A Journey to Damascus Through Egypt, Nubia, Arabia Petraea, Palestine, and Syria (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1847 edition. Excerpt: ... It is not very high from this point, but already we stand on an immense altitude. It is a large cone with two peaks, on the lowest of which stands the mosque, covering the tomb of Aaron. From this a gentle descent leads into Wady Mousa, and here we have reached the edge of the valley which contains Petra, and are reposing at our ease, having performed the journey perfect safety, with apparently no difiiculties to encounter or ex- pect. As yet none of the Fellaheen have shown themselves, and Ido not believe there is any danger of l their. interfering with us; neither will the Alouins, with Sheikh Hussein, molest us, for-they are forced to buy their corn at Hebron, and must pass through Taif Allah's country, through which, also, travellers from Akaba are conducted by Hussein, so that he will not venture to quarrel with the J ellaheen. We set off to climb Mount_Hor, to which, from the valley where we halted, the ascent is short and easy. Taif Allah led the way, with the other Sheikh and Ibrahim; two Arabs, also, carried water, with an old negro, who calls himself the servant of the Sheikh. All his limbs are crooked, and his face as flat as a plate-a living personification of Caliban, if any one could fancy the monster dyed black. The old creature is attentive to every one, and never refuses any job, let it be ever so hard; he is the man of all work, of the whole party, and yet is always willing and gay. We skirted the precipitous rocks of the peak, winding round the base among broken fragments of stone, the remains of walls and ancient terraces. At every step, among the shrubs that spring from the crevices of the rocks, the traveller is greeted with the sweetest odours from the plants crushed by his feet. The juniper and the cypress shoot up...