[p.454] On quitting the wells we turned off in the direction of Suez,
our route lying W.N.W. There are no traces of a road here, for the track
of caravans is immediately filled up by the moving sands, which covered
the plain as far as I could discern, and in some places had collected
into hills thirty or forty feet in height. At ten hours from our setting
out in the morning we entered a plain covered with flints, and again
fell in with the Hadj road. Here we took a W. by N. direction. At the
end of eleven hours the plain was covered with a saline crust, and we
crossed a tract of ground, about five minutes in breadth, covered with
such a quantity of small white shells, that it appeared at a distance
like a strip of salt. Shells of the same species are found on the shores
of the lake of Tiberias. Once probably the sea covered the whole of this
ground. At twelve hours and a half Suez bore S. about an hour and an
half distant from us. To our right we saw marshy ground extending
northwards, which the people informed me was full of salt; it is called,
like all salt marshes, Szabegha (Arabic). At the end of thirteen hours
we crossed a low and narrow Wady, perhaps the remains of the canal of
Ptolemy; and at fourteen hours and a half, alighted in Wady Redjel
(Arabic), where there were many Talh trees, and plenty of food for our
camels.
September 2d.We continued to travel over the plain, route W. by N. In
two hours we reached Adjeroud (Arabic), an ancient castle, which has
lately been completely repaired by Mohammed Ali, who keeps a garrison
here. There are two separate buildings, the largest of which is occupied
by the soldiers, and the smaller contains a mosque with the tomb of a
saint; they are both defended by strong walls against any attack of the
Arabs. Here is also a copious well, but the water is very bitter, and
can be used only for watering camels. The garrison is supplied from the
wells of Mousa, opposite to Suez. Our road was full of the aromatic