The Quartz Includes Thin Strata
Of Mica Of The Most Brilliant White Colour, Which Is Quite Dazzling In
The Sun, And Forms A Striking Contrast With The Blackened Surface Of The
Slate And Red Granite.
The mountain of Om Shomar rises to a sharp-pointed peak, the highest
summit of which, it is, I believe, impossible to reach; the sides being
almost perpendicular, and the rock so smooth, as to afford no hold to
the foot.
I halted at about two hundred feet below it, where a beautiful
view opened upon the sea of Suez, and the neighbourhood of Tor, which
place was distinctly visible; at our feet extended the wide plain El
Kaa. The southern side of this mountain is very abrupt, and there is no
secondary chain, like those on the descent from Sinai to the sea, in
every other direction. I have already mentioned the low chain called
Hemam, which separates the Kaa from the gulf of Suez. In this chain,
about five hours from Tor, northward, is the Djebel Nakous, or mountain
of the Bell. On its side next the sea a mass of very fine sand, which
has collected there, rushes down at times, and occasions a hollow sound,
of which the Bedouins relate many stories; they compare it to the
ringing of bells, and a fable is repeated among them, that the bells
belong to a convent buried under the sands. The wind and weather are not
believed to have any effect upon the sound.
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