Red Sea

“ European sailing vessels rarely attempt to navigate the Red Sea; it is too intricate, and the chances too hazardous for anything but steam power to encounter. The color of the sea, so far from being red, is deeply blue, and where it becomes shoal changes to a pale green; but the color of all large expanses of water is constantly changing from various causes. The reflection of the clouds will turn its blue to a dark indigo tint, and even to inky blackness. ”

“ The pleasure of the sight of a new and beautiful world of shapes and colours, mimicking yet utterly unlike those of life on land, is for us enhanced by the vigour of its life and growth, in happy contrast to the desert shore.
On the edge of the shoal Porites and other solid forms appear as great rocky buttresses among the lighter plant-like growths, or, a little way from it may rise from the depths as an isolated pillar. In many places in the Red Sea such coral pinnacles abound in comparatively deep water, a horror of unexpected danger to the sailor. ”

“ A grain of sand, the weakest thing possible, curbs the violence of the ocean. For what would prevent the Red Sea from invading the whole of Egypt, which lies lower, and uniting itself to the other sea which bathes its shores, were it not fettered by the fiat of the Creator? ”

“ One gets a good idea of the structure of the Red Sea coasts on leaving the Gulf of Suez for the voyage south, before the ship’s course passes far from land. On the western horizon is a range of wild mountains, a grey plain ending in a yellow shore-line separating them from the sea, and the off-lying islands are of the same colour. ”

“ This part of the Red Sea is considered to be the hottest portion of the earth's surface. In the summer the air is like that of a furnace, and the bare red mountains glow like heaps of live coals. The steamers at that time almost invariably lose some of their firemen and stewards. ”

“ Upon the Red Sea there is no precipitation; it is a rainless region; not a river runs down to it, not a brook empties into it; therefore there is no process by which the salts and washings of the earth, which are taken up and held in solution by rain or river water, can be brought down into the Red Sea. Its salts come from the ocean, and the air takes up from it, in the process of evaporation, fresh water, leaving behind, for the currents to carry away, the solid matter which, as sea water, it held in solution. ”

“ There was the Red Sea, and fresh food daily delivered at every man's tent door, and game, juicy birds, brought down within arms' reach, yes, and—surely this alone were enough—there was living, cool water gushing abundantly, gladly out of the very heart of a flinty rock—if such a thing can be said to have a heart! ”

“ The sea is black with wind, white puffs of spindrift rise, drive over the water and disappear again. Some native vessels, which last night may have anchored in land-locked harbours some miles astern of us, are racing before the north wind, only daring to shew a corner of their great lateen main-sails, while we have not wind enough to find our way out of the reef-labyrinth in which we anchored for the night. ”

“ The Red sea is a narrow branch of the ocean, and does not receive into it a single river on the side of Egypt, and very few on the opposite coast; it will not therefore be subject to diminution, like those seas and lakes which are constantly receiving slime and sand from those rivers that flow into them. The [46] ocean supplies the Red sea with all its water, and the motion of the tides is very evident in it, of course it must be affected by every movement of the ocean. But the Mediterranean must be lower than the ocean, because the current passes with great rapidity through the straits ”

“ There were many English and French steamers plowing this narrow passageway, liners going from Suez to Bombay, Calcutta, Melbourne, Réunion Island, and Mauritius; far too much traffic for the Nautilus to make an appearance on the surface. So it wisely stayed in midwater.
Finally, at noon, we were plowing the waves of the Red Sea.
The Red Sea: that great lake so famous in biblical traditions, seldom replenished by rains, fed by no important rivers, continually drained by a high rate of evaporation, its water level dropping a meter and a half every year! ”

“ As they are of a dark-brown-red color, one can hardly resist the impression that they gave name to the Red Sea, although it is more commonly supposed to be derived from the red coral which is so abundant in its waters. This bold and rugged coast of Africa is in striking contrast with that of Asia, which is all sand and desert. ”

“ The survey of the western coast of the Red Sea, was a grand desideratum in geography, where nothing essential had been done since the voyage of De Castro. It is not a speculation of curiosity, but a duty incumbent upon a nation, possessed of the greatest maritime power that ever existed, to explore every region, where the sea is navigable, and this not only in a commercial view, but for the extension of science. ”

“ At six o’clock this morning we came in sight of the Red Sea. The mountain-chain of Mokattam can be discerned some time previously. Some way from Suez we came upon a well of bad, brackish water. Notwithstanding all drawbacks, the supply was eagerly hailed. Our people shouted, scolded, and pushed each other to get the best places; camels, horses, asses, and men rushed pell-mell towards the well, and happy was he who could seize upon a little water. There are barracks near this well, and soldiers are posted here to promote peace—by means of the stick. ”

“ At this time there lay at anchor in the haven of Mecca near an hundred brigantines and foists, with many barks and boats of various kinds, some with oars and some with sails.
Three days after I had agreed for my passage, we hoisted sail and began our voyage down the Red Sea, called by the ancients Mare erythraeum [47] . It is well known to learned men that this sea is not red, as its name implies and as some have imagined, for it has the same colour with other seas. ”

“ Notwithstanding all its natural disadvantages, Perim is destined very soon now to rise into importance as a port of call.
From the reap in early childhood we are taught to seek the Red Sea as a narrow strip of blue against the yellow outline of Egypt and Arabia. It is difficult then to realize you are in such a well-known spot when on neither hand is there any coast-line. We only know we are on the great highway, and that its limits are confined, from the numerous ships we are constantly passing. ”

“ In detail the living reefs of the Red Sea are characterised by (1) their luxuriant growth of coral, (2) the absence of large stones or “negro-heads” along their edges, (3) their frequently crescentic or circular forms. There are remarkably few points on the coast where coral is not growing in abundance, and at the edges of reefs in the open sea its luxuriance is wonderful. Even at the inner ends of the canal-like harbours, where the water is stagnant and dirty, scattered colonies are found. ”

“ Here now we have the Red Sea brought under our notice in a most striking manner, and one that leads us not only to feel the greatness of the power of man over material things, but I trust it may also lead us to see our littleness when compared with Him who made us. ”

“ We have no more large oceans or deep seas,—nothing but inland waters; many straits, gulfs, and seas analogous to the Channel, the Red Sea, the Adriatic, the Baltic, and the Caspian; pleasant shores, quiet harbors, large lakes and streams, aerial rather than aquatic fleets, an almost always clear sky, especially in the morning. There are no mornings on Earth so luminous as ours. ”

“ There is plenty of strong wind in the Red Sea, but the strongest of all, the hot winds of summer, blow off land and do not extend far to sea and such vast breakers, up to 40 feet high, as are recorded of the Pacific, never occur. The reef edge above the precipice consists of a slope of stunted coral which above water-level changes to a gravel of coral fragments coated with lithothamnia; within is sand, generally with bands of seaweeds and marine flowering plants (grass-like in appearance) on the shallows, with muddy pools and channels a fathom or two deep. ”

“ The Portuguese who formerly navigated this sea affirmed that it was spotted or streaked with red, arising as they alleged from the following circumstances. They say that the coast of Arabia is naturally very red, and as there are many great storms in this country, which raise great clouds of dust towards the skies, which are driven by the wind into the sea, and the dust being red tinges the water of that colour, whence it got the name of the Red Sea. ”

“ I was scarcely to be recognised, being quickly transformed into a negress, my garments covered with oily soot.
Directly after dinner we weighed anchor and left Aden.
November 8th.—We are on the waters of the Red Sea, which is rightly considered one of the hottest parts of the globe. We suffer terribly from the heat; the ventilators give but a faint illusion of fresh air.
Towards evening the breeze seemed to rise, the surface of the sea began to ripple, and soon a veritable squall arose. ”

“ The eastern shores of the Red Sea are rocky and barren. No important streams or harbors are found along this cheerless coast. The eastern slope of the range of mountains that runs parallel to the Red Sea is, however, one of the garden lands of the East. The clouds, chilled by the mountains, deposit their rains here, while mountain streams make it possible by irrigation to transform this part of Arabia into a rich agricultural land. Here from an early period was found a high type of civilization. Climate, soil, and the spur of foreign invasion fostered its development. ”

“ RED SEA.—My information is chiefly derived from the admirable charts published by the East India Company in 1836, from personal communication with Captain Moresby, one of the surveyors, and from the excellent memoir, “Über die Natur der Corallen-Bänken des Rothen Meeres,” by Ehrenberg. The plains immediately bordering the Red Sea seem chiefly to consist of a sedimentary formation of the newer tertiary period. The shore is, with the exception of a few parts, fringed by coral-reefs. The water is generally profoundly deep close to the shore ”

“ The Red Sea is red hot! I have steamed many miles along the Equator, but this salt-water corridor leading to the Indian Ocean is much hotter. As deserts shut in the Red Sea on both sides, there are no fresh streams to cool it, and the tropical sun beats down upon the waters and sands from January to December. As a result, the temperature of the water at the surface is often one hundred degrees above zero, and it steams the air like a vast hot-water plant. The sun’s rays are bottled up by the deserts, which then act as enormous radiators. ”

“ This season is always cold and stormy, forming no pleasant transition between the delightful temperature of the Red Sea in winter and the sub-Arctic climate of the Atlantic and the North Sea. We shall have to steam along the coast of Crete and to pass close enough to the southern extremity of Greece, to catch sight of the snow-covered peaks of the Spartan mountains; so much does the head-wind retard the course of our broad-bowed, somewhat old-fashioned boat, which, for a first-class steamer, makes wonderfully little way. ”

“ In such weather heavy squalls may be expected from any quarter, causing much anxiety to sailors used to the regular winds of the Red Sea. One cloud mass may grow until the sky is covered, mountains hidden in a black veil of rain, a furious wind hiding the shore by a great brown cloud of dust. Before the squall reaches the vessel sail is reduced to a mere corner of the great triangle usually spread, amid much excited shouting. Lightning and thunder become almost continuous and the sea is lashed white with rain and spray. ”

“ In five years, the admirable maps of that coral-bound gulf—the Red Sea—were complete: the terrors of the navigation had given place to the confidence inspired by excellent surveys. In 1829 the Thetis of ten guns, under Commander Robert Moresby, convoyed the first coal ship up the Red Sea, of the coasts of which this skilful and enterprising seaman made a cursory survey, from which emanated the subsequent trigonometrical operations which form our present maps. ”

“ G. Buist, in a recent communication to the Bombay Geographical Society (vol. ix.) , has asked how it happens that the Red Sea should not exceed the open ocean in saltness, by more than 1/10th per cent. The Red Sea receives no supply of water from any quarter save through the Straits of Babelmandeb; and there is not a single river or rivulet flowing into it from a circuit of 4000 miles of shore. The countries around are all excessively sterile and arid, and composed, for the most part, of burning deserts. ”

“ The scarcity of fish in some of its gulfs is proverbial, and you may scrutinize long stretches of beach on its northern shores, after every south wind for a whole winter, without finding a dozen shells to reward your search. But no one who has not looked down into tropical or subtropical seas can conceive the amazing wealth of the Red Sea in organic life. ”

“ In the noontide heat of the previous day they had started with their loads from the harbor-creek. For two hours they had followed the shore of the glistening, blue-green sea,
[The Red Sea—in Hebrew and Coptic the reedy sea—is of a lovely blue green color. According to the Ancients it was named red either from its red banks or from the Erythraeans, who were called the red people. On an early inscription it is called "the water of the Red country." See "Durch Gosen zum Sinai."] ”