Despite these spoken reservations every member of the party was tremendously impressed - one may almost say awe-struck - by the country and it was obvious to all that at the best, a pipe line across these mountains into Aqaba would not only be an extremely expensive undertaking, but a treacherous one whose cost would be difficult to estimate with any degree of accuracy even after an actual location and a detailed study of construction conditions on the ground. When it is evident that construction conditions are relatively easy and comparable to those in this country, a reliable estimate is possible, but when conditions are difficult and there are no available roads or supporting facilities, a cost estimate made on the basis of a sketchy aerial reconnaissance can be little more than a guess. It vas clear, however, that in spite of its possibly slightly shorter length, a pipe line into Aqaba would be several million dollars more expensive than one to Haifa or Sidon.

In view of this, it was the conclusion that, unless political considerations should make it impossible to go through Trans-Jordan to Palestine or Lebanon, there was no virtue in the Aqaba route and that even if a pipe line should be built from Aqaba to El Arish in Egyptian Sinai or Gaza in Palestine, it would be an isolated venture and not one that could economically be connected up with a Trans-Arabian pipe line.

The Gulf of Aqaba is surrounded, except at the north where the rift continues along the Wadi Araba to the Dead Sea, by towering cliffs through which few passes are available (Fig. 51 and Fig. 1). The road from Aqaba to Suez rises through these cliffs In Palestine and after about 10 miles of extremely steep ascent, emerges on the Sinai plateau. The reconnaissance flight followed this road which was, as far as could be discerned, in very good order. (Fig. 53) There would be no difficulty in constructing a pipe line across the Sinai penin-

Fig. 51 Cliffs West of Aqaba