Our camels had already gone on some time before we parted from this solitary memorial of Roman greatness; and after a little distance we passed the ruins of another Roman fort called Hanshír Hámed. The country hereabouts, forming a sort of bowl or hollow, and absorbing a great deal of moisture, is very fertile, and is also tolerably well cultivated; but after a while it becomes stony. Having here passed a village, we reached a beautiful little valley, the head of the Wadi Sheikh, which is irrigated by two springs, that feed a splendid little orchard with all sorts of fruit. Here lies Swédna, a considerable village spreading over the whole eminence, and known on account of the murder of Mohammed Efendi. As the valley divides into two branches, we followed the main wadi, and afterwards crossed it, where it formed a pretty brook of running water. We then wound along a narrow valley overgrown with halfa and sidr, and, changing our direction, took the road to Kikla. The valley soon became decked with olives, which gradually formed a fine plantation. This is the chief branch of industry of the inhabitants, the ground being rather stony, and not so fit for grain. The district of Kikla contains numerous villages, all of which suffered much from the last war, when a great number of people were slaughtered, and their dwellings ransacked, by the Turks.[13] Several of these villages lay in small hollows, or on the slope of ravines, and exhibited rather a melancholy appearance. After some delay, we resumed our easterly direction towards Rabda, and soon came to the spot where the elevated ground descends abruptly into the deep and broad valley called Wadi Rabda, over which we obtained an interesting view. To the left the slope broke into a variety of cones and small mounts, among which the Tarhóna—“the mill,” so called from a mill that stood formerly on its summit—is remarkable for its handsome shape; while in front of us rose an almost perpendicular cliff of limestone, on a turn of which, in a very commanding position, lies the village Jáfet, enclosed, and naturally defended, on every side by a deep ravine. Here we commenced our descent, which took us a whole hour; on the middle of the slope we passed a kiln for preparing gypsum. At length we reached the side valley, which joins the main wadi on the west. It was ornamented with a few solitary date-trees, and the beautifully shaped slopes and cones of the Tarhóna were just illuminated by a striking variety of light and shade. The soil, a fertile marl, remained uncultivated. Gradually we entered the main valley, a grand chasm of about four miles and a half in width, which has been formed by the mighty rushing of the waters down[14] the slope of the plateau. In its upper part it is called Wadi Kérdemín, in its lower part Wadi Sert. The industry of man might convert it into a beautiful spot; but at present it is a desolate waste, the monotonous halfa being the only clothing of the ground.