MEMOIR OF BURCKHARDT. 71 



geographical facts derived from the journey of 

 Burckhardt through these interesting regions, fur- 

 nish a most satisfactory illustration of the Mosaic 

 account of the Exodus. 



At a later period, Arabah seems to have formed 

 the " highway" of Jewish commerce. It is pro- 

 bable that the trade between Jerusalem and the 

 Arabian Sea was carried on through this valley ; 

 the caravans, loaded at Ezion-gaber on the upper 

 point of the Elanitic Gulf with the treasures of 

 Ophir, the ivory and peacocks of India, might after 

 a march of six or seven days deposit their cargoes 

 in the warehouses of Solomon. 



The prolongation of the Ghor and the Arabah, 

 which completes a longitudinal separation of Syria 

 for three hundred miles, is a very remarkable fea- 

 ture in the geography of the Holy Land ; indicating 

 that the Jordan once discharged itself into the Red 

 Sea about Akaba, and confirming the truth of the 

 great volcanic convulsion described in the 19th 

 chapter of Genesis, which interrupted the course of 

 the river by converting into a bituminous lake 

 those fertile plains occupied by the cities of Adma, 

 Elam, Sodom, and Gomorrah; and changing all 

 the valley to the southward into a sandy desert. 

 This valley, as Burckhardt remarks, deserves to be 

 thoroughly known ; its examination would lead to 

 many interesting discoveries, and ought to be one 

 of the most important objects of a Palestine tra- 

 veller. 



At this stage of his journey Burckhardt formed 



