Fifthly, Once more leaving Suez; after having passed over a small piece of marine and alluvial formation near the sea, and taking a westerly direction, a narrow tract of tertiary sandstone, so designated by Russegger, is observed; it is a plain which gradually ascends from the shore of the Gulf, and in it is placed the Castle of Ajroud; the water obtained there is very bitter. Beyond this to the west, the plain becomes sandy, and covered with black flints.
But the soil and hills at Wadi Emshash, which signify the “Valley of the Waterpits,” near Ajroud, are calcareous: the well there, called Bir Emshash, yields after rain good drinking water. The hills around Ajroud consist of tertiary limestone and marl. More to the south, Gebel Ataka divides this formation, itself being a secondary limestone belonging to the cretaceous series, and, according to Dr Robinson, is strewed thickly with flint pebbles. It terminates in Ras Ataka, or “Cape Deliverance,” on the Gulf. The sandy and gravelly plain, El Baidea, the Wadi Tawarik of others, has been named by some, the “Valley of Moses,” Wadi Mousa; it communicates on the west with Wadi-el-Tyh.
Gebel Deraj (steps) is limestone of the same cretaceous series as Mount Ataka; and this formation stretches out southwards to a great distance, constituting a large portion of the East Egyptian Desert.
Then on the south of the former mountain, a band of granite, which forms the northern ridge of Gebel Kallala, is observed, wherein there exist remains of old copper mines. Those called Reigatamerih, situate among low hills, “have evidently been worked by the ancients, as well from the quantity of pottery and scoriæ there, as from the remains of miners' houses, and the regular manner in which the caverns have been cut, following up the veins.”[16]
Near, on the SE., there is a well (bir) named Horreh, whose water is bad, owing to the sulphur which it contains. This is placed in Wadi Araba, an extensive valley, running in a direction nearly due W. and E., and descending from Wadi Chaderat very rapidly to the shore of the gulf, which is here termed by the Arabs Mersa Zafraneh, i.e., “Harbour of Saffron.” The coast itself is flat and marshy. The headlands on the south are a conglomerate, or breccia rock, of the Tertiary formation, composed of shells, stones, and other substances, held together by a calcareous cement. The Arabs report, that a carriage-road anciently existed through the Wadi Araba, and led to the Bay of Zafraneh. This, I conceive, might have been the road of communication to the Egyptian colonies and copper mines on the opposite Sinaic peninsula, in Wadi Maghara, Sarbut-el-Chadem, &c., and over which the produce of those mines, having been shipped from the harbour of Zelime to the Mersa Zafraneh, might have been conveyed in waggons to the Nile. But, whether or not the Araba mountains that rise a little to the south of the opposite coast of the Peninsula had received the same appellation from this valley, there seems to be no testimony to decide. The “Monastery of St Antony”—Deir Antonios—distant about 17 miles from the sea, is a fortified convent of Copts, surrounded by a strong wall, of about 35 feet in height, the entrance to which is by a trap-door, wherefrom a rope descends, as in the present Sinaic convent. The keep, or place of safety, is an insulated tower, defended by a drawbridge. According to common statement, this was the abode and place of burial of St Antony, the founder of Monachism. The mountains to the south, at the northern end of which stands the convent, are calcareous (of the same cretaceous formation), containing in places a great deal of salt. They are known to the Arabs by the term of Gebel Kallala, and, in fact, constitute the southern ridge of that chain. Another large and similarly protected convent, called Deir Bolos (Paul), distant from the former[17] about 15 miles in a direct SE. line, is situate in a picturesque place, and about 10 miles from the nearest point of the Gulf of Suez. An adjoining garden abounds in date and other fruit-trees. On the east, between this convent and the sea, Wadi Girfeh is approached, among low hills: on the tops of some of these the substructions of houses are visible, having been built with uncemented stones. Also some chambers, or catacombs, are cut in the rock: in the larger were found crystals of rock-salt; the strata are composed of limestone, and contain many fossils. Broken pieces of terra cotta vases, chiefly red, are everywhere observed; and they, with other vestiges, probably point out the site of a Roman colonial town.
Proceeding from St Paul's to the SE., for near 15 miles, the line of the primitive mountains is reached on the left, whilst the secondary chain of Gebel Kallala, consisting of limestone with ammonites, is continued on the right, or west. South of Wadi Dthahal micaceous schist approaching to gneiss occurs, and a little further, the primitive and sandstone, or gritstone rocks join. Thence the secondary, or cretaceous mountains, diverging to the south and south-west, gradually decrease in altitude.
Again, southwards, some more ancient copper-works are noticed; and then, Gebel Horvashia, whose formation is granite, rises a few miles off to the SE.; in its natural basin much good water is retained after rain. Wadi Abu Hadth next attracts attention from its possessing a good deal of fine herbage, and many gum-arabic trees. Of the granite mountains in this region, Gebel Agrib, or Garib, or Gharib (“camel's hump”) is the loftiest, as it elevates itself to about 6000 feet above the sea level; and from its position it forms a conspicuous landmark far out at sea.
The ascent of this majestic mountain, from its steepness and numerous ravines, is found to be fatiguing. Mr J. Wilkinson[18] describes it as follows:—
“The first evening we reached the base of the highest cone, where we slept, and ascended the next morning to the summit, from which we had a view of the mountains on either side of the sea, and the different plains. We tracked the gazelles very nearly to the summit, and every now and then in the ravines found some solitary plants growing under the shade of a projecting stone. The peaks of this mountain resemble the Aiguilles near Mount Blanc; but, to equal that mountain in beauty, it requires the lower parts to be covered with the woods and verdure of the Alps, and the desert plain below to be exchanged for the green meadows of Switzerland. I calculate the height to be 5513 feet above the ravine in the plain below, which is a few hundred feet above the level of the sea.”
About ten miles southward, Bir-el-Dara—the “Well of Dara,” below the mountain of that name, occurs; there, likewise, copper scoriæ, smelting furnaces, and miners' houses, are observed.