176 



DISCOVERY 



the ruins of her palace are still to be seen there. Up 

 to this point the journey was comparatively simple, 

 as a clearly defined track known as the Khedevial 

 Road runs the whole way. In most places the going 

 was fair, and by six o'clock the expedition reached 

 Matruh, having travelled a total distance of 310 kilos 

 in eleven and a half hours, including halts made for 

 lunch. 



This part of the expedition was made over com- 

 paratively uninteresting desert, as at no time were we 

 more than about ten miles from the sea, and in most 

 places scanty vegetation was present. From time to 

 time we passed grazing herds of camels, or an occasional 

 Bedouin encampment, whilst the glistening white 



of them marked the graves of Arabs who had died in 

 the waterless desert. 



Our guide, Suleiman, brought us along without 

 pause, such slight indications as the faint marks of 

 camels' feet in the sand and carelessly placed pieces 

 of stone being sufhcient to show him that he was on 

 the right track. 



After a time we came out of the stony desert into 

 a series of depressions where salt-pans and mud-flats 

 had formed, and here the going was so good on the 

 excellent smooth surface that the cars went along hour 

 after hour at an average speed of 40 miles per hour. 



Towards evening we sighted a line of curiously 

 carved low hills in the distance, which Suleiman in- 



FlO. I.— ENTERING SIWA THROUGH THE ESCARPMENT. 



bones of camels which had fallen by the wayside when 

 travelling through the desert showed u; that we were 

 on a regular caravan route. 



The Journey South 



Next day we were up long before dawn to prepare 

 for the 250-mile journey south over the open desert. 

 This time it was no question of crossing " tame " desert. 

 Once the littoral had been left behind and the escarp- 

 ment climbed the scanty camel-thorn grew even 

 scarcer, and soon we were in the vast expanse of boulder- 

 strewn desolation, with nothing to be seen except 

 rocks of all sizes, and occasional eminences topped with 

 cairns as landmarks to Arab caravans. Skeletons 

 of fallen camels grew more numerous, their bones 

 glistening whitely by the mashrabs, or camel tracks. 

 Occasional piles of stones with spaces cleared in front 



formed us were the hills to the north of the oasis of 

 Siwa. We dropped down through the escarpment 

 amongst weather-worn sandstone and entered Siwa 

 town just before dark. 



Appearance of the Oasis 



The oasis of Siwa consists of a depression about 72 

 feet below sea-level, thirty miles long and six miles 

 wide. It is well watered by about 200 weUs, and the 

 rich soil produces wonderful olives, perhaps the best 

 dates in the world, and apricots, melons, grapes, 

 and many other fruits. 



We slept that night on the Hill of the Dead, a mound 

 covered with rock tombs, most of which had been 

 opened by the Siwans in order to obtain the stone 

 sarcophagi, which they use for the storage of food. 

 From the summit of the Hill of the Dead one obtains 



