CONVENT OF MOUNT SINAI. 271 



counteract by drinking brandy ; but the mortality 

 is not diminishedj and fevers of a malignant kind 

 prevail during the spring and summer. It is very 

 thinly peopled, containing a mixture of Greeks, Copts, 

 and Arabs. At the time of the pilgrimage and the 

 departure of the fleet there is an influx of strangers ; 

 but nobody will reside permanently except from the 

 temptation of gain. There are neither merchants 

 nor artisans, except a few Greek shipwrights, this 

 harbour being one of the few in the Gulf where ves- 

 sels can be repaired. In ancient times the navi- 

 gable canal (the bed of which, 115 feet wide, is still 

 visible) that connected it with the fertile banks of the 

 Nile made it an emporium of considerable celebrity ; 

 but the disadvantages under which it labours from 

 its situation at the extremity of a narrow sea, down 

 which the winds blow with great force nine months 

 in the year, render it unfit for the purposes of exten- 

 sive trade. The government was formerly intrusted 

 to a bey from Cairo, who kept a numerous household, 

 though the Bedouins might be called complete mas- 

 ters of the place. Since the power of Ali Pasha has 

 been established in Egypt, the authority of the native 

 sheiks has ceased, and a dowlah nominated by the 

 Turkish sultan is now the resident governor. 



In travelling from Akaba to Suez, the hajjis often 

 turn aside from the great route to visit the shrine 

 of St Catherine and the pious monuments about 

 Mount Sinai. The convent, though bearing the name 

 of that saint as its vice-patroness, is dedicated to the 

 Transfiguration. According to the accredited tra- 

 dition of the place, it dates its origin from the fourth 



tion of science the deserts of Arabia might perhaps be rendered 

 habitable. Transact, of the Royal Asiat. Sov. Capt. Head's 

 Journey, p. 44. 



