212 John Hogg, Esq., on the Geography and 
land of Edom ;” and that of the Jewish Historian, in the be- 
ginning of the Christian era, as lying not far from A®lana.* 
So, Makrizi, in the fourteenth century of our era, writes, . 
“near Aila was formerly situated a large and handsome 
town, called Aszyoun,”}——that is to say, El-Zyon or Ez-Zyon 
(gaber.) 
But Dr Robinson states (i., p. 237), that this island was 
“ the former citadel of Az/ah, mentioned by Abulfedat (about 
A.D. 1300), as lying in the sea;” and very likely it might 
have been so occupied after the decay of Eziongaber ; yet, as 
it was eight miles or more distant from Adlah, it could not 
have afforded any protection to that town, but only to its 
passing ships. 
Opposite to the isle, on the west, low hills of chalk and 
sandstone interrupt the granite, then the broad gravelly plain 
of Taba; and afterwards the granite rocks again coming 
down to the beach, constitute the headland, H/ Musry, “ the 
Egyptian,” which projects into the sea southwards. Then 
the mountains on the north-west retire from the coast more 
inland; but near the shore, small hills of conglomerated 
gravel and sand, nearly as solid as rock, continue beyond ‘the 
extremity of the gulf. 
Secondly, Around the head of the Alanitic Gulf, nearly as 
far as Kalah-el-Akaba, the “ Castle of the Descent,” the 
sea has cast up a bank of sand and gravel, which is higher 
than the level of the Great Northern Wadi-el-Araba, and 
prevents the passage of any stream from it. On the shore 
near the Castle and the Grove of Date Trees (Phenix dacty- 
* Josephus, Antiq. Jud. lib. viii., c. 6,8. 4, who calls it "AcinyyaPagos; ‘and 
adds, it was then named Berenice. Now, the Arabic name of “ Pharaoh’s-Isle,” 
and those of the neighbouring valley and Cape of the ‘‘ Egyptian,’ seem to:me 
to give some confirmation, by tradition, that this place, or one near it, formerly ’ 
bore the common Egyptian name of “ Berenice,” for which the present ones have 
been substituted by the ignorant Arabs. 
+ Burckhardt’s Syria, p. 511. 
t In the passage afterwards cited by Robinson (p, 252), from Abuijeda, it 
appears that he only says, Ailah “ hada small castle in the sea ;” but he does 
not state its position, or its distance from Ailah. So it is doubtful whether 
this island formed the site of that small castle, or not. 
«) oedsyee 
