Page 170 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

IX.] GULl* OF ’AKABAH. 151

date trees: beyond this, the country rises
with a gradual, sandy slope, to the distance of
two miles, when it meets the lower undulations
of the mountains. The same remarkable
colouring on the hills is observed here, as at

Sherm. Some are of a deep-blue tinge, and
others streaked with a brilliant red and violet
colour. From our anchorage, this variety of
tints produced a singular appearance. Some
rain which had lately fallen had completely
changed the aspect of this part of the coast;
shrubs, and grass of a lively green, everywhere
meet the gazer’s eye. The territories of the
Ter&bin Bedowins, who share the produce
of these groves with the He'iwat tribes, ex­
tends beyond ’Akabah, and across the penin­
sula, including the mountains, to the Sea of
Suez. Large quantities of fine charcoal is
manufactured by them from the branches of

the acacia, which are here very numerous,
and they take it to Cairo for sale. The foliage
of the date trees appears so clustering, that it
is difficult to conceive how they get at the
fruit. No care is required in tending them,
and the trunks of such as decay, or have