TRIPOLI. 



TIU POM. 



with olive-trees, bat the elevated situation prevent* the 

 clUveJioa of the palms. The aide, of the hllla, which are too steep 

 nrth of com. are planted with almond*, figs, apple*, olive*, 

 A considerable portion of this tract however I* used as 

 and*. The inhabitants of the Ohurian Mountains live 

 weti* mdergroaad, in cave* which have been dug for the purpose. 



Farther to the east, and where the Tarhoona Mountain* branch off 

 the mountain ngi- sinks much lower and assumes a different cha 

 rectrr. It is a table-bod about 30 mile* iu width, which runs towards 

 Cap* MesnreU, and only on iU edges assumes the aspect of high hills 

 or mountains, especially toward* the Desert which lies north of it 

 Th greatest part of the surface of this table land U a plain, nearly 

 Uvcl, whose eoil is very stony, or covered with gravel, and completely 



But in the vicinity of the higher grounds which inclose it on 

 the north. K U furrowed by depression^ or wadies, which are partly 

 cultivated, and yield good crops of corn, and the level grounds sepa- 

 rating them are covered with fine gnus for sheep and camels. 



The isjrtarn portion of this Uble-land, in approaching the Gulf of 

 Kdra, aplita into several short range* of hills, which fill up the space 

 bessmn Cape Sdarra and the town of Mesurata, and in many places 

 eoeiM dees up to the sea. Thus a hilly tract i* formed, which extends 

 about 60 miles from west to east, along the seashore, and from 5 to 6 

 Biles inland, where it terminates on the plain of the table-land. ThiJ 

 tract i* the bent-watered district in Tripoli, as several small streams 

 which descend from the Uble-land run through its valleys, and reach 

 the sea after a course of 6 to 8 miles, but there is always water in 

 then. The western district consists of a succession of hill and dale. 

 They pcesess considerable degree of fertility, and produce wheat, 

 barley, and dhurra. In the eastern districts the hills are separated 

 from the sea by a level plain about two miles wide, which in two 

 places i* interrupted by ranges of low hills, so as to be divided into 

 three plains of moderate extent, which are known as the plains of 

 Lebdi, Zeliten, and Mesurata. The hills south of them are mostly 

 pasture-grounds, between which some corn-fields arc found ; but tho 

 plains themselves, which slope gently towards the a, are well culti- 

 vated. Thick groves of olive* and date-trees rise above the numerous 

 villages, which are scattered over their surface, and the intermediate 

 pace* are either covered with tho most luxuriant turf or rich with 

 abundant crop* of grain. The plains of Lebda and Mesurata espe- 

 cially are distinguished by their rich crops of corn, and large quantities 

 of it are sold to the wondering tribes living east of them or exported 

 by see. The cultivated grounds in the plain of MesuraU extend along 

 the shore* of the Oulf of Sidra as far as Bushaifn. A ridge of low 

 sand-hills separate* the plain* from the sea. 



The country south of the table-land, extending to the Sudah 

 Mountains, contain* a much smaller portion of cultivated ground than 

 that north of it; the greater part of it is a complete desert. Accord- 

 ing to the scanty information which we possess, it appears that its 

 surface present* a succession of several wid depressions, running 

 from west to east, and terminating on the east in the low grounds 

 which extend along the western shores of the Oulf of Sidra, From 

 each of these wide valleys smaller valleys branch off, and penetrate 

 a few miles into the higher grounds, which inclose them. These 

 higher ground* are many mile* wide, and rise rather steep above the 

 valley to an elevation of 400 to 500 feet A large portion of them is 

 probably 1000 feet above the sea-level. Their surface is neither level 

 nor yet hilly. It presents everywhere a useless waste, though it 

 greatly varies in aspect At .ome places it is what the natives call a 

 sabar,' or a level plain consisting of loose sand, without either stones, 

 rocks, water, or vegeUtion. Other tracts, called ' sereer,' are gravelly 

 plains from which the sand baa been swept by the winds. The gravel 

 is generally small, and in some instances rounded as pebbles on the 

 see-orach ; in other* sharp and pointed, as if recently broken ; and a 

 third kind, which sometime* coven spaces of many miles in extent, 

 U mostly composed of small stones which have a shining exterior. 

 In the screen alone sand-bilk sre found. A third kind of desert is 

 called ' warr ; ' it present* a rough plain covered with large detached 

 stones lying in confusion, and very difficult to pass over, as its surface 

 U much broken and intenpened with numerous rocks and small 

 hillock" A few spoU in these deserts are covered with bushes. The 

 few wells which aro found are generally above 100 or even 200 feet 

 deep, and yet their water is bitter and brackish. The habitable 

 portion of this region U limited to the depressions above mentioned, 

 where several villages are found close together, whilst all the other 

 parts are uninhabited. But even in those dUtricte which are far from 

 the village* a few field* an cultivated, and produce barley and dhurra. 

 The inbabiUnU of the village, cultivate them, but do not venture to 

 tarn agricultural settlement* on them for fear of the wandering tribes 

 of the adisornt desert. The- valley* have generally a w.tercoune in 

 the middle, in which however water U found only for a few weeks in 

 the year, a* the rain* .oath of the Ohurian Mountains and the table- 

 land an far from being so abundant as north of them. The greater 

 be digression* Is overgrown with shrubs, and supply only 

 fffTn , ,T k .!*?? ' Od ~ U i the moit fertH" t the'" i 



!i r^lTi ' U " tamted n "" iouth of the *ble-Und 

 south of the Tarhoora Mountain*. The 'warr' which borden on tho 

 eoulh of the valley of Beniolred is covered with lava and columnar 

 gnrostoM, and is of great extent 



Country on 0* Wat and South of the Oulf of Sidra. The region 

 just notion! doe* not reach the western shores of the Gulf of Sidra, 

 being separated from it by a tract of very low country, or rather by a 

 marsh. This marsh begins at Buabaifa, about 4 miles S.K. from 

 Mesurata, and extend* along the sea shore as for as Qiraf, a distance 

 exceeding 100 miles. It reaches however the beach o.ily in two 

 place*, being separated from it by a narrow tract of more elevated 

 ground, which consist* of small but irregular heaps of sand, with occa- 

 sionally a little vegetation on it The marsh is widest in its most 

 northern part, between Mesurata, and Sooleb, which are 40 miles from 

 one another. In these parU it is from 9 and 10 to 15 miles wide. In 

 approaching Sooleb it contracts to 2 or 3 miles, but widens again 

 farthi-r south to 4 and 6 miles. At the end of the rainy season, in 

 March, nearly the whole surface of this marsh is covered with witter. 

 At the end of the dry season by for the greater part of it is dry, but 

 interspersed with numerous pools of water. Many of these pools are 

 some mile* in extent The surface of the marsh consists of alternate 

 layers of incrustations ofsa.lt and of an alluvial deposit, and i* entirely 

 destitute of vegetation. In some ports small shells cover the surface, 

 which renders it probable that the sea at times inundates the m-ir-li. 

 In the most level part of the inarah many places occur in which a solid 

 crust, sometimes not more than two inches or an inch and a hull' in 

 thickness, covers deep hollows, the lowest parts of which contain bitter 

 and stinking water several feet deep. This circumstance renders the 

 traversing of the march very dangerous. In this extensive tract of 

 country the habitable- ground is limited to two or three low lulls, 

 which rise within the marsh, and on which date-groves are met with, 

 and to three or four places where the narrow tract along the 

 somewhat wide, and consists of high ground covered with grass and 

 bushes, which afford pasture to sheep and camels. This is the worst 

 part of Tripoli bordering on the sea. 



Though the Gulf of Sidra is inclosed by countries entirely barren 

 and sandy, the tract which is found farther east, and which extend,* 

 from Qiraf (16 80' E. long.) to Hudia (18 30' E. long.), a distance 

 of more than 100 miles, has a different character. It* surface in 

 ;eneral is undulating, in a few places even rising into hills. The 

 lills are mostly covered with shrubs and grass, affording good pa 

 ground for camels, shesp, and goats. In some of the lower tracts 

 are fields on which the Beduins, the inhabitants of this coast, cultivate 

 barley and dhurra. But there are 110 trees iu all tho tracts surround- 

 ing the Oulf of Sidra. In a few places there are lagoons near the 

 sea, but they ore not of great extent, and the only marshes which 

 aro met with iu this region are on the banks of these lagoons. 



The country occupying the bottom of the Oulf is of a much worse 

 description. It extends from Hudia to Braiga (19 40' E. Ion.-.), a 

 distance of more than CO miles. The shores of the sea ore liunl 

 with low sand-hills, which have been accumulated by the northern 

 wind from the sand thrown up by tho sea. Behind them, in 

 frequently occur, or the ground is a rough stony plain, nearly without 

 vegetation. In a few spots only bushes and grass are met with, ami 

 iu these parts a few families of Beduius wander about with a small 

 number of camels, sheep, and goats. A continuous ridge of hills 

 extends at a little distance from the shore, rising to an elevation of 

 between 400 and 500 feet above the sea-level The nature of the 

 country south of these hills in not known. 



Respecting the climate of this region, it is observed that in winter 

 ;he atmosphere after sunset is always very chilly, and that there is 

 usually a heavy deposit of dew. In summer however the weather is 

 said to be excessively sultry. 



Country Eaat of the Gu/f of Sidra, This part of Tripoli is com- 

 mouly called Barca [BARC.V], and was known to the ancient* under 

 ihe name of Cyrenaica. It comprehends tho country which, between 

 20 and 23 E. long., projects into the Mediterranean nearly in the 

 'orra of a semicircle, and the countries lying south of it as far as 

 about 29 N. lat. It is supposed that the greater portion of it is 

 mountainous. This part of Tripoli is described under BAIICA and 



YRENAiiCA. 



The interior of the mountain region, as already observed, is not 

 mown. The authority of the Basha of Tripoli however extends 

 much farther south, as the oasis of Augila is within the country 

 governed by him or his deputies. The mountain range which lies to 

 he north of this oasis runs in an unbroken lino east and west It 

 rises from the level ground at its base abruptly, and consists of bare 

 rocks without tho least covering of soil. The Oasis of Augila, to the 

 south of this mountain range, is said to consist of three oases, Augila, 

 "alloo, and Leshkerrch, of which the two last-mentioned are a short 

 distance to the east and north-east of Augila itself. All three, taken 

 ogtther, contain a population of about 10,000. These oases are only 

 "orests of palm-trees, surrounded by an immense plain of red sand. 

 Che wells are more than 20 feet deep, and the water brackish. Dhurra 

 and barley and a little wheat are cultivated, but provisions, consisting 

 f corn, butter, and cattle, are imported from Bengazi. The exports 

 consist especially of dates and ostrich feathers. Ostriches are numer- 

 ous in the adjacent desert Three smaller oases occur between Augila 

 and the southern extremity of the Gulf of Sidra, nearly equally 

 listant from, these places. The most western and largest is called 

 ilaradeh. They are forests of palm-trees, surrounded by hills of 

 hi fling sand. As they are too small to afford susteaauco to a popula- 





