DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.10358#0273
SINAI.
243
of wind-tossed sand mounds, which form the entire landscape (see page 249). What
marvellous shells !—the shells one has so often looked at in London fancy shops mounted
as flower vases ! What strange waifs and strays of sea and desert life ! The lights are
beginning to show in the mighty ships which are lying in the Suez anchorage, and there is
a faintness of distinctness about the white buildings and the minaret which mark out the
town itself (see page 248), lying at the feet of the purple mountain out of which the glow
of sunset has just faded. That is Africa, and of that mysterious continent the strip of land—
the valley with its mighty river—behind those mountains is the greatest marvel. Now let
us turn and watch the stars, which seem so much larger and brighter than they are in the
English sky, come out, from our encampment under the tall, ragged, weather-beaten palm-
tree, which may have stood as a sentry looking over the thirsty desert, stretched across the
whole base of the triangle of the Sinaitic peninsula, for countless ages.
The loneliness is very intense. Yet there is an intermittent murmur of laughter and
merriment from the group of Arabs round the encampment fire, which begins to shoot
forth a cheerful light on the white canvas of our two small English tents. And who are these
Arabs ? and why should one be obliged to have their company, or at any rate the company of
any except those to whom the camels belong and who act as camel-men ? The track is not
hard to find, and the watering places are well known. These Arabs are the ghnfai'd, or
protectors, without whose escort the traveller would not be safe in the Peninsula or in the
Desert. They belong to the tribes which have the legitimate right to give protection to the
Convent and to travellers. The country under their protection is accurately defined and
recognised by other Bedawin ; and while under their care and within the limits of their
protectorate one is safe. The name of the tribe occupying the Sinaitic peninsula is Towarah
(sing. Tun), from " Tor," the seaport on the south-west of the peninsula, with which wrord
is connected the old Arab term for the peninsula. The Towarah are divided into several
tribes, the most despised of which is the Jibah'yeh, whom we shall find at the Convent
acting as servants, porters, agricultural labourers, &c. There, is a chapter in Professor
Palmer's " Desert of the Exodus" (chap, v.) which gives a capital description of them,
etched in with the gentlest, most sympathizing, but most masterly hand. He points out
that the prevalent idea of the nomade character of the Arabs is incorrect; no people wander
less, and no people (the eager desire one's Arabs display to reach home, when home is near,
is the best evidence of this) are more attached to their native homes. So difficult to find in
European languages, in Arabic we find a word corresponding with our " home," viz. watan-.
They have, though innocent of many built villages and towns, summer and winter camping
grounds, and make at the proper season a regular exodus from one to the other. The Arab
has no history, because there is no nationality; and so one does not meet with any annals
breathing of heroism and chivalry such as Scotland can produce. There is some clanship
between the members of a tribe, and the fierce laws of blood-feud keep this up ; but there is
nothing more.
243
of wind-tossed sand mounds, which form the entire landscape (see page 249). What
marvellous shells !—the shells one has so often looked at in London fancy shops mounted
as flower vases ! What strange waifs and strays of sea and desert life ! The lights are
beginning to show in the mighty ships which are lying in the Suez anchorage, and there is
a faintness of distinctness about the white buildings and the minaret which mark out the
town itself (see page 248), lying at the feet of the purple mountain out of which the glow
of sunset has just faded. That is Africa, and of that mysterious continent the strip of land—
the valley with its mighty river—behind those mountains is the greatest marvel. Now let
us turn and watch the stars, which seem so much larger and brighter than they are in the
English sky, come out, from our encampment under the tall, ragged, weather-beaten palm-
tree, which may have stood as a sentry looking over the thirsty desert, stretched across the
whole base of the triangle of the Sinaitic peninsula, for countless ages.
The loneliness is very intense. Yet there is an intermittent murmur of laughter and
merriment from the group of Arabs round the encampment fire, which begins to shoot
forth a cheerful light on the white canvas of our two small English tents. And who are these
Arabs ? and why should one be obliged to have their company, or at any rate the company of
any except those to whom the camels belong and who act as camel-men ? The track is not
hard to find, and the watering places are well known. These Arabs are the ghnfai'd, or
protectors, without whose escort the traveller would not be safe in the Peninsula or in the
Desert. They belong to the tribes which have the legitimate right to give protection to the
Convent and to travellers. The country under their protection is accurately defined and
recognised by other Bedawin ; and while under their care and within the limits of their
protectorate one is safe. The name of the tribe occupying the Sinaitic peninsula is Towarah
(sing. Tun), from " Tor," the seaport on the south-west of the peninsula, with which wrord
is connected the old Arab term for the peninsula. The Towarah are divided into several
tribes, the most despised of which is the Jibah'yeh, whom we shall find at the Convent
acting as servants, porters, agricultural labourers, &c. There, is a chapter in Professor
Palmer's " Desert of the Exodus" (chap, v.) which gives a capital description of them,
etched in with the gentlest, most sympathizing, but most masterly hand. He points out
that the prevalent idea of the nomade character of the Arabs is incorrect; no people wander
less, and no people (the eager desire one's Arabs display to reach home, when home is near,
is the best evidence of this) are more attached to their native homes. So difficult to find in
European languages, in Arabic we find a word corresponding with our " home," viz. watan-.
They have, though innocent of many built villages and towns, summer and winter camping
grounds, and make at the proper season a regular exodus from one to the other. The Arab
has no history, because there is no nationality; and so one does not meet with any annals
breathing of heroism and chivalry such as Scotland can produce. There is some clanship
between the members of a tribe, and the fierce laws of blood-feud keep this up ; but there is
nothing more.