TRIPOLY TO BENGAZI. 
83 
to other markets for sale. There are two springs of very good water 
near ZelTten, which supply a small pond ; and in this place the ladies 
of the place are accustomed to wash and cleanse their wool, their 
clothes, and, occasionally, themselves, before they fill their jars for 
home consumption. 
The port called Mersa Zelften is an insignificant cove, that would 
scarcely afford shelter to a boat. It is formed by a few rocks above 
water ; may be about one hundred yards across, and appears to have 
no more than five or six feet water in it. Here also are two springs 
of good water, which would afford a constant supply, if the Arabs 
would take the trouble of excavating a cistern, and of protecting it 
from the surf. To the N.E. of the Mersa, at the distance of from 
half a mile to three-quarters of a mile off shore, the sea broke over 
sunken rocks : the cliffs are of sand-stone, and about thirty feet in 
height. 
The many ruins which exist in the vicinity of ZelTten, and the 
frequent appearance of building-stones, and shafts of marble columns, 
protruding through the mud walls of the village, contribute decid- 
edly to point it out as an ancient site, and it was probably the Cis- 
ternae or Cinsternas Oppidum of Ptolemy ; which is the first town 
mentioned by this geographer after the T^r/i^uv — the Cephalas 
Promontorium of Strabo — in the tract of country between that point 
and the Cinyphus. 
Among the sand hills which almost surround the village, we found 
several imperfect ground plans ; and near the beach is the tomb of 
a Marabut, supported by marble columns, which however are of very 
M 2 
