224 THE SAMARITAN HILLS.
The Southern Samaritan Hills.
The southern limit of the Samaritan Hills, and consequently of this section of them, will be traced from the sea along the Nahr el 'Auja, and the Wady Deir Balut, which emerges from the hills at Mejdel Yaba.* At Kurawa ibn-Zeid (alt. 2,130 feet), the Wady receives two chief affluents from the north- east and south-east respectively. The north-eastern wady takes several names, including Wady Ishar. The south- eastern branch, named Wady el Jib, is chosen for the present purpose. It meanders in a deep and sinuous channel as Wady el Jib and Wady en Nimr, and skirts the foot of the steep and lofty Sinjil Eidge, well known to travellers between Jerusalem and Nablus. The Wady en Nimr rises on the Mediterranean waterparting at the northern base of Tell 'Asur (alt. 3,318 feet), and descends between the villages of Mezrah esh Sherkiyeh on the north, and Selwad on the south, to join the Wady el Jib, at the bottom of the Sinjil ridge. The Wady el Jib rises on the top of the plateau, near the village of Sinjil (alt. 2,600 feet), and makes a gradual descent to the valley by a gorge through the ridge, the slope being here three miles in length, with a fall of 600 feet. Westward the ridge stands out abruptly ; and about two miles and a half from Sinjil, at the village of Jiljilia (alt. 2,441 feet), the drop into the valley is 700 feet, within the horizontal distance of one mile.
From the source of Wady en Nimr, the main waterparting is crossed to continue the line along a brook which has its origin at three-quarters of a mile south-east of Mezrah esh Sherkiyeh, and descends, first to the north-east and then to the south-east, to fall into the rocky gorge of Wady Samieh, and thus reach the enclosed plain, which has been supposed to be identical with the Vale or Plain of Keziz.f The Wady receives a permanent stream from 'Ain el 'Aujah, and with the name of Wady el 'Aujah it runs across the Plain of Keziz, the
- See Corider's " Tent Work," ii, 227.
f See pages 81, 82.
