•238 JOURNEY FROM At about a mile from the shore, nearly opposite Aalum Limarish, is a remarkably white rock, about forty feet high, and steep on all sides ; it has breakers scattered about it, and should not be closely approached tiU better known : beyond this rock, which is called Ishaifa, we perceived the sea breaking heavily over another rock, as much as four miles from the shore, which extends itself in reefs towards Gra. There are two other islands laid down by Ptolemy in the Gulf of the Greater Syrtis ; but one of these is placed in the neighbourhood of Aspis, where we could perceive nothing whatever like an island, and the other is laid down so far in the centre of the Gulf, that we could not certainly have seen it had it been still in existence. On coming abreast of Gara, which hes about six miles off shore, we had a good opportunity of observing it with our glasses ; it appeared to be covered with verdure, and we thought we perceived some appearances of building upon it ; it rises in white cliffs from the sea, in some parts very abruptly, but the table-land on their summits was green when we passed it. It was in vain that we longed for some means of crossing over to this island, for there is not a boat or a vessel of any description to be found from one end of the Gulf of Syrtis to the other ; but we consoled ourselves with the idea that it would be visited by the officers of the Adventure, which we afterwards found to have been the case. In passing by Ain Agan, the Shekh of the place paid us a visit ; but as we found that we could obtain no information from him, and he soon discovered that there was little chance of getting any bakshis from us, the visit was not of very long duration. From Aalum Limarish to Sheibah, the