132 



NOETH-EAST AFEICA. 



Azgedeh, running parallel with the coast, is connected by ridges with the Eora 

 Isallim, or " Black Mountain," which lies still nearer the coast. They jointly 

 bound the upland plain of Nakfa, about 5,000 feet above the sea, which drains into 

 the Eed Sea through one large torrent. At present a desolate district consisting of 

 nothing but pasture lands, the Nakfa, "the most delightful region in Abyssinia," 

 appears to be suitable for the culture of coffee, cotton, mulberries, the vine, and 

 tobacco. A few mountain masses project in lofty headlands west of the Rora 

 Azgedeh. Such is Hagar Abe'i Nejran, that is, " Capital of Nejran," over 8,000 

 feet in height, which is now covered with ruins, but which formerly contained the 

 celebrated monastery frequented by pilgrims journeying from Aksimi to Jerusalem. 



Fig. 43.— Northern Spurs of the Abyssinian HiGHLANn«. 

 Scale 1 : 1,600,000. 



Depths. 



u to 160 

 Feet. 



160 to 320 

 Feet. 



320 to 640 

 Feet. 



, 30 Miles 



640 Feet 

 and upwards. 



Farther south the valley of the Anseba is dominated east by the Debr-Abi, or 

 " Great Mountain," another almost solitary cliff, known also by the name of Tem- 

 belleh. 



Bounded westwards by the valley of the Barka, the mountain range, forming a 

 continuation of the Rora Azgedeh, is intersected by numerous headstreams of that 

 river. The most important of these affluents, notably of the Anseba and the Barka 

 itself, rise west of Massawah on the plateau, 4,000 feet high, which forms the 

 north-east corner of Abyssinia proper. On this base another group of superb 

 granite mountains rises to an elevation of some 16,000 feet. Such is the famous 

 Debra Sina, or " Mount Sinai," to the east of Keren, and capital of the Bogo country. 



