oil. Finally, guardhouses and bakehouses, already falling to
ruins like the mole, and an establishment for condensing water,
still kept in working order, are the principal and costly
novelties of the southern shore.

The site of El-Wijh is evidently old, although the ruins have
been buried under modern buildings. Sprenger (p. 21) holds the
townlet to be the port of "Egra, a village" (El-Hajar, or "the
town, the townlet"?) "in the territory of Obodas," whence,
according to Strabo (xvi. c. 4, S 24), Alius Gallus embarked his
baffled troops for Myus Hormus.[EN#42] Formerly he believed
El-Aunid to be Strabo's "Egra," the haven for the north; as
El-Haura was for the south, and El-Wijh for the central regions.
Pliny (vi. 32) also mentions the "Tamudai, with their towns of
Domata and Hegra, and the town of Badanatha." It is generally
remarked that "Egra" does not appear in Ptolemy's lists; yet one
of the best texts (Nobbe, Lipsia, 1843) reads instead
of the "Negran" which Pirckheymerus (Lugduni, MDXXXV.) and others
placed in north lat. 26 .

My learned friend writes to me--"El-Wijh, on the coast of Arabia,
is opposite to Qocayr (El-Kusayr), where Alius Gallus landed his
troops. We know that 'Egra' is the name of a town in the
interior, and it was the constant habit to call the port after
the capital of the country, e.g., Arabia Emporium = Aden. We have
now only to inquire whether El-Wijh had claims to be considered
the seaport of El-Hijr." This difficulty is easily settled.
El-Wijh is still the main, indeed the only, harbour in South
Midian; and, during our stay there, a large caravan brought
goods, as will be seen, from the upper Wady Hamz.