"كتيّب سوريا (بما في ذلك فلسطين). لندن: إدارة استخبارات الأركان البحرية، يونيو ١٩١٩" [ظ‎‎٢‎٢‎٥] (٧٣٨/٤٥٥)

444 JUDAEA AND THE SOUTHERN DESERT
water. In the northern part of this locality, however, ‘Ain
Samieh, ‘Ain Fasa’il, ‘Ain Farah, ‘Ain el-Qelt, ‘Ain ed-Duq
and ‘Ain en-Nhei‘ameh are fine sources; the springs of
‘Ain Jidi and Umm Bagheq (see p. 657) are also notable.
The water-supply of the Dead Sea Gh5r is noted in chap. XXL
The Shephelah is supplied almost entirely from spring-wells,
the water here being found just beneath the surface ; there are
also a few brackish perennial springs, feeding slow small
streams, such as ‘Ayun el-Hesi and ‘Ayun Qassabah. In the
maritime plain there is but little surface water and the main
supply is from wells which may be dug almost anywhere
and water found not far below the surface. Wells occur even
on the sea-shore, as at Sheikh ‘Ajlln and Sheikh Hassan.
For further notes on wells and water in the coastal plain, see
chapter on Samaria, p. 484.
Climate
The climatic features of Syria as a whole are described in
Chap. II; peculiarities of the climate of Judaea may,
however, be further considered. Geo. Adam Smith says :
‘ Take a section of the country across Judaea. With its
palms and shadoofs the Philistine Plain might be part of the
Egyptian Delta ; but on the hills of the Shephelah which
overlook it, you are in the scenery of Southern Europe ; the
Judaean moors which overlook them are like the barren
uplands of Central Germany, the shepherds wear sheepskin
cloaks and live under stone roofs—sometimes the snow lies
deep ; a few miles further east and you are down on the
desert among the Beduin, with their tents of hair and their
cotton clothing ; a few miles farther still, and you drop to
torrid heat in the Jordan valley.’
The district thus affords considerable general differences of
temperature in different parts, due primarily to the range of
level from about 3,000 ft. above the sea on the watershed to
1,300 ft. below sea-level in the Gh6r and to the configuration
of the country. The Central Range though subject to ample
annual changes of temperature is one of the healthiest of