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orchards of date-trees, which produced fruit enough to sustain some thousands of people. [5] Fruit must, indeed, be very plenteous there; for the Arabs of the valley bring every year to Cairo an astonishing quantity of dates, raisins, pears, apples, and other fruits, all of excellent quality. Some Arabs, who came to see us, offered us fresh dates, which were yellow, but scarcely ripe. The chief of our schiech's wives, for he had two, came likewise to see us, and presented us with some eggs and a chicken. One was placed at some distance from where our tents happened to be pitched, in order to manage a garden of date-trees. [6] The other was our neighbour, and superintended the cattle and servants.

"We left this place 14th of September, and, after travelling two German miles further, in the valley of Faran, arrived at the foot of Jibbel Musa. Up this mountain we ascended a mile and a half, and encamped near a large mass of stone, which Moses is said by the Arabs to have divided into two, as it at present appears, with one blow of his sword. Among those mountains we found several springs of excellent water, at which, for the first time since my arrival in Egypt, I quaffed this precious liquid with real satisfaction.

"In the afternoon of the 16th of September, we descended Jibbel Musa, and passed the night at the bottom of that cliffy mountain, at the opening into the valley of Faran. [7] Next day, after advancing three miles through the vale, we halted near the dwelling of our schiech of the tribe of Said. Our Ghasirs left us again, and went to see their friends in the gardens of date-trees. Our Ghasirs returned, and we continued our journey on the 20th of the month. On the day following we had an opportunity of seeing a part of the road which we had passed by night, when travelling to Jibbel Musa. In this place, near a defile, named Om-zer-ridg-lein, I found some inscriptions in unknown characters, which had been mentioned to me at Cairo. They are coarsely engraven, apparently with some pointed instrument of iron, in the rock, [8] without order or regularity.

"On the 25th of September we arrived again at Suez. Before we could reach the city we had to cross the same arm of the sea, over which we had been ferried when we set out on our journey; but we could find no boat on the eastern side. Perceiving, however, that the tide was ebbing, we ventured to ford this part of the Gulf. We succeeded happily, a little north from the ruins of Kolsum. Our camels walked steadily; and the Arabs who waded, were only in water to the knees. This was perhaps the first time that any Europeans attempted to pass here in this manner. This attempt shewed us that the waters in the Gulf are much influenced by the tides, and convinced us, that in the ebb, the Red Sea may be safely passed on foot.

"After my return to Suez, I was desirous to examine also the western side of the Gulf, and the adjoining hills. I could prevail with no person to accompany me in so dangerous an expedition, for, at the smallest distance from the city, the passenger is in no less danger of being robbed, than in the desert. At length, however, an Arab undertook to be my guide. But he trembled at the sight of every human being that we met; and indeed those whom we met, seemed to be no less afraid of us. Thus teased and vexed as I was, I could make but few interesting observations in these pretty excursions.

"In the neighbourhood of Suez I could find no trace of any canal; unless the valley of Mosbeiha, between Bir Suez and the city, may be regarded as such. After the rains, a considerable quantity of water remains stagnant in this vale, which the inhabitants draw for use; and when the waters are gone off, it is soon covered with grass." [9]

Such is the character of this region, as it appears in Heron's translation of Niebuhr. I shall now [from French edit.] translate, in addition, Niebuhr's account of the desert of Sinai, as it accompanies his map: extracting only what is capable of being employed in illustrating Scripture.

"The Arabic name of the country, situated between the two arms of the Gulf of Arabia, is called, I believe, Bahr el Tour Sinai, the Desert of Mount Sinai. This country, so famous anciently, is now almost uninhabited; only a few villages now stand on its coast, whose inhabitants live wholly by their fishing. The whole interior of the country belongs to wandering and independent Arabs. [10]

"The eastern arm of the Arabian Gulf, which the natives call Bahr el Akaba, is commonly delineated very wide on our maps; but, according to the accounts which I received, it is not wider than admits of people on one side of it, calling to others on the opposite side, and being heard. At the further end of this Gulf is the ancient city of Ailab, called Eloth in Scripture.

"On the western arm of this Gulf is the well known port of Tor or Bender Tor, where the vessels going from Suez to Djidda land, because they take, gratis, a tolerable water from a well near the port; and they purchase, at a low price, a still better water, brought from the mountains.

"The elevated mountain of St. Catherine stands N.E. six or six and a half German miles from Tor, adjacent to mount Sinai. Mount Sinai is but the highest peak of a chain of mountains, at the foot of which is the famous Greek convent. The mount and its convent stands on a mountainous mass, which our Arab guides called Dsjebbel Musa, and which is many days journey in circuit. It is composed in great part of gritstone; there is also granite; and the Sinai of the Christians, near the convent, is

almost wholly a rock of red granite of a very large ports of Eloth and Ezion-geber might trace the same grain. track. Vide Ophir.

"The mount of Moses has numerous beautiful springs; [11] nevertheless they are not so copious as to be united, and to form streams which might last the whole year. It seems, rather, that the vallies of the mount of Moses only furnish water after heavy rains. Here are fertile vallies, in which are gardens planted with vines, pear-trees, dates, and other excellent fruits. I did not go to the west of Sinai.

"The valley of Faran is at the northern foot of the mount of Moses, two and a half German leagues N.W. from the convent. Very fine fruits are found in abundance in this and the neighbouring valley. It was entirely dry in September; nevertheless the Wadi Faran becomes sometimes, after heavy rains, a torrent so considerable, that the Arabs are obliged to pitch their tents on the declivities of the mountains. The Arabs draw from the springs a water which is tolerable, but not so good as that found on the mountain of Moses.

"The valley of Girondel, like that of Faran, is inundated after great rains. In September it was so dry that we were obliged to dig for water a foot or foot and a half into the sand. This water, though inferior in goodness to that of the mount of Moses, is yet better than that of Suez. I had neither the time nor the desire to stop long enough to examine whether this water is alternately sweet and bitter, as Michaelis inquires, Quest. ii. xviii. xix. During this journey we rarely encamped by a fountain; and as I had asked sometimes to accompany those who fetched water, our guides always afterward sent to fetch it without our knowledge. If any wood was now known to have the properties of that used by Moses to sweeten water, the inhabitants of Suez would not fail to employ it.

"Wadi Girondel is nine or ten German miles from Suez, and near to Dsjebbel Hammam Faroun. This valley contains many trees, and even small woods. Aijoun Musa; or, the wells of Moses are distant two German miles S.E. 30° S. from Suez, and a good half mile from the Gulf of Arabia, in a sandy plain. Water is found in many places on digging a foot deep: but the Arabs report, that of five wells seen there, only one yields a water fit for drinking." So far Niebuhr. For further accounts of mount Sinai, see on Exod. xxiv. 6. We shall close with a few remarks, by way of

notes.

1st, Tor. This name is the same as that of the famous city of Tyre, on the Mediterranean. The circumstance of finding a second Tyre, and on the Red Sea, deserves notice, as being a very convenient situation for carrying on the trade to India. In fact, this city was built by the Tyrians, of which Strabo gives the history. The reader will form his own opinion on this; but if the Tyrians traded from hence to India, it favours the idea that the neighbouring

2dly, Esion-geber. The chief remark on this place is included in the former note. Mr. Bruce tells us, that the entrance of its port is dangerous, by reason of rocks which may easily be mistaken for the opening of the harbour.

3dly, This payment for water explains Numb. xx. 19. and we cannot but observe, throughout these extracts, the anxiety which is attached to the supply of water, and to its good qualities. The rarity of good water accounts for this.

4thly, The circumstance of water being found only occasionally in the torrents, and the vallies, together with the distress of those who, expecting to find it, are disappointed, is finely expressed by Job, chap.

vi. 15.

My brethren have dealt deceitfully as a brook,
As the streams of brooks they pass away,

Ere they wax warm, they vanish:

Ere it is hot, they are consumed out of their place.
The troops of Tema looked;

The companies of Sheba waited for them;

They were confounded to the same degree as they had hoped :
They came thither, and were completely ashamed.

Our English ideas of brooks, and streams of brooks, are very feeble, compared with those of the Arabs in respect to their wadi, torrents; nor can we conceive the distress of a caravan from a remote kingdom, when, after travelling during a sultry day, or days, it comes to a place where the finding of water was depended on, but in vain!

5thly, The reader will observe that, in the EXPOSITORY INDEX, on the article Manna, Exod. xvi. we have doubts, whether the whole of the camp of Israel lived on the manna; and we think such information as that contained in the present article, leads to the conclusion that they had, or might have, other food; such as the fruits, or other productions of this region, which are here described as being plentiful, and capable of maintaining "thousands of people" in their present state. That this district of Arabia was more fruitful formerly, than it is at present, we have elsewhere supposed. I presume to think, that when mortals, weak as they are, use proper means to accomplish what laudable purposes they undertake, they may hope for the Divine blessing in addition: and possibly this may be the allusion of those words in the Lord's prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread,' ETT180105, panem supersubstantialem, in addition to what had been already procured.

6thly, The schiech's wife managed a garden of date-trees. Precisely according to the remark of the bride in Solomon's Song, chap. i. 6.

The sons of my mother treated me contemptuously: They appointed me inspectress of the fruiteries. 7thly, It should seem by this passage, that Niebuhr was some hours in descending from the mount

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