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 Radadmay 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 eastwardfor 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 Muqurheads 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 calledBir 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 shortWadi 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 from470 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 theWadi Tikosha, draining the moderately high hills which lie between Wadi Radad and Gebel Muqur, and winding among low hills over the plain.TheWadis QadiloiandBaaneitdrain 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 byTilat 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 Baaneitis 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 calledDarahib 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 calledWadi 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 theWadi 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 calledBir Diqdib, which, though of great service to the Koatil Arabs who inhabit this district with their camels andother 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.TheWadi Um Sahadrains 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 Gerfmassifand 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 calledBir Bint el Dreb, situated at the head ofWadi 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 Hewahdrains 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 calledBir Kagog. A few kilometres further down, the shortWadi Mantil Hasium, draining the western face of Gebel Adar Qaqa, enters from the east, while theWadi 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 toBir 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 calledWadi 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, calledBir 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.TheRod 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 Odrukis 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, especiallyin 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 theWadi 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 isWadi 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 toBir 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 Soaoriboriginates 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 calledMitba; here it is met by several tributary wadis of which the principal is theWadi 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 theWadi Hankuk, draining north-eastward from Gebel Adar Qaqa, and a few kilometres further on by theWadi 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 Eimyadrains the western face of Gebel Qidmib, whileWadi Qidmibdrains 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 calledBir Qidmib, while the eastern one leadsto 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 smallWadi 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 toBir 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 calledAdar 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 calledTi 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 theWadi 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, theWadi 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 calledMegwel 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 theSarob 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 Meisahis 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, calledMeis-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 sandygully, 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 calledHanqun Ra-ub, while the southern one, called theWadi 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 greatWadi 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 itslength 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 ofdurraare grown; my camels were fed for some weeks ondurraobtained 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 calledWadi Salalob; it drains the north face of Adar Aweib, and heads in a very steep passinto 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 Meheriqais 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 Meheriqaviathe 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 theWadi Qumad Limfrom 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 calledShekra el Delam; I did not visit it, but the Arabs say thereis 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, calledBir Adal Deib, exists close to the shore in the same locality.Of theWadi 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 atO Harbubbefore 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 andHalaib, 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 theWadi Dibir, and Wadi Hashimaiyib on the north and byWadi Oshqeqon 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 inWadi 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 Hashimaiyibheads 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, theWadi 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 Warabeithas its most important head at the easy and well known pass ofBani 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 theWadi Wieqwer, draining northwards from the hills west of Adar Aweib. It then receives theWadi Kwileimidaiyeibfrom 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, calledMegwel Didaut, while a small feeder a little lower down, coming from Adar Aqdeib, also contains a water source calledMegwel Adar Aqdeib. Both these water sources are within about half an hour’s journey from the main wadi. After passing Adar Aqdeib, Wadi Didaut curvesround 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 Baueiwaiheads 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 theWadi 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 calledMegwel 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 Aqwemis 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 calledMegwel 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, theWadi Nubitra, contains a well. This well, calledBir Nubitra, is said to yield only very small supplies; it is situated about three kilometres up the Wadi Nubitra, among high hills. One ofthe many heads of the small Wadi Nubitra leads northwards by an easy pass into the head of Wadi Hamida.TheWadi Hamidaheads 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 calledMegwel 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-itdrains 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 Eikwanis 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 thespecial name ofWadi 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 ofBir 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 theWadi 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 narrowWadi Siamtitfrom 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 calledBir 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 importantWadi Akwamtrafrom 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, soclose 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, calledBir 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 Yahameiboriginates 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 calledAsut Duk; this pass forms a short cut for unladen camels between thewells 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 theWadis AkauandKansisrob, both draining the north parts of a great spur of Gebel Elba. Wadi Akau contains a small spring, calledMegwel Akau, a short distance above its opening from the hills, while Wadi Kansisrob contains a great well of good water calledBir 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 Todhidrains 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, calledKaram 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 assistantreported there was no well at the place, nor anything of interest besides the graves.Wadi Delowais 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 Serimtaiis 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 calledWadi 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 calledBir Sararat Serimtai, which has, however, not been visited. TheWadi 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 calledBir 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 Kwanis 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., longitude36° 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 freshfish 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 akuttabwhere 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, calledGeziret 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 calledGeziret 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 AbuRamad 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 Shellalheads 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 Aqweidrains 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-oris 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 ofTi 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 calledKuatianai, 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, calledWadi 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.
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 Radadmay 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 eastwardfor 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 Muqurheads 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 calledBir 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 shortWadi 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 from470 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 theWadi Tikosha, draining the moderately high hills which lie between Wadi Radad and Gebel Muqur, and winding among low hills over the plain.
TheWadis QadiloiandBaaneitdrain 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 byTilat 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 Baaneitis 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 calledDarahib 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 calledWadi 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 theWadi 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 calledBir Diqdib, which, though of great service to the Koatil Arabs who inhabit this district with their camels andother 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.
TheWadi Um Sahadrains 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 Gerfmassifand 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 calledBir Bint el Dreb, situated at the head ofWadi 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 Hewahdrains 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 calledBir Kagog. A few kilometres further down, the shortWadi Mantil Hasium, draining the western face of Gebel Adar Qaqa, enters from the east, while theWadi 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 toBir 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 calledWadi 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, calledBir 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.
TheRod 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 Odrukis 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, especiallyin 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 theWadi 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 isWadi 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 toBir 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 Soaoriboriginates 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 calledMitba; here it is met by several tributary wadis of which the principal is theWadi 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 theWadi Hankuk, draining north-eastward from Gebel Adar Qaqa, and a few kilometres further on by theWadi 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 Eimyadrains the western face of Gebel Qidmib, whileWadi Qidmibdrains 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 calledBir Qidmib, while the eastern one leadsto 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 smallWadi 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 toBir 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 calledAdar 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 calledTi 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 theWadi 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, theWadi 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 calledMegwel 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 theSarob 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 Meisahis 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, calledMeis-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 sandygully, 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 calledHanqun Ra-ub, while the southern one, called theWadi 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 greatWadi 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 itslength 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 ofdurraare grown; my camels were fed for some weeks ondurraobtained 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 calledWadi Salalob; it drains the north face of Adar Aweib, and heads in a very steep passinto 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 Meheriqais 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 Meheriqaviathe 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 theWadi Qumad Limfrom 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 calledShekra el Delam; I did not visit it, but the Arabs say thereis 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, calledBir Adal Deib, exists close to the shore in the same locality.
Of theWadi 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 atO Harbubbefore 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 andHalaib, 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 theWadi Dibir, and Wadi Hashimaiyib on the north and byWadi Oshqeqon 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 inWadi 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 Hashimaiyibheads 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, theWadi 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 Warabeithas its most important head at the easy and well known pass ofBani 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 theWadi Wieqwer, draining northwards from the hills west of Adar Aweib. It then receives theWadi Kwileimidaiyeibfrom 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, calledMegwel Didaut, while a small feeder a little lower down, coming from Adar Aqdeib, also contains a water source calledMegwel Adar Aqdeib. Both these water sources are within about half an hour’s journey from the main wadi. After passing Adar Aqdeib, Wadi Didaut curvesround 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 Baueiwaiheads 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 theWadi 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 calledMegwel 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 Aqwemis 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 calledMegwel 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, theWadi Nubitra, contains a well. This well, calledBir Nubitra, is said to yield only very small supplies; it is situated about three kilometres up the Wadi Nubitra, among high hills. One ofthe many heads of the small Wadi Nubitra leads northwards by an easy pass into the head of Wadi Hamida.
TheWadi Hamidaheads 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 calledMegwel 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-itdrains 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 Eikwanis 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 thespecial name ofWadi 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 ofBir 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 theWadi 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 narrowWadi Siamtitfrom 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 calledBir 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 importantWadi Akwamtrafrom 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, soclose 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, calledBir 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 Yahameiboriginates 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 calledAsut Duk; this pass forms a short cut for unladen camels between thewells 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 theWadis AkauandKansisrob, both draining the north parts of a great spur of Gebel Elba. Wadi Akau contains a small spring, calledMegwel Akau, a short distance above its opening from the hills, while Wadi Kansisrob contains a great well of good water calledBir 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 Todhidrains 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, calledKaram 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 assistantreported there was no well at the place, nor anything of interest besides the graves.
Wadi Delowais 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 Serimtaiis 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 calledWadi 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 calledBir Sararat Serimtai, which has, however, not been visited. TheWadi 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 calledBir 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 Kwanis 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., longitude36° 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 freshfish 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 akuttabwhere 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, calledGeziret 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 calledGeziret 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 AbuRamad 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 Shellalheads 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 Aqweidrains 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-oris 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 ofTi 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 calledKuatianai, 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, calledWadi 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.