We
Ascended Gently In It, And In An Hour And Three Quarters Reached Its
Summit, From Whence We Descended By
A narrow difficult path, down a
cliff called Nakb Badera [Arabic], into an open plain between the
mountains; we crossed
The plain, and at two hours and a quarter entered
Wady Shellal [Arabic], so called from
WADY SHELLAL
[p.622] the number of cataracts which are formed in the rainy season, by
the torrents descending from the mountains. A great number of acacia
trees grow here, many of which were completely dried up; during the
whole of our morning’s journey not a green herb could be discovered. We
here met several Bedouins on foot, on their way from Suez to Feiran.
They had started from the well of Morkha early in the morning; and had
ventured on the journey without water, or the hope of finding any till
the following day in Wady Feiran. We gave them each a draught of water,
and they went off in good spirits, purposing to pass the afternoon under
some shady rock, and to continue their journey during the night. We
descended the valley slowly, W.N.W. and at the end of four hours and a
half reached its termination, opening upon a sandy plain on the sea-
shore. Many bones of camels were here lying about, as is generally the
case on the great roads through the desert; I have observed that these
skeletons are found in greatest numbers where the sands are deepest;
which arises from the loaded camels passing such places with difficulty,
and often breaking down in them. It is an erroneous opinion that the
camel delights in sandy ground; it is true that he crosses it with less
difficulty than any other animal, but wherever the sands are deep, the
weight of himself and his load makes his feet sink into the sand at
every step, and he groans, and often sinks under his burthen. It is the
hard gravelly ground of the desert which is most agreeable to this
animal.
On the plain we fell in with the great road from Tor to Suez, but soon
quitted it to the right, and turned to the north in search of a natural
reservoir of rain, in which the Bedouins knew that some water was still
remaining. At the end of five hours and a half, we reached a narrow
cleft in the mountain, where we halted, and my guides went a mile up in
it to fill the skins. This is called Wady
MORKHA
[p.623] el Dhafary [Arabic]; it is sometimes frequented by the Arabs,
because it furnishes the only sweet water between Tor and Suez, though
it is out of the direct road, and the well of Morkha is at no great
distance. Some rain had fallen here in the winter, and water was
therefore met with in several ponds among the rocks. This is the lowest
part of the primitive chain of mountains, and, I believe, the only
place, on the road between Tor and Suez, where they approach the sea,
which is only three miles distant, with a stony plain ascending from it.
A slave of a Towara Bedouin here partook of our breakfast; he had been
sent to these mountains by his master several weeks ago, to collect wood
and burn charcoal, which he was doing quite alone, with no other
provision than a sack of meal.
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