The port called Mersa Zelīten is an insignificant cove, that would scarcely afford shelter to a boat. It is formed by a few rocks above water; may be about one hundred yards across, and appears to have no more than five or six feet water in it. Here also are two springs of good water, which would afford a constant supply, if the Arabs would take the trouble of excavating a cistern, and of protecting it from the surf. To the N.E. of the Mersa, at the distance of from half a mile to three-quarters of a mile off shore, the sea broke over sunken rocks: the cliffs are of sand-stone, and about thirty feet in height.
The many ruins which exist in the vicinity of Zelīten, and the frequent appearance of building-stones, and shafts of marble columns, protruding through the mud walls of the village, contribute decidedly to point it out as an ancient site, and it was probably the Cisternæ or Cinsternæ Oppidum of Ptolemy; which is the first town mentioned by this geographer after the Τριηρων ακρον—the Cephalas Promontorium of Strabo—in the tract of country between that point and the Cinyphus.
Among the sand hills which almost surround the village, we found several imperfect ground plans; and near the beach is the tomb of a Marábūt, supported by marble columns, which however are of very trifling dimensions: there also we noticed several fragments of marble columns, and a considerable quantity of pottery and glass. Among the sand hills are likewise some remains of Arab baths, built of stone and cement; and about them are scattered the ruins of walls and buildings, as though the village had once been there, but having been deserted was gradually covered with sand.
Our tents at Zelīten were pitched upon the sand hills close to the tomb of a celebrated Marábūt, called Sidy Abd el Salám, much respected by all the Mahometan population[2]. The Arabs of our escort were particularly desirous that we should show some marks of attention to the remains of this holy personage, by passing his tomb at a slow and solemn pace, and at a respectful distance; and though it may be imagined we had no great faith in the sanctity of this venerated Shekh, and as little in the miracles which were attributed to him, we complied with their pious request. The tombs of such Marábūts as have acquired any tolerable celebrity, present a singular appearance, in the motley collection of votive offerings and deposits which are displayed both within and without the holy structures; and bundles of wood and long grass, ploughs, mats, jars, and shreds of old garments, are seen mingled with rusty firelocks and pistols, saddles, stirrups, and bridles, and chaplets of beads, and rubbish of almost every description.
The more useful offerings of vegetables and fruit may be sometimes observed in the collection[3]; and the appetite of a saint, who has been dead fifty years, is often revived and miraculously exerted on these very tempting occasions. A large portion of food very soon disappears from the board of a living Marábūt, but the heaps which are consumed by a dead one of any celebrity are perfectly astonishing to unbelievers.
The credulity of the Arab has, however, no bounds; and it rather, indeed, appears to increase, in proportion as the marvellous tale which is related is more inconsistent and extravagant.
Marábūts are allowed the most unlimited freedom of access, from the palace and presence of the sovereign, to the tent of the meanest Arab; and their persons are considered as sacred and inviolable, even after the commission of the most unjustifiable outrages. The last-mentioned privilege is not confined to the living; for the tomb of a Marábūt is as inviolable as his person, and affords a sure sanctuary to the worst of criminals, in defiance of law and authority[4].
To return to our subject, we may remark, in conclusion, that a very considerable part of the population of Zelīten are Jews; and we were informed that the manufactures of the place are chiefly in the hands of these people: we found them uniformly civil, obliging, and industrious, and though much persecuted by the Mahometan inhabitants, they appear to support their ill fortune contentedly.
On the morning of the 18th we left Zelīten, and entered immediately upon an extensive plain, for the most part overrun with squills and brushwood. Two roads cross this plain, one to Mesurata, the other to Benioleed: we took the former, as nearest to the sea; and at the distance of a few miles beyond Zelīten, we observed several scattered heaps of ruins on either side of the road; most of these have been built on artificial mounds, with trenches round them, and appear to have formed parts of a military position; but everything was so much mutilated and buried, that much time would have been necessary to make out their plans, which would scarcely indeed have recompensed the labour of excavation.
At sunset we arrived at Selin, where the tents were pitched near an ancient well, forty feet in depth, and containing a good supply of sweet water. At the distance of about two hundred yards from the well, we perceived upon a hill the remains of what appeared to have been a fort; and many fragments of buildings were discernible here and there in the neighbourhood. This place seems to be the Orir of Dr. Della Cella, but we could perceive no traces of the Mosaic pavement which he mentions, nor anything to mark the spot as the site of an ancient city. The Doctor has fixed upon Orir as the position of Cinsternæ; and the circumstance of its occurring (in passing from west to east) immediately before the promontory which forms the western boundary of the Greater Syrtis, would, in truth, seem to favour the idea. But Zelīten appeared to us more adapted for the site of a city, and the remains of that place had more the character of parts of a town than those which were observable at Selin. We should conceive that the ruins to the eastward of Zelīten were those of a connected series of forts, and that no other buildings had been attached to them than such as are usually found in the neighbourhood of a military position. Cinsternæ, however, was a town of so little importance, that whether its site be fixed at Zelīten or Selin is a matter of very trivial consideration.