and may b e known by the clusters of date-trees in its vicinity.
They: are the only ones that occur upon the coast westward of D e rn a ;
but on . making the land, the hills, about fourteen miles west-southwest
from Bengazi, will be first seen. On a near approach, a white
Mardbot upon an eminence near the sea,, and a ' square castle at the
entrance of the harbour, will serve more immediately to point out the
town. During the summer months north-easterly winds are very
prevalent , in the day time, b u t generally die away towards night.
They are said to extend about forty miles off the c o a s t; and ships
bound to . Bengazi should in consequence keep to the eastward, as
well to ta k e , advantage of them, as to counteract. the effects o f the
strong current which they! occasion, sweeping along shore into the
guff.
T h e .p o rt o f vBengazi is formed.by rocks, that project from the
castle, and Juliana point; and is rendered very secure by. a reef
th a t extends across at a. short distance from the mouth of it, leaving
a narrow channel on either side ; both these passages are very
difficult, and.upon.an average the depth of,water in the harbour will
be found, greater b y a foot and.a half, or.two feet, in winter, thari in
summer. But we must. not. always depend upon this, or upon a rise
with the winds that , may be blowing, at Bengazi at the moment; as
they, may be confined to a short distance only from the coast;
whereas it is .the wind generally prevalent over the Mediterranean
a t the season that occasions the increase.
The port of Bengazi is fast filling up with sand, and alluvium,
brought down by the heavy rains that apnually .deluge the town, and
boats .only can now enter where the Bashaw’s ships were u se d to
remain forty years ago.
T he castle is strengthened with bastions at.the . north, south, and
eastern angles; but is deficient a t the western one, which is that
which would prove most destructive to ships . entering the ha rb o u r:
th e re .a re nine guns, eighteen pounders, mounted; they are the only
cannon Bengazi can boast of, and the walls which support them
would not long withstand the broadside of a man-of-war brig.
At Bengazi, ships will find a plentiful supply of fresh beef,
mutton and poultry, vegetables, fruit, good water, and sometimes
wood ; but the latter is very small.
- From Bengazi to Bomba, a chain of mountains, from eight hundred
to eleven hundred feet in height, extend along the coast in a
diagonal direction with the shore, being distant from Bengazi
thirteen and a half miles, from Tochra five, Ptolemeta one and a half,
and coming close down to the sea in the neighbourhood of Ra s Sem.
From a rocky point, four and a half miles north-east of Bengazi, the
coast runs low and sandy to, or a little way beyond, having at the
back a woody country extending to the mountains.
The ruins of Tochra stand upon a small'rising ground, which
terminates toward the sè a in a d if f ; the landing here is bad, except
in very smooth water, and there is nothing but water to be procured.
Between Tochra and Ptolemeta,' the woody country approaches the
beach.
Ftolemeta may b e distinguished by a large square tomb near the
beach, and by the ruins upon the hills to the eastward of it. A mile
from the tomb (to the eastward) will be found a small bay, offering
convenient landing for boats, except with the wind on shore. I t is
immediately round a; rocky promontory, the first that occurs after
the tomb. There are no supplies to be had at Ptolemeta, and no water
except, occasionally, in some ancient cisterns.
Mersa Susa Hammarn, or Apollonia, is situated in the bight of a
large bay, formed by Ra s El Hilal, and a cape, designated in the
charts as .Cape Ra s rSem. The ruins of the ancient town st^nd upon
a rising ground close to the beach, and may be easily distinguished
from the sea.
Though the Arabs have dignified the small indentation of coast
that here occurs, with the title of Mersa, and we have the authority
of the ancients for its being used as a port formerly, yet it cannot with
any propriety be recommended as such for vessels of the present
d a y ; nevertheless, boats, or perhaps small craft, may find some
shelter behind the islets that lie off the town.
Shipping off this coast will see two distinct ranges of mountains,
Supplies.
Bengazi toward
Bomba.
Tochra, or
Teuchira.
Ptolemeta, or
Dolmâita.
Mersa Susa, or
Apollonia. .
Ranges of moun*
tains.