[p.370] at the top of which we saw the summit of Djebel Attarous
(Arabic), about half an hour distant to our right; this is the highest
point in the neighbourhood, and seems to be the Mount Nebo of the
Scripture. On its summit is a heap of stones overshaded by a very large
wild pistachio tree. At a short distance below, to the S.W. is the
ruined place called Kereyat (Arabic). The part of the mountain over
which we rode was completely barren, with an uneven plain on its top. In
two hours and a half we saw at about half an hour to our right, the
ruins of a place called Lob, which are of some extent. We passed an
encampment of Arabs Ghanamat. At the end of three hours and three
quarters, after an hours steep descent, we reached Wady Wale (Arabic);
the stream contains a little more water than the Zerka Mayn; it runs in
a rocky bed, in the holes of which innumerable fish were playing; I
killed several by merely throwing stones into the water. The banks of
the rivulet are overgrown with willows, Defle, and tamarisks (Arabic),
and I saw large petrifactions of shells in the valley. About one hour to
the west of the spot where we passed the Wale are the ruins of a small
castle, situated on the summit of a lower ridge of mountains; the Arabs
call it Keraoum Abou el Hossein (Arabic).
In the valley of Wale a large party of Arabs Sherarat was encamped,
Bedouins of the Arabian desert, who resort hither in summer for
pasturage. They are a tribe of upwards of five thousand tents; but not
having been able to possess themselves of a district fertile in
pasturage, and being hemmed in by the northern Aeneze, the Aeneze of the
Nedjed, the Howeytat, and Beni Szakher, they wander about in misery,
have very few horses, and are not able to feed any flocks of sheep or
goats. They live principally on the Hadj route, towards Maan, and in
summer approach the Belka, pushing northward sometimes as far as
Haouran. They