112 THE SACRED MOUNTAINS. 



hallowed by the sublimest associations, Sinai, Horeb, Jebel Musa, 

 Jebel Bestin (St. Episteme), raise their granitic summits on the 

 southern point of this peninsula. " They are ' the Alps ' of Arabia ; 

 but the Alps planted in the desert, and therefore stripped of all the 

 clothing which goes to make up our notions of Swiss or English 

 mountains ; stripped of the variegated drapery of oak, and birch, and 

 pine and fir, of moss, and grass, and fern ; which to landscapes of 

 European hills are almost as essential as the rocks and peaks them- 

 selves." Sinai', or St. Catherine, the loftiest peak in the range, 

 reaches an elevation of 8160 feet. It is so closely connected with 

 Mount Horeb, to the north, that the two mountains really seem but 

 one. Ravines, and narrow valleys planted with palm-trees, thorny 

 acacias, tamarisks, and some other shrubs, wind between the abrupt 

 trunks of this grand chain. In one of these valleys stands the 

 Monastery of the Transfiguration, and on Mount Horeb rises the 

 Church of St. Catherine, a shrine held in great esteem by devout 

 Greeks. The pilgrims ascend on their knees a large staircase labori- 

 ously constructed by the monks. 



I have no space to recapitulate the sublime historic memories 

 which invest these solemn heights with an interest of their own. 

 The presence of the Almighty has clothed their summits with a glory 

 that might not be borne; the thundei'S of the Most High have 

 echoed through their deep dark valleys. At their base the people of 

 Israel watched and waited while Moses received from Heaven the 

 code which thenceforth determined their religious and civil polity. 

 Down the side of yonder mighty peak came their Prophet and Leader, 

 his face bright with a radiance such as was never before on the face 

 of mortal man. They were the scene of a singularly unique history ; 

 by which, as Dean Stanley remarks, " the fate of the three sur- 

 rounding nations Egypt, Arabia, Palestine and through them the 

 fate of the whole world, has been determined." 



The locality, consecrated by such glorious associations, is also 

 rich in geological interest. It exhibits indubitable traces of- the 

 great volcanic convulsions which have so profoundly shaken the 



