James McDonald 1868 (ca) Mount Sinai from the south end of base on Ujret el Mehd. [Ordnance Survey of the Peninsula of Sinai, Part III: Photographs, Volume 1]
In 1869, Sergeant James McDonald (1822-1885) accompanied a team of British army engineers on a five month trip to survey the Sinai Peninsula. The photographs McDonald took on this trip earned him a private audience with Queen Victoria, who 'expressed a wish to see the artist who had produced so many beautiful photographs of the Holy Land.' By this time, photography was an essential part of the mapping of land, which explains the detailed labelling of the images. This image of Mount Sinai shows Jebel el Deir (Aarons Hill), Wady Ed Dir, Ras Sufsafeh, Wady Shreij and Jebel Er Rabbeh.
