# Mount Seir, Sinai and Western Palestine/Chapter 7

CHAPTER VII.
WÂDY EL AIN.
We were now about to experience a surprise for which we were entirely unprepared, in the form of a magnificent gorge, resembling one of the great cañons of Western America. The road we were taking is seldom traversed either by travellers or by Arabs, and our guides were unacquainted with it. It is next to certain that the Israelites did not take this route, which from its nature would have been impracticable for a host of men, women, and children with cattle. Professor Palmer has happily identified the position of “Hazeroth” with that of Ain Huderah, which lies to the east and south of our course; and the children of Israel, in journeying towards Ezion Geber, doubtless took the easier and more direct route, under Divine guidance, by the Wâdy Saal and Wâdy el Huderah; and then descending, by the lower end of the Wâdy el Ain, to the sea coast of the Gulf of Akabah, continued along its margin to Ezion Geber. The upper part of the W. el Ain, as I have already stated, would have been impracticable for such a host. To us, indeed, it presented a spectacle of the grandest kind, illustrating the marvellous erosive power of water, when employed in cutting its channel through an indefinitely long period of time. (See Frontispiece).
Shortly after leaving our midday camp our eyes were greeted by the unusual spectacle of a grove of palms, following the course of a trickling stream of clear water issuing from the fountain which gives its name to the valley, and the first we had seen since leaving the Convent of St. Catherine. Following with some difficulty the course of the stream between narrow walls of granite, we presently found ourselves in a gorge about twenty yards in width, with walls rising to still higher altitudes, up to 600 feet or 700 feet, by estimation. The air was deliciously cool and fresh. Several kinds of birds darted about; and some plants, hitherto unrecognised, gave Hart abundant employment. My son got his camera ​into operation, and soon exhausted the stock of plates remaining for the day’s use. Every few yards brought us in front of still loftier cliffs of granite, occasionally capped by pyramids and tors of sandstone, until at about half-a-mile from our entrance to this grand cañon, and after winding from side to side, we found ourselves confronted by inaccessible cliffs, estimated by Kitchener and myself at 1,000 feet to 1,200 feet in altitude above the bed of the brook. A little further on, cliffs of sandstone were seen capping the granite on the left; and at length, after numerous windings, a lengthened vista opens out along a straight reach of about three miles, nearly flat along the bottom, and bounded by steep slopes of granite seamed by dykes and sheets of greenstone. At the end of this glen we found our tents pitched on a terrace of gravel, slightly raised above the bed of the now dry stream course. Little groves of palms, tamarisks, and tall reeds were refreshing to the eyes, and afforded choice provender for our camels; and, behind our tents, at the base of the cliffs, our Arabs rested in groups around their fires, chatting over the events of the day, and preparing the evening meal.
There were not wanting proofs that this remarkable ravine, now almost waterless, is sometimes the channel of a mighty river, which sweeps down towards the sea in an impetuous flood, carrying everything within its reach before it. Immense masses of shingle were piled up within the entrant angles and protected places of the valley where eddies would be formed; while large boulders and masses of driftwood were sometimes to be seen lying stranded in similar positions. One can well imagine that after one of the great thunderstorms which burst on the mountainous parts of the peninsula, and suddenly convert dry valleys into impetuous torrents, this gorge of the El Ain must present a spectacle at once impressive and terrible; for it then receives the combined floods of the Wâdies Zelegah, El Biyar, and numerous smaller tributaries. In such a case, woe to the unhappy traveller who finds himself within the walls of the grand cañon; he himself may possibly escape by scaling the cliffs, but his camels and baggage would be swept away beyond the hope of rescue. On this account the Arabs seldom enter this part of the valley. To them it remains mysterious and almost unknown; and we may feel assured that, to the host of Israel, it would have proved a dangerous and almost ​impracticable road, and one which under the guidance of God—who “led his people like a flock”—they were not likely to follow.
Sunday, 25th November.—We had morning prayers in the tent, and in the afternoon, while engaged in writing, word was brought “that the engineers were approaching.” We had heard, when in our camp near Mount Sinai, that a party of engineers had arrived from England at Suez,and were waiting for camels to carry them to Akabah; and we understood that they had come out to take observations along the line of the Wâdy el Arabah in connection with “the Jordan Valley scheme.”
Presently the baggage camels passed our tents at a rapid pace, and about an hour afterwards two gentlemen, with dragoman and servant,passed also. I had ordered coffee to be prepared with the expectation that the engineers would favour us with a call en passant; but with that reserve which is peculiar to Englishmen—and not one of their most agreeable characteristics—they refrained from any communication with our party.
Feeling satisfied that their object was to reach Akabah before ourselves and forestall us in securing camels, though we had a right to priority, I requested Major Kitchener to draw up a letter to the governor of Akabah with directions that he would secure the services of Sheikh Mohammed Ibn Jhad, and obtain the requisite camels. This letter I despatched the same evening by the hand of our conductor, Berhard Heilpern, who started down the valley accompanied by an Arab, passed the tents of the engineering party at night, and reached Akabah on the second day; and so well did he accomplish his task that, on our arrival, we received a message from Sheikh Mohammed saying that he was on his way from his mountain home to visit us, with the result which will be stated further on. Having thus taken measures to prevent our expedition being blocked, or at least being seriously delayed at its most critical stage, we prepared to resume our journey next morning.
Our course continued for several miles down the Wâdy el Ain, sometimes in view of a conspicuous mountain called Jebel el Aradeh, which rose between us and the sea, towards the north-east. This mountain was ascended by Kitchener for survey purposes, and Hart for botanical. It forms a landmark in that part of the country, and like most of the ​isolated hills consists of beds of sandstone and limestone on a granitic base. At length we came to the point where the Wâdy et Tîhyeh opens on the left into the apparently interminable Wâdy el Ain, and we gladly struck up the former in a direction somewhat circuitous, but generally making towards the north and east. We rested at noon by some wells in the sandstone rock, which was often encrusted with salt. The spot is pretty on account of the groups of palm trees. Through the rest of the day our course lay over a very broken line of country, diversified by deep depressions, terraced escarpments of limestone or sandstone, and ultimately we emerged on a wide plain bounded by fine escarpments of the former. The surface of this plain is dotted with plants; and in April is green with herbage, and occupied by several hundred Bedawins, who come here with their flocks and herds for pasturage, and to make butter;—now it was nearly deserted. At length, after a very long day’s march of ten hours, we pitched our tents near the head of the Wâdy el Tîhyeh, at the base of a limestone cliff, and at an elevation of 2,400 feet above the sea.
* ↑ Although the W. el Ain has been described by Ruppell and by Miss Martiueau it will bear repetition.
* ↑ Mr. Armstrong made a survey of this gorge of the W. el Ain by a series of compass bearings, and pacing from angle to angle of the gorge. It will be found represented on the new map of the P.E.F. when published.
* ↑ The scheme according to which it is proposed to flood the valley of the Jordan to the level of the Mediterranean, and to cut a canal between the inland sea thus formed and the Gulf of Akabah.
* ↑ These elevations were taken by Mr. Laurence with the aneroid, and worked out during the evenings.