CHAPTER IX.
Ride through the wilderness to the Dead Sea--The Dead Sea--The river Jordan--Horde of Bedouins--Arab horses--The Sultan's well--Bivouac in the open air--Return to Jerusalem--Bethany--Departure from Jerusalem--Jacob's grave--Nablus or Sichem--Sebasta--Costume of Samaritan women--Plain of Esdralon--Sagun.
June 8th.
At five o'clock in the morning we departed, and bent our course towards the Dead Sea.

After a ride of two hours we could see it, apparently at such a short distance, that we thought half an hour at the most would bring us there.

But the road wound betwixt the mountains, sometimes ascending, sometimes descending, so that it took us another two hours to reach the shore of the lake.

All around us was sand.

The rocks seem pulverised; we ride through a labyrinth of monotonous sand-heaps and sand-hills, behind which the robber-tribes of Arabs and Bedouins frequently lurk, making this part of the journey exceedingly unsafe.
Before we reach the shore, we ride across a plain consisting, like the rest, of deep sand, so that the horses sink to the fetlocks at every step.