away for several feet upwards. We may infer from these appearances,
that in the rainy season the body of water which rushes along
Wady Jerkhib niust be very great; and to avoid the inconvenience
to which travellers would in consequence have been exposed, we find
the ancient road raised several feet above the actual level of the
wady in other parts, and occasionally paved, and cut through the
rock. At its western extremity, Wady Jerahib opens out into a very
spacious and beautiful, we may say without exaggeration, a magnificent
valley: at the entrance of which are the remains of a very
large fort, now called by the Arabs Beliggidem ; the walls of this are
still upwards of forty feet in height. Other valleys are seen from the
fort, stretching out far into the blue horizon; and we looked on all
sides over the tops of thick forests of pine, which covered the sides and
the summit of the wadies, as far as the eye could reach. Beliggidem
may be called a very good day’s journey from Cyrene, which would
more frequently, indeed, be extended to a day and a half. The road
from hence winds through a succession of wadies, and we found it to
be very indifferent; till, after ascending a difficult hill, it brought us
once more to Margad,-—a spot a t which we had stopped for the night
on our journey from Merge to Cyrene. From this place, our former
conductor, Boo-Bukra, had turned off abruptly to the southward, in
order to avoid passing through BglSnege (a part of the road which
we had taken in returning), where he understood that the relations
of two men whom he had killed were lying in wait for him. The
party in advance had learnt this from an Arab at Bglgnege ; and it
enabled us to account for the circuitous and difficult route along
MERGE TO CYRENE.
which Boo-Bukra had conducted us on our former journey. We had
observed, that in addition to his musket and pistols, the usual arms
of an Arab, he always carried a short carbine slung over his shoulder,
which he never took off on any occasion; but were not at all aware of
the difficulty of his situation, till we heard of the fact just mentioned.
The change of route made a difference of two days to us, as nearly as
we can recollect; but we do not regret the circumstance, since it
enabled us to see a part of the country which we should not otherwise
have had an opportunity of visiting. From Margad we. proceeded
to Bognita by the road which we had formerly taken, and from thence
to Merge, where we found Bey Halil, for he had not been able to
collect all his tribute. From Merge we descended to Ptolemeta, and
joined Captain Beechey, who had arrived there the day before from
Teuchira, having left Mr. Coffin at Bengasi, to make the necessary
arrangements for our embarkation. We had arranged this meeting
in order to complete the plans of both these places, which had been
left somewhat unfinished in our eagerness to visit Cyrene. Three
days were spent at Ptolemeta, and we then continued our journey
to Teuchira, where we had no occasion to remain more than a single
day, after which we proceeded to Bengazi *.
On the 25th. of July we had completed all our arrangements, and
embarked the same afternoon for Malta.
* We have not been able to publish on this occasion (as we believe we have already-
stated) more than a limited number of plates; so that several to which we have referred
have been unavoidably omitted. Some of the drawings, however, will appear in another
publication, with others made in Egypt and Nubia ; and in that we shall hope to find
means of introducing the greater p a rt of what has been omitted.