omontory or
peninsula between the gulfs at the head of the Red Sea must be extended
too far south in the map constructed by Dr Pocock.--Ast.]

[Footnote 315: Had Don Juan de Castro been acquainted with the eastern
gulf at the head of the Red Sea, called the _Bahr-akkaba_, he would have
more readily chosen _Ayla_ for the seat of _Ailan_, and the dock-yard of
the navy of Solomon, being at the _inwardest_ part of the Red Sea, and
the port nearest to Gaza. Besides, the portion of the text marked with
inverted commas, seems a quotation by Don Juan from Strabo, which
distinctly indicates the eastern or Elanitic Gulf, and points to _Ayla_
as the seat of Elana and _Ailan_, and distinctly marks the other or
western gulf, now that of Suez.--E.]

"As this is a point of great moment in geography, it deserves to be
examined[316]. It is observable that Don Juan admits that both Ptolemy
and Strabo make the Red Sea terminate to the north in two large gulfs,
one towards Egypt and the other towards Arabia, at the end of which
latter they place _Elana_. Yet here he rejects the authority of both
geographers, alleging that both were mistaken, because Tor is situated
on a very long and straight coast. He likewise cites Ptolomy as making
the latitude of Elana 29 deg.15' N.[317] yet accounts the difference between
that position and the altitude found at Al Tor, 20 deg.10', as of no
significance here, though in former instances he had held the tables of
Ptolomy as infallible. It is still stranger that Don Juan should after
all admit of a gulf of _Elana_, as will be seen presently, and yet place
it at a great distance, and at the opposite side of the sea from that on
which Elana stands. However this may be, it is certain that Don Juan,
and not the ancients, has been misinformed on this matter; for not only
the _Arab_ geographers give a particular account of this eastern gulf,
as will appear from the description of the Red Sea by _Abulfeda_, but
its existence has been proved, by two English travellers, Dr Shaw and Dr
Pocock. The errors which Don Juan has here fallen into, has been owing
to not having examined the coast on the side of Arabia; for until the
fleet came to the island of Sheduam, it had sailed entirely along the
African shore; and then, leaving the north part of that island, it
passed over to the coast of Arabia[318] for the first time, where it may
be presumed that they fell in with the land some way to the north of the
S.W. point o