CONVENT OF MOUNT SINAI. 279 



The mountains and deserts in the neighbourhood, 

 being the scenery of many events in Scripture his- 

 tory, are pointed out by the hermits to the attention 

 of their visiters. On Gebel Mousa is shown a small 

 church dedicated to the Virgin ; a convent which 

 bears the name of St Elias, erected on the spot 

 where Elijah was fed by the ravens ; and a poor 

 mosque without any ornaments, where the Be- 

 douins slaughter sheep in honour of Moses, making 

 vows to him and entreating his intercession with 

 Heaven in their favour. At a small distance a place 

 is shown in the rock, somewhat resembling the 

 print of the forepart of the foot, which is said to be 

 that of the Prophet, and is devoutly kissed by all the 

 Moslem. The head of the golden calf which the 

 Israelites worshipped, now changed into stone ; the 

 place where the brazen serpent was erected; the 

 burialplace of Moses and Aaron ; the grotto where 

 St Athanasius lived ; the spot touched by the foot 

 of Mohammed's camel on its way to heaven ; the 

 pulpit and petrified pot or kettle of Moses ; and the 

 granite rock, resembling a chair, on which he sat 

 and beheld the fight between Joshua and the 

 Amalekites, are among the sacred spots pointed 

 out to the credulity of pilgrims, and identified by 

 the brotherhood, who find it their interest to multi- 

 ply objects of curiosity and veneration. 



On the very summit of Gebel Mousa stands a 

 church, which, though now much dilapidated, is an 

 object of great attraction. The Arabs believe that the 

 original tables of the commandments are buried under 

 the pavement ; and they have made excavations on 

 every side in the hope of finding them. They more 

 particularly revere this spot from a belief that the rains 

 which fall on the peninsula are under the immediate 



