218 John Hogg, Esq., on the Geography and 
The view near the head of the gulf is more pleasing and 
less gloomy than at the southern part of it. Wellsted de- 
scribes (ii., p. 145), the prospect as seen from the Isle of 
Kureiyeh, thus :— Instead of bold naked precipices rising 
abruptly from the sea, we have here a succession of sandy 
capes, Sweeping into the waves at nearly the same angle ; 
their inclination being the same as the valleys of which they 
are but a continuation.” . . . . “Neither boats nor 
vessels animate the picture, and it has the appearance of a 
vast and solitary lake. On the other hand, beyond the ex- 
tremity of the gulf, we obtain an extensive view of the valley 
of E] Araba. For some distance it resembles a broad plain 
dotted with trees: but the mountains which bound it con- 
tinue, as in the Sea of Akaba, in a straight direction, and the 
gulf is therefore merely a prolongation of the valley, and they 
form, thus united, a bolder, more extensive, and more regular 
feature than can probably be paralleled in any other portion 
of the globe.” 
At the head of the gulf, on reaching the foot of the west 
ascent, E/ Nakb, the hills of conglomerate already mentioned 
(p. 212), sink down into a steeply-inclined plain of gravel, ex- 
tending far to the north. Next come low hills of crumbled 
granite, and then succeed the more lofty granitic cliffs. For 
the purpose of shewing how the sandstone, chalky limestone, 
and the crystalline or igneous rocks meet, or are displaced 
near the north-west corner of the gulf, I will here quote Dr 
Robinson (i., p. 257 :)—‘“ Our route now lay up along the large 
Wadi-el-Musry, just north of the Ras of that name,” wind- 
ing considerably, but on a general course about north-west. 
“The ridge upon the left was of yellow sandstone resting 
on granite, while on the right was granite and porphyry. The 
scenery around was wild, desolate, and gloomy.” In a little 
distance “limestone appeared on the left: and we turned 
short from the Musry towards the left, into a narrow chasm 
between walls of chalk with layers of flint.” In ascending 
to the north, El Nakb, which means a “ steep pass or de- 
clivity,” the road is cut in the thin bed of sandstone down to 
the limestone rock. At the top of the ascent is Ras-el-Nakb, 
and soon after follows the large plain called Kaa-el-Nakb ; 
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