WADY GENNE.
483
black. The mountains on both sides of the valley are much shattered ¬
: detached blocks and loose stones covered their sides, and
the bottom of the valley was filled, in many places to the depth
of ten feet, with a layer of stones that had fallen down. The Wady
becomes narrower towards the upper end, and the camels ascended
with difficulty. At the end of six hours and a quarter we reached
the extremity, to which the Bedouins apply the name of Djebel
Leboua (), the mountain of the lioness, a name indicating,
perhaps, that lions existed at one period in the peninsula of Mount
Sinai, though no longer to be found here. In ascending Wady
Barak, I saw upon several blocks lying by the road side short
inscriptions, generally of one line only, all of which began with
the remarkable character already represented.
From the top of Djebel Leboua we descended a little, and entered ¬
the Wady Genne (à), a fine valley, several miles in
breadth, and covered with pasturage. It lay in a straight line
before us, and presented much of Alpine scenery. We here
found several Bedouins occupied in collecting brush-wood, which
they burn into charcoal for the Cairo market; they prefer for
this purpose the thick roots of the shrub Rethem (), Genista
rætam of Forskal, which grows here in abundance. Of the herbs
which grow in this valley many were odoriferous, as the Obeytheran, -
Sille (d), perhaps the Zilla Myagrum of Forskal; and the
Sbyh (), or Artemisia. The Bedouins collect also the herb
Adjrem (), which they dry, break in pieces and pound between
stones, and then use as a substitute for soap to wash their linen
with. I was told that very good water is found at about two miles
to the E. of this valley.
We gained the upper extremity of Wady Genne at the end of
nine hours. The ranges of mountains in this country differ in
their formation from all the other Arabian chains which I have
