equired,) and we all
marched away in a northern direction, the opposite to that of our
arrival.

This gave us an opportunity of passing again in front of the principal
edifices, if they may be so denominated, including what I had not before
seen, the sepulchre with the Latin inscription in large letters, QVINTVS.
PRAETEXTVS. FLORENTINVS.

It is to be noticed that Petra itself is called by the Arabs, Wadi
Pharaon, {316} not Wadi Moosa. The two valleys are adjoining, but in the
latter there are no antiquities or wonders. At a distance, however, the
journey to Petra is usually called a journey to Wadi Moosa, because the
Fellahheen of the region about there, and to whom toll is paid, are
cultivators of the Wadi Moosa.

Before leaving the place, it may be observed that the neighbourhood must
have been kept in a high state of cultivation during the Roman empire for
the maintenance of so numerous and luxurious a population of the city,
instead of the absence of necessaries of civilised life that we now see
there; and that good state of things must have continued in later
Christian periods, when the district formed "the third Palestine," and
deputed bishops to the synods of Jerusalem and elsewhere.

With respect to the colouring of the hills and rocks, it is truly
surprising to behold such huge masses of deep red colour, variegated with
wavy lines of violet and purple and blue, especially in the direction
towards Mount Hor. We did not, however, remark so much of yellow and
orange as Laborde or Irby and Mangles describe.

I find since that Dr Wilson states these rocks to be highly saliferous,
and says the Arabs scrape them with knives to obtain saltpetre for making
their rude gunpowder. He is of opinion that in some geological era the
whole place has been formed in a salt-water lake. Few people have had so
much leisure for making researches there as he had.

The temperature was high in the valley, because closely confined between
lines of hills; notwithstanding that the elevation is supposed to exceed
2000 feet above the Mediterranean. What it may be in a more advanced
season than April I cannot tell; but I perceived neither scorpions nor
serpents there, (as some represent the place to abound in,) no creeping
things worse than earwigs.

When on the march, we learned that the robbery of the night by 'Ali
Rasheed's people, amounted to one camel, one gun, and old Selameh's
sandals. Also, that those three men whom we