of about two miles; so I proceeded at once to see it, hoping by this
means I should be able to advance westward on the following day. After
an hour's walk I came upon those remains of which I had heard so much
at first on landing in the country, as indicative of the great
advancement in architectural art of Kin's Christian legion over the
present Somali inhabitants; but I was as much disappointed in this
matter as in all others of Somali fabrication. There were five objects
of attraction here:--1. The ruins of a (said to be) Christian church;
2. The site and remains of a village; 3. A hole in the ground,
denoting a lime-kiln; 4. A cemetery; and, 5. The ground-lines of a
fort. This certainly showed a degree of advancement beyond what the
Somali now enjoy, inasmuch as they have no buildings in the interior,
though that does not say much for the ancients. The plan of the church
is an oblong square, 48 by 27 feet, its length lying N.E. and S.W.,
whilst its breadth was directed N.W. and S.E., which latter may be
considered its front and rear. In the centre of the N.W. wall there
was a niche, which evidently, if built by Christians, was intended to
point to Jerusalem; and this might have been conclusive evidence of
its having been a Christian house of worship, and consequently of
great antiquity, did it not unfortunately point likewise in the
direction of Mecca, to which place all Mohammedans turn when saying
their prayers. Again, I entertained some suspicion that the walls,
which were in some parts ten feet high, had not sufficient decay to
warrant their being four and a half or more centuries old. But one
thing was remarkable at this present time--there were no springs or
any water nearer than my camping place, which could not have been the
case when this place was occupied; but it denoted a certain amount of
antiquity, without any doubt. The walls of the church were composed of
limestone rocks, cemented together with a very pure white lime.