between Gebel Wadhait and Gebel Dreb about latitude 22° 35′,
and by means of many feeders drains the east face of Gebels Dreb
and Gerf. The principal feeder of Wadi Seyet from the south-west is
=Wadi Wadhait=, collecting the south drainage of Gebel Korabkansi,
while on the east the =Wadi Sherefa el Gharbi=, which leads to the
important Sherefa pass, contributes the drainage from the northern
parts of Gebel Dreb and the south-west parts of Gebel Gerf. These
both join Wadi Seyet a little south of latitude 22° 40′, while
a little further down there enter from the east two small feeders
called =Wadi Delawet= and =Wadi Buyet=. The name Seyet is given to
this wadi only down to where it passes through a narrow gap between
high hills in latitude 22° 42′; below that point it is called
Wadi Gemal. Wadi Seyet is remarkably well wooded, containing an
immense number of fine large acacia trees, and presented an almost
park-like appearance at the end of 1907. It also contains a deep
well, =Bir Sararat Seyet=, excavated in the wadi floor just above
the gap between the hills above referred to. This well was full
of downwash in the winter of 1907. It is said to be twenty metres
deep and to yield plenty of good water, but at that time there was
plenty of water in galts in the mountains, and the Arabs said they
preferred to derive their supplies from these so long as they lasted,
only digging out the well when further supplies were necessary.[99]
An unnamed feeder from the west, joining Wadi Seyet just below the
well, leads by an easy pass into the head of =Wadi Hushenab=, which
drains through Wadi Sortdau into the Wadi Gemal lower down its course.
The country between Gebel Korabkansi and Gebel Niqrub Foqani,
through which the course of Wadi Gemal lies, is a gently sloping
plain with mere low banks, among which the drainage lines branch out
forming numerous loops. The main channel runs fairly straight in a
north-westerly direction, receiving =Wadis Sortdau= and =Remalib=,
draining the hills north-west of Gebel Korabkansi as tributaries on
its west side; but a sort of loop line runs off eastward and reaches
the main channel again by the =Wadi Haletiai=, which also collects
the drainage from the south parts of Gebel Niqrub Foqani. After
passing west of this last-named mountain, Wadi Gemal takes a more
northerly course; it receives an immense number of feeders from
the west and north of Gebel Niqrub Foqani, of which the principal
is called =Wadi Umeiatib=. Other feeders enter from among the low
hills on the west, the principal being =Wadi Hadelshisheib=, coming
from the neighbourhood of the dark cone called Gebel Mismih. From
Bir Sararat Seyet to its junction with Wadi Feqoh the length of the
main channel of Wadi Gemal is fifty-seven kilometres, and its fall
is from 560 metres above sea to about 310 metres, or on the average
about four and a half metres per kilometre; its slope is thus much
more rapid than that of Wadi Feqoh, though in its lower parts, where
it passes over what is almost a plain, its gradient is less than
half this average amount. The upper parts of the Wadi Gemal and its
tributaries contain as a rule a fair abundance of trees and bushes.
=Wadi Abu Hashim=, which joins Wadi Feqoh about three kilometres
above Bir Dif, commences its course near Gebel Butitelib, where an
easy pass, broad and sandy, 405 metres above sea-level, divides it
from the heads of Rod Mukrayib, a tributary of Wadi Madi. Wadi Abu
Hashim follows a north-westerly course, nearly in a straight line,
collecting principally the drainage from the western slopes of
the range of high schist hills which flank the sandstone plateau of
Gebel Anfeib. It has a length of seventeen kilometres, and an average
slope of about six metres per kilometre. It is a fairly open wadi,
without much vegetation; on its west side are only very low hills.
=Wadi Anfeib=, which enters Wadi Hodein from the south-west eight
kilometres below the point of influx of Wadi Dif, is formed by the
union of three main heads, called =Wadi Anfeib el Tawayib=, =Wadi
Atalab=, and =Wadi Mitatib=, draining respectively the northern,
central, and southern parts of the great sandstone plateau of
Gebel Anfeib. Mitatib is joined half-way down its course by =Wadi
Unfagalan=, which likewise heads in the plateau. Below the junction
of its three main heads, Wadi Anfeib has a course of only about
seven kilometres to run, through low hill country, before it joins
Wadi Hodein.
=Wadi Madi=, the next great tributary of Wadi Hodein from the south,
heads in the western side of the complex group of mountains called
Gebel Gerf, and courses in a northerly direction for over seventy
kilometres before joining Wadi Hodein in longitude 35° 7′, five
kilometres lower down Wadi Hodein than the mouth of Wadi Anfeib. The
heads of Wadi Madi are extremely complex, consisting of a multitude
of branching drainage lines, and some of them divide their drainage
with the Wadi Gemal, which enters Wadi Hodein by way of Wadis Feqoh
and Dif. The most southerly head is the =Wadi Difoteb=, draining from
the west side of Gebel Gerf in latitude 22° 39′; but only a part
of the drainage from this gets into Wadi Madi, the rest going into
Wadi Sherefa el Gharbi. A similar fate is shared by =Wadi Eirahimib=,
which heads in a slightly difficult pass, leading into Wadi Um Reddam,
about three kilometres west of the highest point of Gebel Gerf in
latitude 22° 42′; this wadi courses in a direction a little south
of west, falling very rapidly, past the hill mass of Gebel Tueiwi,
where it divides, part of its drainage going northwards as Wadi
Madi, and part crossing the plain as Wadi Buyet and joining the Wadi
Seyet. The next head of Wadi Madi to the north is formed by =Wadi
Faditiai=, which drains the high hills east of Gebel Tueiwi, and
captures a part of the drainage brought down by the above-mentioned
Wadi Eirahimib. Exactly where the name Madi commences to be applied
to the drainage is uncertain, as Arabs differ on the point, but it
is probably most correct to consider Madi as commencing just south
of Gebel Tueiwi, where the drainage of Wadi Eirahimib, with part
of that from Wadi Difoteb, divides into two parts, the lesser going
down Wadi Buyet to join Wadi Seyet, while the greater forms Wadi Madi
itself. On this basis, Wadi Faditiai is a tributary of Wadi Madi,
joining it by several openings between latitudes 22° 44′ and 22°
46′. There are numerous feeders from the low hill country both to
Wadi Faditiai and to Wadi Madi proper. After receiving Wadi Faditiai,
Madi flows in a well-defined trench, with many trees, north-west
for a few kilometres to latitude 22° 47′, where it turns sharply,
almost at a right angle, to the north-east. A kilometre and a half
beyond the bend where there is a high granite hill on the west side
of the wadi, is =Bir Madi=. This is a well sunk in the alluvium of
the wadi floor, having its mouth lined with stone slabs; in December
1907, when I visited it, the water was four and a half metres deep,
with its surface three and a half metres below the wadi floor,
and the water was good. The wadi floor here is 476 metres above
sea-level. A beacon on the granite hill overlooking the well has
the position latitude 22° 47′ 46″ N., longitude 35° 1′
38″ E., altitude 556 metres above sea. Below the well, Wadi Madi
follows a rather winding course among moderately high hills to a
little north of latitude 22° 50′, where it gets into more open
country and continues as a broad sandy valley, curving gently in a
northerly direction, to latitude 23° 5′. Beyond this point, where
it receives the Rod Mukrayib and the Wadi Kolaiqo from the west and
east respectively, Wadi Madi becomes narrower, and winds about, though
still keeping a general northerly direction, among low hill country
to its junction with Wadi Hodein. Wadi Madi has many tributaries,
the chief being the Wadis Shellal el Gharbi, Tugudbaia, Sinatib,
Atluk and Kolaiqo, and the Rod Mukrayib, which will be treated
separately further on. The upper parts of Wadi Madi and many of its
tributaries are well stocked with trees, but its central parts,
where it is wide and sandy, are more barren. Its principal head,
the Wadi Eirahimib, falls at an average rate of sixteen metres per
kilometre; from near Gebel Tueiwi to Bir Madi the average slope is
nine metres per kilometre; while in the final fifty-four kilometres
of its course from Bir Madi to Wadi Hodein, the average gradient is
rather less than six metres per kilometre.
=Wadi Shellal el Gharbi=, a tributary of Wadi Madi, originates in
the mountains about six kilometres north of the highest peak of
Gebel Gerf, where a pass connects it with Wadi Shellal el Sharqi,
a tributary of the eastward draining Wadi Radad. Flowing at first
nearly due west, Wadi Shellal el Gharbi receives the =Wadi Um Reddam=,
which collects the drainage from the north faces of the highest
peaks of Gebel Gerf. Two of the heads of Um Reddam lead to passes;
one eastward to Wadi Shellal el Sharqi, and one westward into the
head of Wadi Eirahimib. Entering a lower hill country from which it
receives numerous feeders, Wadi Shellal el Gharbi turns north-west to
join Wadi Madi about eight kilometres below Bir Madi. It has a rather
rapid fall, and contains a fair quantity of trees and bushes. Its
total length along its main channel is twenty-one kilometres.
=Wadi Sinatib=, which enters Wadi Madi about six kilometres below
Shellal el Gharbi, is a small wadi coursing north-west through the
low hill country north of Wadi Shellal.
=Wadi Tugudbaia= conveys to Wadi Madi the drainage from the dyke
country south-east of Gebel Niqrub el Foqani. It is only a short wadi,
and enters Wadi Madi nearly opposite Sinatib.
=Wadi Berendiyeb=, which joins Wadi Madi from the west about
latitude 22° 54′, drains the western flanks of Gebel Niqrub el
Foqani. It is a many headed wadi, coursing at first among the low
foot-hills of the mountain, and then crossing almost a sandy plain
to join Wadi Madi. Its length along its main channel is about twelve
kilometres. North of Berendiyeb, there are two other feeders of Wadi
Madi coming from the low hills north-east of Gebel Niqrub el Foqani;
they have no special names, being broad and sandy and without much
vegetation in consequence of their draining only low country.
=Wadi Atluk=, which flows into Wadi Madi from the south-east almost
opposite Gebel Niqrub el Tahtani, has a rather curious origin. It
arises from a splitting of the course of Wadi Korbiai, part of the
drainage of which passes eastward down Wadi Kreiga, while the other
part retains its northerly direction as Wadi Atluk. The total length
of Wadi Atluk is about twenty-one kilometres. It has not been surveyed
in detail, but for most of its course it lies in low hill country.
=Rod Mukrayib= is a many-branched wadi which drains the hilly country
between Gebel Niqrub el Tahtani and Gebel Anfeib. One of its heads
leads by an easy pass near Gebel Butitelib into the head of Wadi
Abu Hashim; another head drains the north face of Gebel Niqrub
el Tahtani; while a third drains the south end of Gebel Anfeib,
coursing between the sandstone plateau and the schist hills west
of it. From the pass into Wadi Abu Hashim to its junction with Wadi
Madi the length of its channel is fifteen kilometres, with a fall of
from 405 metres to 250 metres above sea, giving an average slope of
ten metres per kilometre. It joins Wadi Madi on the north side of an
isolated group of hills, just where Wadi Madi begins to narrow in,
about nineteen kilometres above its junction with Wadi Hodein. From
the point where Rod Mukrayib joins Wadi Madi there is a good open
road across the heads of Wadi Edunqul into those of Wadi Anfeib.
=Wadi Kolaiqo=, which joins Madi almost opposite Rod Mukrayib,
originates in the hills between Gebel Niqrub el Tahtani and Gebel
Khashab, where a pass at its head leads into the heads of Wadi
Khashab. It is a fairly wide wadi, shut in by rather high hills,
coursing west-north-west with a length of nine kilometres and a
fairly rapid fall.
=Wadi Edunqul=, a small tributary entering Wadi Madi, about ten
kilometres above its junction with Wadi Hodein, drains by numerous
gullies the south end of Gebel Anfeib, coursing a little north of
east with a length of about eleven kilometres.
=Wadi Khashab=, a tributary of Wadi Hodein, drains by many branches
the hilly country east of Gebel Beida. One of its heads leads to a
pass six kilometres due west of the summit of Gebel Beida, whence
there is a road to Bir Beida; just before reaching the pass, there
is a large quartz vein with some ruins near it. Another feeder of
Wadi Khashab, the =Wadi Dehaiartib=, heads in a pass leading to the
head of Wadi Kolaiqo. Wadi Khashab has not been explored south of
23° 0′. From this parallel to Wadi Hodein its length is about
twenty-six kilometres, but its head may be five kilometres or
more further south. The country on the west side of Wadi Khashab
consists of low hills, but on the east it drains very high hills,
and its feeders course in trenches across the stony slopes at the
feet of the hills to join the main channel. Wadi Khashab contains
large numbers of trees, whence its name (Khashab = wood). Its average
slope is about eight metres per kilometre.
=Wadi Beida= originates at a pass 395 metres above sea-level, six
kilometres west of the summit of Gebel Beida, where a road leads over
into Wadi Khashab. From the pass Beida courses south-east for seven
kilometres, receiving feeders from the high hills on either side. It
then turns abruptly at an acute angle, following a northerly direction
for one and a half kilometres; then turning east for one kilometre,
it receives a great feeder draining the south slopes of Wadi Beida,
afterwards turning south for one and a half kilometres to a point
marked by the ruin of a small well built stone structure, in which
mortar and stucco has been used. From this point the wadi follows
a winding course, at first south-east but gradually working round
into a north-easterly direction, as a narrow gorge through the high
hills of Gebel Beida. Just where the wadi begins to turn northward,
about one and a half kilometres below the ruin above-mentioned, are
the two wells called =Bir Beida=. The upper well is at the opening
of a defile leading south-eastward to a pass, forming the point
of departure in the nearest road from Bir Beida to Bir Meneiga;
this well was dry in November 1907. The lower well is about 500
metres further down the wadi, at a sharp bend in its course; it is
an excavation in the alluvium of the wadi floor, and was yielding
good water in 1907 from a depth of about six metres. The Arabs say
that the supply at this well only fails after three or four years
without rainfall, but the water only infiltrates slowly, so that
after it has been emptied by a caravan it requires a day or so to
refill. The top of the well is 205 metres above sea-level.
About four kilometres below the well, Wadi Beida emerges from the high
hills, and crosses a tract of much lower hill country seven kilometres
wide, receiving in this part of its course many feeders from the
eastern face of Gebel Beida; it then divides, still preserving its
general north-easterly direction, into a number of shallow channels
coursing across the sandy plain to join the Wadi Hodein.
From Bir Beida the nearest wells are Bir Meneiga and Bir Shalatein;
the water of the latter is, however, very salt and only drinkable
by camels. To Bir Meneiga, a distance of thirty-seven kilometres,
the track leads over the pass already mentioned south-east of the
upper (dry) well, thence into Wadi Kreiga, and up that wadi into Wadi
Meneiga; the road is rather stony near Meneiga, and rises rapidly,
so plenty of time should be allowed. To reach Bir Shalatein, forty
kilometres distant, one descends Wadi Beida into Wadi Hodein and
follows Wadi Hodein towards the sea; the road is easy, being mostly
across a falling sandy plain.
=Wadi Kreiga=, the last great tributary of Wadi Hodein, originates
by the union of the Wadis Korbiai and Meneiga, both draining that
north extension of the mountain mass of Gebel Gerf which is sometimes
called Gebel Korbiai or Gebel Meneiga.
=Wadi Korbiai= and =Wadi Meneiga= have their heads only separated by
a narrow mountain ridge, but there is no possible track over this
ridge from one to the other. In each case the wadi contains two
water sources near its head, and the limit of “navigability” of
the wadi is formed practically by these sources, above which there
are steep stony gorges.
=Bir Korbiai= consists of two wells, both situated at the foot of a
sudden drop in the rocky bed of Wadi Korbiai, about 150 metres apart,
sunk in the bouldery alluvium; there is some rude timbering at the
mouth of the wells over which a large stone is placed to prevent
infilling by downwash. In December 1907 both wells contained abundance
of excellent water, only a metre below ground level. Both wells are
easily accessible, though the road to them is stony. The wells are
stated to yield good supplies for three or four years after rain
has fallen, but after longer drought they only yield a little.
Below the wells, Wadi Korbiai sweeps round in a semicircle of about
three kilometres radius round the west flank of the hills to join
Wadi Meneiga. On its right side are the steep slopes of Gebel Korbiai,
but on the left is lower hill country. Small feeders enter from both
sides. The bed of the wadi is stony, but there are a fair number
of trees in it. Only a part of the drainage of Wadi Korbiai turns
eastward to join Wadi Meneiga in forming Wadi Kreiga; the other
part pursues a northerly course into the Wadi Atluk, a tributary of
Wadi Madi.
=Bir Meneiga= is important, not only as giving a perennial supply
of good water, but also as marking a point on the administrative
frontier of Egypt and the Sudan. It consists of two springs in the
stony bed of Wadi Meneiga, near its head. The northern spring is
taken as marking the frontier; its position is latitude 22° 47′
8″ N. longitude 35° 12′ 20″ E., altitude 605 metres above
sea-level. The southern spring is about 320 metres further up the
wadi, at a level four or five metres higher. Each of the springs
consists of a tiny pool among the rocks of the wadi floor, easily
accessible to camels. The pools only contain eight or ten gallons
each, but camels can drink as fast as they like and the pool keeps
full. The water is excellent. There are numerous ruins at Bir Meneiga;
they consist of rude rubble hovels and extend for over a kilometre
down the wadi below the springs.
Above the springs, Wadi Meneiga soon becomes impassable, ending
in rocky gorges in the mountains. Below the springs it courses for
about seven kilometres in a direction a little west of north to join
Wadi Korbiai and form the head of Wadi Kreiga. The fall in this seven
kilometres is 200 metres, so that the slope is the phenomenally rapid
one of twenty-eight metres per kilometre, and of course the floor
of the wadi is very stony and camel progress is very slow. There
are several lateral feeders, including one from the east, three
kilometres below the springs, leading to the head of Wadi Radad;
but I am not sure whether the pass is practicable as I only saw it
from the mountain top.
From the mouth of Wadi Meneiga, Wadi Kreiga courses about 15° north
of east, as a fairly wide wadi with a stony floor, with high hills on
either side from which small feeders enter. The first large feeder,
the =Wadi Abiad=, enters from the north-west, six kilometres below
the mouth of Wadi Meneiga; it is a steeply falling wadi, which, like
all wadis bearing the name of Abiad, has a floor of light-coloured
granitic sand. Some eight kilometres lower down, two feeders enter
from opposite sides: that from the north is called =Wadi Eberer=,
while that from the south bears the name of =Wadi Shigeg=. Neither of
these has been followed up far, and their length is unknown; but they
are believed to be of no great extent. Below this point the country
opens out considerably, and the wadi anastomoses round low hills,
while its floor becomes less stony and more easy under foot. The
various channels unite again about eight kilometres further down,
where the wadi receives a tributary from the north-west just before it
passes the high hill mass which forms the southward extension of Gebel
Beida. This tributary leads to an easy pass, forming a direct road to
Bir Beida. Lower down several lateral feeders come into Kreiga from
either side, and the wadi emerges on to a sandy plain with scattered
low hills. Across this plain Kreiga takes a more northerly direction
for about sixteen kilometres to join the Wadi Hodein. The length of
Wadi Kreiga from the mouth of Wadi Meneiga to Wadi Hodein is about
fourty-one kilometres. Its fall between these points is from 405
metres to about 70 metres above sea-level, giving an average slope
of eight metres per kilometre; the slope in the upper parts, where
the wadi bed is stony, is of course somewhat greater, and that in
its lower more sandy reaches is somewhat less than this average.
=Wadi Kolaiqo= is a very ill-defined drainage line heading in the
low hills called Gebel Kolaiqo, and coursing north-east for about
thirty kilometres across the sandy coast-plain to reach the sea
about latitude 23° 0′. It is very sandy, and absolutely barren
except for a little scrub in its upper parts. It would hardly have
been noticed had not the triangulation station on the hill at its
head been occupied.
=Wadi Shab=, with a basin of about 1,250 square kilometres, drains
the eastern and southern portions of the great group of mountains of
which Gebel Gerf is the centre, and reaches the sea in latitude 22°
52′, a little to the north of Mersa Shab. It has a great number of
heads, most of which bear special names, the name Shab being applied
collectively to them from the locality near the hill of Qrein Salama,
about forty kilometres from the sea, where they begin to unite
together into one great trunk channel. From the circumstance that
its heads are situated in a high mountain mass where the rainfall
is relatively great, and moreover have steeply falling stony beds
which absorb but little of the precipitation, the upper portions
of Shab and its feeders are well stocked with trees. Only in the
last stages of its course to the sea, where the absorption of its
drainage by the sandy coast plain becomes great, does the abundance
of vegetation fall off and the channel become barren. Its principal
heads and feeders are Wadi Radad (fed by Wadi Shellal el Sharqi),
Wadi Tikosha, Wadi Muqur (fed by Wadi Ti Ilak), Wadi Qadiloi (fed by
Tilat Tihu Shana), Wadi Baaneit, Wadi Kilanai, Wadi Um Saha, Wadi
Diqdib, Wadi Sherefa el Sharqi, and Kwat Hewah. At least three of
these contain good water sources, Bir Muqur, Bir Baaneit, and Bir
Diqdib being situated in the upper parts of the wadis bearing the
same names. The various heads and feeders of Shab will be described
in detail below, commencing from the northernmost one.
=Wadi Radad= may be more properly described as a tributary than as
one of the heads of Wadi Shab, as it joins the trunk wadi some fifteen
kilometres below the other feeders. It originates in a rugged tract of
high hills near Bir Meneiga, and courses eastward for about thirty-six
kilometres, joining Wadi Shab on the coast-plain near the low hills
of Ti Qireira, about twenty-four kilometres up from the point where
Wadi Shab enters the sea. It has not been surveyed in detail, but
its course was mapped from the triangulation station of Gebel Gerf
and from other occupied stations whence portions of it were visible.
=Wadi Shellal el Sharqi=, a large feeder of Wadi Radad, originates
in the mountains between Bir Diqdib and Bir Muqur. It has many heads,
the best known of which is one coming from the west, leading to a pass
into Wadi Shellal el Gharbi, a tributary of Wadi Madi; while another,
a little further south, leads to another pass into Wadi Um Reddam and
forms a possible road to Bir Sararat Seyet. Wadi Shellal el Sharqi
follows generally a northward course, with a rapid fall, and joins
Wadi Radad about eighteen kilometres below the head of the latter.
=Wadi Muqur= heads in the eastern mountains of the Gerf group, which
are sometimes called Gebel Muqur. Here the drainage from several
steeply falling rocky gullies collects into a single winding gorge
shut in by the mountains. The limit to which camels can go up the
gorge is marked by a well called =Bir Muqur=. At the time of my
visit to this, in February 1908, the well was filled up by debris,
through which, however, the water constantly rose and trickled
into pools in a series of rock basins at slightly lower levels. The
flow was at the rate of about five litres per minute, the overflow
from the basins running to waste at this rate in the sand of the
wadi. The water was of excellent quality. The Arabs state that
when the water ceases to flow as a spring they dig out the debris
and use the place as a well. Below the well, Wadi Muqur pursues a
winding course north-eastward for about two and a half kilometres;
then, receiving the short =Wadi Ti Ilak=, draining the mountains
to the west, it turns sharply eastward and emerges from the high
hills into lower country about three kilometres further on. In the
lower country the wadi changes its direction to east-north-east,
receiving many feeders from among the low hills west of Qrein Salama,
and its bed divides and anastomoses into a series of channels, which
eventually unite just before it enters Wadi Shab, five kilometres
north-east of Qrein Salama. From near its head at Bir Muqur to its
junction with Shab, Wadi Muqur has a length along its main channel of
about nineteen kilometres; it falls from 470 metres above sea-level
at the well to 200 metres at its junction with Shab, so that the
average gradient is about fourteen metres per kilometre.
A few kilometres before reaching Wadi Shab, Wadi Muqur is joined
by the =Wadi Tikosha=, draining the moderately high hills which lie
between Wadi Radad and Gebel Muqur, and winding among low hills over
the plain.
The =Wadis Qadiloi= and =Baaneit= drain from the east faces of Gebel
Muqur and the mountains and hills close south and east of it, into
Wadi Shab. There is an eastward extension of hills from Gebel Muqur,
partly drained by =Tilat Tihu Shana=, which flows into Wadi Qadiloi;
south of this extension there is a sort of bay, occupied by lower
hills separating Wadi Qadiloi from Wadi Baaneit, through which several
cross channels connect the two wadis. =Bir Baaneit= is a small well
in Wadi Baaneit, near its head; it is said to yield water always,
but refills slowly, so that only six to ten camels can be watered
at once. A little below the well, Wadi Baaneit leaves the hills
and courses north-east across a rapidly falling stony plain. On the
plain, south of the main channel, are the two ruins called =Darahib
Baaneit=. They are built of rubble stone set in plaster, with stucco
facing in places, and appear to be ancient Moslem tombs, the larger
one having evidently once supported a dome; there are about twenty
Arab graves near the ruins.
South of Wadi Baaneit the plain is crossed by many drainage channels
coursing north-east to join Wadi Shab, and the plain is covered here
with quite a park-like growth of acacia trees. The principal channel,
which comes from the hills about four kilometres south Bir Baaneit,
is called =Wadi Kilanai=.
A little south of Wadi Kilanai the plain cuts far back to the west,
and the drainage entering this portion comes from the heart of the
Gerf mountains to the north-west. A large isolated granite hill-mass
called Kilia Arib and numerous smaller hills break the monotony
of the plain and cause much branching and looping of the drainage
channels. The principal artery draining the south parts of Gebel
Gerf is the =Wadi Diqdib=, which originates on the south flanks of
the highest peaks, right in the heart of the mountain mass. In one
of the heads is a well called =Bir Diqdib=, which, though of great
service to the Koatil Arabs who inhabit this district with their
camels and other animals, is of little importance to the traveller
because of its situation in a closed-in wadi and thus not being on any
route. From its head, Wadi Diqdib courses south-westward for fifteen
kilometres or more among the mountains, receiving many feeders, before
it emerges on to the plain. On leaving the mountains it splits up,
part of its drainage going round by the north side of Kilia Arib, and
part by the south, in each case by a number of anastomosing channels.
The =Wadi Um Saha= drains the hills south-west of Bir Baaneit, and
after coursing southwards among the mountains turns the corner and
runs north-east across the plain to Wadi Shab.
=Wadi Sherefa el Sharqi=, which drains the south portion of the
Gerf _massif_ and the north-east flanks of Gebel Dreb, heads in the
important Sherefa pass, 807 metres above sea-level, and forming the
direct route from Gebel Hamra Dom and Gebel Um Rasein to Bir Sararat
Seyet by way of Wadi Sherefa el Gharbi. The pass is a fairly easy
one, though the fall is rapid, especially on the east side, where
Wadi Sherefa el Sharqi falls no less than one hundred metres in
the first two kilometres of its course. A feeder which enters Wadi
Sherefa el Sharqi from the south about two kilometres below the pass
is said to lead by another pass to a well called =Bir Bint el Dreb=,
situated at the head of =Wadi Dreb=, a tributary of Wadi Feqoh. For
the first seven kilometres of its east-south-easterly course below
the pass, Sherefa el Sharqi is shut in by very high hills, from
which numerous feeders join it; it then divides just before reaching
the great white granite hills called Eir Arib, part of its drainage
going southward to join Kwat Hewah, and part continuing its course on
the north side of the granite hills to join Diqdib near the granite
cones of Tibashoi and thence turning northwards over a large sandy
plain to enter Wadi Shab.
=Kwat Hewah= drains the eastern flanks of Gebel Dreb and the north
flanks of G. Medarai. Its heads unite to form a series of channels
in a small plain south-west of Eir Arib, and here it receives a
contribution from Wadi Sherefa el Sharqi as mentioned above. As it
passes Eir Arib, Kwat Hewah divides, part of its drainage curving
round to the north to join that of Wadi Diqdib and Wadi Sherefa el
Sharqi on its way to Wadi Shab, and the remainder going south-west
to join the Wadi Medarai. From the head of Kwat Hewah there is said
to be an easy pass into the Wadi el Krim, a tributary of Wadi Feqoh.
=Wadi Ibib=, which drains the eastern slopes of Gebels Medarai,
Abu Hireiq, and Abu Hodeid, and the eastern and northern faces of
Gebels Soaorib, Adar Qaqa, Leqaq, Um Seleim, Qidmib, Orgem, and Um
Bishtit, as well as Gebel Hamra Dom and the smaller hills south of
it, is formed by the union of the Wadis Hasium and Medarai, a little
east of Gebel Um Rasein, and enters the sea at Mersa Shab. It has
a drainage basin of about 1,800 square kilometres. Including Wadi
Hasium, which is simply the upper portion of Ibib, its total length
along its main channel is slightly over one hundred kilometres. Its
principal tributaries are the Wadis Shinai, Abu Hodeid, Abu Hireiq,
Medarai, Soaorib, and Um Bishtit.
=Wadi Hasium=, which forms the upper portion of Wadi Ibib, originates
on the main watershed in about latitude 22° 10′ and longitude
35° 15′; a pass leads from its head on to a stony plain, whence
a track leads to Miti Kwan, a tributary of Wadi Alaqi. Near its
head, Wadi Hasium contains a small well called =Bir Kagog=. A few
kilometres further down, the short =Wadi Mantil Hasium=, draining
the western face of Gebel Adar Qaqa, enters from the east, while
the =Wadi Hilwit Hasium=, draining the mountain of the same name
and containing a galt near its head, joins Wadi Hasium from the
west. Continuing its course northward past the mountains of Adar
Qaqa and Leqaq, Wadi Hasium enters an extensive sandy plain, open
to the north, bounded on the west by the mountains of Abu Hodeid
and Um Rasein, on the south by those of Leqaq and Um Seleim, and on
the east by those of Qidmib and Orgem. This plain, which averages
fifteen kilometres in width, is broken by low hills, the principal
of which, Gebel Hamra Tit, Kulet Meiqrum, and Kulet Tinasal, rise
to considerable heights. Hasium courses slightly east of north near
the western edge of this plain to near Gebel Um Rasein, then curves
to the east across it, receiving the Wadi Medarai and becoming Wadi
Ibib. In its northward course through the plain, Wadi Hasium receives
a number of important tributaries from the western mountains, besides
a few smaller feeders from the mountains to the south and from the
hills on the plain. These may be briefly described in order.
=Wadi Shinai=, draining the hills south of Gebel Abu Hodeid, courses
a little south of east and enters Wadi Hasium about latitude 22°
19′; it has not been surveyed in detail, but it contains a well
known water source, =Bir Shinai=, which is said to be about seven
kilometres from its junction with Hasium.
=Wadi Delawet=, another small feeder which likewise drains the hills
south of Abu Hodeid, and enters Wadi Hasium about three kilometres
below Wadi Shinai, is of importance as leading to a camel track over
hills which forms the means of access to =Bir Odis Maaleq=, I have not
visited this water source, but it is said to yield immense quantities
of good water, and to be situated at a rather high level in the head
of a small wadi called =Wadi Odis=, a tributary of Abu Hodeid. It
appears to be a spring fed by the rainfall on the surrounding high
mountains, the overflow filling large rock basins. The reason why it
is approached by the Wadi Delawet and the track over the mountains,
instead of by ascending Wadi Abu Hodeid and the Wadi Odis directly,
is that the latter route is very difficult for camels owing to the
steep and stony nature of the wadi floor; it is, however, possible
to use this route on foot. As nearly as I could make out from my
guides’ statements, the total distance of Bir Odis Maaleq from the
mouth of Wadi Delawet is about nine kilometres, of which the first
four are in the Wadi Delawet and the remaining five on the hill
track. The distance by the other route from Bir Abu Hodeid is about
four kilometres, some of which is climbing. My native assistant,
who was sent to erect the beacon on Gebel Abu Hodeid, took two and
a half hours to go on foot from Bir Abu Hodeid to Bir Odis Maaleq,
and estimated the latter spring to be some 150 metres higher than
Bir Abu Hodeid.
=Wadi Abu Hodeid=, which drains the mountain mass of the same name,
lies to the east of the highest peaks of Gebel Abu Hodeid and is shut
in between them and another high range further east. It has a general
south-south-easterly direction, and a very rapid fall. Its principal
feeder is the short Wadi Odis above referred to, which falls into
it from the west about six kilometres below its head. About one and
a half kilometres below the point of influx of Wadi Odis, there is
a large and important spring of good water in the wadi, called =Bir
Abu Hodeid=. Though I have not visited this spring, its situation is
shown on the map with tolerable accuracy, as its position with regard
to neighbouring triangulated points was indicated by the guides. My
native assistant, who passed the spring on his way to erect the beacon
on Gebel Abu Hodeid, reported it to be very similar to the springs
of Abu Saafa in appearance, though the latter are in a different
rock. From its position in the midst of high mountains, Wadi Abu
Hodeid must at times of rainfall collect a great deal of water, and
this explains the constant supplies yielded by the spring. Above the
spring, the steepness of the wadi renders its ascent very difficult
for loaded camels, and there is no road through its head, but guides
state that there is good grazing at certain seasons in its upper
parts, and animals are taken there to feed. Below the spring, the
wadi opens out and curves eastward round the foot of the remarkable
rounded peak of Abu Hodeid Oqla to join Wadi Hasium on the plain.
The =Rod Anut Berer=, which joins Wadi Hasium about the same point
as Wadi Abu Hodeid but from the opposite side, drains the mountains
of Leqaq and Um Seleim which bound the plain to the south.
=Wadi Tikraneib=, a small wadi full of trees, drains a jagged range
north of Abu Hodeid Oqla, and joins Wadi Hasium on the plain by
several channels.
=Wadi Abu Hireiq=, draining the mountains of the same name, originates
about latitude 22° 27′. On leaving the high mountains its channel
divides, part of the drainage going north-east as Wadi Merdiyeb,
and part south-east as Wadi Abu Hireiq. This latter wadi passes
between the main mountains and a high isolated range of hills for
about seven kilometres, then curves round to the eastward to join
Wadi Hasium. There are numerous loopings and branchings of the wadis
in this neighbourhood, caused by the feeders from the hills and
by the presence of isolated hill masses, which the drainage lines
frequently encircle, and it becomes impossible to say which of the
various channels is the main wadi, so that the name Wadi Abu Hireiq
is applied to all of them collectively.
=Wadi Odruk= is a small wadi draining between two groups of high
hills south-west of Gebel Um Rasein; it joins one of the channels of
Wadi Abu Hireiq about four kilometres above its junction with Hasium.
=Wadi Nilateib=, another small wadi further north, drains the
south end of Gebel Um Rasein and the north-east faces of the hills
close south-west of it. Coursing at first south-east for about three
kilometres, it then curves round the foot of Gebel Um Rasein to join
Wadi Hasium by two channels. There is a clear passage from the heads
of both Wadi Odruk and Wadi Nilateib into Wadi Merdiyeb. All the wadis
hereabouts contain plenty of trees and scrub, especially in their
upper parts; as Wadi Hasium is approached they become more sandy
and barren. It is, of course, the presence of vegetation available
for grazing which determines the possession of a name by such small
wadis as these two.
The drainage from the east face of Gebel Um Rasein joins Wadi
Hasium directly by many small channels, which appear not to bear
any special name.
=Wadi Medarai=, which forms the Wadi Ibib by its junction with Hasium,
ten kilometres due east of Gebel Um Rasein, has its main head in Gebel
Medarai, its length along its main channel being about twenty-five
kilometres. By numerous tributaries, many of which contain abundance
of trees and scrub, it drains the whole of the high hill country
between Gebel Medarai and Gebel Um Rasein, and it also takes a part
of the drainage from Kwat Hewah. One of its heads is said to lead
to a rather difficult pass, south of Gebel Medarai, into the =Wadi
Kirwau=, a tributary of Feqoh. For the first ten kilometres or so
of its length, Wadi Medarai courses a little north of east; it then
receives the feeder from Kwat Hewah above referred to, and changes
its direction to a little south of east, passing close north of Gebel
Um Rasein on its way to join Wadi Hasium on the sandy plain of the
numerous feeders of Wadi Medarai from the hills west and north of
Um Rasein, the principal is =Wadi Merdiyeb=, which originates ten
kilometres south-west of Gebel Um Rasein by the splitting of Wadi
Abu Hireiq. From this point of origin, it runs in a north-easterly
direction in a rather sinuous course among the hills for about twelve
or thirteen kilometres, joining Wadi Medarai close north of Gebel Um
Rasein. Another little feeder of Wadi Medarai, though only about two
kilometres long, is of some importance from its leading to =Bir Um
Rasein=, a small well among the north foot-hills of Gebel Um Rasein.
Vegetation ceases to be abundant both in Wadi Medarai and in Wadi
Hasium before their junction to form Wadi Ibib, and Wadi Ibib itself
is for the most part a barren sandy ill-defined channel coursing
north-eastward across a dreary plain for some fifty-seven kilometres
to Mersa Shab. In this fifty-seven kilometres its fall is very nearly
300 metres, giving an average slope of only a little over five metres
per kilometre. The slope of the lower part of Wadi Hasium is rather
steeper than this, while that of Wadi Medarai is about twice as great.
But though Wadi Ibib itself is barren, it has some great tributaries
which contains abundance of trees and scrub in their upper reaches,
as well as several wells. The principal of these tributaries are
the Wadis Soaorib and Um Bishtit, which with their feeders drain
the mountains of Soaorib, Qidmib, Orgem, and Um Bishtit, while other
smaller tributaries drain the lower hills north-east of Um Bishtit
and Gebel Hamra Dom.
=Wadi Soaorib= originates in the midst of high mountains a little
south of latitude 22° 10′, between the southern portion of Gebel
Soaorib and the range which extends southwards from Hadal Aweib
Meisah. At its head is a difficult pass westward into the head
of Miti Kwan, a tributary of Alaqi. Curving at first eastward,
it soon takes on a north-westerly direction, and in latitude 22°
11′ 30″ reaches a small open space called =Mitba=; here it is
met by several tributary wadis of which the principal is the =Wadi
Haiyo=, draining the eastern slopes of Gebel Soaorib. From Mitba
the direction of Wadi Soaorib becomes more northerly, and about
nine kilometres below Mitba it turns to the west, emerging from
the mountains into the more open country which forms the south
end of the great plain already referred to. Here it is joined by
the =Wadi Hankuk=, draining north-eastward from Gebel Adar Qaqa,
and a few kilometres further on by the =Wadi Dishlo=, which drains
the western flanks of Hadal Aweib Meisah and enters Soaorib from
the east. About three kilometres below the point of influx of
Wadi Dishlo, Wadi Soaorib is joined from the south-west by another
tributary which drains the west side of Gebel Um Seleim. From this
point onwards, Wadi Soaorib courses a little east of north in a
not very well defined course for about twenty-two kilometres over
a gently falling sandy plain, joining Ibib to the north-west of the
sand-swathed hills called Baqari Daba. In this part of its course,
Wadi Soaorib receives small feeders from among the hills west of it
on the plain, the principal of them draining north-eastward between
the hills called Kulet Meiqrum and Kulet Tinasal. It also receives
more important tributaries from the mountains to the east of it,
the principal of these being the Wadis Eimya and Qidmib. =Wadi Eimya=
drains the western face of Gebel Qidmib, while =Wadi Qidmib= drains
the northern parts of the same mountain. Wadi Qidmib has two main
heads; the western one lies between two high mountain ridges, and
contains a well called =Bir Qidmib=, while the eastern one leads to
a steep pass by which Wadi Meisah can be reached. Before reaching
Wadi Soaorib, Wadi Qidmib is joined by other feeders draining the
western flanks of Gebel Orgem and Baqari Daba.
From its head at the pass into Miti Kwan to its junction with Ibib,
Wadi Soaorib has a length of about fifty kilometres. The level of
the pass is unknown, but from Mitba to Ibib the level of the wadi
floor falls from 505 metres above sea to 260 metres in a length of
about forty-one kilometres, giving an average slope of six metres
per kilometre. Most of the upper portions of Wadi Soaorib and its
tributaries are well stocked with trees and bushes, but as the wadi
crosses the sandy plain it becomes more and more barren. The place
where it enters on the plain in latitude 22° 20′ marks a tribal
boundary, the upper parts, including Wadi Dishlo, belonging to the
Balgab Arabs, while the lower parts, including Wadis Eimya and Qidmib,
are Kurbeilab territory.
=Wadi Um Bishtit=, which joins Wadi Ibib some five kilometres lower
down its course than does Wadi Soaorib, heads in a small open space
in latitude 22° 26′ and longitude 35° 35′. At its head there are
two easy passes, one leading northward into the head of Wadi Habliai,
another tributary of Wadi Ibib, and the other southward into the
heads of Wadi Meisah. Just below its head Wadi Um Bishtit is joined
by the small =Wadi Delawet=, draining the hills close to the south;
while a little lower down is another small tributary from a rocky
gorge among the south hills, which is important as leading to =Bir
Um Bishtit=. This well, which was filled by downwash when I visited
it in March 1908, is situated in the floor of the gorge at a sharp
bend, about a kilometre up from the main wadi. According to the
guides, it requires excavating about five metres deep, and yields
water in quantity for about a year after rain, but when there has
been no rain for a year only small supplies can be got, as it fills
slowly; at the time of my visit there was no necessity to open the
well because there was plenty of water in galts in the mountains of
Meis-heit-ar, a little further south. The well is easy of access,
and lies at 330 metres above sea-level.
The total length of Wadi Um Bishtit is about fourteen kilometres. In
the first half of its course it runs north-westward, shut in by
high hills, and contains abundance of small trees. After cutting
through the hills it receives the Wadi Orgem from the south, and
turns northward in opening country to join Wadi Ibib north of the
hills called Adar Aweib Um Bishtit. Its average slope is about nine
metres per kilometre.
=Wadi Orgem=, which joins Wadi Um Bishtit about four kilometres
below the gorge containing the well, has its head at an easy pass
near the remarkable peak of O Shakafa; this pass leads into Wadi
Meisah, about three kilometres above Bir Meisah. From the pass,
the Wadi Orgem runs between the high hill ranges of Orgem and Um
Bishtit, in a direction a little west of north, for about sixteen
kilometres to its junction with Wadi Um Bishtit.
=Wadi Habliai=, which heads in an easy pass about three kilometres
east of Bir Um Bishtit, and runs northwards for about ten kilometres
to join Wadi Ibib, is a broad sandy and rather barren wadi draining
gneiss hills; the hills on the east are much lower than those on
the west, and their feet are swathed in drift sand.
The last feeders of Wadi Ibib are those draining from the isolated
range of high granite hills called Gebel Hamra Dom. These feeders
are very numerous, some coming from the west side of the hills and
curving round its south end to join Wadi Ibib, while others from the
east side course east and north-east over the plain directly into Wadi
Ibib. They contain numerous small trees near their heads, and after
rain there springs up short grass in this locality, affording for
short periods grazing for great flocks of sheep. The most northerly
drainage channel from the east side heads in the hills a little north
of the highest peaks, and here, after rain has fallen recently,
shallow wells are dug in the sand and yield good water. The place
where the wells are is called =Ti Dabei Hamra Dom=. One cannot rely
on getting water there for long after rain has fallen, as the supplies
are soon exhausted. In January 1908, I heard that water and grass were
extremely abundant, and large numbers of Arabs were encamped there
with their flocks and herds. But when I reached the place at the end
of the next month, most of the grass had been eaten up; only a few
Arabs remained, and these were baling out the last drops of water
from the holes to fill their skins preparatory to forsaking the place.
=Wadi Meisah=, which drains the north and east slopes of Hadal
Aweib Meisah, the eastern slopes of Gebel Qidmib, and the mountains
of Meis-heit-ar, besides the lower hills of Titailibab, Tahaqayet,
and Eqrun, has a total length along its main channel (including Wadi
Awitla, the central one of its three main heads) of about seventy-five
kilometres, and enters the sea about latitude 22° 45′.
Wadi Meisah has three main heads, called by separate names. The most
northerly is the =Wadi Sarobaiya=, draining from between Gebels Qidmib
and Meis-heit-ar; one of the heads of this leads to a steep pass into
Wadi Qidmib. The central head, =Wadi Awitla=, drains the north slopes
of Hadal Aweib Meisah. The southern head, the =Wadi Lasewid=, drains
the eastern slopes of Hadal Aweib Meisah and the lower hills to the
east of it; by ascending its southern feeders, one can pass easily
into the heads of Wadi Baueiwai, while one of the gullies opening
into it from Hadal Aweib Meisah contains a series of rock basins and
a small spring called =Megwel Um Edwa=, rather difficult of access
for camels, which was yielding fair supplies of water in April 1908.
These three heads, each of which has numerous feeders, join together
in a small plain at the south-east foot of O Shakafa, a remarkably
prominent peak practically isolated from the mountains near it,
and from this point onwards the main drainage channel is called
Wadi Meisah. The little plain where the three head wadis unite is
covered with trees, and has almost the aspect of a park; it is 455
metres above sea-level. Curving eastward and northward close round
the foot of O Shakafa, Wadi Meisah receives from the south the
=Sarob Kwan=, a short and very broad wadi leading to an easy pass
into Wadi Didaut, and then winds about as a narrow gorge shut in
by high hills. Just where it leaves the foot of O Shakafa, there
is a track from the east side of the wadi over a very easy pass
into the head of Wadi Orgem. =Bir Meisah= is a well sunk in the
alluvium of the wadi bed about three kilometres below O Shakafa,
and 410 metres above sea-level. When I visited it in March 1908,
it was filled with downwash, and as there was plenty of water in
the rock basins of the mountains further north there was then no
necessity to dig it out. The Arabs say the well is about ten metres
deep, and its water is not so good as that obtainable from the galts,
so that they only open it when the other sources in the neighbourhood
are exhausted. Two gullies entering Wadi Meisah from the east, just
below the well, each contain large galts, called =Meis-heit-ar=, a
short distance up from their mouths; these were both yielding good
and plentiful water supplies in the spring of 1908. After winding
about among the hills for ten kilometres below the well, Wadi Meisah
receives a feeder from the west having three heads. The northern
one, =Akla Da-Aiyob=, is a very sandy gully, in fact it is choked
by drift sand, and all the trees in it are dead. The central one,
coming westward from among high hills, is called =Hanqun Ra-ub=,
while the southern one, called the =Wadi Eqaiyib=, is only separated
from Meisah at its head by an easy pass, so that it almost forms a
loop of Meisah itself. To go from Bir Meisah to Bir Um Bishtit, one
crosses this pass into Wadi Eqaiyib, then up Akla Da-aiyob, and over
another easy pass at its head into Wadi Um Bishtit; the total distance
between the two wells by this route is only sixteen kilometres.
In its lower stages Wadi Meisah traverses broad open sandy spaces
between low hills, receiving a number of small feeders from either
side. It curves round to the eastward a little south of the hills of
Eqrun and then courses in a north-easterly direction across the sandy
coast-plain to the sea. In the last stages of its course its channel
is very ill-defined, the drainage spreading over the plain. The trees,
which are fairly abundant in its upper parts, become fewer as one
descends, but its lower portions are not always entirely barren, for
after recent rain short grass springs up in its broad shallow bed and
affords a moderate amount of grazing for sheep. The slope of the wadi
floor just below the well is about ten metres per kilometre; lower
down, the gradient gradually lessens, and in the last forty kilometres
of its course is only a little over five metres per kilometre.
=Wadi Kiraf=, the next wadi to enter the sea south of Meisah, is
really the terminal portion of the great =Wadi Di-ib=, the name Kiraf
being only applied to the drainage from the point of junction of the
Wad el Qireira with Di-ib to the sea, that is, for a distance of some
thirty-one kilometres up from its mouth. The Wadi Di-ib is probably
the most important and remarkable of all the seawards draining wadis
of the Eastern Desert of Egypt and the Northern Sudan. I have only
seen that terminal portion of its length which lies in Egypt, that
is, north of the 22nd parallel; but the examinations of that length
(the part of it lying within Egyptian territory, including Kiraf,
is some eighty-five kilometres) is enough to show that the wadi must
drain an enormous basin, for the average slope is the remarkably
small one of two metres per kilometre, and the wadi floor in many
places, instead of being sandy, consists of mud similar to that of
the Nile Valley. According to the “Sudan Handbook,” it rises far
to the south, probably near the 20th parallel, and flows generally
northwards, so that its length must be well over 300 kilometres. Just
before it enters Egypt proper, there is an expansion in its bed
covered with rich alluvial mud, on which crops of _durra_ are grown;
my camels were fed for some weeks on _durra_ obtained from this source
whilst I was working in the neighbourhood. In the present volume I
shall only deal with that portion of Di-ib and its tributaries which
lie north of the 22nd parallel, describing first the main channel
and afterwards its principal tributaries.
Wadi Di-ib enters Egypt a little west of the 36th meridian, as a
broad sandy drainage channel with many trees. Its bed is here only 170
metres above sea-level. Wadi Di-ib receives two feeders from the east
near the 22nd parallel; the Wadi Shendib,[100] draining the western
flanks of the high mountain mass of Gebel Shendib, is believed to join
Wadi Di-ib a little south of the frontier, while the Wadi Hareitra,
draining the north-eastern flanks of Gebel Shendib and the western
slopes of Gebel Hanquf, probably enters Di-ib a little north of
it. For the first eighteen kilometres of its course north of 22°,
Wadi Di-ib flows northward over a sandy plain, with low hills and
ridges, their feet often swathed in drift sand, on either side. It
then receives an important tributary from the west, called Wadi el
Qurat, draining the north slopes of Gebel Shiab and the hilly country
between Gebel Mashushenai and Adar Aweib. After receiving Wadi el
Qurat, Wadi Di-ib enters mountainous country, being shut in for some
fifteen kilometres by Adar Aweib on the east and Gebel Balatitda
on the west. In its northerly course here Wadi Di-ib receives many
feeders from the hills, of which two entering from opposite sides
near Bir Meheriqa are of interest. That from the east is really a
drainage channel from the sandy plain south of Gebel Sul Hamid; but
it is choked by huge accumulations of drift sand so that the drainage
never reaches Wadi Di-ib, but accumulates in a depression called O
Harbub, about four kilometres above its mouth. This channel, though
very sandy, is quite a practicable road, as I found by traversing
it on my way to Gebel Elba from Bir Meheriqa. The feeder from the
west, which enters Wadi Di-ib about one and a half kilometres below
Bir Meheriqa, is called =Wadi Salalob=; it drains the north face
of Adar Aweib, and heads in a very steep pass into Wadi Wieqwer. I
managed to get my riding camel over this pass only with difficulty
when unmounted, and it is quite impracticable for loaded camels;
the rise in the last kilometre before reaching the top of the pass
from the direction of Wadi Di-ib is over one hundred metres, the
summit of the pass being 315 metres above sea-level.
=Bir Meheriqa= is a spring situated in the mouth of a small gully at
the foot of Gebel Balatitda, close to the east side of Wadi Di-ib,
and practically on the same level as the wadi floor (120 metres above
sea-level), so that it is extremely easy of access. The floor of the
gully is covered with conglomerate of recent formation and in this are
several holes with pools of clear water about one metre in diameter
by twenty centimetres deep, which fill as fast as emptied. The water
is rather salt, but is drinkable. The portion of Wadi Di-ib which
lies among the mountains has a floor of sandy mud, with abundance
of trees and plants, among which several gazelles were grazing as
I passed through.
About six kilometres below Bir Meheriqa, Wadi Di-ib is joined from
the west by Wadi Warabeit, which drains a rather large extent of
high hills to the west and cuts through the hills north of Adar
Aweib to reach Wadi Di-ib. This wadi forms the route to Bir Meisah
from Bir Meheriqa _via_ the well known easy passes of Bani Sana and
Sarob Kwan; the total distance is about sixty-five kilometres.
Soon after receiving Wadi Warabeit, Wadi Di-ib gets into lower hill
country, with great accumulations of drift sand. From near Gebel
Tishushi Tiboki it receives the =Wadi Qumad Lim= from the north-west,
and then after passing the extensive group of low hills of Tishushi
it is joined by the Wad el Qireira, which drains a large area east
of Hadal Aweib Meisah.
From its junction with Wad el Qireira to the sea, Wadi Di-ib is
called by the special name of Wadi Kiraf. It is merely an ill-defined
drainage channel coursing north-east across a great sandy plain
for a distance of thirty-one kilometres to the sea, with only one
insignificant feeder, =Halal Hendiyeb=, joining it from the westward
close to the dark little hill called Einiwai. The Wadi Kiraf is almost
barren, the great accumulations of sand about the lower parts of Wadi
Di-ib probably absorbing most of the drainage. But to the west of the
mouth of Kiraf there is quite a dense growth of bushes and trees,
covering a large tract and visible from low hills at considerable
distances. This locality is called =Shekra el Delam=; I did not visit
it, but the Arabs say there is no wadi there, and it is possibly
due to the drainage of Wadi Kiraf running below the surface of the
sandy plain and being dammed back by the sea. A salt well, called
=Bir Adal Deib=, exists close to the shore in the same locality.
Of the =Wadi Shendib=, only a few of the heads are situated in
Egypt, Gebel Shendib being a mass of mountains cut through by the
22nd parallel. Collecting from the west face of the mountain group,
a number of drainage lines unite, in the lower hills flanking the
main mass, to form the main channel of Wadi Shendib, which courses
westward through low hill country a little south of the 22nd parallel
to join Wadi Di-ib. None of the heads have been surveyed in detail;
their position is shown on the map from the statements of guides
combined with the knowledge gained by triangulating fourteen of the
principal peaks and sketching the mountain forms from a considerable
distance. As the mountain peaks are of great height (the highest peak
of Shendib, marked by an iron beacon, is 1,912 metres above sea)
and frequently wrapped in clouds for days or even weeks together,
it is probable that the heads of Wadi Shendib are very steep and
convey considerable streams at certain seasons.
=Wadi Hareitra=, which lies just within Egypt, has likewise only been
sketched in from a distance, but having been approached more closely
its course is better known than that of Wadi Shendib. Its main head
is nearly on the frontier, in longitude 36° 20′, between Gebels
Shendib and Hanquf. From its head it makes a nearly quadrantal turn
northward and westward, with a radius of about ten kilometres, among
the mountains from which it receives tributaries, and then crosses
the plain westward, turning south-west among low dark hills to join
Wadi Di-ib after a course of about forty to forty-five kilometres
from its head.
The unnamed drainage channel which is blocked by sand at =O Harbub=
before reaching Wadi Di-ib heads in a tract of low hills with
sandy interspaces about thirteen kilometres west of Gebel Elba;
it receives no part, however, of the drainage of Elba itself, which
goes northward by other more important channels. It is a broad and
shallow ill-defined drainage line across the sandy plain, with very
few trees, but its feeders from the low hill tract of Sul Hamid
are less barren. The principal interest of this drainage line lies
in its forming a convenient direct road from Bir Meheriqa to Bir
Akwamtra and Halaib, being far less sandy, as well as shorter, than
any alternative route round the north side of Sul Hamid. In using
this road, one leaves the drainage line to the south on the plain,
and skirts the hills of Sul Hamid till one reaches the flat sandy
divide at the head of Wadi Eikwan, with the “Scragged hill” of
Qash Amir in view. Here one turns eastward about four kilometres
south of Qash Amir, and follows an easy pass into Wadi Siamtit,
a small feeder of Wadi Yoider, whence tracks lead to Bir Akwamtra,
Bir Kansisrob, and Halaib.
=Wadi el Qurat=, which joins Wadi Di-ib from the west in latitude
22° 8′, is a broad wadi with great abundance of trees. Its main
head, which has not been surveyed in detail, appears to be in Gebel
Shiab, about twenty-four kilometres above its junction with Di-ib,
and the first part of its course is through a rugged tract of low
hills. Before reaching Wadi Di-ib it is joined by the =Wadi Dibir=,
and Wadi Hashimaiyib on the north and by =Wadi Oshqeq= on the
south. The northern feeders are rather complex, owing to numerous
anastomosings and cross-connexions in the low hill country between
Gebel Mashushenai and Adar Aweib; but they contain abundance of
vegetation and give good grazing grounds. The short Wadi Dibir heads
in =Wadi Mashushenai=, part of the drainage of which it captures. Wadi
Mashushenai is a little wadi to the south of Gebel Mashushenai, with
a well, =Bir Mashushenai=, near its head; part of its drainage goes
south to Wadi Dibir as above mentioned, while the rest continues as
Wadi Mashushenai, flowing south-eastward among low hills for about
five kilometres to join Wadi Hashimaiyib.
=Wadi Hashimaiyib= heads between Gebel Warabeit and Gebel
Mashushenai. Curving round the north of Gebel Mashushenai almost in
a semicircle, it runs south-south-east among low hills to join Wadi
el Qurat after a course of about sixteen kilometres. Besides the
Wadi Mashushenai above-mentioned, Hashimaiyib receives, just before
entering el Qurat, the =Wadi Sinqinyeib=, which drains part of the
west face of Adar Aweib and the hills west of it, with a length
along its main channel of ten kilometres. There is an easy road
up this wadi, passing close west of Adar Aweib into Wadi Wieqwer,
a tributary of Wadi Warabeit; there is no actual pass, because the
westward drainage of Adar Aweib actually splits, one part going
north by Wadi Wieqwer, and the other south by Wadi Sinqinyeib.
=Wadi Warabeit= has its most important head at the easy and well
known pass of =Bani Sana=, leading into Wadi Hamida. It is here a
rather wide wadi, with a fairly rapid fall (about thirteen metres per
kilometre), between the high hills of Gebel Hamida and those forming
the south prolongation of Gebel Geror, and receives numerous feeders
from either side. For the first six kilometres, it runs south-east;
it then arrives at a small open space, where it is joined by eastward
drainages from Gebels Hamida and Warabeit, and turns rather sharply
to the east-north-east. After coursing in this direction for some
five kilometres, it enters another open space, where it receives
several feeders, the principal being the =Wadi Wieqwer=, draining
northwards from the hills west of Adar Aweib. It then receives the
=Wadi Kwileimidaiyeib= from the north, and cuts eastward through
the hills to join Wadi Di-ib. The total length of the Wadi Warabeit
from the pass of Bani Sana to Wadi Di-ib is nineteen kilometres,
and in this length it falls from 335 to 113 metres above sea-level,
so that its average slope is nearly twelve metres per kilometre. Both
the wadi itself and its feeders are abundantly supplied with trees
and bushes, while coarse grasses abound in places. Wadi Warabeit
forms a convenient road from Bani Sana to Bir Meheriqa, being free
from sand and well stocked with camel food.
=Wad el Qireira=, which joins Wadi Di-ib from the south-west to
form Wadi el Kiraf, is really only the terminal portion of the more
important Wadis Didaut and Baueiwai, which join to the north-east
of the conspicuous dark hill mass called Ti Keferiai. It is a
broad shallow drainage line across the sandy plain, with little
vegetation. To the north of it, small hills are dotted over the
plain, the most important being one of red granite, called Osnei,
containing a galt which yields water for some time after rain. To the
south are the low hills of Tishushi, partly smothered in drift sand.
=Wadi Didaut=, a feeder of the Wad el Qireira, commences its course
south-west of the hill of Adar Aqdeib. One of its heads leads to the
easy pass of Sarob Kwan, on the road to Bir Meisah. Another leads
to a water source in the hills south of Adar Aqdeib, called =Megwel
Didaut=, while a small feeder a little lower down, coming from Adar
Aqdeib, also contains a water source called =Megwel Adar Aqdeib=. Both
these water sources are within about half an hour’s journey from
the main wadi. After passing Adar Aqdeib, Wadi Didaut curves round
to the north, receiving feeders from the hills of Um Ein and Qara
Saba to the south, then turns east-north-east, passing between the
hills called Kikeiyet Sharqi and Kikeiyet Gharbi, and then between
the red granite hills of Adatalob Adara and the black mass of Ti
Keferiai to join Wad el Qireira. The total length of Wadi Didaut is
about thirty-five kilometres, and its average slope is about eight
metres per kilometre. Its upper parts possess abundance of vegetation,
the beautiful flowering bush called Sarob being conspicuous in Sarob
Kwan; but in its lower portions it becomes almost lost in drift
sand. There is an easy open track from near Megwel Adar Aqdeib,
passing between the high hills called Qara Saba and Gebel Um Ein,
to the Wadi Baueiwai.
=Wadi Baueiwai= heads in the mountains south of Hadal Aweib
Meisah. Numerous feeders from the mountains course across a tract,
about six kilometres in diameter, of very low granite hills called
Iarih Meisah; this tract is almost entirely shut in by mountains
and high hills, with an outlet south-west of Gebel Um Ein. Through
this outlet the main channel passes, and receives the =Wadi Miatit=,
draining the mountains of the same name, from the south-west. Curving
in a great sweep round the foot of Gebel Um Ein, Wadi Baueiwai
turns north-eastward, passing close south-east of the hills of Qara
Saba and Ti Keferiai to join the Wadi Didaut and form the Wad el
Qireira. From the head of Wadi Baueiwai there appears to be an easy
pass by the east side of Hadal Aweib Meisah into the heads of Wadi
Meisah. A small feeder of Wadi Baueiwai, draining the north-east
flanks of Gebel Um Ein, leads to a water source called =Megwel
Um Ein=. Another feeder coming in from the west side of Qara Saba
forms an easy route to Wadi Didaut, as already mentioned above. The
principal other tributaries of Wadi Baueiwai are the Wadis Aqwem
and Hamida. =Wadi Aqwem= is a broad and very sandy wadi coursing
north-north-east along the west side of Gebel Nubitra, and reaching
Wadi Baueiwai in about latitude 22° 18′; it leads to a water source
called =Megwel Aqwem=, situated just south of the end of a long spur
of high hills running out north-eastward from Gebel Miatit. Lower down
its course Wadi Aqwem is fed by tributaries from the high hills east
of it, one of which, the =Wadi Nubitra=, contains a well. This well,
called =Bir Nubitra=, is said to yield only very small supplies;
it is situated about three kilometres up the Wadi Nubitra, among
high hills. One of the many heads of the small Wadi Nubitra leads
northwards by an easy pass into the head of Wadi Hamida.
The =Wadi Hamida= heads in the mountain of the same name, and courses
parallel to Wadi Aqwem, from which it is separated by a long ridge
of high hills. About one and a half kilometres below its head at the
easy pass into Wadi Nubitra above referred to, it receives a small
gully from the east; by following up this gully, which is narrow and
tortuous, for about a kilometre, one can reach a tiny spring called
=Megwel Hamida=. When I visited it in April 1908, the spring was a
mere trickle, very salt; a galt a little further up the gorge was
dry at the same time, but bears signs of holding a useful store of
water after rain. About three kilometres below the gully containing
the spring, Wadi Hamida reaches an opening whence one can either
go south-east for two kilometres to the easy pass of Bani Sana, or
north-west through a gap in the longitudinal ridge which encloses the
wadi on the left. Wadi Hamida itself, however, keeps straight on its
course past Gebel Geror, and joins Wadi Baueiwai south-east of the
hill of Ti-Keferiai. The heads of Wadi Hamida contain a fair amount
of vegetation, but its lower parts are more barren and very sandy.
=Wadi Di-it= drains the north parts of the hill mass of Sul Hamid,
and courses north-east to reach the coast independently about latitude
22° 29′. It has not been explored, and is of no great importance;
vegetation in it is probably confined to its upper parts among the
hills. Of its total course of about thirty-five kilometres, a large
portion lies over the sandy coast-plain.
=Wadi Eikwan= is a broad shallow and sandy channel draining the high
jagged hill called Qash Amir and the eastern parts of the low hill
mass of Sul Hamid. Its head is about four kilometres south of Qash
Amir, in the flat sandy plain. Taking at first a northerly direction
past the west side of Qash Amir, it turns to the north-east further on
and crosses the coast-plain to reach the sea only a little south of
the mouth of Di-it. Its total length is about thirty six kilometres,
and its average slope is about nine metres per kilometre.
=Wadi Yoider=, the next wadi to the east, is of considerable
importance, as it drains the west portion of Gebel Elba and its heads
are extremely rich in trees and other vegetation, while one of its
tributaries contains a large well of good water (Bir Akwamtra). The
main head of Wadi Yoider may be considered to be the wadi which bears
the special name of =Wadi O Sir Hadal=, draining the south-west flanks
of Gebel Elba and the north-west flanks of Gebel Hanquf, and heading
in an easy pass close to the well of =Bir Salalat O Sir=, about 450
metres above sea-level. Wadi O Sir Hadal courses north-west between
the mountain ranges for about eight kilometres, receiving a rather
large feeder from the south about six kilometres below its head. It
then emerges from the mountains and turns north among lower hills,
here receiving the =Wadi Qeirat=, draining westwards from near the
summit of Elba. A few kilometres further on it enters an open plain
sloping rapidly downwards to the north, receiving the small and narrow
=Wadi Siamtit= from between two high hill masses to the west. From
here onwards Wadi Yoider courses in gentle curves a little north of
east to reach the coast in about latitude 22° 27′. A well called
=Bir Nabit=, situated in Wadi Yoider, a few hundred metres up from
its mouth, is believed to yield only brackish water. In its journey to
the coast Wadi Yoider receives several feeders from among the rugged
granite hills of El Sela to the west of it, as well as the important
=Wadi Akwamtra= from the north-east flank of Gebel Elba. The head
of this Wadi Akwamtra is quite close to the summit of Elba, and its
course is at first almost due west, afterwards changing to nearly
north among the lower flanking hills, and dividing into two channels
which re-unite lower down. =Bir Akwamtra=, one of the best water
sources in the Bisharin country, is situated at an altitude of 330
metres above sea-level in the eastern channel of Wadi Akwamtra, about
three kilometres up above the place where it leaves the hills. It is
an excavation in the stony floor of the wadi. The water in April 1908
was about four metres below the wadi floor, and formed a pool about
two metres in diameter in a wide open hollow which filled as fast
as it could be emptied. The water was of excellent quality. There
are two other wells a few hundred metres further down the same wadi;
one of these contained a little water, while the other was dry, and
only the principal well was being used. The floor of the wadi near and
above the well is very stony, so that it is not a very good camping
ground, and the Hamedorab Arabs pitch their tents of matting further
down the wadi. When I visited the place there were numerous Bisharin
Arabs at the well with their women and children, all busily employed
in watering their flocks and herds and washing their clothes. The
wadi, in spite of its stony floor, is literally full of large trees,
principally acacias, so close together that laden camels cannot
pick their way through them for more than a short distance above
the well, and thousands of doves inhabit the trees. There are some
ruins near the wells, built of boulders set in mud; they are said to
have been erected by Dervishes in 1886, when they seized Halaib and
Bir Akwamtra. These Dervishes were killed off by Egyptian troops,
some of them being chased to Bir Meisah and shot there.
As the densely wooded and stony character of Wadi Akwamtra prevents
camels from passing up it much above the well, I found it necessary,
in order to pitch a camp within a reasonable distance of the summit
of Gebel Elba, to descend Wadi Akwamtra for about a kilometre
and to cross the Asut Duk pass leading east into the head of Wadi
Yahameib. This pass is too steep for loaded camels, and even riding
camels have to be led down it; baggage camels have to go round the
hill spurs north of the pass. The head of Wadi Yahameib is also full
of trees and scrub, but it is possible to get camels up within four
kilometres of the summit of Elba by this route, whereas Bir Akwamtra
is over six kilometres from it.
=Wadi Aideib=, with its principal tributary the Wadi Yahameib, drains
the north-east portion of Gebel Elba and reaches the sea in about
latitude 22° 21′. A well, called =Bir Abu Ramad=, is situated in
the wadi bed not far from the sea; like that of almost all the wells
close to the coast, its water is probably brackish. The main head of
Wadi Aideib is on the east side of the main peaks of Elba. Coursing
at first north-eastward, this drainage channel runs through an
open sloping plain about one and a half kilometres wide between
the mountain spurs, its channel here dividing into a great loop
with numerous feeders from the ranges on either side. Passing west
of the high isolated granite mass of Karam Elba, it runs northward
over the sloping plain, receiving the Wadi Yahameib from the west
near the low red granite hills called Ti Hamra, and then courses
north of east to the sea.
=Wadi Yahameib= originates on the north-west flanks of Gebel Elba,
where steep well wooded gorges unite in a steeply sloping stony
plain, covered with trees and scrub, between two great spurs of the
mountain. There is no pass at its main head, but just before it enters
the plain there is a small feeder from among the hills to the west,
by following up which one can get over a rather steep pass called
=Asut Duk=; this pass forms a short cut for unladen camels between
the wells of Kansisrob and Akwamtra, but is too steep for animals
loaded with baggage. Curving round to the east, Wadi Yahameib is fed,
just before it joins Wadi Aideib, by the =Wadis Akau= and =Kansisrob=,
both draining the north parts of a great spur of Gebel Elba. Wadi Akau
contains a small spring, called =Megwel Akau=, a short distance above
its opening from the hills, while Wadi Kansisrob contains a great well
of good water called =Bir Kansisrob=, a short distance up from its
mouth. Bir Kansisrob is second only to Bir Akwamtra in importance,
and there are usually many Bisharin camps in the wadi just below
it. Like all the wadis draining from Elba, Wadis Yahameib and Aideib
are full of trees and scrub and grasses; in going to the foot of Elba
up the head of Wadi Yahameib with baggage camels, much more difficulty
is caused by the closeness of the trees and scrub than by the stony
nature of the floor. The Elba district is, I believe, the only place
in the Eastern Desert of Egypt where vegetable growth is so abundant
as seriously to hinder one’s caravan in approaching the mountains;
for the progress of baggage camels to be arrested while still four
or five kilometres from a peak by the steep and stony nature of the
ground is common enough; but for the arrest to be due to trees and
scrub was a new and interesting experience. Even the sand dunes on
the west side of Wadi Yahameib are half-covered with coarse grasses,
and look green instead of the usual yellow. When we could get no
further with our camping equipment, Mr. Bakewell, who had been in
South Africa, informed me that we were in what would be called in
that country “open bush”; but in comparison with the rest of
the desert the place was a jungle.
=Wadi Todhi= drains the high hills about Karam Elba. In the upper
part of its course it flows north-east between Karam Elba and a
range of lower granite hills called Mikeriba; emerging thence on
to the plain, its drainage spreads out over a tract, called =Karam
Hindi=, covered with trees, whence part drains to the Wadi Aideib
while another part goes to the sea near Suakin el Qadim.
=Suakin el Qadim=, is a collection of mounds close to the sea a little
south of latitude 22° 20′. Bent, who visited the place in 1896,
found “nothing earlier than Cufic remains, unless the graves,
formed of four large blocks of madrepore sunk deep into the ground,
may be looked upon as a more ancient form of sepulture.”[101]
My native assistant reported there was no well at the place, nor
anything of interest besides the graves.
=Wadi Delowa= is a small wadi entering the sea about six kilometres
south-east of Suakin el Qadim. It originates in the low hill country
near Mikeriba and flows north-east between the little red hill of
Alafot and the low banks called Alafot Onqwab on the north and the
granite hills of Kreishim and Taar Ara on the south.
=Wadi Serimtai= is an important drainage line, the main head of
which is situated in the Sudan, probably near the great mountain of
Asotriba. It enters Egypt in longitude 36° 22′, coursing northward
between Gebel Hanquf and Gebel Shendodai, from which last-named
mountain it receives a feeder called =Wadi Um Seyal=. After passing
Gebel Shendodai it crosses a tract of low granite hills to the foot
of Gebel O Sir Eirab, where it receives the wadi of the same name and
numerous feeders from Gebel Hanquf. It then turns north-east, passing
along the foot of the spurs of Elba, and north of the granite hills
of O Wota and Abai Sis to reach the sea ten kilometres north-west of
Halaib. About twenty-five kilometres up from its mouth, Wadi Serimtai
contains a well called =Bir Sararat Serimtai=, which has, however,
not been visited. The =Wadi O Sir Eirab=, an important tributary of
Serimtai, drains the south flanks of Gebel Elba, coursing at first
south-west and then turning sharply eastward. At the turn is a well in
the wadi floor called =Bir Salalat O Sir=, 440 metres above sea-level,
close to which is an easy pass leading into the head of Wadi O
Sir Hadal, a tributary of Wadi Yoider. From its entry into Egypt
to its mouth, Wadi Serimtai has a length of forty-five kilometres,
and an average slope of twelve and a half metres per kilometre. It
contains plenty of trees and scrub, especially in its upper parts.
=Mera Kwan= is a wadi draining north-eastward from Gebel Shendodai
and entering the sea a little north of Halaib. It has not been
surveyed in detail, but as it drains from high mountains it doubtless
contains plenty of vegetation, especially in its upper parts. The
lower half of its course is rather sandy, passing among low hills
on to the coast-plain.
=Halaib=, the only permanent village on the Red Sea coast of Egypt
south of Qoseir,[102] is situated in latitude 22° 13′ 25″ N.,
longitude 36° 38′ 56″ E.[103] The name of the place is pronounced
locally Oleiyib, and though I have retained the established European
spelling as given on the charts, none of the natives would recognise
the name if pronounced in its Europeanised form. Its most conspicuous
buildings, and the only ones composed of masonry in any form, are a
fort and a block-house; there are a few rude wooden shanties, mostly
built of timber which has been cast up on the beach, but the bulk of
the population live in little reed huts and tents of matting. Halaib
is the headquarters of a small police force under the command of a
moawen, the men being lodged in the fort. The fort, which stands about
forty metres from the sea on low ground, is an irregular octagon in
plan, about ten metres in diameter by six and a half metres high. As
its top is only eight metres above the sea and there are low banks
west of it, the fort is not very conspicuous as one approaches it
from the landward side, but being whitewashed and open to the sea
it is a good landmark for sailors in the neighbourhood. It has two
flagstaffs, from which the British and Egyptian flags are flown on
Fridays. The fort is entered by a ladder, the floor forming the
police quarters being about three metres above ground. Below are
water tanks, and above a trap door gives access to the roof, which
is carried on iron rails and plastered over with stucco. The roof
vibrates too much for it to be used as a triangulation station,
and observations here were taken from an eccentric point on the
ground and afterwards reduced to centre. The block-house is a smaller
rectangular structure, whitewashed, situated on a low bank about 400
metres south-west of the fort. A small jetty, built of coral, runs
out from near the fort far enough for a small boat to get alongside.
There are five wells at Halaib, all within a few hundred metres of
the fort. The water is very hard, and exerts a very strongly aperient
action on those unused to it, though the Arabs of the place consider
it very good. A small Government garden near the fort contains a few
small date palms, but there is no other cultivation. There is a sort
of bazaar, where one can buy clothes, sugar, dates, fat, etc., but
the supplies are small and there was no flour to be got when I was
there. Eggs can be purchased from the Arabs, who possess a few fowls,
and excellent fish can be got very cheaply from the fishermen. For
a daily wage of eight piastres a fisherman supplied me with as much
fresh fish daily as I and my men could eat. Sheep can be got from the
hills at a day’s notice, a good fat one costing L.E. 1. Firewood
has to be brought in from the mountains, and any European making
a stay at the place would do well to send to Bir Kansisrob or Bir
Frukit for pure water at the same time. The people are very friendly,
but only a few speak Arabic. There is a _kuttab_ where boys learn
to read and write Arabic under the tuition of a sheikh from Suakin,
so that Arabic may perhaps be more spoken after another generation.
There are two islands a little north of Halaib, both low and
sandy. The larger one, called =Geziret Halaib el Kebir=, is nearly
triangular, with sides about three and a half kilometres long. It
can be reached easily by wading across a narrow channel in low
states of the sea. On it is the grave, marked by a wooden cross, of
Lieut. Stewart, R.N., who lost his life in a fight with Dervishes
here in 1886. The smaller island lies further north; it is called
=Geziret Kwolala=[104] on account of its nearly circular shape.
Halaib possesses an excellent harbour, though it is sometimes
difficult of access to sailing vessels owing to the direction of its
entrance.[105] It is visited occasionally by Coast Guard cruisers as
well as by small trading boats from Suakin. On enquiry of the local
sailors, I found most of the names given on the Admiralty Charts
of this district to be unknown to them. For example, Abu Dara,
Sherm Alueda, Ras Abu Fatma, Elba Island, Ras Jazriyal, and Cape
Elba were all unknown. Abu Dara was called by the natives Shekra
el Delam, while Elba Island was called Geziret el Dibia, and Cape
Elba is locally known as Ras Hadarba. I obtained the following names
for the small anchorages north and south of Halaib, though I could
not locate them exactly on the maps, as the sailors could not read
a map sufficiently well, and the harbours themselves are mere gaps
through the outer coral reef, not visible indentations of the actual
coast-line. Starting from Bir Adal Deib and going southward, Mersa
Abu el Qâsim is near the mouth of Wadi el Kiraf; a big tree forms a
landmark for entering it. Further on is Mersa Harâba, then Mersa Abu
Naam with an island opposite to it, then, after passing Ras Unbilat,
comes Mersa Yoider, at the mouth of Wadi Yoider, where there is a
well called Bir Nabit. Passing Abu Ramad well in Wadi Aideib, and
Suakin el Qadim, one comes to Mersa Aqwetit, then to Mersa Serimtai,
at the mouth of Wadi Serimtai, opposite the island of Kwolala, and
then to Mersa Halaib itself. South of Halaib the principal anchorage
is Mersa Shellal, at the mouth of Wadi Shellal. The cape in latitude
22° 10′ is called Ras Qubet Isa. A small anchorage south of Ras
Hadarba (Cape Elba) appears to be called indifferently Mersa Hadarba
(from the hills near it) or Mersa Qabatit (from the wadi and well
near it); but I could not make quite sure if these are one and the
same, or two separate anchorages.
=Wadi Shellal= heads between the high mountain masses of Gebels
Shendodai and Shellal, and courses north-east for about thirty
kilometres to reach the coast about four kilometres south-east of
Halaib. In its lower part, where it crosses the coast-plain, it is
a broad shallow drainage channel full of scrub. Its upper parts,
which have not been explored, are doubtless well supplied with trees,
and are stated to be the principal habitat of the Hamedorab Arabs.
=Wadi Aqilhoq=, which drains the eastern parts of Gebel Shellal,
courses about parallel to Wadi Shellal a few kilometres further
south. It contains a well, =Bir Frukit=, about twenty kilometres up
from its mouth, near some dark conspicuous foot hills called Gebel
Balatitda. This well yields a constant supply of very good water,
and is the place where I sent for my water supplies in commencing my
return march to Port Sudan. The position of the well as shown on the
map is only approximate, but its direction having been pointed out
with the alidade by guides from two plane-table stations, I believe
the location is pretty nearly correct.
=Wadi Aqwei= drains east of north from among the foot-hills east
of Gebel Shellal, and enters the sea four kilometres west of Ras
Qubet Isa. Where I crossed it two kilometres from its mouth it was
a broad shallow wadi with plenty of scrub, dividing round a low but
conspicuous gravel bank before reaching the sea.
=Kreit-reit-or= is a similar wadi to that last mentioned, coursing
north-eastward over the plain from among low hills, and entering the
sea five kilometres south-east of Ras Qubet Isa. About two kilometres
south of Kreit-reit-or, at a distance of three and a half kilometres
from the coast, and thirty metres above sea-level, are the bitter
wells of =Ti Kureitra=. These are four wells, sunk about twelve metres
deep in the gypseous strata which here underlie the sand and gravel
of the coast-plain. The wells are lined with slabs of selenite. The
water is so strongly purgative that a number of my Arabs who drank
of it were made extremely unwell, and the wells are chiefly used for
watering the flocks of sheep which graze in the neighbouring valleys.
From the group of conspicuous though not very high hills called Gebel
Hadarba, ten kilometres west of Ras Hadarba (Cape Elba) many drainage
channels cross the coast-plain towards the sea in a direction north
of east. Some of the drainage lines form the north side of the hills
reach the sea east of Ti Kureitra wells; but others lose themselves in
a quicksand called =Kuatianai=, or “the devourer,” which covers
a large triangular space of about twenty square kilometres about the
cape. At the actual cape, rocks are visible at the coast, and the
quicksand, so far as I could judge from a distance, appears to be
really a lagoon, filled with the sand washed down from the hills. The
Arabs state that camels wandering on this sand get swallowed up; the
colour of its surface is distinctly darker than the rest of the plain.
On either side of the 22nd parallel, near the sea are low
gravel-covered banks of calcareous grit, seventy metres high in
places, and through these pass several broad wadis draining from
the low hill country further west. The chief of these wadis, called
=Wadi Qabatit=, enters the sea at a well defined inlet of the coast
called Mersa Qabatit. A well, =Bir Qabatit=, is situated in the bed
of another drainage channel a little south of the main wadi, one
and a half kilometres south-east of the mersa and 3·85 kilometres
south of the 22nd parallel. The ground at the well is only five
metres above the sea. The well is a big excavation in the wadi floor,
and its water surface is about at sea-level. To me the water tasted
decidedly salt, but the Arabs say it does not purge them.
* * * * *
[Footnote 89: Floyer’s map (_Geog. Journal_, 1893) gives the name
Gemal as continuing further up as far as the pass into Wadi Durunkat;
but my guides say this is an error.]
[Footnote 90: This road is said to lead _via_ Ghuel, Um Khariga,
and Dabur, to Gebel Hamrat Wogud.]
[Footnote 91: For a brief mention of the ruins of Berenice, _see_
p. 29.]
[Footnote 92: Each of the three vowels in Naait is pronounced broad
and separately, so that the word has three syllables.]
[Footnote 93: _Allawi_ = crooked.]
[Footnote 94: I did not hear anything of this in 1907 when in the
neighbourhood, perhaps owing to the ignorance of my Ababda guides. The
information was given me further south in 1908 by several Bisharin
guides, who appeared to know the place well and who all agreed on
the point.]
[Footnote 95: The authors of “The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan,” 1905
(Vol. I, p. 87) erroneously place Bir Shalatein in Wadi Hasium
instead of at the mouth of Wadi Hodein. The mistake has led to
erroneous delineation of the administrative boundary between Egypt
and the Sudan in existing maps (_see_ p. 74).]
[Footnote 96: This and the other main feeders of Wadi Hodein are
described in more detail in following pages.]
[Footnote 97: The final syllable in _Silsila_ is hardly heard when
the name is spoken by an Ababda Arab; it sounds like _Silsi_ unless
one is listening specially for the end of the word.]
[Footnote 98: To be distinguished from the Wadi Gemal further north
mentioned on p. 100.]
[Footnote 99: Bir Madi, 12¼ kilometres north of Bir Sararat Seyet,
was at this time open and giving good supplies.]
[Footnote 100: This and the other main Egyptian tributaries of Di-ib
are described in more detail in the following pages.]
[Footnote 101: _Geographical Journal_, 1896.]
[Footnote 102: Qoseir is in latitude 26° 6′ north, about 400
kilometres as the crow flies from Halaib.]
[Footnote 103: The position given is that of the centre of the fort,
as determined by my triangulation from the Nile Valley.]
[Footnote 104: _Kwolala_ is the Bishari word for circle.]
[Footnote 105: _Red Sea Pilot._ 1900. p. 130.]