Algernon Blackwood

“ There is heavy dew at night, and no doubt they make the most of the very rare bursts of rain, which, when they come make waterfalls of every ridge and roll the boulders noisily down the narrow gully beds. ”

“ Very abundant, too, are the false spiders (Solifugae) , which come into the tent at night, and one of which, over ten centimétres in length, has the reputation among the Arabs of being a deadly enemy to the scorpion.” It is this variety, probably, that is locally spoken of round Helouan as a tarantula.
The bird-life is, perhaps, more interesting than any other form of desert life. One notices the flocks of kites, large grey birds, the moment one gets to Cairo. ”

“ Scorpions beneath turned stones are frequent enough, and lizards dart about in the fierce sunshine as happily as if the plenty of Italy and France lay easily within their reach. Perhaps they never drink! They are plentiful enough, and increase as you go towards Suez and the Red Sea. Geckos and agamas, the latter a peculiar flat-bodied, large-headed, uncouth little creature, are among the ones most frequently seen; but the most striking are the spiny-tailed varieties, which love the soft leaves of the “seyal” plant whenever they can find it. ”

“ Round Helouan they are very plentiful indeed, and in an hour’s walk through the desert hundreds may be observed in spots where they have scented food, most likely in the form of a dead baby camel. Vultures, too, are common, especially the carrion vulture, the well-known “rakham” of the Arabs. They will follow human beings for very long distances, with intentions that may easily be imagined. One is almost startled to hear larks and see the darting swallows, too ”

“ The absence of water and vegetation, and the scarcity of even insects, seem to make it impossible for any living thing that subsists by eating and drinking to survive. The arid, barren wastes of sand and stone and mud could not support a mouse, much less a larger animal. There is not even a shred ot moss or lichen anywhere and at first, when one sees the small isolated plants and thorny shrubs, the wee coloured flowers, and the occasional little sprouts of spear grass known to the Bedouin as “Ithmum” and “Dahram,” one seeks in vain for an explanation of their growth. ”

“ There is another kind that the weaker-minded among the Arabs dread, because they say it throws stones at them with its tail. Its energetic, quick movements apparently flick the smaller stones to a considerable distance. ”

“ The denudation in these torrential downfalls of the winter months is very great, but the benefit to the scanty plant-life must be small enough. Yet along the bottom of every valley may be seen, not infrequently, the little thorny shrubs the camels eat ”