44 Bcdoiun T^'ibcs of the Euphrates, [en. x^•II^. 



found at El Hadclr, and both must be nearly of the 

 same date. It is square, and the walls have at 

 some more recent time been built up again and 

 patched out of the older Eoman materials, for the 

 gateway is Saracenic. The effect of this medley, 

 though architecturally a barbarism, is very pictur- 

 esque and serves to mark the history of the place. 

 Some of the blocks of stone are prodigious enough 

 to move to admiration, even the Tudmuri, who will 

 have it that they were put there by Siiliman ibn 

 Dtioud. Others on the contrary affirm that the 

 English once had possession of the country, long 

 before the days of Solomon, and were the real 

 builders of the city. We have constantly been 

 asked about this latter point of history, both here 

 and. in JMesopotamia, but are quite una1)le to ac- 

 count for the belief, which is certainly prevalent, of 

 England's claim to all this part of Arabia. The 

 belief would be strong enough to prepare the way 

 for any new occupation or annexation, if such were 

 ever projected. 



While we were waitino- for breakfast, which 

 Mohammed was very busy preparing for us with his 

 wives, his foxy-faced uncle Hassan appeared, having 

 come in with the caravan from Deyr yesterday 

 morning. We had seen nothing of him since 

 leaving Bir, but somehow or another, probably 

 while we were waitino- in the neiohbourhood of 

 Sokhne, he had passed us on the road and had 

 pushed on night and day to get home, for fear of 



