Egypt : handbook for travellers / edited by K. Baedeker.

Date:
1885-1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Egypt : handbook for travellers / edited by K. Baedeker. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    when dry (in which ease alone- the sound is heard) the traveller loosens it and causes it to fall into the clefts of the sandstone rock on which it lies; a slight and gradually increasing sound is thus produced hy this miniature avalanche. The Arabs believe that these curious sounds jjro- ceed from a monastery buried under the sand. It had been accidentally discovered by an Arab, who received hospitable entertainment from the monks, and swore not to betray its existence; but when he afterwards broke his oath, the monastery vanished. From Tor to the Monastery or St. Catharine there are two routes, one through the Wadi Hebran, the other through the Wadi es-Sleh (Isleh). The latter is the shorter and preferable route, as the Wadi es-Sleh is one of the most romantic ravines in the whole peninsula, while the route through the Wadi ITehran is for some distance the same as the shorter route from Suez to Sinai. (1) Through the Wadi es-Sleh. The start should he made at a very early hour, in order that the desert El-Ka'a may he cross- ed before the heat of the day. We ride due E. for 6 hrs. through the gradually ascending desert in the direction of the huge Umm Shomar (p. 515). On reaching the base of the mountain, we de- scend very rapidly into a basin resembling the bed of a lake, which has been formed by the mountain torrent issuing from the Wadi es-Sleh. At the bottom of this basin we enter the narrow, rocky defile of the Wadi es-Sleh. After ascending this romantic gorge with its turbulent brook for half-an-hour, we reach a charming resting-place where there is excellent water. The brook, which of course varies greatly in volume at different seasons, sometimes dis- appears altogether in the upper parts of the valley, but there is water enough everywhere to support the vegetation, which is very luxuriant at places. Palms and numerous tamarisks thrive in the lower part of the valley. The route is not always practicable for riding, but if the rider dismounts, the camels contrive to thread their way through the most difficult part of the ravine, while the traveller will find it a relief to walk for a quarter-of-an-hour. A little above the resting-place large masses of rock compel us again to dismount for half-an-hour’s walk. About 2 hrs. from the en- trance of the valley, and 280 ft. above that point, the route di- vides, and we turn to the left. At the next bifurcation. 10 min. farther, our route leads to the right. We enter a rocky gorge which soon contracts to a defile of 12 ft. only in width, then expands, and again contracts. We pass a few palm-trees, many tamarisks, So- laneae, and thickets of reed. At the next bifurcation (1 hr.) we turn to the right. We pass (20 min.) the precipitous bed of a torrent on the right, and then a second descending from a curious looking hill crowmed with a huge mass of rock. The stony channel of an old torrent here is deeply furrowed by that of another water- course which now crosses it. The valley becomes wilder and more barren. We ascend the Wadi Tarfa for 5-6 hrs. to a height of about 1875 ft. We then enter the broad Wadi Rahabeh, and tra- verse an open and undulating basin for 6 hrs. more, first towards