We set out again about 8 o’clock in the evening, and halted about 4 in the morning at Deli-Abas.  The low range of mountains still remained at our side.  From Deli-Abas we crossed the river Hassei by a bridge built over it.

20th June.  We found a chan here; but it was so decayed that we were obliged to encamp outside, as there is danger of snakes and scorpions in such ruins.  A number of dirty Arab tents lay near the chan.  The desire for something more than bread and cucumber, or old, half-rotten dates, overcame my disgust, and I crept into several of these dwellings.  The people offered me buttermilk and bread.  I noticed several hens running about the tents with their young, and eagerly looking for food.  I would gladly have bought one, but as I was not disposed to kill and prepare it myself, I was obliged to be contented with the bread and buttermilk.

Some plants grow in this neighbourhood which put me in mind of my native country—­the wild fennel.  At home I scarcely thought them worth a glance, while here they were a source of extreme gratification.  I am not ashamed to say, that at the sight of these flowers the tears came into my eyes, and I leant over them and kissed them as I would a dear friend.

We started again today, as early as 5 in the evening, as we had now the most dangerous stage of the journey before us, and were desirous of passing it before nightfall.  The uniformly flat sandy desert in some degree altered in character.  Hard gravel rattled under the hoofs of the animals; mounds, and strata of rock alternated with rising ground.  Many of the former were projecting from the ground in their natural position, others had been carried down by floods, or piled over each other.  If this strip had not amounted to more than 500 or 600 feet, I should have taken it to be the former bed of a river; but as it was, it more resembled the ground left by the returning of the sea.  In many places saline substances were deposited, whose delicate crystals reflected the light in all directions.

This strip of ground, which is about five miles long, is dangerous, because the hills and rocks serve as a favourable ambush for robbers.  Our drivers constantly urged the poor animals on.  They were obliged to travel here over hills and rocks quicker than across the most convenient plains.  We passed through in safety before darkness came on, and then proceeded more leisurely on our journey.

21st June.  Towards 1 in the morning, we came up with the town Karatappa, of which, however, we saw only the walls.  A mile beyond this we halted in some stubble fields.  The extensive deserts and plains end here, and we entered upon a more cultivated and hilly country.

On the 22nd of June, we halted in the neighbourhood of the town Kuferi.