[15]440 more.
[16]See plate.
CHAPTER XIV.
JOURNEY FROM PTOLEMETA TO MERGE.
Departure from Ptolemeta — Romantic and Picturesque Appearance of the Road — Luxuriant Vegetation which adorned it — Arrive at the Summit of the first Range — Bedouin Tents on the Plain above — Pleasing Manners of their Inhabitants — Character of the Scenery on the Summit of the Lower Range — Beauty of the Route continues — Arrive at the Plain of Merge — Character and Position of the Plain — Our Camel-Drivers refuse to proceed — Artful Conduct of Abou-Bukra — Appeal to Bey Halil — Projected Mission to Derna — Abou-Bukra comes to Terms, and brings his Camels for the Journey — Pools of Fresh Water collected in the Plain of Merge — Use made of them by the Arabs — Prevalence of a Virulent Cutaneous Disease among the Arab Tribes of Merge and its Neighbourhood — Remains of a Town at one extremity of the Plain — Remarks on the District and City of Barka — Testimonies of Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy, and Scylax, respecting the Port of Barca — Remarks on the Position of the City of that Name — Arab Accounts of Barca — Edrisi, Abulfeda, &c. — Unsatisfactory Nature of the Accounts in Question — Mode of reconciling the Arab Accounts of Barca with those of Scylax — Suggested Position of the Ancient City — Peculiarity of Soil attributed to Barca — Observations on its Produce and Resources — State of Barca under the Arabs — Decay of the Ancient City after the building of Ptolemais on the Site of its Port — The Barcæans remarkable for their Skill in the Management of Horses and Chariots — Their Country formerly celebrated for its excellent Breed of Horses — Degeneracy of the present Breed — Account of Barca by Herodotus — Other Accounts of its Origin — Siege and Plunder of the City by the Persians under Amasis — Subsequent state of the City till the building of Ptolemais.
On our arrival at Ptolemeta, we had discharged the camels which we hired from the people of Bengazi, and waited the arrival of those which Hadood, Shekh of Barca, was to furnish us with, under whose escort we were to proceed to the eastern limits of the Bashaw’s dominions.
At Teuchira we had been joined, as we have already stated, by Abou-Bukra, the son of Hadood, and four days after our arrival at Ptolemeta the camels which we expected were brought from the mountains, and we set out on our journey to Cyrene. We left Ptolemeta on the twenty-seventh of April, and took the road leading through Merge, a large and fertile plain, situated on the top of the range which we have already described as lying to the southward of Ptolemeta. After repassing a part of the road, by which we had formerly travelled, we began to ascend a most romantic valley, a little to the westward of the town of Ptolemeta and leading up from the coast towards Merge. As we wound along the steep and narrow pathway which skirted the bed of the torrent below us, we found the place much more remarkable for its wildness and beauty than it was for the goodness of its roads; and had not our camels been accustomed to the mountains they would probably have given us a good deal of trouble. The sides of the valley were thickly clothed with pines, olive trees, and different kinds of laurel, interspersed with clusters of the most luxuriant honeysuckle, the fragrance of which, as we passed it, literally perfumed the air. Among these we distinguished myrtle, arbutus, and laurestinus, with many other handsome flowering shrubs, a variety of wild roses, both white and red, and quantities of rosemary and juniper. Scenes of this kind even in Europe would be highly appreciated; but to travellers in Africa, it may readily be imagined they could not fail of being more than usually grateful; and every fresh beauty which opened itself to our view was hailed with enthusiastic delight.
The very difficulty of the road added interest to the scene; and the mixture of what (with us) would have been garden shrubs, blooming, more luxuriantly than we ever see them in northern climates, amidst the wild crags of a neglected ravine, gave a finish and an elegance to its rugged forms which produced the most agreeable association of ideas.
But if we begin to indulge ourselves in recollections of this nature, we shall soon lose the thread of our narrative; and restraint is the more necessary on the present occasion, as the scenes which presented themselves one after the other, in our route from Ptolemeta to Merge, were nothing but a continued succession of beauties from the beginning to the end of our journey. In about an hour from the time when we began to ascend, we reached the top of the first hill, and were saluted by a wild-looking, dark-featured Arab, who presented us some honey in the comb which is procured in quantities from the neighbouring mountains. This was the first person we had met with in our passage up the ravine, and there was a wildness in his accent as well as in his appearance which suited admirably with the character of the scene. A little farther on we reached some Arab tents, scattered here and there among the bushes and trees, and such of the Bedouins whose tents we passed nearest to came out, and questioned us on the objects of our journey. We observed in these people the same peculiarities of look and accent which had struck us in our friend of the honeycomb, and they had a bluntness and independence of manner and appearance which afforded us, together with their simplicity, a good deal of pleasure and amusement. They welcomed us in the true patriarchal style, with an offer of shelter and refreshment, and we should have liked nothing better than spending a week or two among them, and rambling about the beautiful country which they occupied.