THE SECRET OF THE 

 SAHARA: KUFARA 



CHAPTEK I 



WE ENTER ON THE GREAT ADVENTURE 



THE great adventure began at Jedabia, 190 kilo- 

 metres from Benghazi as the crow flies. It is 

 only a group of scattered sand houses, with the 

 mysterious windowless walls of the East, flung down 

 on a wide space of white rock and sand, yet it is the 

 home of the great Senussi family. We arrived there on 

 November 28, 1920, having come by divers methods 

 across the stretch of stony desert which hes to the south- 

 west of Benghazi, the capital of Cyrenaica. It is an 

 almost deserted country of flat reddish sand, sprinkled 

 with rocks and tufts of coarse grey grass which provides 

 food for rare camel caravans and fuel for the Beduin 

 fires. There are no made roads, but rough tracks hnk 

 the scattered Italian forts, manned by companies of 

 stalwart Eritreans and irregular Arab levies. To the 

 south, the altipiano rises in a faint line of purple cHif 

 which catches wonderful reflections in the setting sun. 

 Otherwise the vista is intensely monotonous save for 

 an occasional encampment of Auwaghir. Unlike the 

 solid black "beit esh shar"^ of the Syrian or Algerian 

 nomad, their tents are of the poorest description, made 

 of patched sacking of various grey -brown shades; they 

 are very low-pitched, so that even in the centre one can- 

 not stand upright. 



In the dry season, wherever there are wells, may be 



' A glossary of Arabic words and phrases used in the book will be found on p. 337. 



J 



