The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1874-07-18

island of Kureiyeh, on which are the re-
mains of an old fortress. Every other
vestige of antiquity is swept away. I'm
less one has been thoroughly prepared, his
disappointment on arriving at the town
and fortress of Akabah will be most de-
pressing. A poor old castle of the middle
ages, only formidable against Bedouins, a
squalid village and a more squal!d people,
is all that awaits you. AS our caravan
moved up and took position for encamp-
ing, all the town was out, governor of the
castle and suite dressed in their best
though their best was not in every instance
entire-men, soldiers, women, sitting cross
legged, or lounging or smoking, to see the
howadji, such an arrival being the only
event of importance that ever occurred in
the place. The spot called Akabah is in
itself fitted to be a great place; grove of
palms half mile long fronts upon the
sea; a large area surrounds the head of the
bay at the mouth of great Wady Akabah,
which, beginning at Atioch Syria, termi-
mates here. The climate is delicious, and
everything conspires to favor it, but it is
utterly barren of all activity and resources.
Nothing is done to produce articles of
commerce either from the land or the sea
"a few dirty figs or raisins or dates are
all. Some small patches of ground among
the palms, about as big as little hooks
allotted to children to play at gardening,
watered by the shadoof, in which are
grown a few onions and green's, constitute
the whole cultivated ground. The Arabs
catch few fish by wading out waist deep
and casting either hook or light net.
They supplied our camp with some varie-
ties, one resembling our mackerel and
another our bass, but neither SO good as
ours. Possibly the method of cooking
may have made the difference in flavor.
AS to the precise position of the ancient
cities Ailath and Eziongaber, there are no
means of certainly determining. incline
to the opinion that Ailath or Elath, was
the principal city, and occupied the north
eastern head of the gulph, and that Ezion-
gaber (the giants backbone) was on the
northwest end, and probably joining on to
it. l doubt if the latter was ever more
than a naval yard or port to the former.
At it ships were built by Solomon and
some of his successors, but in every case
where contest subsequently arose for the
place, the head of the gulph as the key of
its commerce, the contest was for Ailath
and not for Eziongaber. AS significant of
it's Importance to the kingdom of Judah,
the only fact mentioned e Kings xiv. 22)
of Azariah's reign is that he built Elath
and restored it to Judah. Upon it, too,
Syria looked constantly with covetous eyes
some such feeling as Russia now has for
Constantinople. This was the port of en-
try for the wealth of Tarshish, the great
unknown beyond, and through its gates
flowed to Jerusalem, the gold, precious
stones, silver, peacocks and apes, till cop
per became as iron, and gold as silver, on
the streets of the holy and beautiful city.
While not the only source of the wealth of
Jerusalem, as Stanley too strongly says,
it can't he doubted it was the source Of
much of it. So we see, in ancient as in
modern times, to hold the key of the East
was to own the inexhaustible treasury Of
riches. Now the very city into which the
products of the Indias poured and whence
swept the great caravans in different peri
DDS to enrich Jerusalem, Damascus, and
Petra, in turn has disappeared. Absolute
ly not stone of it is to be seen. The
channels of its sea have become prey to
the busy coral builder, and its once ample
structures have crumbled into dust,