Page 115 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

no SHERM TO SINAI. [CII.

logue ; and a small granite column within in­
dicates yet more precisely the identical spot.
But we then stood on hallowed ground, and
every surrounding object was pregnant with
tradition. The massive granite walls of this
church have hitherto resisted all the at­

tempts of the Bedowins to destroy them,
though the doors and windows have disap­
peared, and fragments of the marble of which
the altar, &c., was constructed is everywhere
strewn around. A few yards from this build­
ing stands a Mohammedan mosque, which is
as much an object of veneration to the follow­
ers of the prophet, as the church is to the
Christian pilgrim. Between them there is a
tank for rain-water, excavated from the naked
rock. It is very cold ; and, like that on the

summit of Jebel Horeb, is purer and sweeter
than any I had before tasted. The cliffs
around are everywhere covered with the
names of those who have at different periods
visited this spot. They are mostly in Syriac
and Arabic; and several, from extreme age,
are nearly illegible. Many travellers who
ascended Mount Sinai have found its summit
enveloped in clouds; but I enjoyed the ad-