46 John Hogg, Esq., on the Geography and 



In the narrow valley, a little south of Gebel Mohala, which 

 is all granite, on the east side of, or opposite to, the Schomar, 

 is a spring named Tahakat, where beautiful porphyry is ob- 

 served. 



The south side of Mount Schomar is very abrupt, and there 

 is no secondary chain between it and the other lofty southern 

 mountains, and the long gravelly plain El Kaa, 



From that plain, entering ^Yadi Hebron — a ravine about 

 100 yards wide — fragments of rocks, principally q^ granite and 

 porphyry washed down by torrents, are frequent ; a small 

 stream is seen flowing among them ; in spots, some date trees 

 occur, and likewise the manna — producing tamarisk. Continu- 

 ing to ascend, a moderately- steep pass is reached ; after- 

 wards, a descent of about 700 feet leads into the sandy Wadi 

 Solaf " wine valley ;" and then, gaining, with some difficulty, 

 the summit of a steeper pass, the north-west angle of the 

 extensive Wadi Baha is come to. Here, again, the present 

 Sinaic group, beyond the plain, exhibits its rugged mountains 

 of dark ^r«mV^, with "stern, naked, splintered joeaA;*, and 

 ridges of indescribable grandeur." 



^ Next, turning to the north down the narrow declivity 

 called Nakb Harvi, the " windy pass,'* of which the stupend- 

 ous granite walls or cliffs elevate themselves to about 800 

 feet, passing to the west end of Wadi Solaf, where it meets 

 Wadi Fir an and Wadi-eU Sheikh^ and following the last valley 

 as far as Bl Szaleib, that ascent is attained. There the for- 

 mation consists oi granite, on the upper beds of which run 

 layers of red felspar. North-east of TFadi-el- TJsh is situate 

 Gebel Sheyger, which affi)rds some native cinnabar. The 

 three principal passes leading from the sandy Debbet-el- 

 Ramleh on to the great desert over the Tyh range, are. 

 El Mureikhi near the centre and near Gebel-el-Egmeh ; then 

 El Warsah, said to be of too rapid an ascent for caravans ; 

 and the third, which is most to the west. El Bakineh (the 

 painted.) Afterwards, at some distance to the NW., is the 

 valley opening past Fas Wadi Gharandel, that has already 

 been described. 



Proceeding, again, across the plain El Ramleh, and over 

 the pass Mureikhi on to the Desert-el-Tyh, in the approach 



