There Are Only Particular
Parts Of The Wady Sheikh That Produce The Tamarisk; But It Is Also Said
To Grow In Wady Naszeb, The Fertile Valley To The S.E. Of The Convent,
On The Road From Thence To Sherm.
In Nubia and in every part of Arabia the tamarisk is one of the most
common trees; on the
Euphrates, on the Astaboras, in all the valleys of
the Hedjaz, and the Bedja, it grows in great plenty, but I never heard
of its producing manna except in Mount Sinai; it is true I made no
inquiries on the subject elsewhere, and should not, perhaps, have learnt
the fact here, had I not asked repeated questions respecting the manna,
with a view to an explanation of the Scriptures. The tamarisk abounds
more in juices than any other tree of the desert, for it retains its
vigour when every vegetable production around it is withered, and never
loses its verdure till it dies. It has been remarked by Niebuhr, (who,
with his accustomed candour and veracity says, that during his journey
to Sinai he forgot to enquire after the manna), that in Mesopotamia
manna is produced by several trees of the oak species; a similar fact
was confirmed to me by the son of the Turkish lady, mentioned in a
preceding page, who had passed the greater part of his youth at Erzerum
in Asia Minor; he told me that at Moush, a town three or four days
distant from Erzerum, a substance is collected from the tree which
produces the galls, exactly similar to the manna of the peninsula, in
taste and consistence, and that it is used by the inhabitants instead of
honey.
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