| | |its direction to 200° magnetic. | | | | 7 | 45 |The road rises slightly in the | | |next mile and 3½ miles further on | | |goes through bush which, though | | |open on the E. side, is fairly | | |thick on the W., making the river | | |invisible. | | | Wad Belal | 3 | 48 |After 3 miles through open bush | | |and sand hills, Wad Belal, a wood | | |station for steamers and a good | | |watering place is reached. | | | | 2 | 50 |For the first 2 miles from Wad | | |Belal the road runs through | | |scattered trees which become | | |fairly close bush on the river | | |side for another 2 miles. | | | El Geteina | 4½ | 54½ |The road enters a large plain of | | |cotton soil, with three tracks | | |across it to Arab dwellings, | | |towards the centre of the Gezira | | |about 4 miles in, and reaches the | | |large village of El Geteina. On | | |the river side there is a large | | |alluvial flat about 2 miles | | |across, and 3 to 4 miles long, | | |which runs north of El Geteina | | |towards Wad Belal. There is a | | |curious round sand hill in the | | |middle of this flat which must be | | |an island at high Nile. | | | | | |El Geteina consists of two | | |villages about 1 mile apart, the | | |larger of the two being to the | | |north. It is fairly clean and has | | |a very good market. There was a | | |certain amount of cultivation