August 28th.--The village and neighbourhood of Ras el Kora is the most
beautiful spot in the Hedjaz, and more picturesque and delightful than
any place I had seen since my departure from Lebanon, in Syria. The top
of Djebel Kora is flat, but large masses of granite lie scattered over
it, the surface of which, like that of the granite rocks near the second
cataract of the Nile, is blackened by the sun. Several small rivulets
descend from this peak, and irrigate the plain, which is covered with
verdant fields and large shady trees on the side of the granite rocks.
To those who have only known the dreary and scorching sands of the lower
country of the Hedjaz, this scene is as surprising as the keen air which
blows here is refreshing. Many of the fruit-trees of Europe are found
here,--figs, apricots, peaches; apples, the Egyptian sycamore, almonds,
pomegranates; but particularly vines, the produce of which is of the
best quality. There are no palm-trees here, and only a few nebek-trees.
The fields produce wheat, barley, and onions; but the soil being stony,
these do not succeed so well as the fruits. Every beled, as they here
call the fields, is enclosed by a low wall, and is the property of a
Hodheyl Bedouin. When Othman el Medhayfe took Tayf from the Sherif, this
place was ruined, the fields were destroyed, and many of the walls had
not yet been rebuilt.
After having passed through this delightful district, for about half an
hour, just as the sun was rising, when every leaf and blade