| OBSERVATIONS ON THE PORTS AND HARBOURS FROM TRIPOLY TO DERNA, IN THEIR ACTUAL CONDITION. | [Page iii] |
| REMARKS ON THE NAVAL AFFAIRS OF THE ANCIENTS, AND THE RATES OF SAILING OF THEIR VESSELS AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. | [xvii] |
| REMARKS ON THE NAVAL AFFAIRS OF THE ANCIENTS, AND THE RATES OF SAILING OF THEIR VESSELS AT DIFFERENT PERIODS. | [xxxii] |
| OBSERVATIONS ON ROAD MEASUREMENTS DEDUCED FROM THE ORDINARY WALKING PACE OF HORSES AND CAMELS. | [xlii] |
| TABLE OF DISTANCES MEASURED BY CAMEL AND HORSE PACE. | [xliv] |
| POSITION OF PLACES BY OBSERVATION. | [xlv] |
| OBSERVATIONS FOR VARIATION. | [xlviii] |
LIST OF PLATES.
| Chapter | ||
| 1. | Solitary Palm-Tree at Arar, remarkable as beingthe only Tree in the Greater Syrtis | [VI.] |
| 2. | Formidable Appearance of the Coast atZaffran | [ib.] |
| 3. | Remains of an Ancient Bridge at Ptolemeta | [XII.] |
| 4. | Remains of an Ancient Mausoleum atPtolemeta | [ib.] |
| 5. | Remains of an Ionic Building at Ptolemeta(Vignette) | [ib.] |
| 6. | Remains of an early Christian Church atPtolemeta | [ib.] |
| 7. | Singular Position of Two Inhabited Caves in theNeighbourhood of Apollonia | [XVII.] |
| 8. | Position of the Amphitheatre, the Fountain ofApollo, and some other Remains at Cyrene | [XVI.] |
| 9. | Elevation of the Internal Façade of anExcavated Tomb at Cyrene | [ib.] |
| 10. | Suite of Allegorical Figures painted on theMetopes of One of the Excavated Tombs at Cyrene | [ib.] |
| 11. | Partial View of the Tombs on the Heights ofCyrene | [ib.] |
| 12. | Architectural Front of One of the Doricexcavated Tombs at Cyrene | [XVIII.] |
| 13. | Entrance to the Fountain of Apollo at Cyrene(Vignette) | [XVI.] |
| LIST OF CHARTS ANDPLANS. | ||
| General Chart of the Route | [I.] | |
| Chart, showing the Differencebetween the Coast Line of former Charts, and that obtained by theExpedition | [X.] | |
| Plan of the Port and Neighbourhoodof Bengazi | [XI.] | |
| Plan of the City of Teuchira | [XII.] | |
| Plan of the City of Ptolemeta | [ib.] | |
| Plan of the City and Environs ofCyrene | [XV.] | |
| Plan of the City, on a largerScale | [ib.] | |
| Plan of the Town of Derna and ofthe Port of Zaffran | [XVII.] | |
| Plan of the Port and City ofApollonia | [ib.] | |
INTRODUCTION.
In offering to the Public an account of the mission, the proceedings of which will form the subject of the present Narrative, it may be proper to state briefly the circumstances which gave rise to it, and the objects to which its inquiries were chiefly directed.
When Captain Smyth visited the Northern Coast of Africa, in the year 1817, he had many opportunities (during the course of his Survey) of obtaining information connected with the state of the country and the points most deserving of notice which it presented. The exertions of this active and intelligent officer procured at Lebida the matter for the only plan which we have of that city and its antiquities, while his journey to Ghirza made us acquainted with the actual nature of those remains, so important in Arab estimation, the account of which is given at the latter part of our narrative[1].
Captain Smyth had proposed to extend his journey eastward; for the friendly disposition of the Bashaw of Tripoly had been diligently cultivated by himself and Colonel Warrington, His Majesty’s Consul-general at the Regency, and the whole tract of country between Tripoly and Derna was open to the researches of the English. Circumstances, however, prevented him from doing so, and on returning to England he submitted the information which he had been able to collect to the Admiralty, and suggested that a party might be advantageously employed in exploring the Greater Syrtis and Cyrenaica, as well as the country to the eastward of Derna as far as Alexandria and the Oasis of Ammon.