Egypt : handbook for travellers / edited by K. Baedeker.

Date:
1885-1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Egypt : handbook for travellers / edited by K. Baedeker. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    599/628 (page 513)
    This point commands an admirable survey of the broad Wadi, which -is believed by many to have been the camping-place of the Jews, and is picturesquely enclosed by huge mountains of granite. Opposite the cliffs of the Safsaf, on the other side of the valley, rise the red porphyry masses bt the Jebel Frera, forming the nucleus of a labyrinth of other mountains extending towards the N. The S. side of it is called the Jebel Sana, to which belong the granite slopes com- manding the Wadi er-Raha at the traveller’s feet and the Wadi ed-Der. On the right fE.) rises the Jebel ed-Der, and on the left (W.) are seen numerous cliffs of granite, including the narrow Ughret el-Mehd at the entrance of the Wddi Leya, and the Jebel el-Ghabsheh. Far below us in the valley, at the mouth of the ravine above which we stand, rises a mound of sand with some ruined buildings and a few fruit-trees. The Plain of Er-Raha, which we here survey, is, according to the measurements of Prof. Palmer, two million sq. yds. in area. There is no doubt that this valley is sufficiently extensive to have been the camping-place of a large multitude like that of the Israelites. If tbe Mt. Sinai of the monks, and not Mt. Serbal, is to be regarded as the mountain where the commandments were given, the Ras es-Safsaf, and not the Jebel Musa, must have been the peak ascended by Moses. —• If the Jebel Musa alone has been climbed, and the traveller wishes afterwards to visit the Ras es-Safsaf, he should ascend with a guide through a cleft immediately behind the monastery, a little to the W. of the pilgrims’ steps. There are steps here also, but the route is not recommended to those who are in- clined to dizziness, and it is much more fatiguing than the pilgrims’ route. The descent may be made by a cleft opening into the Raha plain, but this route is also very rough, and cannot be recommended for the ascent. Huge masses of rock have fallen into the cleft, and the path often leads below them. Those who desire to compare the form of the group of Mt. Siuai with the account given of the ‘Mount of the Lord’ in the Bible narrative should keep in mind the following points suggested by Dr. Robinson, which may also be considered in reference to Mt. Sinai. There must be the summit of a mountain commanding the camp of the people, and a space con- tiguous to the mountain from which a large multitude could witness the scene on the heights. The camping-place must be so situated with regard to the mountain, that the people could approach the latter, and stand upon its lower slopes ; there must be the possibility of touching the mountain, and of placing an enclosure round it to prevent the people from ascending it, or touching its extremity. Those who wish to return lienee to tbe monastery, and not to visit tbe AVadi Leja and tbe El-Arbafin monastery (p. 514) at present, may descend by tbe ravine called tbe Silclcet Shu'aib. The route is difficult, and reminds one of tbe question asked by Recha of tbe Knight Templar in Lessing’s ‘Nathan’, whether ‘it was really so much easier to ascend tbe mountain than to descend it’. The Wddi el-Lcja and tbe El-Arba'ln Monastery may be reached even on horseback and without a guide. The whole excursion, which presents no difficulties, takes 4 hrs, ; numerous sacred spots are pointed out on the route. Before entering the valley from the Raha plain, the place is shown where the earth is supposed to have Baedekeh's Egypt I. 2nd Ed. 38