62 
JOURNEY FROM 
On the morning of the 15 th we left the ruins of Lebida, and 
passing between the gardens which are scattered over its plain, pro- 
ceeded on our road to Zeliten. About nine miles to the eastward 
of Lebida is the stream called Wad’ el Khahan, which we found to 
possess more pretensions to the title of river than any which we 
had hitherto seen. It appears to have its rise in the mountains to 
the southward ; and after spreading itself in shallows over a rocky 
bed, it falls about twenty feet, and continues its course, though very 
slowly, to the sea. The banks of Wad’ el Khirhan are in some places 
high, sloping down to the water’s edge, and are covered with under- 
wood, among which a few trees may occasionally be observed to rise. 
The verdure of its banks give it an agreeable appearance, and some 
remains of building, which are seen here and there through the soil, 
contribute to increase the interest of the stream. 
By the side of the road, at about a mile and a half from where 
the river empties into the sea, are the remains of the aqueduct men- 
tioned above, which supphed the city of Lebida ; and other traces 
of building are occasionally observable in its neighbourhood. Here 
also may still be observed the same morasses which formerly charac- 
terized this spot, and gave occasion for the construction of the 
causeway, still existing, which is mentioned by Strabo as having been 
built by the Carthaginians*. All these circumstances contribute to 
* S' sTi 7roTm.fx.os K.iw(pos' xmi fxsrm rmvrm Simrsiy^iafxm ri o eiroi’tioorv yt(pv- 
§avrsf ^aqm6pa rnm sis rni/ avsy(pvra . — (Lib. 17. ^ 18.) 
It must not be forgotten that the geographer is passing from west to east ; and we find 
the remains of the building alluded to above, occurring immediately after the river, in 
travelling in this direction ; which answers exactly to the position of Strabo’s causeway. 
