Mouth of the Wadi el Arish

A sandy desert scene with an avenue of tall palm trees in the left foreground, white tents, troops, a horse and a mosque in the middle ground, and a narrow stretch of dark blue - probably the Mediterranean sea - in the distance. The Wady el Arish rises in the southern Sinai mountains and runs into the Mediterranean at the town of El Arish. It contains water briefly during the heavy rain season in the highlands, when it usually floods. Like many other Wady beds it is used as a main route during the dry periods. Lambert described this watercolour as an accurate study of palm trees, but he also conveyed the flickering heat of the sky, details of the encampment, and the activities of the soldiers.