Part 6

In the Wadi _El Sheikh_, meaning the "Valley of the Elder," or "Chief," which is one of the principal valleys in the Peninsula, before coming to "Moses' seat" (_Mokad Seidna Mousa_), occurs a range of low hills of a substance called _Taffal_, chiefly a detritus of the _felspar_ of _granite_, like pipe clay. The easiest approach to the present Sinaic district is by the east side of this Wadi, which leads into the wider Wadi, or plain _El Raha_, _i.e._, a "plain surrounded by hills." The view of Gebels _El Deir_ ("The Convent"), the now-termed _Horeb_, _Humer_ (red), and others, from thence is very striking. The lower granitic mountains of the present _Sinai_ are more regularly shaped than the upper; being less rugged, they have _no_ insulated _peaks_; and their summits terminate in smooth _curves_. Whilst in the ascent to the higher mountains, _peaks on peaks arise_, of the form of sharp cones, and of various altitudes. _Gebel Mousa_, or "Moses' Mount," is of _red granite_ for about half-way up; all the rest being a _yellowish granite_, with small _black_ grains, and from _Wadi Leja_ ("asylum"), these colours appear most distinct. The height of the apex of G. _Mousa_ peak, which does not exceed fifty yards in width, was ascertained by Lieutenant Wellsted, from the _mean_ of observations, to be 7505 feet above the sea of Akaba; and that late, able, and lamented officer, who was upon that summit in _January_, and "enjoyed the advantage of a clear serene atmosphere," which, in a more advanced season of the year, would have been hazy, with a blue mist, arising from the powerful sun, "was thereby enabled, by means of angles taken to the hills on the Arabian coast, ninety miles distant, to correctly fix the geographical position of the mountain." He has also well described the most extensive view from that peak, as follows:--

"The Gulfs of Suez and Akaba are distinctly visible; from the dark-blue waters of the latter, the island of _Tiran_, considered by the ancient geographers as sacred to _Isis_,[13] rears itself. Mount Agrib (_Garib_), on the other hand, points out 'the land of bondage.' Before me is St _Catherine_, its bare, conical peak now capped with snow. In magnificence and striking effect, few parts of the world can surpass the wild, naked scenery everywhere met with in the mountain-chain which girds the sea-coast of Arabia." ... The monkish "Mount _Sinai_ itself, and the hills which compose the district in its immediate vicinity, rise in sharp, isolated, conical peaks. From their steep and shattered sides huge masses have been splintered, leaving fissures rather than valleys between their remaining portions. These form the highest part of the range of mountains that spread out over the Peninsula, and are very generally, in the winter months, covered with snow, the melting of which occasions the torrents which everywhere devastate the plains below. The peculiarities of its _conical_ formation, render this district yet more distinct from the adjoining heights that appear in successive ridges beyond it, while the valleys which intersect them are so narrow that few can be perceived. No villages and castles, as in Europe, here animate the picture; no forests, lakes, or falls of water, break the silence and monotony of the scene. All has the appearance of a vast and desolate wilderness, either grey, darkly-brown, or wholly black."[14]

Footnote 13: _Isis_ is supposed to be the same as _Io_, and the island of Tiran is evidently, as I have already stated in a preceding note, that which Procopius names Iôtabê, _Iotabe_. This word is probably derived from Ious ta abata,--the _shrine_, or sacred place, of _Io_.

Footnote 14: Travels in Arabia, vol. ii., p. 97.

And Dr Lepsius remarks on this mountain, that--

"Although it is certainly a high mountain, still it is a _secondary_ one, and almost eclipsed by others of the Great Southern Chain, the geographical centre of which is neither in _Gebel Mousa_, nor the loftier _Gebel Katherin_, but in the more southern, and considerably more elevated _Gebel-um-Schomar_."

_Gebel Katherin_, composed principally of a coarse _red granite_, presents the same _conical peaks_. But in Wadi _Owasz_, S. by W., from the last mountain, Burckhardt noticed "a small chain of _white_ and _red sandstone_ hills in the midst of _granite_."

_Gebel-um-Schomar_ ("Mount Mother _Schomar_"), also consists chiefly of _granite_; the lower part _red_, but the top is almost _white_. In its middle, between the granite, occur broad layers of brittle _black slate_, mixed with veins of _quartz_ and _felspar_, and with _micaceous schist_. Its extreme _peak_, about 8800 feet above the sea, is sharp pointed, and seems to be inaccessible, owing to its perpendicular and smooth sides. Burckhardt, in his attempt to ascend it, was obliged to halt at about 200 feet below it. This was, until recently, esteemed the _highest_ point in the Peninsula; but, according to Herr Russegger, two or three other peaks, to the south of it, are about 500 feet more lofty; the _extreme_ elevation of this last group, which seems not to bear any distinct appellation, he estimates at 9300 English feet.

I here add, after the latter author, a sketch of the _granite peaks_ of the high Modern-Sinaic mountains, from north to south, as they present so interesting and remarkable an appearance.

In the narrow valley, a little south of _Gebel Mohala_, which is all granite, on the east side of, or opposite to, the Schomar, is a spring named _Tabakat_, where beautiful porphyry is observed.

The south side of Mount _Schomar_ is very abrupt, and there is _no_ secondary chain between it and the other lofty southern mountains, and the long gravelly plain _El Kaa_.

From that plain, entering _Wadi Hebron_--a ravine about 100 yards wide--fragments of rocks, principally of _granite_ and _porphyry_ washed down by torrents, are frequent; a small stream is seen flowing among them; in spots, some date trees occur, and likewise the manna-producing tamarisk. Continuing to ascend, a moderately-steep pass is reached; afterwards, a descent of about 700 feet leads into the sandy _Wadi Solaf_ "wine valley;" and then, gaining, with some difficulty, the summit of a steeper pass, the north-west angle of the extensive _Wadi Raha_ is come to. Here, again, the present Sinaic group, beyond the plain, exhibits its rugged mountains of dark _granite_, with "stern, naked, splintered _peaks_, and ridges of indescribable grandeur."

Next, turning to the north down the narrow declivity called _Nakb Hawi_, the "windy pass," of which the stupendous _granite_ walls or cliffs elevate themselves to about 800 feet, passing to the west end of _Wadi Solaf_, where it meets _Wadi Firan_ and _Wadi-el-Sheikh_, and following the last valley as far as _El Szaleib_, that ascent is attained. There the formation consists of _granite_, on the upper beds of which run layers of _red felspar_. North-east of _Wadi-el-Ush_ is situate _Gebel Sheyger_, which affords some native _cinnabar_. The three principal passes leading from the sandy Debbet-el-Ramleh on to the great desert over the Tyh range, are, _El Mureikhi_ near the centre and near _Gebel-el-Egmeh_; then _El Warsah_, said to be of too rapid an ascent for caravans; and the third, which is most to the west, _El Rakineh_ (the painted.) Afterwards, at some distance to the NW., is the valley opening past _Ras Wadi Gharandel_, that has already been described.

Proceeding, again, across the plain El Ramleh, and over the pass Mureikhi on to the Desert-el-Tyh, in the approach to the castle of _Nakhl_, on the east, a few miles off, low _chalky_ hills appeared; and in places there were holes wherein _rock-salt_ had been dug. The water at Nakhl is brackish, and the ground chalky, covered with loose pebbles. _Wadi Nesil_ was observed to be overgrown with green shrubs. _Gebel-el-Thughar_, signifying "the mouths," presents a mountainous tract, in which followed a valley with _calcareous_ hills: here deep sands were lodged, and large insulated rocks of a porous _tufa_, called by Burckhardt _tufwacke_, lie scattered in many places.

"The termination of the vast gravelly plain we had been crossing from _Nakhl_ was now at hand; but we could yet see it spreading out wide to our left, the mirage giving its distant portions the appearance of a succession of blue lakes; directly in front were the mountains which close it in; and far to the right we could see, stretching away, a still higher range running to the north, and on the left the tops of the mountains about Wadi Gharandel, the _Taset_ (cup) _Soddur_ being conspicuous afar. We entered these mountains by a slight ascent, which struck soon after the head of a long winding valley descending towards Suez: the immense plain we had traversed, floated away in mist, and we had now done with the plateau of the Great Desert."[15]

Footnote 15: _Bartlett's_ "Forty Days in the Desert," p. 167.

Thence a plain, which is below the level of the Desert-el-Tyh, and covered with moving _sands_, extends as far as the sea-shore. These _sands_ are collected by the winds, in many spots, into hills 30 or 40 feet high. The wells at _Mabuk_ afford good water by digging to the depth of 10 or 12 feet.

_Fifthly_, Once more leaving Suez; after having passed over a small piece of marine and alluvial formation near the sea, and taking a westerly direction, a narrow tract of _tertiary sandstone_, so designated by Russegger, is observed; it is a plain which gradually ascends from the shore of the Gulf, and in it is placed the Castle of _Ajroud_; the water obtained there is very bitter. Beyond this to the west, the plain becomes _sandy_, and covered with black flints.

But the soil and hills at _Wadi Emshash_, which signify the "Valley of the Waterpits," near Ajroud, are calcareous: the well there, called _Bir Emshash_, yields after rain good drinking water. The hills around Ajroud consist of _tertiary limestone_ and _marl_. More to the south, Gebel Ataka divides this formation, itself being a _secondary limestone_ belonging to the _cretaceous_ series, and, according to Dr Robinson, is strewed thickly with _flint_ pebbles. It terminates in _Ras Ataka_, or "Cape Deliverance," on the Gulf. The sandy and gravelly plain, _El Baidea_, the _Wadi Tawarik_ of others, has been named by some, the "Valley of Moses," Wadi Mousa; it communicates on the west with _Wadi-el-Tyh_.

_Gebel Deraj_ (steps) is limestone of the same cretaceous series as Mount Ataka; and this formation stretches out southwards to a great distance, constituting a large portion of the East Egyptian Desert.

Then on the south of the former mountain, a band of granite, which forms the northern ridge of _Gebel Kallala_, is observed, wherein there exist remains of old _copper_ mines. Those called _Reigatamerih_, situate among low hills, "have evidently been worked by the ancients, as well from the quantity of pottery and _scoriæ_ there, as from the remains of miners' houses, and the regular manner in which the caverns have been cut, following up the veins."[16]

Footnote 16: _Mr J. Wilkinson_ on the Eastern Desert of Upper Egypt, p. 32, vol. ii. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society.

Near, on the SE., there is a well (_bir_) named _Horreh_, whose water is bad, owing to the _sulphur_ which it contains. This is placed in _Wadi Araba_, an extensive valley, running in a direction nearly due W. and E., and descending from _Wadi Chaderat_ very rapidly to the shore of the gulf, which is here termed by the Arabs _Mersa Zafraneh_, _i.e._, "Harbour of Saffron." The coast itself is flat and marshy. The headlands on the south are a conglomerate, or _breccia_ rock, of the _Tertiary_ formation, composed of shells, stones, and other substances, held together by a calcareous cement. The Arabs report, that a carriage-road anciently existed through the Wadi Araba, and led to the Bay of Zafraneh. This, I conceive, might have been the road of communication to the Egyptian colonies and copper mines on the opposite Sinaic peninsula, in _Wadi Maghara_, _Sarbut-el-Chadem_, &c., and over which the produce of those mines, having been shipped from the harbour of Zelime to the Mersa Zafraneh, might have been conveyed in waggons to the Nile. But, whether or not the _Araba_ mountains that rise a little to the south of the opposite coast of the Peninsula had received the _same_ appellation from _this valley_, there seems to be no testimony to decide. The "Monastery of St Antony"--_Deir Antonios_--distant about 17 miles from the sea, is a fortified convent of Copts, surrounded by a strong wall, of about 35 feet in height, the entrance to which is by a trap-door, wherefrom a rope descends, as in the present Sinaic convent. The keep, or place of safety, is an insulated tower, defended by a drawbridge. According to common statement, this was the abode and place of burial of _St Antony_, the founder of Monachism. The mountains to the south, at the northern end of which stands the convent, are _calcareous_ (of the same _cretaceous_ formation), containing in places a great deal of _salt_. They are known to the Arabs by the term of _Gebel Kallala_, and, in fact, constitute the southern ridge of that chain. Another large and similarly protected convent, called _Deir Bolos_ (Paul), distant from the former[17] about 15 miles in a direct SE. line, is situate in a picturesque place, and about 10 miles from the nearest point of the Gulf of Suez. An adjoining garden abounds in date and other fruit-trees. On the east, between this convent and the sea, _Wadi Girfeh_ is approached, among low hills: on the tops of some of these the substructions of houses are visible, having been built with uncemented stones. Also some chambers, or catacombs, are cut in the rock: in the larger were found crystals of _rock-salt_; the strata are composed of _limestone_, and contain many fossils. Broken pieces of _terra cotta_ vases, chiefly red, are everywhere observed; and they, with other vestiges, probably point out the site of a Roman colonial town.

Footnote 17: See the Views of the Convents of St Paul and St Anthony, plate 51, p. 128, chap. vi., book ii., vol. i., in _Pococke's_ "Description of the East."

Proceeding from St Paul's to the SE., for near 15 miles, the line of the _primitive_ mountains is reached on the left, whilst the _secondary_ chain of Gebel Kallala, consisting of limestone with ammonites, is continued on the right, or west. South of Wadi Dthahal _micaceous schist_ approaching to _gneiss_ occurs, and a little further, the primitive and _sandstone_, or _gritstone_ rocks join. Thence the secondary, or _cretaceous_ mountains, diverging to the south and south-west, gradually decrease in altitude.

Again, southwards, some more ancient copper-works are noticed; and then, _Gebel Horvashia_, whose formation is _granite_, rises a few miles off to the SE.; in its natural basin much good water is retained after rain. _Wadi Abu Hadth_ next attracts attention from its possessing a good deal of fine herbage, and many gum-arabic trees. Of the granite mountains in this region, _Gebel Agrib_, or _Garib_, or _Gharib_ ("camel's hump") is the loftiest, as it elevates itself to about 6000 feet above the sea level; and from its position it forms a conspicuous landmark far out at sea.

The ascent of this majestic mountain, from its steepness and numerous ravines, is found to be fatiguing. Mr J. Wilkinson[18] describes it as follows:--

"The first evening we reached the base of the highest cone, where we slept, and ascended the next morning to the summit, from which we had a view of the mountains on either side of the sea, and the different plains. We tracked the gazelles very nearly to the summit, and every now and then in the ravines found some solitary plants growing under the shade of a projecting stone. The peaks of this mountain resemble the _Aiguilles_ near Mount Blanc; but, to equal that mountain in beauty, it requires the lower parts to be covered with the woods and verdure of the Alps, and the desert plain below to be exchanged for the green meadows of Switzerland. I calculate the height to be 5513 feet above the ravine in the plain below, which is a few hundred feet above the level of the sea."

Footnote 18: Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. ii. p. 39.

About ten miles southward, _Bir-el-Dara_--the "Well of Dara," below the mountain of that name, occurs; there, likewise, copper _scoriæ_, smelting furnaces, and miners' houses, are observed.

Further south, more _copper mines_ are seen in a bare place, among low hills, all of which have been examined for the ore.

Advancing south-eastwards by the plain, some _calcareous_ rocks are passed, and afterwards a line of _sandstone_,[19] with limestone over it, running parallel to, and nearly equidistant between the _two primitive_ ridges. _Wadi-el-Enned_ succeeds to the eastward, where a beautifully clear rivulet is found; but its water is too bad for the use of animals, being chiefly serviceable for the nourishment of numerous date palms. This spot lies at the foot of some _limestone_ hills of the _cretaceous_ series that join the eastern _granitic_ ridge.

Footnote 19: Mr J. Wilkinson (_ibid_, Note, p. 41), says, "Judging from the angle of its dip, it formerly rose _over_ the lower, or eastern primitive range, from which, however, it is now separated by a valley, or bed of a torrent."

Next, on the south, comes _Gebel Kuffra_, where the water is so _salt_ as only to be drunk by camels. _Gebel Dochan_, (smoke)--the "Mons Porphyrites" of the ancients--rising about eleven miles more southward, and in the same line with the supposed site of _Myos Hormus_, Myos Hormos, the "mouse harbour," is too distant from our proposed limits, to receive a full description in the present Memoir. I will only remark that at Mount _Dochan_, there exist some interesting ruins, and "those vast _quarries_, from which Rome took so many superb pieces of _porphyry_, to adorn her baths and porticoes."[20] On its southern side, Mr J. Wilkinson adds, "we met with some _Breccia Verde_; and of other kinds of _Breccia_ we had observed great quantities and varieties at Dochan." The sea-shore, about Myos Hormus, is bare and deserted; to the west, at some distance from the harbour, the _granitic_ chain extends; on the east, between it and the sea, a low ridge of _limestone_ hills, which unites with the primitive rocks on the north, comes down towards the shore. "And, in the distance, on the north, is seen the mountain _El Zeit_, so called from the quantity of _petroleum_ found there; whence project two small headlands, forming two gulfs, at the entrance of which are many long _sandbanks_. May not this be the '_mons Eos_' of Pliny?"[21]

Footnote 20: _Ibid_, p. 42.--Pliny writes of the _quarries_, "quantis libet molibus cædendis sufficiunt _Lapidicinæ_." Lib. 36, cap. 7. They produced _red porphyry_ of a most beautiful, close-grained kind; so Pliny says, "_rubet porphyrites_ in eadem OEgypto."

Footnote 21: Ibid., p. 51.

This _Gebel Zeit_, or "Mount of Oil," runs out into a promontory on one side of the Strait of Jubal; at its foot a copious supply of _Petroleum_, or rock oil, is obtained. It is about as liquid as turpentine, of a black or dark-brown colour, and is collected by the Greek Christians of Tur, who take it there and sell it, for rheumatism and for healing sores. The Arabs call it _Zeit-el-Gebel_--"oil of the mountain."

South of this promontory the sea is studded with a number of small islands, some of which are described by Strabo; all, however, I believe, except _Shadwan_, which is of secondary limestone, are of recent marine formation--chiefly of _Coral_.

(_Conclusion in our next Number._)

_Climate of Whitehaven_

_Synopsis of Meteorological Observations made at the Observatory, Whitehaven, Cumberland, in the Year 1849._ BY JOHN FLETCHER MILLER, Esq., F. R. S., F. R. A. S., &c. Communicated by the Author.

+------++------------------------------------------------------------+ | || STANDARD BAROMETER,[22] | | || CORRECTED AND REDUCED TO 32° FAHRENHEIT. | | ||----------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-------| | || | | | | | | | | | || | | Mean | Mean | Mean | Pres-| Mean | | |1849. || Max. | Min. | at | at |Atmos-| sure | Pres-| | | || | | 3 | 10 |pheric| of | sure | Range.| | || | | P.M. | P.M. | Pres-|Vapor.|of Dry| | | || | | | | sure | | Air. | | |------||----------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-------| | || Inches |Inches|Inches|Inches|Inches|Inches|Inches| Inches| |Jan. ||30·173 |28·680|29·654|29·679|29·666| 0·236|29·430| 1·493 | |Feb. ||30·774[23]|28·890|30·012|30·012|30·012| ·265|29·747| 1·884 | |March ||30·494 |29·140|29·940|29·949|29·944| ·264|29·680| 1·354 | |April ||30·147 |29·123|29·551|29·563|29·571| ·256|29·315| 1·024 | |May ||30·147 |29·052|29·749|29·763|29·770| ·354|29·416| 1·095 | |June ||30·122 |29·516|29·867|29·873|29·884| ·357|29·527| ·606 | |July ||30·295 |29·216|29·763|29·770|29·780| ·426|29·354| 1·079 | |Aug. ||30·189 |29·175|29·785|29·788|29·800| ·436|29·364| 1·014 | |Sept. ||30·464 |28·924|29·826|29·831|29·842| ·413|29·429| 1·540 | |Oct. ||30·489 |29·129|29·720|29·731|29·739| ·316|29·423| 1·360 | |Nov. ||30·137 |28·737|29·637|29·668|29·666| ·295|29·371| 1·400 | |Dec. ||30·721[24]|29·078|29·843|29·835|29·853| ·233|29·620| 1·643 | |------||----------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-------| |Means ||30·346 |29·055|29·778|29·788|29·794| ·321|29·473|{1·291}| | || | | | | | | |{2·094}| +------++----------+------+------+------+------+------+------+-------+

Footnote 22: The readings of the barometer hitherto used required an additive correction of about 0·08 inch. All past results will be reduced to the standard instrument.

Footnote 23: Uncorrected Maximum, 30·820 inches.

Footnote 24: Uncorrected Maximum, 30·752 inches.