[Footnote 334:  By Dr. Hyde, in his notes on Peritsol, and Dr. Cumberland, in his remarks on Sanchoniatho, and by other writers, Erythros or Red is supposed to be a translation of Edom, the name of Esau; whence it is conjectured that this sea, as well as the country of Idumea, took their denominations from Edom.  But this does not seem probable for two reasons:  First, because the Jews do not call it the Red Sea but Tam Suf, or the Sea of Weeds; and, second, the ancients included all the ocean between the coasts of Arabia and India under the name of the Erythrean or Red Sea, of which the Persian and the Arabian Gulfs were reckoned branches.—­Ast.  I. 129. c.]

From leaving Socotora, till I had coasted the whole of this sea all the way to Suez, I continually and carefully observed this sea; and the colour and appearance of its shores, the result of which I shall now state.  First then, it is altogether false that the colour of this sea is red, as it does not differ in any respect from the colour of other seas.  As to the dust driven by the winds from the land to the sea staining the water; we saw many storms raise great clouds of dust and drive them to the sea, but the colour of its water was never changed by these.  Those who have said that the land on the coast is red, have not well observed the coats and strands:  for generally on both, sides the land by the sea is brown and very dark, as if scorched.  In some places it appears black and in others white, and the sands are of these colours.  In three places only there are certain parts of the mountains having veins or streaks of a red colour; and at these places the Portuguese had never been before the present voyage.  These three places are all far beyond Swakem towards Suez, and the three hills having these red streaks or veins are all of very hard rock, and all the land round about that we could see are of the ordinary colour and appearance.  Now, although substantially the water of this sea has no difference in colour from that of other seas, yet in many places its waves by accident seem very red, from the following cause.  From Swakem to Kossir, which is 136 leagues, the sea is thickly beset with shoals and shelves or reefs, composed of coral stone, which grows like clustered trees spreading its branches on all sides as is done by real coral, to which this stone bears so strong resemblance that it deceives many who are not very skilful respecting the growth and nature of coral.