The two chief difficulties to be met by the invaders of the Sinai were
lack of transport facilities and lack of water. Three routes were
possible for the Turkish army, all artificial obstacles being for the
moment ignored; two by land, across the Sinai desert, and the third by
sea, across the Mediterranean. The latter, however, must be ruled out
because the seas were controlled by the Anglo-French fleet. For the
same reason, the northern land route had many disadvantages, because
it could be commanded for a part of its length by warships. However,
it is instructive to examine it in detail.

The whole region crossed by the sea road is desert of the most
difficult and forbidding character. By this road all the great
invasions--the Roman, Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek, and French--have been
made. The road enters the desert at El Arish and from there to El
Kantara on the Suez Canal, the probable point of attack of an army
moving by this route, is 100 miles. Over this whole distance there are
only three places, once an army has left El Arish, where water can be
had. The first is a matter of a day's march, at El Maza, thirty mile
away; the second is at Bir-El-Abd, another day's march; and the third
at Katieh, within striking distance of the canal. Without the
construction of a special railway the transport of a force large
enough to efficiently control the canal by this route seems to be out
of the question.

The southern route, known as the Hadj, or Pilgrim's Road, running from
Akaba to Suez, besides being longer is even worse off in the matter of
water. This was the traditional path of pilgrims traveling from Egypt
to Mecca, and still is much in use for that purpose.

Something like 150 miles separate Akaba and Suez, yet only two
watering places are to be found in the whole distance. The first is
three days' march from the former place, at a point called Nakhl,
where modern cisterns had been built and an adequate supply of water
for a large force probably was obtainable. The next watering place is
another three days' march, at Ayun Mousa, or Well of Moses, within a
short distance of the canal.

But tremendous as were the problems facing a considerable body of men
in attempting to cross the Sinai desert and arrive at the Suez Canal
in condition to fight a strong, fresh and fully prepared foe, they
were not to be compared to the difficulties that would face such an
army when the canal had been reached. We have seen how gre