CHAPTER II.

Very special care was taken with place-names, which are transliterated on the Egyptian Government system. It may be remarked that this system is based on the Arabicspelling, not on pronunciation. Thus, in this part of the country, the lettergis almost always soft, like an Englishj, and theqis always sounded like a hardg. The same system was used for the Bishari and Ababda names, these being first written by a guide in Arabic characters and then transliterated. It is believed that the orthography is correct in almost all cases.The geology was examined along every line of march, and additional specimens were obtained by sending guides to collect rocks from mountains otherwise unvisited. Where possible, the principalgeological boundaries were drawn direct on the plane-table sheets in the field, and the remainder have been placed from field notes. The limits of the different igneous and metamorphic rocks shown on the geological map aim only at showing general relationships, for in many cases it is difficult, owing to insensible gradations, to decide exactly where granites and diorites end and gneisses and schists begin, while in other places rocks of two or three distinct species are so intimately mixed that the boundaries could not be shown on the small scale used, even if the exact limits were traced by a life-time’s work; in these latter cases the areas are coloured in accordance with what appeared to be the dominant rock within them.Throughout the three seasons’ work I was accompanied by Dahab Effendi Hassan, who rendered useful assistance in booking angles and in reconnaissance, and in the third season Mr. O. N. Bakewell also accompanied me and gave me much useful help. The Egyptian unskilled staff employed consisted almost entirely of Bedouin and comprised on an average about twenty-five camel drivers (for thiry-five baggage camels), six porters, three guides, and two postmen, all placed under an Arab sheikh.The total cost of the field-work was approximately L.E. 5,090, or about 150 milliemes for each square kilometre of country mapped in detail. Nearly two-thirds of the entire amount were expended in camel-transport, the remainder representing the expenditure on salaries and allowances of the author and assistants engaged in actual surveying operations.[1]The references in parentheses after place-names refer to their positions on the map,Plate I.[2]Bruce’s Travels to discover the Sources of the Nile.Halifax, 1845. pp. 78-80.[3]Cailliaud,Travels in the Oasis of Thebes and in the Deserts east and west of the Thebaid, edited byJomard. Translated from the French. London, 1822. This work contains two small maps and many engravings. (The map of the Eastern Desert is unfortunately wanting in the Khedivial Library copy, which is the only one I have seen.)[4]Belzoni,Narrative of the Operations and Discoveries in Egypt and Nubia, and of a Journey to the Coast of the Red Sea, in search of the ancient Berenice. London, 1820.[5]Plates illustrative of the Researches and Operations of G. Belzoni in Egypt and Nubia.London, 1822. (This is a large folio atlas of 44 plates.)[6]Linant de Bellefonds,L’Etbaye, Paris (N. D., but the title of the map accompanying the work gives the date as 1854).[7]Wilkinson,Topography of Thebes and General View of Egypt. London, 1835. pp. 415-422.Modern Egypt and Thebes.London, 1843. Vol. 2, pp. 389-394.[8]Wellsted,Notice of the Ruins of Berenice. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society. London, 1836. pp. 96-100.[9]Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Pilot.5th edition. London, 1900 (with several later supplements).Admiralty Charts of the Red Sea.Sheets 2 and 3.[10]At Halaib Fort the difference is as much as 1′ 53″, or nearly 2 miles;seep. 66.[11]This should not be confounded with the higher Gebel Faraid to the northward.[12]Qash Amir is quite a separate mountain from Gebel Elba, not part of the same range as the chart indicates.[13]Barth,Reise von Assuan über Berenike nach Kosser—Zeits. für allgem. Erdkunde. Berlin. Vol. VII (1859), pp. 1-31. (There is no map to this work, but the route followed is easily traceable on a modern map owing to the place-names being given in the journal.)[14]v. Heuglin,Reise in Nordost Africa und längs des Rothen Meeres im Jahre 1857. Petermann’s geogr. Mittheilungen, 1860. pp. 332-335. (This paper is accompanied by a map, which is, however, lacking in the copy of the Khedivial Library).[15]This I think is an error. A small isolated granite hill west of Berenice is called Sikeit, and has been visited by Barth and myself; but it is devoid of ruins. My Arabs called BereniceMedinet el Haras.[16]There was no “Geziret Elba” known to the sailors of Halaib at the time of my survey. The “Elba Island” of the Admiralty Chart is called Geziret el Dibia; it is a very small island, which looks like a boat from a distance.[17]Though the Bisharin are now very orderly and friendly, the ancient dread of their country still persists to such a degree that it is almost impossible to persuade Ababda Arabs to go near the Elba district.[18]Schweinfurth,Reise an der Kuste des Rothen Meeres von Kosser bis Suakin, Zeits. für allgem. Erdkunde. Berlin, Band XVIII (1865), pp. 131-150, 283-313, 320-384. A special account of the Elba district is given with a map, in another paper,Das Land am Elba- und Soturba-Gebirgein Petermann’s geog. Mittheilungen, 1865. pp. 330-340. Schweinfurth also published several other papers dealing with the rich botanical results of his expedition.[19]I found many of the natives could not recognise the name Halaib, which has become the official name of their village. They call it “Oleiyib,” sounding the final consonant only slightly; so that Schweinfurth’s “Elei” is not very different from the local name.[20]Colston,Journal d’un voyage du Caire à Keneh, Bérénice et Berber. Bull. Soc. Khédiv. de Géographie. 1886. pp. 489-568.[21]Purdy,Reconnaissance entre Bérénice et Berber.Ibid.pp. 431-435, with a map.[22]Cora,La route de Kéneh à Bérénice levée en 1873, par le Colonel R. E. Colston. Bull. Soc. Khéd. de Géog. Cairo, Sept. 1891. pp. 533-538, with map.[23]Golénischeff,Une Excursion à Bérénice. Recueil de Travaux. Vol. XIII (1891), pp. 75-96.[24]Golénischeff names this placeAbu Greïa, a name which he remarks is the same as that of a station near Berenice. Garia Abu Medrik is the name given to it by the Arab guides accompanying the Survey expeditions.[25]Floyer,Etude sur le Nord Etbai. Cairo, 1893.[26]Further Routes in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.Geog. Journal. London, 1893. pp. 408-431.[27]Notes on the Geology of the Northern Etbai.Quart. Journal Geol. Soc. London, 1892. pp. 576-582.[28]ProfessorHull, in the discussion on Floyer’s paper, suggested, even in the absence of specimens, that Floyer’s “blue clay” was really a decomposed Archæan schist. My observations have proved the sagacity of this suggestion.[29]Bent,A visit to the Northern Sudan. Geogr. Journal. London. Vol. VIII (1896), pp. 335-353.[30]Macalister,The Emerald Mines of Northern Etbai. Geog. Journal. London. Vol. XVI (1900), pp. 537-549.[31]Berichte der Commission für Oceanographische Forschungen.Sechste Reihe, Wien 1898, and Siebente Reihe, Wien, 1901.[32]Seep. 65.CHAPTER II.GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SOUTH-EASTERN EGYPT.In this chapter will be given a brief general account of the district, under the heads of:—1.Extent.2.Relief.3.Hydrography.4.Coast-line.5.Climate.6.Scenery.7.Animal and Plant Life.8.Water Supplies.9.Geology.10.Mineral Products.11.Antiquities.12.Inhabitants.13.Languages.14.Industries.15.Communications.16.Government.The subjects of topography, water supplies, and geology, will be further considered more fully in succeeding chapters.Extent.As already mentioned in the introduction, the district treated of in this volume lies between the parallels of 25° and 22° of north latitude, and between the meridian of 34° E. and the Red Sea. It comprises an area of about 56,000 square kilometres (22,000 square miles).Relief.[33]The higher mountains of the Eastern Desert generally form the watershed between the Nile and the Red Sea. This watershed is much nearer to the coast than to the Nile, with the result that the eastward drainage is much steeper than to the west.Commencing from the north (seethe orographical map,Plate I), the principal mountain masses are:—(i) The Migif — Hafafit — Nugrus — Hangalia — Zabara group (1,505 metres[34]), cut off to the south by the Wadi Gemal (Fd).(ii) The Abu Hamamid — Hamata — Abu Gurdi group (1,978 metres), limited on the south by the Wadi Lahami (Hg).(iii) The Um Gunud — Dahanib — Batoga group (1,270 metres), lying between Wadi Lahami on the north and Wadi Khoda (Hj) on the south.(iv) The Abu Dahr — Orga — Um Tenedba group (1,131 metres), separating the drainage of Wadi Betan (Fl) from Wadis Khoda and Rahaba (Hl).(v) The Faraid group, theMons Pentadactylusof Ptolemy, comprising some very remarkable granite peaks (1,366 metres), lying near the coast between Wadi Khoda and Wadi Rahaba.(vi) The Awamtib — Abraq — Dif — Aqab el Negum — Mishbih group (1,353 metres), forming the tripartite watershed between the great Wadi systems of Kharit and Alaqi on the west, and that of Wadi Hodein on the east.(vii) The Gerf — Abu Hodeid group, a mighty mass rising to 1,736 metres, lying between Wadi Hodein (Jn) and Wadi Hasium (Hs).(viii) The Meisah — Adar Qaqa — Is group, between the Wadis Hasium and Di-ib (Mr).(ix) The Elba — Shendib group (1,912 metres[35]), a great mass of spiky mountains lying near the sea between Wadi Di-ib and the coast.Besides these main groups, there are numerous more or less isolated mountains, of which Gebels Abu Khrug (Bd, 870 metres), HamratMukbud (Cf, 890 metres), Zergat Naam (Ej, 845 metres), and the two Niqrubs (FnandFo, 829 metres and 1,078 metres) are examples.Some of the mountains, especially the granite “bodkin” of Gebel Faraid (Hl), and some of the peaks of the Elba group, appear to be unclimbable. A few others are rather dangerous of ascent, as, for example, Gebel Abu Hamamid (Ef) on account of its steepness, and Gebel Abu Dahr (Gk) by reason of combined steepness and rotten rock, which comes away in tons at a touch. The highest peak of all within the district, Gebel Hamata (Gf), is a comparatively easy climb from the north.Hydrography.The course of the main watershed which parts the Red Sea and Nile drainages is highly irregular both in altitude and direction, as will be evident from the orographical map (Plate I), on which it is shown by a red line. From Gebel Hamrat Wogud, in the north, it passes east of Gebel Atut, thence through the high masses of Gebels Hangalia, Nugrus, Hafafit, and Migif, beyond which it drops southward through the low country round Gebel Abu Had. Entering the mountains again at Gebel Nukheira, it takes an eastward bend, passing along the great ridges of Gebels Abu Hamamid, Um Usher, Um Hasidok, and Ras el Kharit. Striking southward across the head of Wadi Kharit, it courses through the mountains of Mikbi and Abu Gurdi, thence dropping to the south on the plain near the hills called Marwot Elemikan. Turning here sharply westward over the plain, it passes through the hill-mass of Gebel Abu Derega and on to Gebel Zergat Naam, south-west of which it crosses the low tract at the head of Wadi el Arned to the sandstone plateaux of Dagalai, whence it courses a little to the west of Gebel Um Reit and enters the mountainous tract of Gebel Aqab el Negum. Its further course has not been traced in detail, but from guides’ statements and the indications of the main drainage-lines it is believed to run as shown on the map, in a great curve through the two sharp peaks of Gebel Sheyenit to the west of Gebel Mishbih, and then in another flatter curve south-eastwards to Gebel Soaorib, at the head of Wadi Hasium. Continuing along the mountain ridges of Gebel Soaorib, it crossesto Gebel Is,[36]separating the Wadi Is from the heads of Wadi Alaqi on the Sudan frontier.The watershed is for a great part of its course quite impassable for camels. The principal places where it can be crossed are at the head of Wadi Nugrus, near Abu Had, the Wadi Marasan between Huluz and Wadi el Sheikh, the heads of Wadi Lahami, Wadi el Fil, Wadi Arned, and Wadi Um Reit, passes at Aqab el Negum and Hamrat el Feg, near Gebel Mishbih, the head of Wadi Hasium, and the pass of Adar Ameit, north of Gebel Is. All these places are practicable for baggage camels, though in some of them, as, for instance, at the head of Wadi Nugrus, care is required because the track is steep and stony.The principal drainage-basins are shown on the small scale map onPlate II.The westward drainage ultimately reaches the Nile by the three main trunk wadis of Shait, Kharit, and Alaqi; Shait and Kharit enter the Nile Valley at Kom Ombo, while Alaqi debouches near Dakka. The eastward drainage is much more complex, the principal trunk wadis, such as Um Khariga, Gemal, Khoda, Rahaba, Hodein, Ibib, Di-ib, and Serimtai, being separated by very numerous minor wadis draining independently to the sea.[37]Nearly all the wadis contain vegetation in the form of trees and bushes, and plant life flourishes as a rule far more luxuriously in wadis draining seawards than in those leading to the Nile. Feqoh, Naam, and the lower reaches of Hodein are, however, exceptionally barren. Forming, as they do, the only possible roads, furnishing the entire supply of camel food, and containing most of the wells, the wadis are to the desert what the Nile is to Egypt proper. The intervening mountains are of no interest to the Arabs, except when they contain water-reservoirs. Hence the place-naming starts from the wadis, even the smallest of which have names unless they are barren. Mountains are generally named after the nearest wadi, and maythus have two names when situated between two wadis, the particular name used depending on which side the mountain is seen from.Coast-line.The coast-line of this part of Egypt is somewhat irregular, the peninsula of Ras Benas forming a prominent projection in latitude 24°. In the south part of the area the eastward extension of the country, culminating in Ras Hadarba (Cape Elba of existing maps), is very marked, extending nearly to 37° of east longitude. The coast is almost entirely fringed by coral reefs, passage through which is only possible at certain points, and then only with the utmost care in navigation.[38]Between the feet of the mountains and the sea there extends a gently sloping plain, varying in width from about eight to twenty-five kilometres, covered with sand, over which the drainage meanders in shallow courses, often only traceable by the vegetation which occurs along them. A rather surprising result brought out by the levelling observations is that the slope of the coast plain, even where it looks flattest and sandiest, is as steep as the floors of some of the wadis draining on to it, and several times more steep than the beds of the wadis which drain westwards to the Nile, its fall seawards averaging six metres per kilometre and reaching over ten metres per kilometre in some sections.Climate.The climate of the district is predominantly hot and dry to the west of the watershed, hot and moist eastward of it; but very cold weather is apt to prevail for a few weeks in January and February, with strong north winds, on both sides of the watershed, and the transition from piercing cold to great heat at these times is often brought about very suddenly by a change of wind direction. There is seldom any frost, but water-bags are occasionally frozen on the mountain tops at night. Cool north-west winds prevail in the north part of the area, while hot damp winds from the south-east are usual in the south. In the central part, round Berenice, absolute calmsare frequent.[39]The highest mountain-masses are frequently swathed in clouds for weeks together, especially from January to March. The hot, dry, sand-laden winds calledKhamsinoccasionally blow for four or five days together in March and April; at these times the shade temperature rises to over 45° C., and the air is thick with sand and dust. Rain falls in most years, but its quantity is very variable; in some years there is barely enough to keep the wells supplied, and much of the vegetation withers; in others, heavy storms produce wild downrushes in the wadis, filling them for short periods with raging torrents. Curious electrical and optical phenomena can sometimes be seen on the mountain-tops during storms and in mists.[40]The Elba region is seldom free from clouds, and receives far more rain than any other portion of the area, forming in fact the northern limit of the rainy tropical zone; it is in consequence relatively well wooded, while the other mountains are a dreary waste of naked rocks.Sketch-MapOFSOUTH-EASTERN EGYPT.Showing Drainage-Basins.Ball. Geography & Geology of South-Eastern Egypt.PLATEII.Photo-Metal-Process. Survey Dept. Cairo 1910. (60-190)Scale 1:2,000,000.Scenery.The predominant types of scenery are extensive sandy plains and gaunt rugged mountains. In the low-lands, pleasant relief from the stony monotony is afforded by the trees and scrub which occur along most of the wadis, though their struggle for existence is often evidenced by miles of withered and blackened scrub in places which a few years ago were green and flourishing. The bareness of the mountains becomes slightly relieved in the Elba district, where beautiful trees and flowering plants thrive high up the mountain-side along all the drainage lines. As to the forms of the mountains, one sees extensive broken sandstone plateaux at Gebel Abraq (El), remarkable rounded granite bosses at Gebels Muelih (Ab), Nugrus (Dc), Selaia (Fh), and Um Rasein (Jr), jagged and spiky granite peaks in the mountains of Faraid (Jk), Qash Amir (Os), and Elba (Ps), and broken masses of gneiss, dark schists and serpentines at Gebels Hafafit (Dc), Hangalia (Dc), Abu Hamamid (Ef), Hamata (Gf), and Gerf(Hp). Perhaps the most remarkable of all the peaks are those of Faraid (Jk), which from the north look like the expanded fingers of a huge hand, whence they received their name ofMons Pentadactylusin antiquity, while one specially sharp peak is styled very appropriately “the Bodkin” on Admiralty Charts. The mass of Elba forms a very fine view from the north, but the prevalence of clouds about its summits frequently hides it from view for months together. The views from the mountain-tops are extensive and beautiful, especially at sunrise and sunset, when the peaks take on wonderful colours, and the views from the summits when the entire lower landscape is bathed in clouds, through which only the higher peaks project like islands from a great sea, are not less remarkable. Though a good look out was kept from the highest mountains across the sea, the mountains of the opposite shore of Arabia were never with certainty made out; the cone of Zeberged Island was, however, often seen. It is stated by d’Anville, on the authority of Castro,[41]that both the Arabian and African mountains can be seen from the summit of Zeberged.Animal and Plant Life.Both animal and plant life is mainly confined to the drainage lines. Of wild animals suitable for human food, gazelles can be shot fairly frequently in the south part of the area, but are very scarce in the north. Sand grouse and partridges can occasionally be obtained round Abu Saafa, while doves are very abundant in the groves near Bir Akwamtra, at the foot of Gebel Elba. Ibex were never seen with certainty, though their horns and lairs were often found on the mountains. Conies inhabit the rocks near Bir Abraq and Bir Madi. The wild ass has disappeared from the area, as also has the ostrich, though fragments of ostrich eggs picked up here and there, and drawings of this bird on the rocks, attest its presence here in recent times. Vultures, kites, and ravens are everywhere in evidence, and several kinds of smaller birds, such as swallows and wagtails, are often seen about the greener wadis. Lizards of many kinds are to be seen. Scorpions and snakes are seldom met with. Of butterflies and moths, especially the latter, many varieties occur. The common fly occurs insuch numbers as to be a great pest, but mosquitoes and sand-flies are practically absent. Camel ticks infest the ground under all trees used as shade by travelling Arabs. Earwigs are in some places very abundant, and a great variety of beetles and bugs occur. Near the sea, whole armies of crabs are to be seen marching on the shore, and hermit crabs are very numerous in all sorts of gasteropod dwellings.Of plant life the district contains a great variety. The north and central parts of the area contain the same trees and bushes as abound further north in Egypt,[42]and camel food is moderately abundant. As Elba is approached, many beautiful flowering plants not found further north are met with, while in the clefts of the slopes of Elba itself is a far richer vegetation than occurs wild in any other part of Egypt. I found the approach to Elba was stopped for baggage camels some four kilometres from the summit owing to the closeness of the trees, and the ascent on foot up the clefts of the mountain-face for the remainder of the way was more like going through an English wood than up a desert mountain. Many varieties of sweet-smelling flowers and some fruit-bearing trees unfamiliar in Egypt were seen, while mosses and lichens covered the tumbled masses of granite in many places. Schweinfurth, who examined the botany of this region in 1864, found that of 300 species of plants collected in the Elba district, the vast majority were of Abyssinian types; scarcely 100 were living in other more northerly parts of the Eastern Desert of Egypt, while still fewer are indigenous to the Nile Valley, and only fifteen species were of those found wild in Europe.[43]Water Supplies.[44]The sources of water comprisegalts(rock basins forming rain water reservoirs in the mountains), springs and wells. Of these,galtsyield the purest water, and form the principal supply of the pastoral Arabs, except in years of no rainfall, while springs and wells, the latter usually rude excavations in the alluvia of wadis, are most used by travellers from their easier accessibility. Smallgaltsare calledmegal(Ababda) ormegwel(Bisharin); they are frequently accompanied by small springs.The small scale map onPlate III,which shows all sources known to exist within the area, gives a good idea of the distribution of water supplies. Water is scarce in the western parts of the country, Bir Abu Hashim being the only source within a radius of about sixty kilometres of itself, butgaltsand wells are fairly frequent among the mountainous tracts further east. The springs of Abraq and Abu Saafa are the most important sources in the central area. The portion of the country under the Sudan Administration is far richer in water that the Egyptian part, containing numerous fine wells and springs, such as Birs Meneiga, Abu Hodeid, Akwamtra, and Frukit. The coast plain is waterless, except for salty wells near the sea.Water can usually be obtained at intervals of about two or three days when on the march, and in some parts much more frequently. The water of certain wells and springs has a purgative effect due to the absorption of magnesium salts, especially after a long interval without rain. That of others, again, such as Muelih and Shalatein, is so salty as to be only drinkable by camels.Geology.[45]The rocks composing this part of Egypt are principally igneous and metamorphic deposits of very ancient origin. Granite is most prominent in the Nugrus, Faraid, and Elba areas, schists and diorites cover a large portion of the remaining country, and huge masses of serpentines form the mountains of Abu Dahr, Korabkansi, and Gerf. Of sedimentary rocks, plateaux of Nubian sandstone (Cretaceous) cover large areas round Bir Abraq and westward of it, while a narrow belt of the same rock also occurs along the sea coast in the north part of the district. Gypseous limestones (Miocene?) form the hills of Ras Benas and occur along the coast north of Wadi Lahami, as well as in small areas near the coast further south in the neighbourhood of Halaib.Sketch-MapOFSOUTH-EASTERN EGYPT.Showing the Water-sources and the Roads connecting them.Ball. Geography & Geology of South-Eastern Egypt.PLATEIII.Photo-Metal-Process. Survey Dept. Cairo 1910. (60-190)Scale 1:2,000,000.Crushing of the older rocks is almost everywhere strongly evidenced, but faulting is difficult to trace except in the sandstone areas, where it is strongly marked. The presence of clearly defined overthrust faulting in the Abraq area shows that tangential earth movements, so rare in this part of the world,[46]have not been altogether absent.Mineral Products.The mineral resources of this part of Egypt are not of very great importance, owing partly to its inaccessible situation and desert character. Gold and copper ores occur in places; other localities contain beryl and peridots, while others, again, bear iron ores, gypsum, sulphur, steatite, asbestos, and magnesite, and good building stones abound over large areas.The presence of ruins and excavations at places like Hangalia, Sikait, Zabara, Romit, and Darahib, are evidence of mining activity in the past, but the mean nature of the accommodation for the workers, and the presence of old stone hand mills where gold was the thing sought for, confirm the statement of Diodorus[47]that the mines were worked by miserable convicts.In recent years much prospecting has been done to test whether the ancient mines could be developed and made commercially productive under modern conditions. In the case of many areas, including that round Darahib, the mines of which are believed to be those referred to with a map in the Turin papyrus of the Nineteenth Dynasty,[48]the prospecting licences have been surrendered to the Government because the results were unfavourable. In a few other cases prospecting is still being carried out, and in three localities the results have been sufficiently encouraging for exploitation to be undertaken.The following tables, compiled from information supplied by the Mines Department, give particulars of the prospecting licencesand mining leases at present (1912) held within the area described in this book:—Prospecting Licences.Licence No.Date of Licence.Principal Mineral sought.Holder of Licence.Situation of Area licensed.49Nov.11909Gold.Mr. Mack.Kurdeman district.50„11909„„Sabahia district.75May141911„„North-east side of Gebel Zabara.59Feb.171910Sulphur.Mr. Venizelos.Gebel Ranga, near the mouth of Wadi Abu Ghusun.60„171910„„Adjoining the foregoing.61March191910„„„„„Mining Leases.Lease No.Date of Lease.Period for which granted.Mineral exploited.Holder of Lease.Area leased.13Dec.1, 191030 years.Gold.African Reefs, Ltd.25 acres near Gebel Um el Tiur el Tahtani.15Jan.1, 191230 years.Gold.Mr. Wells.25 acres near Gebel Sukari.55June1, 190630 years.Peridot.Peridot & Egyptian Gems Co., Ltd.Zeberged (St. John’s Island).Of the above three mining leases, the last mentioned (the Peridot and Egyptian Gems Co., Ltd.) is the only one under which any considerable exploitation has been carried on, large numbers of beautiful peridots having been obtained from the mines. The two gold mining undertakings have been commenced too recently for much to have been as yet accomplished.Antiquities.The archæological remains of pre-Arab times in this part of Egypt comprise the small ruined temples of Berenice and Sikait, the ruins of stations along the old mining roads, the ancient mines with the rude habitations of the miners, and sundry markings on rocks near the roads.TheTemple of Bereniceis a low inconspicuous structure measuring only some ten metres square, containing five small rooms and a tiny corridor and staircase.[49]Owing to its exposed situation on the coast and the soft limestone (from Ras Benas) of which it is built, it is in a very dilapidated condition, and it is difficult to make out many of the inscriptions on its walls. The axial direction of the temple (63° 20′ east of true north) appears to show that it was oriented to face the rising sun at the summer solstice. Of the village (one can hardly call it a city) of Berenice, only insignificant remains exist near the temple. The houses were mere hovels built of rough lumps of coral.There are threetemples in Wadi Sikait; they are small rock-hewn structures in even worse preservation than that of Berenice.[50]Many attempts have been made to trace theancient mining roadsmentioned by classical writers. The stations on the road fromKoptos(Quft) to Berenice, enumerated by Pliny and Antoninus, have not been with certainty identified. The absence of any reliable map of the main features of the country has hitherto prevented travellers from locating the positions of stations found, while in careful surveying it has generally been necessary to travel by other roads than the ancient ones, so that it cannot be hoped that all the ruined stations, many of which are invisible till one is close to them, have been included in the maps. Now that all the principal features of the country have been accurately laid down, it will be much easier for future travellers to locate precisely any ruins they may come across.Of the road leading fromContra-Apollinopolis(Edfu) to the emerald mines of Sikait and Zabara, much more is known, this route having been traversed by Golénischeff[51]and most of its stations located by the Geological Survey. Leading from Edfu, past Bir Abad, the ruins of a large station and rock temple occur at a distance of about forty-five kilometres from the Nile, at a place now calledKanais(the churches), where a well yielding good water was sunk three years ago by the Mines Department. About forty-five kilometresfurther on is the station called Gariat Abu Medrik, where there are two ancient stucco-lined cylindrical reservoirs, but no well. At the next station, called Samut, there is a good well in the centre of a large rubble ruin. As all the stations just mentioned lie outside the limits of the maps which accompany this memoir, I give their approximate geographical positions below:—Station.Latitude N.Longitude E.Altitude above Sea.metres.Edfu24° 58′32° 54′90Kanais25° 0 ′33° 19′205Gariat Abu Medrik24° 55′33° 41′295Samut24° 49′33° 54′340The next station after Samut appears to have been the ruins near Gebel Dweig. Further on, after passing over the watershed, is another station with two cisterns in a semicircular enclosure. The road continues past Gebel Abu Had to the Wadi Gemal, where there are two more cisterns, this time in a triangular enclosure, and thence up to the Wadi Nugrus and Wadi Sikait to the mines. The Edfu-Sikait road may have joined the Quft-Berenice road at the Wadi Gemal station.A third ancient road is believed to have led northward from Berenice to Qoseir, along the coast; while a fourth, from near Dakka on the Nile up the Wadi Alaqi to the gold mines of the south, is now a regular route to the Nile Valley Company’s mine of Um Gariart.Theancient emerald mines of Zabara and Sikaitconsist of numerous irregular shafts, mostly of no very great depth, excavated in schists of micaceous and talcose types. Theold gold mines, such as those at Sukari, Um Eleiga, Seiga, Romit, and the Darahib district, are on a considerable scale, excavations having been carried on in quartz veins to fair depths. The dwellings at the mines were for the most part only miserable hovels of rubble stone. A view of those of Um Eleiga is given onPlate IV.The ancient quartz-grinding mills, mostly made of a hard diorite, are frequently found among the ruins of the hovels. There is no clear evidence that any of the minesyielded a very rich output; the workings were of the nature of penal settlements (Prof. Mahaffy[52]has aptly termed them a “tropical Siberia”) in times when life and labour were cheap, and a very moderate yield may under those conditions have been satisfactory.[53]

The geology was examined along every line of march, and additional specimens were obtained by sending guides to collect rocks from mountains otherwise unvisited. Where possible, the principalgeological boundaries were drawn direct on the plane-table sheets in the field, and the remainder have been placed from field notes. The limits of the different igneous and metamorphic rocks shown on the geological map aim only at showing general relationships, for in many cases it is difficult, owing to insensible gradations, to decide exactly where granites and diorites end and gneisses and schists begin, while in other places rocks of two or three distinct species are so intimately mixed that the boundaries could not be shown on the small scale used, even if the exact limits were traced by a life-time’s work; in these latter cases the areas are coloured in accordance with what appeared to be the dominant rock within them.

Throughout the three seasons’ work I was accompanied by Dahab Effendi Hassan, who rendered useful assistance in booking angles and in reconnaissance, and in the third season Mr. O. N. Bakewell also accompanied me and gave me much useful help. The Egyptian unskilled staff employed consisted almost entirely of Bedouin and comprised on an average about twenty-five camel drivers (for thiry-five baggage camels), six porters, three guides, and two postmen, all placed under an Arab sheikh.

The total cost of the field-work was approximately L.E. 5,090, or about 150 milliemes for each square kilometre of country mapped in detail. Nearly two-thirds of the entire amount were expended in camel-transport, the remainder representing the expenditure on salaries and allowances of the author and assistants engaged in actual surveying operations.

[1]The references in parentheses after place-names refer to their positions on the map,Plate I.[2]Bruce’s Travels to discover the Sources of the Nile.Halifax, 1845. pp. 78-80.[3]Cailliaud,Travels in the Oasis of Thebes and in the Deserts east and west of the Thebaid, edited byJomard. Translated from the French. London, 1822. This work contains two small maps and many engravings. (The map of the Eastern Desert is unfortunately wanting in the Khedivial Library copy, which is the only one I have seen.)[4]Belzoni,Narrative of the Operations and Discoveries in Egypt and Nubia, and of a Journey to the Coast of the Red Sea, in search of the ancient Berenice. London, 1820.[5]Plates illustrative of the Researches and Operations of G. Belzoni in Egypt and Nubia.London, 1822. (This is a large folio atlas of 44 plates.)[6]Linant de Bellefonds,L’Etbaye, Paris (N. D., but the title of the map accompanying the work gives the date as 1854).[7]Wilkinson,Topography of Thebes and General View of Egypt. London, 1835. pp. 415-422.Modern Egypt and Thebes.London, 1843. Vol. 2, pp. 389-394.[8]Wellsted,Notice of the Ruins of Berenice. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society. London, 1836. pp. 96-100.[9]Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Pilot.5th edition. London, 1900 (with several later supplements).Admiralty Charts of the Red Sea.Sheets 2 and 3.[10]At Halaib Fort the difference is as much as 1′ 53″, or nearly 2 miles;seep. 66.[11]This should not be confounded with the higher Gebel Faraid to the northward.[12]Qash Amir is quite a separate mountain from Gebel Elba, not part of the same range as the chart indicates.[13]Barth,Reise von Assuan über Berenike nach Kosser—Zeits. für allgem. Erdkunde. Berlin. Vol. VII (1859), pp. 1-31. (There is no map to this work, but the route followed is easily traceable on a modern map owing to the place-names being given in the journal.)[14]v. Heuglin,Reise in Nordost Africa und längs des Rothen Meeres im Jahre 1857. Petermann’s geogr. Mittheilungen, 1860. pp. 332-335. (This paper is accompanied by a map, which is, however, lacking in the copy of the Khedivial Library).[15]This I think is an error. A small isolated granite hill west of Berenice is called Sikeit, and has been visited by Barth and myself; but it is devoid of ruins. My Arabs called BereniceMedinet el Haras.[16]There was no “Geziret Elba” known to the sailors of Halaib at the time of my survey. The “Elba Island” of the Admiralty Chart is called Geziret el Dibia; it is a very small island, which looks like a boat from a distance.[17]Though the Bisharin are now very orderly and friendly, the ancient dread of their country still persists to such a degree that it is almost impossible to persuade Ababda Arabs to go near the Elba district.[18]Schweinfurth,Reise an der Kuste des Rothen Meeres von Kosser bis Suakin, Zeits. für allgem. Erdkunde. Berlin, Band XVIII (1865), pp. 131-150, 283-313, 320-384. A special account of the Elba district is given with a map, in another paper,Das Land am Elba- und Soturba-Gebirgein Petermann’s geog. Mittheilungen, 1865. pp. 330-340. Schweinfurth also published several other papers dealing with the rich botanical results of his expedition.[19]I found many of the natives could not recognise the name Halaib, which has become the official name of their village. They call it “Oleiyib,” sounding the final consonant only slightly; so that Schweinfurth’s “Elei” is not very different from the local name.[20]Colston,Journal d’un voyage du Caire à Keneh, Bérénice et Berber. Bull. Soc. Khédiv. de Géographie. 1886. pp. 489-568.[21]Purdy,Reconnaissance entre Bérénice et Berber.Ibid.pp. 431-435, with a map.[22]Cora,La route de Kéneh à Bérénice levée en 1873, par le Colonel R. E. Colston. Bull. Soc. Khéd. de Géog. Cairo, Sept. 1891. pp. 533-538, with map.[23]Golénischeff,Une Excursion à Bérénice. Recueil de Travaux. Vol. XIII (1891), pp. 75-96.[24]Golénischeff names this placeAbu Greïa, a name which he remarks is the same as that of a station near Berenice. Garia Abu Medrik is the name given to it by the Arab guides accompanying the Survey expeditions.[25]Floyer,Etude sur le Nord Etbai. Cairo, 1893.[26]Further Routes in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.Geog. Journal. London, 1893. pp. 408-431.[27]Notes on the Geology of the Northern Etbai.Quart. Journal Geol. Soc. London, 1892. pp. 576-582.[28]ProfessorHull, in the discussion on Floyer’s paper, suggested, even in the absence of specimens, that Floyer’s “blue clay” was really a decomposed Archæan schist. My observations have proved the sagacity of this suggestion.[29]Bent,A visit to the Northern Sudan. Geogr. Journal. London. Vol. VIII (1896), pp. 335-353.[30]Macalister,The Emerald Mines of Northern Etbai. Geog. Journal. London. Vol. XVI (1900), pp. 537-549.[31]Berichte der Commission für Oceanographische Forschungen.Sechste Reihe, Wien 1898, and Siebente Reihe, Wien, 1901.[32]Seep. 65.

[1]The references in parentheses after place-names refer to their positions on the map,Plate I.

[2]Bruce’s Travels to discover the Sources of the Nile.Halifax, 1845. pp. 78-80.

[3]Cailliaud,Travels in the Oasis of Thebes and in the Deserts east and west of the Thebaid, edited byJomard. Translated from the French. London, 1822. This work contains two small maps and many engravings. (The map of the Eastern Desert is unfortunately wanting in the Khedivial Library copy, which is the only one I have seen.)

[4]Belzoni,Narrative of the Operations and Discoveries in Egypt and Nubia, and of a Journey to the Coast of the Red Sea, in search of the ancient Berenice. London, 1820.

[5]Plates illustrative of the Researches and Operations of G. Belzoni in Egypt and Nubia.London, 1822. (This is a large folio atlas of 44 plates.)

[6]Linant de Bellefonds,L’Etbaye, Paris (N. D., but the title of the map accompanying the work gives the date as 1854).

[7]Wilkinson,Topography of Thebes and General View of Egypt. London, 1835. pp. 415-422.Modern Egypt and Thebes.London, 1843. Vol. 2, pp. 389-394.

[8]Wellsted,Notice of the Ruins of Berenice. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society. London, 1836. pp. 96-100.

[9]Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Pilot.5th edition. London, 1900 (with several later supplements).Admiralty Charts of the Red Sea.Sheets 2 and 3.

[10]At Halaib Fort the difference is as much as 1′ 53″, or nearly 2 miles;seep. 66.

[11]This should not be confounded with the higher Gebel Faraid to the northward.

[12]Qash Amir is quite a separate mountain from Gebel Elba, not part of the same range as the chart indicates.

[13]Barth,Reise von Assuan über Berenike nach Kosser—Zeits. für allgem. Erdkunde. Berlin. Vol. VII (1859), pp. 1-31. (There is no map to this work, but the route followed is easily traceable on a modern map owing to the place-names being given in the journal.)

[14]v. Heuglin,Reise in Nordost Africa und längs des Rothen Meeres im Jahre 1857. Petermann’s geogr. Mittheilungen, 1860. pp. 332-335. (This paper is accompanied by a map, which is, however, lacking in the copy of the Khedivial Library).

[15]This I think is an error. A small isolated granite hill west of Berenice is called Sikeit, and has been visited by Barth and myself; but it is devoid of ruins. My Arabs called BereniceMedinet el Haras.

[16]There was no “Geziret Elba” known to the sailors of Halaib at the time of my survey. The “Elba Island” of the Admiralty Chart is called Geziret el Dibia; it is a very small island, which looks like a boat from a distance.

[17]Though the Bisharin are now very orderly and friendly, the ancient dread of their country still persists to such a degree that it is almost impossible to persuade Ababda Arabs to go near the Elba district.

[18]Schweinfurth,Reise an der Kuste des Rothen Meeres von Kosser bis Suakin, Zeits. für allgem. Erdkunde. Berlin, Band XVIII (1865), pp. 131-150, 283-313, 320-384. A special account of the Elba district is given with a map, in another paper,Das Land am Elba- und Soturba-Gebirgein Petermann’s geog. Mittheilungen, 1865. pp. 330-340. Schweinfurth also published several other papers dealing with the rich botanical results of his expedition.

[19]I found many of the natives could not recognise the name Halaib, which has become the official name of their village. They call it “Oleiyib,” sounding the final consonant only slightly; so that Schweinfurth’s “Elei” is not very different from the local name.

[20]Colston,Journal d’un voyage du Caire à Keneh, Bérénice et Berber. Bull. Soc. Khédiv. de Géographie. 1886. pp. 489-568.

[21]Purdy,Reconnaissance entre Bérénice et Berber.Ibid.pp. 431-435, with a map.

[22]Cora,La route de Kéneh à Bérénice levée en 1873, par le Colonel R. E. Colston. Bull. Soc. Khéd. de Géog. Cairo, Sept. 1891. pp. 533-538, with map.

[23]Golénischeff,Une Excursion à Bérénice. Recueil de Travaux. Vol. XIII (1891), pp. 75-96.

[24]Golénischeff names this placeAbu Greïa, a name which he remarks is the same as that of a station near Berenice. Garia Abu Medrik is the name given to it by the Arab guides accompanying the Survey expeditions.

[25]Floyer,Etude sur le Nord Etbai. Cairo, 1893.

[26]Further Routes in the Eastern Desert of Egypt.Geog. Journal. London, 1893. pp. 408-431.

[27]Notes on the Geology of the Northern Etbai.Quart. Journal Geol. Soc. London, 1892. pp. 576-582.

[28]ProfessorHull, in the discussion on Floyer’s paper, suggested, even in the absence of specimens, that Floyer’s “blue clay” was really a decomposed Archæan schist. My observations have proved the sagacity of this suggestion.

[29]Bent,A visit to the Northern Sudan. Geogr. Journal. London. Vol. VIII (1896), pp. 335-353.

[30]Macalister,The Emerald Mines of Northern Etbai. Geog. Journal. London. Vol. XVI (1900), pp. 537-549.

[31]Berichte der Commission für Oceanographische Forschungen.Sechste Reihe, Wien 1898, and Siebente Reihe, Wien, 1901.

[32]Seep. 65.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF SOUTH-EASTERN EGYPT.

In this chapter will be given a brief general account of the district, under the heads of:—

The subjects of topography, water supplies, and geology, will be further considered more fully in succeeding chapters.

As already mentioned in the introduction, the district treated of in this volume lies between the parallels of 25° and 22° of north latitude, and between the meridian of 34° E. and the Red Sea. It comprises an area of about 56,000 square kilometres (22,000 square miles).

The higher mountains of the Eastern Desert generally form the watershed between the Nile and the Red Sea. This watershed is much nearer to the coast than to the Nile, with the result that the eastward drainage is much steeper than to the west.

Commencing from the north (seethe orographical map,Plate I), the principal mountain masses are:—

(i) The Migif — Hafafit — Nugrus — Hangalia — Zabara group (1,505 metres[34]), cut off to the south by the Wadi Gemal (Fd).

(ii) The Abu Hamamid — Hamata — Abu Gurdi group (1,978 metres), limited on the south by the Wadi Lahami (Hg).

(iii) The Um Gunud — Dahanib — Batoga group (1,270 metres), lying between Wadi Lahami on the north and Wadi Khoda (Hj) on the south.

(iv) The Abu Dahr — Orga — Um Tenedba group (1,131 metres), separating the drainage of Wadi Betan (Fl) from Wadis Khoda and Rahaba (Hl).

(v) The Faraid group, theMons Pentadactylusof Ptolemy, comprising some very remarkable granite peaks (1,366 metres), lying near the coast between Wadi Khoda and Wadi Rahaba.

(vi) The Awamtib — Abraq — Dif — Aqab el Negum — Mishbih group (1,353 metres), forming the tripartite watershed between the great Wadi systems of Kharit and Alaqi on the west, and that of Wadi Hodein on the east.

(vii) The Gerf — Abu Hodeid group, a mighty mass rising to 1,736 metres, lying between Wadi Hodein (Jn) and Wadi Hasium (Hs).

(viii) The Meisah — Adar Qaqa — Is group, between the Wadis Hasium and Di-ib (Mr).

(ix) The Elba — Shendib group (1,912 metres[35]), a great mass of spiky mountains lying near the sea between Wadi Di-ib and the coast.

Besides these main groups, there are numerous more or less isolated mountains, of which Gebels Abu Khrug (Bd, 870 metres), HamratMukbud (Cf, 890 metres), Zergat Naam (Ej, 845 metres), and the two Niqrubs (FnandFo, 829 metres and 1,078 metres) are examples.

Some of the mountains, especially the granite “bodkin” of Gebel Faraid (Hl), and some of the peaks of the Elba group, appear to be unclimbable. A few others are rather dangerous of ascent, as, for example, Gebel Abu Hamamid (Ef) on account of its steepness, and Gebel Abu Dahr (Gk) by reason of combined steepness and rotten rock, which comes away in tons at a touch. The highest peak of all within the district, Gebel Hamata (Gf), is a comparatively easy climb from the north.

The course of the main watershed which parts the Red Sea and Nile drainages is highly irregular both in altitude and direction, as will be evident from the orographical map (Plate I), on which it is shown by a red line. From Gebel Hamrat Wogud, in the north, it passes east of Gebel Atut, thence through the high masses of Gebels Hangalia, Nugrus, Hafafit, and Migif, beyond which it drops southward through the low country round Gebel Abu Had. Entering the mountains again at Gebel Nukheira, it takes an eastward bend, passing along the great ridges of Gebels Abu Hamamid, Um Usher, Um Hasidok, and Ras el Kharit. Striking southward across the head of Wadi Kharit, it courses through the mountains of Mikbi and Abu Gurdi, thence dropping to the south on the plain near the hills called Marwot Elemikan. Turning here sharply westward over the plain, it passes through the hill-mass of Gebel Abu Derega and on to Gebel Zergat Naam, south-west of which it crosses the low tract at the head of Wadi el Arned to the sandstone plateaux of Dagalai, whence it courses a little to the west of Gebel Um Reit and enters the mountainous tract of Gebel Aqab el Negum. Its further course has not been traced in detail, but from guides’ statements and the indications of the main drainage-lines it is believed to run as shown on the map, in a great curve through the two sharp peaks of Gebel Sheyenit to the west of Gebel Mishbih, and then in another flatter curve south-eastwards to Gebel Soaorib, at the head of Wadi Hasium. Continuing along the mountain ridges of Gebel Soaorib, it crossesto Gebel Is,[36]separating the Wadi Is from the heads of Wadi Alaqi on the Sudan frontier.

The watershed is for a great part of its course quite impassable for camels. The principal places where it can be crossed are at the head of Wadi Nugrus, near Abu Had, the Wadi Marasan between Huluz and Wadi el Sheikh, the heads of Wadi Lahami, Wadi el Fil, Wadi Arned, and Wadi Um Reit, passes at Aqab el Negum and Hamrat el Feg, near Gebel Mishbih, the head of Wadi Hasium, and the pass of Adar Ameit, north of Gebel Is. All these places are practicable for baggage camels, though in some of them, as, for instance, at the head of Wadi Nugrus, care is required because the track is steep and stony.

The principal drainage-basins are shown on the small scale map onPlate II.The westward drainage ultimately reaches the Nile by the three main trunk wadis of Shait, Kharit, and Alaqi; Shait and Kharit enter the Nile Valley at Kom Ombo, while Alaqi debouches near Dakka. The eastward drainage is much more complex, the principal trunk wadis, such as Um Khariga, Gemal, Khoda, Rahaba, Hodein, Ibib, Di-ib, and Serimtai, being separated by very numerous minor wadis draining independently to the sea.[37]

Nearly all the wadis contain vegetation in the form of trees and bushes, and plant life flourishes as a rule far more luxuriously in wadis draining seawards than in those leading to the Nile. Feqoh, Naam, and the lower reaches of Hodein are, however, exceptionally barren. Forming, as they do, the only possible roads, furnishing the entire supply of camel food, and containing most of the wells, the wadis are to the desert what the Nile is to Egypt proper. The intervening mountains are of no interest to the Arabs, except when they contain water-reservoirs. Hence the place-naming starts from the wadis, even the smallest of which have names unless they are barren. Mountains are generally named after the nearest wadi, and maythus have two names when situated between two wadis, the particular name used depending on which side the mountain is seen from.

The coast-line of this part of Egypt is somewhat irregular, the peninsula of Ras Benas forming a prominent projection in latitude 24°. In the south part of the area the eastward extension of the country, culminating in Ras Hadarba (Cape Elba of existing maps), is very marked, extending nearly to 37° of east longitude. The coast is almost entirely fringed by coral reefs, passage through which is only possible at certain points, and then only with the utmost care in navigation.[38]Between the feet of the mountains and the sea there extends a gently sloping plain, varying in width from about eight to twenty-five kilometres, covered with sand, over which the drainage meanders in shallow courses, often only traceable by the vegetation which occurs along them. A rather surprising result brought out by the levelling observations is that the slope of the coast plain, even where it looks flattest and sandiest, is as steep as the floors of some of the wadis draining on to it, and several times more steep than the beds of the wadis which drain westwards to the Nile, its fall seawards averaging six metres per kilometre and reaching over ten metres per kilometre in some sections.

The climate of the district is predominantly hot and dry to the west of the watershed, hot and moist eastward of it; but very cold weather is apt to prevail for a few weeks in January and February, with strong north winds, on both sides of the watershed, and the transition from piercing cold to great heat at these times is often brought about very suddenly by a change of wind direction. There is seldom any frost, but water-bags are occasionally frozen on the mountain tops at night. Cool north-west winds prevail in the north part of the area, while hot damp winds from the south-east are usual in the south. In the central part, round Berenice, absolute calmsare frequent.[39]The highest mountain-masses are frequently swathed in clouds for weeks together, especially from January to March. The hot, dry, sand-laden winds calledKhamsinoccasionally blow for four or five days together in March and April; at these times the shade temperature rises to over 45° C., and the air is thick with sand and dust. Rain falls in most years, but its quantity is very variable; in some years there is barely enough to keep the wells supplied, and much of the vegetation withers; in others, heavy storms produce wild downrushes in the wadis, filling them for short periods with raging torrents. Curious electrical and optical phenomena can sometimes be seen on the mountain-tops during storms and in mists.[40]The Elba region is seldom free from clouds, and receives far more rain than any other portion of the area, forming in fact the northern limit of the rainy tropical zone; it is in consequence relatively well wooded, while the other mountains are a dreary waste of naked rocks.

Sketch-MapOFSOUTH-EASTERN EGYPT.Showing Drainage-Basins.Ball. Geography & Geology of South-Eastern Egypt.PLATEII.Photo-Metal-Process. Survey Dept. Cairo 1910. (60-190)Scale 1:2,000,000.

Sketch-MapOFSOUTH-EASTERN EGYPT.Showing Drainage-Basins.

Photo-Metal-Process. Survey Dept. Cairo 1910. (60-190)

Scale 1:2,000,000.

The predominant types of scenery are extensive sandy plains and gaunt rugged mountains. In the low-lands, pleasant relief from the stony monotony is afforded by the trees and scrub which occur along most of the wadis, though their struggle for existence is often evidenced by miles of withered and blackened scrub in places which a few years ago were green and flourishing. The bareness of the mountains becomes slightly relieved in the Elba district, where beautiful trees and flowering plants thrive high up the mountain-side along all the drainage lines. As to the forms of the mountains, one sees extensive broken sandstone plateaux at Gebel Abraq (El), remarkable rounded granite bosses at Gebels Muelih (Ab), Nugrus (Dc), Selaia (Fh), and Um Rasein (Jr), jagged and spiky granite peaks in the mountains of Faraid (Jk), Qash Amir (Os), and Elba (Ps), and broken masses of gneiss, dark schists and serpentines at Gebels Hafafit (Dc), Hangalia (Dc), Abu Hamamid (Ef), Hamata (Gf), and Gerf(Hp). Perhaps the most remarkable of all the peaks are those of Faraid (Jk), which from the north look like the expanded fingers of a huge hand, whence they received their name ofMons Pentadactylusin antiquity, while one specially sharp peak is styled very appropriately “the Bodkin” on Admiralty Charts. The mass of Elba forms a very fine view from the north, but the prevalence of clouds about its summits frequently hides it from view for months together. The views from the mountain-tops are extensive and beautiful, especially at sunrise and sunset, when the peaks take on wonderful colours, and the views from the summits when the entire lower landscape is bathed in clouds, through which only the higher peaks project like islands from a great sea, are not less remarkable. Though a good look out was kept from the highest mountains across the sea, the mountains of the opposite shore of Arabia were never with certainty made out; the cone of Zeberged Island was, however, often seen. It is stated by d’Anville, on the authority of Castro,[41]that both the Arabian and African mountains can be seen from the summit of Zeberged.

Both animal and plant life is mainly confined to the drainage lines. Of wild animals suitable for human food, gazelles can be shot fairly frequently in the south part of the area, but are very scarce in the north. Sand grouse and partridges can occasionally be obtained round Abu Saafa, while doves are very abundant in the groves near Bir Akwamtra, at the foot of Gebel Elba. Ibex were never seen with certainty, though their horns and lairs were often found on the mountains. Conies inhabit the rocks near Bir Abraq and Bir Madi. The wild ass has disappeared from the area, as also has the ostrich, though fragments of ostrich eggs picked up here and there, and drawings of this bird on the rocks, attest its presence here in recent times. Vultures, kites, and ravens are everywhere in evidence, and several kinds of smaller birds, such as swallows and wagtails, are often seen about the greener wadis. Lizards of many kinds are to be seen. Scorpions and snakes are seldom met with. Of butterflies and moths, especially the latter, many varieties occur. The common fly occurs insuch numbers as to be a great pest, but mosquitoes and sand-flies are practically absent. Camel ticks infest the ground under all trees used as shade by travelling Arabs. Earwigs are in some places very abundant, and a great variety of beetles and bugs occur. Near the sea, whole armies of crabs are to be seen marching on the shore, and hermit crabs are very numerous in all sorts of gasteropod dwellings.

Of plant life the district contains a great variety. The north and central parts of the area contain the same trees and bushes as abound further north in Egypt,[42]and camel food is moderately abundant. As Elba is approached, many beautiful flowering plants not found further north are met with, while in the clefts of the slopes of Elba itself is a far richer vegetation than occurs wild in any other part of Egypt. I found the approach to Elba was stopped for baggage camels some four kilometres from the summit owing to the closeness of the trees, and the ascent on foot up the clefts of the mountain-face for the remainder of the way was more like going through an English wood than up a desert mountain. Many varieties of sweet-smelling flowers and some fruit-bearing trees unfamiliar in Egypt were seen, while mosses and lichens covered the tumbled masses of granite in many places. Schweinfurth, who examined the botany of this region in 1864, found that of 300 species of plants collected in the Elba district, the vast majority were of Abyssinian types; scarcely 100 were living in other more northerly parts of the Eastern Desert of Egypt, while still fewer are indigenous to the Nile Valley, and only fifteen species were of those found wild in Europe.[43]

The sources of water comprisegalts(rock basins forming rain water reservoirs in the mountains), springs and wells. Of these,galtsyield the purest water, and form the principal supply of the pastoral Arabs, except in years of no rainfall, while springs and wells, the latter usually rude excavations in the alluvia of wadis, are most used by travellers from their easier accessibility. Smallgaltsare calledmegal(Ababda) ormegwel(Bisharin); they are frequently accompanied by small springs.

The small scale map onPlate III,which shows all sources known to exist within the area, gives a good idea of the distribution of water supplies. Water is scarce in the western parts of the country, Bir Abu Hashim being the only source within a radius of about sixty kilometres of itself, butgaltsand wells are fairly frequent among the mountainous tracts further east. The springs of Abraq and Abu Saafa are the most important sources in the central area. The portion of the country under the Sudan Administration is far richer in water that the Egyptian part, containing numerous fine wells and springs, such as Birs Meneiga, Abu Hodeid, Akwamtra, and Frukit. The coast plain is waterless, except for salty wells near the sea.

Water can usually be obtained at intervals of about two or three days when on the march, and in some parts much more frequently. The water of certain wells and springs has a purgative effect due to the absorption of magnesium salts, especially after a long interval without rain. That of others, again, such as Muelih and Shalatein, is so salty as to be only drinkable by camels.

The rocks composing this part of Egypt are principally igneous and metamorphic deposits of very ancient origin. Granite is most prominent in the Nugrus, Faraid, and Elba areas, schists and diorites cover a large portion of the remaining country, and huge masses of serpentines form the mountains of Abu Dahr, Korabkansi, and Gerf. Of sedimentary rocks, plateaux of Nubian sandstone (Cretaceous) cover large areas round Bir Abraq and westward of it, while a narrow belt of the same rock also occurs along the sea coast in the north part of the district. Gypseous limestones (Miocene?) form the hills of Ras Benas and occur along the coast north of Wadi Lahami, as well as in small areas near the coast further south in the neighbourhood of Halaib.

Sketch-MapOFSOUTH-EASTERN EGYPT.Showing the Water-sources and the Roads connecting them.Ball. Geography & Geology of South-Eastern Egypt.PLATEIII.Photo-Metal-Process. Survey Dept. Cairo 1910. (60-190)Scale 1:2,000,000.

Sketch-MapOFSOUTH-EASTERN EGYPT.Showing the Water-sources and the Roads connecting them.

Photo-Metal-Process. Survey Dept. Cairo 1910. (60-190)

Scale 1:2,000,000.

Crushing of the older rocks is almost everywhere strongly evidenced, but faulting is difficult to trace except in the sandstone areas, where it is strongly marked. The presence of clearly defined overthrust faulting in the Abraq area shows that tangential earth movements, so rare in this part of the world,[46]have not been altogether absent.

The mineral resources of this part of Egypt are not of very great importance, owing partly to its inaccessible situation and desert character. Gold and copper ores occur in places; other localities contain beryl and peridots, while others, again, bear iron ores, gypsum, sulphur, steatite, asbestos, and magnesite, and good building stones abound over large areas.

The presence of ruins and excavations at places like Hangalia, Sikait, Zabara, Romit, and Darahib, are evidence of mining activity in the past, but the mean nature of the accommodation for the workers, and the presence of old stone hand mills where gold was the thing sought for, confirm the statement of Diodorus[47]that the mines were worked by miserable convicts.

In recent years much prospecting has been done to test whether the ancient mines could be developed and made commercially productive under modern conditions. In the case of many areas, including that round Darahib, the mines of which are believed to be those referred to with a map in the Turin papyrus of the Nineteenth Dynasty,[48]the prospecting licences have been surrendered to the Government because the results were unfavourable. In a few other cases prospecting is still being carried out, and in three localities the results have been sufficiently encouraging for exploitation to be undertaken.

The following tables, compiled from information supplied by the Mines Department, give particulars of the prospecting licencesand mining leases at present (1912) held within the area described in this book:—

Prospecting Licences.

Mining Leases.

Of the above three mining leases, the last mentioned (the Peridot and Egyptian Gems Co., Ltd.) is the only one under which any considerable exploitation has been carried on, large numbers of beautiful peridots having been obtained from the mines. The two gold mining undertakings have been commenced too recently for much to have been as yet accomplished.

The archæological remains of pre-Arab times in this part of Egypt comprise the small ruined temples of Berenice and Sikait, the ruins of stations along the old mining roads, the ancient mines with the rude habitations of the miners, and sundry markings on rocks near the roads.

TheTemple of Bereniceis a low inconspicuous structure measuring only some ten metres square, containing five small rooms and a tiny corridor and staircase.[49]Owing to its exposed situation on the coast and the soft limestone (from Ras Benas) of which it is built, it is in a very dilapidated condition, and it is difficult to make out many of the inscriptions on its walls. The axial direction of the temple (63° 20′ east of true north) appears to show that it was oriented to face the rising sun at the summer solstice. Of the village (one can hardly call it a city) of Berenice, only insignificant remains exist near the temple. The houses were mere hovels built of rough lumps of coral.

There are threetemples in Wadi Sikait; they are small rock-hewn structures in even worse preservation than that of Berenice.[50]

Many attempts have been made to trace theancient mining roadsmentioned by classical writers. The stations on the road fromKoptos(Quft) to Berenice, enumerated by Pliny and Antoninus, have not been with certainty identified. The absence of any reliable map of the main features of the country has hitherto prevented travellers from locating the positions of stations found, while in careful surveying it has generally been necessary to travel by other roads than the ancient ones, so that it cannot be hoped that all the ruined stations, many of which are invisible till one is close to them, have been included in the maps. Now that all the principal features of the country have been accurately laid down, it will be much easier for future travellers to locate precisely any ruins they may come across.

Of the road leading fromContra-Apollinopolis(Edfu) to the emerald mines of Sikait and Zabara, much more is known, this route having been traversed by Golénischeff[51]and most of its stations located by the Geological Survey. Leading from Edfu, past Bir Abad, the ruins of a large station and rock temple occur at a distance of about forty-five kilometres from the Nile, at a place now calledKanais(the churches), where a well yielding good water was sunk three years ago by the Mines Department. About forty-five kilometresfurther on is the station called Gariat Abu Medrik, where there are two ancient stucco-lined cylindrical reservoirs, but no well. At the next station, called Samut, there is a good well in the centre of a large rubble ruin. As all the stations just mentioned lie outside the limits of the maps which accompany this memoir, I give their approximate geographical positions below:—

The next station after Samut appears to have been the ruins near Gebel Dweig. Further on, after passing over the watershed, is another station with two cisterns in a semicircular enclosure. The road continues past Gebel Abu Had to the Wadi Gemal, where there are two more cisterns, this time in a triangular enclosure, and thence up to the Wadi Nugrus and Wadi Sikait to the mines. The Edfu-Sikait road may have joined the Quft-Berenice road at the Wadi Gemal station.

A third ancient road is believed to have led northward from Berenice to Qoseir, along the coast; while a fourth, from near Dakka on the Nile up the Wadi Alaqi to the gold mines of the south, is now a regular route to the Nile Valley Company’s mine of Um Gariart.

Theancient emerald mines of Zabara and Sikaitconsist of numerous irregular shafts, mostly of no very great depth, excavated in schists of micaceous and talcose types. Theold gold mines, such as those at Sukari, Um Eleiga, Seiga, Romit, and the Darahib district, are on a considerable scale, excavations having been carried on in quartz veins to fair depths. The dwellings at the mines were for the most part only miserable hovels of rubble stone. A view of those of Um Eleiga is given onPlate IV.The ancient quartz-grinding mills, mostly made of a hard diorite, are frequently found among the ruins of the hovels. There is no clear evidence that any of the minesyielded a very rich output; the workings were of the nature of penal settlements (Prof. Mahaffy[52]has aptly termed them a “tropical Siberia”) in times when life and labour were cheap, and a very moderate yield may under those conditions have been satisfactory.[53]

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