THESOURCEOF.THENILE. 517 



Ihowers, while the fun returned over the zenith, but ftill 

 looking very poorly. At half pad twelve we arrived at 

 .Suakem, under trees, near a fakia. At four o'clock in the 

 afternoon we left Suakem, the mountains of Gerri bearing 

 N. E. of us, and, five miles further, alighted in a wood near 

 the Arabs Abdelab. 



On the 30th, at five o'clock in the morning we left this 

 ftation, and after having gone eight miles N. E. we came to a 

 village, which is, as it were, the fuburb of Gerri. The A- 

 caba of Gerri is a low ridge of rocks that feems firft to run 

 from both fides acrofs the bed of the river, as if defigned 

 to flop it ; and it is impoflible to look at the gap through 

 which it falls down below, without thinking that this paf- 

 fage was made by the Nile itfelf when firft it began to flow. 

 Gerri is built on a rifmg ground, confifting of white, barren 

 fand and gravel, intermixed with white alabafter like peb- 

 bles, which, in a bright fun, are extremely difagrceable 

 to the eye. It confifts of about 140 houfes, none of them 

 above one llorey high, neat, well built, flat-roofed, and all 

 of one height, compofed wirh the fame coloured earth as 

 that on which it Hands, and, for this reafon, it is fcarccly 

 viflble at a diftance. It is immediately at the foot of the 

 Acaba, fomething more than a quarter of a mile from the 

 Nile. Gerri is fituated at the end of the tropical rains, in 

 lat. tG" 15', and the Acaba fe^ms to anfwer thofe mountains 

 of Ptolemy, beyond which (that is to the N.) he fays it is 

 ^la.ij.'Ji'jv ytca o.(t.f.o')/oy p/wpar *, that is, a country full of fand and 

 without rain ; it is but a fmall fpot immediately on the Nile, 

 v/hich is all cultivated, as it enjoys the double advantage 

 both of the overflowing of the river and the accidental 



fliower''^ 



* Ptol. Geograjjh. lib. iv. cag, 8. 



