46 HISTORY OF THE 



is situated at the south-western extremity of 

 Asia. It is bounded on the south-west by the 

 Red Sea and the Isthmus of Suez ; on the north 

 east by the Persian Gulf, and the lower course 

 of the Euphrates ; on the north-west by Syria, 

 the Euphrates, and the intervening desert ; and 

 on the south-east by the Indian ocean. The 

 country is described as a vast collection of rocky 

 and precipitous mountains, encircled by a bor- 

 der of low, barren, and sandy plains, which dif- 

 fer widely in their climate, soil and productions. 

 The plains consist, either of bare rocks, or of 

 hard or loose sand, and suffer from an almost 

 constant drought, there being no rivers ; conse- 

 quently the deep wells and springs scattered at 

 distant intervals, and which are generally sur- 

 rounded by a small margin of the most refresh- 

 ing verdure, form the sole resource of the fainting 

 traveller. The temperature of other tropical 

 climates is moderate in comparison with the 

 heat of these deserts, where the thermometer is 

 generally above 100° during the night, in the 

 morning 108% and in the course of the day rises 

 to 110°, and often higher, in the shade. The 

 mountainous tracts immediately behind these 

 dry and sandy deserts, stretch backwards from 

 the sea shore, and contain numerous vallies of 

 remarkable fertility, forming the celebrated re- 

 gion called by the ancients Arabia Felix. 



