In These Northern Districts Of Arabia The Bedouins, In
General, Are Not Fond Of Proceeding By Night; They Seldom Travel
At that
time, even in the hottest season, if they are not in very large numbers,
because, as they say,
During the night nobody can distinguish the face
of his friend, from that of his enemy. Another reason is, that camels on
the march never feed at their ease in the day time, and nature seems to
require that they should have their principal meal and a few hours rest
in the evening. The favourite mode of travelling in these parts is, to
set out about two hours before sun-rise, to stop two hours at noon, when
every one endeavours to sleep under his mantle, and to alight for the
evening at about one hour before sunset. We always sat round the fire,
in conversation, for two or three hours after supper. During this
night’s march my companions frequently alluded to
EL THEGHAR
[p.452] a superstitious belief among the Bedouins, that the desert is
inhabited by invisible female demons, who carry off travellers tarrying
in the rear of the caravans, in order to enjoy their embraces. They call
them Om Megheylan (Arabic), from Ghoul (Arabic). The frequent loss of
men who, exhausted by fatigue, loiter behind the great pilgrim caravans,
and are cut off, stripped, and abandoned, by Bedouin robbers, may have
given rise to this fable, which afforded my companions a subject of
numerous jokes against me. “You townsmen,” said they, “would be
exquisite morsels for these ladies, who are accustomed only to the food
of the desert.”
We marched for four hours over uneven ground, and then reached a level
plain, consisting of rich red earth fit for culture, and similar to that
of the northern Syrian desert. We crossed several Wadys, in which we
started a number of hares. At every twenty yards lay heaps of bones of
camels, horses, and asses, by the side of the road. At six hours was a
chain of low hills to the S. of the road, and running parallel with it.
In seven hours we crossed Wady Nesyl (Arabic), overgrown with green
shrubs, but without trees. At the end of ten hours and a half we reached
the mountainous country called El Theghar (Arabic), or the mouths, which
forms a boundary of the Desert El Ty, and separates it from the
peninsula of Mount Sinai. We ascended for half an hour by a well formed
road, cut in several places in the rock, and then followed the windings
of a valley, in the bed of a winter torrent, gradually descending. On
both sides of the Hadj road we saw numerous heaps of stones, the tombs
of pilgrims who had died of fatigue; among others is shewn that of a
woman who here died in labour, and whose infant was carried the whole
way to Mekka, and back to Cairo in good health. At the end of fifteen
hours we alighted in a valley of the Theghar, where we found an
abundance of shrubs and trees.
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