mines de l’Orient. This substance is
called by the Bedouins, Mann [Arabic], and accurately resembles the
description of Manna given in the Scriptures. In the month of June it
drops from the thorns of the tamarisk upon the fallen twigs, leaves, and
thorns which always cover the ground beneath that tree in the natural
state; the manna is collected before sunrise, when it is coagulated, but
it dissolves as soon as the sun shines upon it. The Arabs clean away the
leaves, dirt, &c. which adhere to it, boil it, strain it through a
coarse piece of cloth, and put it into leathern skins; in this way they
preserve it till the following year, and use it as they do honey, to
pour over their unleavened bread, or to dip their bread into.
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