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Pilgrimage of Etheria

Egeria, tr. McClure and Feltoe, 1919

8. Clysma to the City of Arabia

Now although I had been acquainted with the land of Goshen ever since I was in Egypt for the first time, yet [I visited it again] in order that I might see all the places which the children of Israel touched on their journey out from Rameses, until they reached the Red Sea at the place which is now called Clysma from the fort which is there. I desired therefore that we should go from Clysma to the land of Goshen,¹ that is, to the city called Arabia, which city is in the land of Goshen. The whole territory is called after the city, the land of Arabia, the land of Goshen, although it is part of Egypt. It is much better land than all the rest of Egypt. From Clysma, that is from the Red Sea, there are four desert stations, but though in the desert, yet there are military quarters at the stations with soldiers and officers who always escorted us from fort to fort. On that journey the holy men who were with us, clergy and monks, showed us all the places which I was always seeking in accordance with the Scriptures; some of these were on the left, some on the right of our path, some were far distant from, and some near to our route. For I hope that your affection will believe me [when I say that], as far as I could see, the children of Israel marched in such wise that as far as they went to the right, so far did they turn back to the left; as far as they went forward, so far did they return backward, journeying thus until they reached the Red Sea. Epauleum² was shown to us from the opposite side, when we were at Migdol,³ where there is now a fort with an officer set over soldiers to maintain Roman discipline. These escorted us thence, according to custom, to another fort, and Baal-zephon⁴ was shown to us, when we were at that place.⁵ It is a plain above the Red Sea, along the side of the mountain which I mentioned above, where the children of Israel cried out when they saw the Egyptians coming after them. Etham⁶ also was shown to us, which is on the edge of the wilderness, as it is written, also Succoth, which is a slight elevation in the middle of a valley, and by this little hill the children of Israel encamped. This is the place where the law of the Passover was received.⁷ The city of Pithom, which the children of Israel built,⁸ was shown to us on the same journey at the place where, leaving the lands of the Saracens, we entered the territory of Egypt; the same Pithom is now a fort. The city of Hero,⁹ which existed at the time when Joseph met his father Jacob as he came, as it is written in the book of Genesis, is now a come,¹⁰ though a large one — a village as we say. This village has a church and martyr-memorials, and many cells of holy monks, so that we had to alight to see each of them, in accordance with the custom which we had. The village is now called Hero; it is situated at the sixteenth milestone from the land of Goshen, and it is within the boundaries of Egypt; moreover, it is a very pleasant spot, for an arm of the Nile flows there. Then, leaving Hero, we came to the city which is called Arabia, situated in the land of Goshen, for it is written concerning it that Pharaoh said to Joseph, In the best of the land of Egypt make thy father and brethren to dwell, in the land of Goshen, in the land of Arabia.¹¹

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