width at 'Ain Jidy, perhaps five or six geographical miles.1 The south end of the sea is everywhere very shallow; and many little shoals and sand-banks run out into it from the shores. From the line of water southwards, a large tract of low naked flats, in some parts a mere salt marsh, extends up for several miles, over which the sea rises and covers it when full. Traces of the high-water line, marked with drift-wood, are found at a great distance further south. This naked tract of flats lies chiefly in the middle of the Ghôr and further West; indeed all the western part, quite to the base of Usdum, is wholly without vegetation. Through the midst of it, in various places, large sluggish drains were seen winding their way towards the sea.2 The eastern side of the Ghôr presented a different appearance. Here, not far south of the corner of the sea, comes in the Wady el-Kŭrâhy, which higher up in the mountains is called Wady el-Ahsy. Further south is also Wady et-Tufîleh; and still beyond is another, called Wady Ghŭrůndel. The two former, like Wady Kerak, have in them never failing streams. The tract watered by the Kurâhy, where it issues 1) From this spot at the S. W. corner of the sea, I took the following bearings: Southern shore of the sea runs due E. Râs el-Mersed at 'Ain Jidy N. 8° E. Râs el-Feshkhah N. 13° E. Western extremity of the peninsula, as here seen, N. 16° E. 2) Irby and Mangles, in travelling along the south end of the sea, passed six drains before coming to the stream of the Kurâhy; some wet, others dry. These had a strong marshy smell, similar to what is perceivable on muddy flats in salt-water harbours. Travels p. 354. 3) This is the Wady el-Ahsa of Burckhardt, south of Khanzîreh, separating the district of Kerak from Jebal; Travels pp. 400, 401. Seetzen writes it incorrectly Wady al-Hössn; Zach's Monatl. Corresp. XVIII. p. 436. Irby and Mangles have in like manner at first el-Hussan, Travels pp. 355, 373, 374; but on their return they write only el-Ahsa, p. 444. Legh writes el-Hossan; though in the mountains he speaks of the same Wady under the name Ellasar; May 10th and 19th. Bibl. Repos. Oct. 1833, pp. 624, 631.We inquired often and very particularly, but could hear only the name el-Ahsy. from the mountains, is called Ghôr es-Sâfieh; and is cultivated for wheat, barley, Dhurah, and tobacco, by the Ghawârineh. These people at Sâfieh, like the inhabitants of modern Jericho, are a feeble race, who alone can live here on account of the fevers which prevail. Our Arabs said of them, that they are not to be reckoned either as Bedu, nor as Hudr, nor as 'Abîd (slaves). They live in cabins of reeds or canes; and are much oppressed by the extortions of the Bedawîn of the mountains. They were said to number about fifty men. The Wady et-Tufîleh in like manner waters a tract at its mouth, called Feifeh; which is also cultivated by the Ghawârineh of Sâfieh. The Fellâhîn do not here come down from the mountains, as at Jericho, to plough and sow in the valley. The tract on the peninsula at the mouth of Wady Kerak, called Ghôr el-Mezra'ah, with the village of Ghawârineh who till it, has already been described. They were said to be fewer than those of Sâfieh. Many of them, having fled from the oppres- · sions of the Arabs around Kerak, were now dwelling in the Ghôr of the 'Adwân opposite Jericho, around Nimrîn and Râmeh in Wady Hesbân. The eastern side of the Ghôr, as thns described and seen from the spot where we now stood, is covered with shrubs and verdure like the plain of Jericho; forming a striking contrast with the middle and western side. Except the tracts above mentioned, the rest of the Ghôr is wholly unsusceptible of cultivation.2 But for us, at the moment, the view of the Ghôr which here opened to us towards the South, had a still higher interest. At the distance of nearly three hours, this view was now bounded by the line of whit 1) See above, p. 232. 2) Compare generally the account of Burckhardt, pp. 390, 391. VOL. II. 62 Also that of Irby and Mangles, which is more full and definite, pp. 353-357. ish cliffs, which we had seen from Upper Zuweirah, running off obliquely quite across the broad valley, and apparently barring all further progress. From ez-Zuweirah, however, we had been able to distinguish, that above and beyond these cliffs, the wide plain of the great valley continued to run on towards the South as far as the eye could reach; and that the cliffs themselves were indeed nothing more than an offset or step, between the low Ghôr on the North and the higher level of the more southern valley. Along the foot of the cliffs, beyond the naked flats, we could everywhere perceive a broad tract of verdure; which we afterwards found to be mostly cane-brake, growing on marshes formed by many brackish springs. We now for the first time learned the exact point of division, between the portions of the great valley called el-Ghôr and el-'Arabah. It consists in this line of cliffs; all the valley on the North as far as to the Lake of Tiberias forming the Ghôr, while el-'Arabah on the South ⚫ extends quite to 'Akabah. Such was the testimony of all our Arabs, both of the Jehâlîn and Haweitât.2 Thus far we had followed the route of the few former travellers, who had passed between Hebron and Kerak around the south end of the Dead Sea. But from this point we were about to enter a new region, and follow along a portion of the great valley, (no very 1) See above p. 476.-Irby and Mangles saw and mention these cliffs, as they passed along the south end of the sea; Travels p. 353: "The plain opens considerably to the South, and is bounded at the distance of about eight miles, by a sandy cliff, from sixty to eighty feet in height, which runs directly across and closes the valley of elGhor. We were told that the plain on the top of this range of cliffs, continues the whole way to Mecca ['Akabah ?] without any in terruption of mountains." This is the only mention of these cliffs previous to our visit. 2) I speak here advisedly; because M. de Bertou has chosen to give to the southern part of the great valley the name of Wady elAkabah. This name is not known among the Arabs; and he had no other authority than the same Jehâlîn. 3) Seetzen, and also Irby and Mangles and their party. extensive one indeed,) into which until a few weeks before, the foot of no Frank traveller had ever penetrated. The former attractive hypothesis, which had been adopted after Burckhardt's discovery of this valley, viz. that the Jordan anciently flowed through its whole length quite to the Dead Sea, we knew to be no longer tenable.' The sagacious doubts of Letronne upon this point, founded chiefly on the direction of the side valleys from the adjacent mountains as laid down upon Laborde's Map, had been speedily followed by the discovery of the depressed level of the Dead Sea; a fact in itself necessarily fatal to the hypothesis in question. All this was known to me before I left Europe. We had further learned from Lord Prudhoe in Jerusalem, who had just before travelled from Suez direct to Wady Mûsa and thence to Hebron, that in crossing the 'Arabah, his guides of the Jehâlîn had repeatedly assured him, that its waters in the rainy season all flowed towards the North. Such too was the subsequent testimony of Bertou; and our own Arabs, both Jehâlîn and Haweitât, had already confirmed the report. The main fact therefore of a descent of the valley towards the Dead Sea, was already established; but of the character of this descent we as yet knew nothing. There were besides various questions respecting the topography of the region, as connected with the approach of the Israelites to Pal 1) This hypothesis seems first to have been suggested by Col. Leake, in his Preface to Burckhardt's Travels in Syria etc. Lond. 1822. 4. Letronne erroneously ascribes it to Ritter; for although the latter speaks of the valley, he says nothing of the Jordan; Erdkunde Th. II. pp. 217, 218. Berl. 1818. Letronne in Journal des Savans, Oct. 1835. p. 596, seq. Nouv. Annales des Voyages 1839. Tom. 2) See Letronne's Paper in the Journal des Savans Oct. 1835, pp. 596-602. Nouv. Ann. des Voyages, ibid. p. 257, seq.-The observations of Moore and Beke, and of Schubert, by which the depression of the Dead Sea was first detected, were made in March and April 1837. See above, p. 222. estine, which we were desirous to investigate; to say nothing of the wonders of Wady Mûsa, which ever since the first report of them by Burckhardt, had taken a strong hold of my imagination. It was therefore with a feeling of excited interest, that we now set our faces towards the South and bent our way along the Ghôr. From this spot at the S. W. corner of the sea, our Arabs pointed out a Wady called el-Jeib in the distant range of cliffs, along which they said our road would pass. We however could make out only a slight line of verdure; marking as we supposed a small Wady, by which we were to ascend to the higher level of the great valley further South. This point now bore about S. 15° W. somewhat east of the middle of the Ghôr; but as the intervening tract of marshy land was impassable for the camels, we were compelled to keep along the western side of the Ghôr, and thus make a large circuit. Leaving the corner of the sea at 8 o'clock, we proceeded along the base of Usdum on a course at first S. W. The ground all along was moist and slippery, sticking to our shoes as we walked; and the naked tract on our left was full of salt drains, sluggish and dead. The mountain continued all the way to exhibit the same formation; but the salt is here less exposed than along the sea. Lumps of nitre were scattered along the base; of which we picked up several, one as large as the fist. We reached the southern end of the ridge at 9h 25'. south, we saw drift-wood lying in lines as thrown up by the sea; showing that the level of the lake must sometimes be not less than ten or fifteen feet higher than at present. In a few minutes we passed a purling rill of beautifully limpid water, coming down from near the base of the mountain; it proved to be salt as Here and still further |