334 
MYOS HORMOS. 
therefore be considered as a port with a winding entrance. There 
is indeed a harbour formed by the cluster of the Jaffateen Islands, 
but the word vTrepzeivroit of Diodorus, and Tr^ozeia-Qoci of Strabo, evi- 
dently prove, that these islands lay off the harbour, and were not a 
component part of it. 
As the coast from Ras-el-Anf to Cosseir is perfectly free from 
hidden dangers, it is to be hoped that some future navigator will 
find leisure to examine the numerous harbours which, according to 
Don Juan de Castro, lie within that space. If an ancient town ac- 
tually exist, water must no doubt be found near it ; and it is probable 
that there is a passage through the mountains, from the name of one of 
the ports, Sharm-el-Kiraan, which is translated " the opening of the 
mountain." If so, how^ valuable would a port be, to which vessels 
could resort, for such supplies as the Bedowee can afford, instead of 
being obliged to lie in a miserable roadstead at Cosseir, unprotected 
from the S. E. monsoon, and even where water itself is unattainable, 
except of a brackish quality ! 
I submit the preceding observations, on the ancient geography of 
the Red Sea, to the public, with some diffidence, because the view 
I have been induced to take of the subject, chiefly from observations 
made on the spot, differs, on some points, from the judgment formed 
by Dr. Vincent, after a mature consideration of the information 
handed down to us by ancient authors ; but as in the position of 
the Opsian Bay, I have been already flattered by the sanction of this 
candid and learned annotator on the Periplus, I feel perfectly con- 
vinced that I am affording the highest gratification to his mind, in 
endeavouring, by local observations, to elucidate the work he has 
investigated with so much acuteness, although my conclusions may, 
on some points, differ from his. 
