THE GEOLOGY OF SINAI. 
17 
other. The Wady Feiran, in which the supporters of its claims 
assert that the encampment of the Israelites must have been 
placed, is confined and narrow; the wadies which flow into 
Wady Feiran from Jebel Serbal are still less suitable for a large 
encampment. In no way does this mountain seem to agree with 
the account which we have in the Bible of Mount Sinai. Jebel 
Musa alone, of all the mountains of the peninsula, appears to 
answer the requirements of the Bible narrative ; that mountain 
alone, which we look down upon from the summit of Mount St. 
Catherine, lying to the north-east, close beneath our feet, stands 
apart from the mountains which surround it, and rears up its 
sides so precipitously, that it may indeed be described as a 
mountain “that can be touched.” To the north of it extends a 
broad plain, the plain of er-Rahah, enclosed by mountains on 
either side, and forming a natural amphitheatre, where “ the 
people could remove and stand afar off,” and listen to the won- 
drous voice of Grod, which came forth from the mountain before 
them. Two lofty peaks, with a deep cleft between them, imme- 
diately overhang and face this plain. These form the well- 
known Ras Sufsafeh. On the opposite side of the mountain rises 
a yet higher peak, crowned with a little chapel, and known as 
the summit of Jebel Musa ; yet this peak stands so far back that 
it is not visible from any portion of the plain of er-Rahah. 
The top of the mountain between the several peaks contains a 
fertile basin, which may easily be reached from three different 
sides of the mountain, the easiest road being that which leads 
up from the plain, at the point where it flows into the Wady 
Es-Sheikh ; from this point I have reached the basin with ease 
in three-quarters of an hour. The Wady Shueib on the one 
side, in which stands the famous convent of St. Catherine, the 
Wady Bostan on the other — rather than the Wady Leja, as has 
generally been stated — separate this mountain from those on 
either side of it ; and though it is not so lofty as other moun- 
tains around it, its isolated position and precipitous sides rising 
boldly from the plain at its foot, render its appearance far 
more imposing than even that of Mount St. Catherine, which 
towers above it, but loses its height to the eye, owing to its 
more confined position and more gradual ascent. 
The granitic district is the best watered and the most fertile 
portion of the peninsula. Having the greatest elevation, it 
naturally receives the largest amount of rain, which, owing to 
the impermeable nature of its rocks, and the frequent occurrence 
of basins, such as is found on the summit of Jebel Musa, does 
not always flow off so quickly as in the other districts. There 
are indeed few perennial streams to be found, either here or 
elsewhere, throughout Sinai; the wadies form huge stone-drains, 
which convey the water rapidly away to the sea; a thick stratum 
