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+} + +.poetry .stanza { + margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em; +} + +.poetry .verse { + padding-left: 3em; +} + +.poetry .indent0 { + text-indent: -3em; +} + +.right { + text-align: right; +} + +.smaller { + font-size: 80%; +} + +.smcap { + font-variant: small-caps; + font-style: normal; +} + +.allsmcap { + font-variant: small-caps; + font-style: normal; + text-transform: lowercase; +} + +.titlepage { + text-align: center; + margin-top: 3em; + text-indent: 0; +} + +.x-ebookmaker img { + max-width: 100%; + width: auto; + height: auto; +} + +.x-ebookmaker .poetry { + display: block; + margin-left: 1.5em; +} + +/* Illustration classes */ +.illowp100 {width: 100%;} +.illowp50 {width: 50%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp50 {width: 100%;} +.illowp96 {width: 96%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp96 {width: 100%;} +.illowp42 {width: 42%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp42 {width: 100%;} +.illowp91 {width: 91%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp91 {width: 100%;} +.illowp95 {width: 95%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp95 {width: 100%;} +.illowp41 {width: 41%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp41 {width: 100%;} +.illowp65 {width: 65%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp65 {width: 100%;} +.illowp55 {width: 55%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp55 {width: 100%;} +.illowp48 {width: 48%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp48 {width: 100%;} +.illowp56 {width: 56%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp56 {width: 100%;} +.illowp93 {width: 93%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp93 {width: 100%;} +.illowp60 {width: 60%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp60 {width: 100%;} +.illowp62 {width: 62%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp62 {width: 100%;} +.illowp70 {width: 70%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp70 {width: 100%;} +.illowp75 {width: 75%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp75 {width: 100%;} +.illowp31 {width: 31%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp31 {width: 100%;} +.illowp25 {width: 25%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp25 {width: 100%;} +.illowp64 {width: 64%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp64 {width: 100%;} +.illowp54 {width: 54%;} +.x-ebookmaker .illowp54 {width: 100%;} + </style> + </head> +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76757 ***</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_i">[i]</span></p> + +<p class="center larger">A JOURNEY THROUGH THE YEMEN</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ii">[ii]</span></p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp01" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp01.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>BAZAAR AT DHAMAR.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iii">[iii]</span></p> + +<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">A</span><br> +<br> +<span class="larger">JOURNEY THROUGH THE YEMEN</span><br> +<br> +<span class="smaller">AND</span><br> +<br> +SOME GENERAL REMARKS UPON<br> +THAT COUNTRY</p> + +<p class="titlepage"><span class="smaller">BY</span><br> +WALTER B. HARRIS, F.R.G.S.<br> +<span class="smaller">AUTHOR OF<br> +‘THE LAND OF AN AFRICAN SULTAN; TRAVELS IN MOROCCO’</span></p> + +<p class="titlepage"><i>ILLUSTRATED FROM SKETCHES AND PHOTOGRAPHS<br> +TAKEN BY THE AUTHOR</i></p> + +<p class="titlepage">WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS<br> +EDINBURGH AND LONDON<br> +MDCCCXCIII</p> + +<p class="titlepage smaller"><i>All Rights reserved</i></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_iv">[iv]</span></p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_v">[v]</span></p> + +<p class="dedication"><span class="smaller">TO</span><br> +MY FATHER AND MOTHER<br> +<span class="smaller"><i>I DEDICATE THIS BOOK</i>.</span></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vi">[vi]</span></p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">[vii]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE">PREFACE.</h2> + +</div> + +<p>But very few words are necessary as a preface to this +book, as more than once in its pages its objects are +stated.</p> + +<p>An account of my journey through the Yemen +appeared last autumn in a series of articles in the +‘Illustrated London News,’ and it is with kind +permission of the proprietors of that paper that +some of the illustrations reappear here. Many of +the illustrations, however, have not seen the light of +day before.</p> + +<p>The chapter on the Yemen rebellion was published +as an article in ‘Blackwood’s Magazine’ for February +last.</p> + +<p>The remainder of the book consists of entirely new +matter.</p> + +<p>I cannot attempt to thank here the many persons +who aided me and rendered me services during the +time I was in the Yemen. Without their assistance +my journey would probably have failed. To them I +am most grateful.</p> + +<p class="right">W. B. H.</p> + +<p><i>Sept. 1893.</i></p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_viii"></a><a id="Page_ix"></a>[ix]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS.</h2> + +</div> + +<table> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">CHAP.</td> + <td></td> + <td class="tdpg allsmcap">PAGE</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc" colspan="3">PART I.—SOME GENERAL REMARKS ON THE YEMEN.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">I.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">THE YEMEN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_I_CHAPTER_I">3</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">II.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">THE YEMEN BEFORE THE HEJIRA,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_I_CHAPTER_II">27</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">III.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">THE YEMEN SINCE THE HEJIRA,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_I_CHAPTER_III">47</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">IV.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">THE INFLUENCES OF ISLAM IN THE YEMEN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_I_CHAPTER_IV">70</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">V.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">THE REBELLION IN THE YEMEN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_I_CHAPTER_V">92</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc" colspan="3">PART II.—A JOURNEY THROUGH THE YEMEN.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">I.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">ADEN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_II_CHAPTER_I">121</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">II.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">ADEN TO LAHEJ,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_II_CHAPTER_II">151</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">III.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">LAHEJ TO KHOREIBA,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_II_CHAPTER_III">174</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">IV.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">ACROSS THE TURKISH FRONTIER,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_II_CHAPTER_IV">200</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">V.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">SOBEH TO YERIM,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_II_CHAPTER_V">223</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">VI.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">YERIM TO DHAMAR,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_II_CHAPTER_VI">247</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">VII.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">DHAMAR TO SANAA,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_II_CHAPTER_VII">263</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_x">[x]</span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">VIII.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">SANAA, THE CAPITAL OF THE YEMEN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_II_CHAPTER_VIII">299</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">IX.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">SANAA TO MENAKHA,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_II_CHAPTER_IX">323</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">X.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">MENAKHA To HODAIDAH,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_II_CHAPTER_X">341</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">XI.</td> + <td class="allsmcap">HODAIDAH,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PART_II_CHAPTER_XI">358</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc" colspan="3">APPENDIX.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">GENEALOGICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL + TREE OF THE IMAMS OF SANAA,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#GENEALOGICAL">374</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">A LIST OF THE IMAMS OF SANAA, + GIVING THEIR FULL TITLES,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#IMAMS">375</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">PEDIGREE OF THE REIGNING + ABDALI SULTAN OF LAHEJ,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#PEDIGREE">376</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">INDEX,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#INDEX">377</a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xi">[xi]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="ILLUSTRATIONS">ILLUSTRATIONS.</h2> + +</div> + +<table> + <tr> + <td class="tdc" colspan="3">FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">BAZAAR AT DHAMAR,</td> + <td class="tdpg" colspan="2"><a href="#fp01"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">COFFEE PLANTATION ON TERRACES AT ATTARA, NEAR MENAKHA,</td> + <td class="tdpg nw"><i>To face page</i></td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp02">8</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">VIEW OF MOUNTAIN-RANGES NEAR SÔK EL-KHAMIS, + ON THE ROAD FROM SANAA TO HODAIDAH,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp03">18</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">ANCIENT TANK AT MENURA, NEAR DHAMAR,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp04">38</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">HOWTA, THE CAPITAL OF LAHEJ,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp05">60</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">MENAKHA,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp06">110</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">TOMB AND MOSQUE OF SHEIKH OTHMAN NEAR ADEN,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp07">122</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">PALACE OF THE SULTAN OF LAHEJ,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp08">162</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">MY RECEPTION BY THE SULTAN OF LAHEJ,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp09">170</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">KHOREIBA,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp10">198</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">VIEW OF AZAB,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp11">218</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">MAN AND WOMAN OF THE HIGHLANDS OF THE YEMEN,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp12">228</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">MOSQUE AT BEIT SAÏD,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp13">232</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">UPPER FLOOR OF A KHAN AT YERIM,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp14">248</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">MY QUARTERS AT DHAMAR,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp15">260</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">KARIAT EN-NEGIL,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp16">262</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">JIBEL DORAN—EARLY MORNING,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp17">282</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">KHADAR,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp18">286</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">VIEW FROM WAALAN,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp19">288</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">THE AUTHOR BEING EXAMINED AND HIS PASSPORT READ IN THE PRESENCE + OF AHMED FEIZI PASHA, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF THE YEMEN,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp20">292</a><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xii">[xii]</span></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">MENAKHA, FROM THE NORTH,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp21">322</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">THE VILLAGE OF EL-HAJRA,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp22">342</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">TURKISH CAMP OF HOJAILA,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp23">348</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">GATE OF A WALLED VILLAGE IN THE YEMEN,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#fp24">354</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc" colspan="3">ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">A NATIVE OF THE TEHÁMA,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus01">68</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">A YEMENI,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus02">78</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">JEW OF THE YEMEN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus03">82</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">TURKISH TROOPS ON THE MARCH,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus04">103</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">MAIN PASS, ADEN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus05">144</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">A VALLEY IN YEMEN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus06">193</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">CASTLE OF AMIR OF DHALA,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus07">195</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">A GIRL OF THE YEMEN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus08">204</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">VILLAGE OF AREDOAH,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus09">213</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">BEIT EN-NEDISH,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus10">226</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">INSCRIBED STONE AT MUNKAT, NEAR YERIM,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus11">243</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">MOSQUE AND MINARET AT DHAMAR,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus12">259</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">HIRRAN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus13">273</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">CAVE-TOMBS, HIRRAN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus14">274</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">GROUND-PLAN OF TOMB III.,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus15">275</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">INTERIOR OF TOMB III., HAIT HIRRAN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus16">276</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">ENTRANCE TO TOMB IV., HAIT HIRRAN,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus17">277</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">THE AUTHOR IN PRISON AT SANAA,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus18">295</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">TURKISH OFFICERS IN A <i>CAFÉ</i> AT SANAA,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus19">308</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">TURKISH MOSQUE AT SANAA, AS SEEN FROM THE PRISON WINDOW,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus20">316</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">TURKISH SOLDIER,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus21">317</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">GORGE NEAR MENAKHA,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus22">332</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">VIEW NEAR WISIL,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus23">344</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td colspan="2" class="allsmcap">A STREET IN HODAIDAH,</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#illus24">364</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc" colspan="3">MAPS.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">ADEN AND ITS SURROUNDINGS,</td> + <td class="tdpg nw"><i>To face page</i></td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#map1">122</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">DHAMAR TO SANAA,</td> + <td class="tdc2">”</td> + <td class="tdpg"><a href="#map2">264</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="allsmcap">THE COUNTRY OF THE YEMEN,</td> + <td class="tdpg" colspan="2"><a href="#map3"><i>At the end</i></a></td> + </tr> +</table> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[1]</span></p> + +<h1>A JOURNEY THROUGH THE YEMEN.</h1> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[2]</span></p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 14.0625em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/line.jpg" alt=""> +</figure> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="PART_I">PART I.<br> +<span class="smaller">SOME GENERAL REMARKS ON THE YEMEN</span></h2> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[3]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_I_CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br> +<span class="smaller">THE YEMEN.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>The Yemen may be described as forming the south-west +corner of Arabia. So little is known of the +geography of the interior, and to such a slight extent +do even the natives define the boundaries between +their own land and the surrounding provinces, that +any exact description of the country is impossible. +The same may be said of nearly all oriental frontiers, +except where, taking an example from European +customs, a clear line of demarcation has been agreed +upon; for, as a rule, limits depend far more upon +tribal position and inheritance than upon any natural +features of the land in question; and in many cases +in the settlement of frontier questions with oriental +Powers, even European Governments have been +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[4]</span>obliged to follow upon these lines. This is especially +clearly exemplified in the case of the Algerian and +Moroccan frontier, in the southern parts of which no +absolute boundary has been fixed, certain tribes, +whether in French or Moorish territory, belonging +to whichever of the two nationalities under which +they are enrolled.</p> + +<p>How infinitely difficult it is, then, in the case of +the Yemen, to state where that province begins and +ends, will be appreciated.</p> + +<p>As to two of its limits, the task of definition is +simple; for on the west the Red Sea, and on the +south that portion of the Indian Ocean known as +the Gulf of Aden, allow of no question. On the +north and east far more serious difficulties arise. +Without attempting to delineate any exact frontier, +which, with our present geographical knowledge of +the country, would fail at the best to be anything +more than roughly correct, more general terms must +be used than would be justifiable in a more pretentious +work than the present.</p> + +<p>It may be stated, then, that the province of Arabia +known as the Yemen is bounded on the east by the +Hadramaut tribes, and on the north by the Asir, +although some authorities include the latter, making +the north frontier of the Yemen adjacent with the +southern limit of the Hejaz, the province of Arabia +in which are situated the holy cities of Mecca and +Medina. As far as the writer was able to gather, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[5]</span>however, from the natives themselves, the Asir is considered +to be an entirely different district, although +its inhabitants are nearly related to the Yemenis by +blood. In fact, it may be said without much exaggeration +that the present divisions of Arabia as +marked upon the maps are but little in advance +geographically of the ancient Greek and Roman +arbitrary distinctions of Arabia Felix, Arabia Petræa, +and Arabia Deserta. Even allowing for the widest +limits claimed for the Yemen, the whole country lies +between 42° and 46° east longitude and 12° and 20° +north latitude.</p> + +<p>Although no natural formation of the Yemen +can assist one in correctly determining its inland +frontiers, the same cannot be said of the two great +divisions into which the country is split up. These +are so apparent that, from the earliest geographers +to the present day, they have remained unchanged +and fully recognised. But in order to appreciate +this, a few words must be said as to the formation +of the country. While the interior consists of vast +mountain-ranges and elevated plateaux, some of +which lie at an altitude of over eight thousand +feet above the sea-level, the seaboard consists, both +on the west and south, of low-lying sandy deserts +and plains, varying in breadth from thirty to nearly +a hundred miles. The only exception where a spur +of the mountains approaches the sea is at the headland +of Sidi Sheikh, the south-west corner of the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[6]</span>Red Sea—a spur of land a few miles in width exactly +opposite the island of Perim, from which it is divided +by a narrow channel. It may be remembered that +only a few years back there was a false report that +France had purchased this advantageous spot from +the Turkish Government.</p> + +<p>The formation of these maritime plains is such that +it may be safely surmised that a very considerable +portion, at least of what is now desert, was at one +time covered by the sea. So fast, indeed, has been +the silting action, that more than one former port +now lies well inland. As an example of this, Sir R. +L. Playfair, in his excellent ‘History of the Yemen,’ +mentions the town of Muza, once a flourishing sea-port, +now over twenty miles inland. In many places, +too, shells and chips of coral are to be found at great +distances from the coast. The same retrograde action +of the sea can be traced, too, at Aden, which was, no +doubt, at one time an island, and is now joined to +the mainland by a low isthmus, formed by the silting +of sea-sand upon a submarine basis of rock.</p> + +<p>The name Teháma is applied to these plains of the +Yemen. It is a district exceedingly subject to +drought, and with a very small rainfall. What +water-supply it boasts, with the exception of oases, +is principally due to the mountain torrents, which, +originating in the highlands, rush impetuously down +the steep slopes, usually to be entirely exhausted by +the desert before reaching the sea. It is said, however, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[7]</span>that even in the driest seasons water may be +found by sinking wells in the river-beds. Although +the supply thus obtained is sufficient to maintain the +lives of Bedouins and their flocks and herds, it is far +from proving of any great utility to cultivation, in +such spots where, even in good years, cultivation is +possible. However, fortunately for the inhabitants, +there are scattered over these deserts many oases, +where cereals can be reared with tolerable certainty +of reaping the crops. The poor quality of the soil +as a rule renders agriculture, except in the most +favourable positions, an unprofitable pursuit. The +plains serve, too, for the breeding of camels,—those of +the Abdali and Foudtheli country, lying to the north +and north-east of Aden, being especially famous for +their swiftness and carrying capabilities.</p> + +<p>The Jibál, or highlands, display entirely opposite +features. Enormous ranges of mountains rise abruptly +from the Teháma to great altitudes, in places probably +14,000 and 15,000 feet. These ranges for the +most part take a general south-easterly direction, and +are split up into a series of wide, fertile, parallel valleys. +It was doubtless the luxuriance and agricultural +wealth, added to the attractiveness of the climate, +of this portion of Arabia, that won for the Yemen +in former days the title of Arabia Felix. In these +great valleys the coffee is grown, sharing with the +production of the indigo-plant and other dye-giving +species the attention of the mountaineers. Added +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[8]</span>to this, the climate is such as to allow nearly all +European vegetables to grow and flourish, and also +many varieties of fruit-trees. The nature of the +country renders necessary for cultivation the terracing +of the steep mountain-sides, and over this +laborious task an almost incredible amount of work +and time is expended. But of this I shall have +opportunity of speaking anon.</p> + +<p>There is, as might be expected, a vast difference in +the temperature of the highlands and the plains. +While at Aden and the surrounding country the +thermometer averages all the year round some 85° +Fahrenheit, it probably does not rise above a mean +of 61° or 62° in the shade at Sanaa, the capital of +the Yemen, where, as in all the elevated country, +frosts are by no means uncommon in winter. Nor +is it solely in temperature that great differences are +apparent with regard to the low and high elevations; +for whereas also in the former the rainfall is uncertain +and sometimes almost nil,⁠<a id="FNanchor_1" href="#Footnote_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> the mountain country +boasts two regular wet seasons—in spring and in +autumn respectively. In this respect the seasons +may be said to correspond with those of the plateaux +of Harrar and the Galla country. In both cases the +rain is said to be of almost daily occurrence, but +lasting only a short time, the showers being broken +by periods of bright sunshine.</p> + +<p>Nothing can be imagined more beautiful than the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[9]</span>scenery of the mountains of the Yemen. Torn into all +manner of fantastic peaks, the rocky crags add a +wildness to a view that otherwise possesses the most +peaceful charms. Rich green valleys, well timbered +in places, and threaded by silvery streams of dancing +water; sloping fields, gay with crops and wild-flowers; +the terraced or jungle-covered slopes,—all +are so luxuriant, so verdant, that one’s ideas as to +the nature of Arabia are entirely upset. Well known +as is, and always has been, the fertility of this region, +its extent is almost startling, and it can little be +wondered at that Alexander the Great intended, +after his conquest of India, to take up his abode +in the Yemen, had not death cut short his career.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="fp02" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp02.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>COFFEE PLANTATION ON TERRACES AT ATTARA, NEAR MENAKHA.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Thus briefly described, it will be seen that the +Yemen consists of two entirely different systems of +country, influenced by two entirely different climates: +the one arid plains, without much appreciable rainfall; +the other a mountainous district, producing +cereals, dyes, aromatic gums, coffee, and other rich +produce—a country of valleys and plateaux, well +watered withal, and enjoying a climate that for +salubrity may be said to equal any in the tropics. +Having now pointed out in a general way the difference +of the two districts, I purpose to enter a little +more definitely into the description of each.</p> + +<p>To commence with the Teháma, as being the seaboard. +It consists, as already stated, of plains +varying from thirty to a hundred miles in breadth, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[10]</span>and separating the highlands from the sea, both on +the west and south. These, for the sake of distinction, +I shall call respectively the western and +southern Teháma. The former contains some five +cities of importance, situated either on the coast +of the Red Sea or in that district which divides +it from the mountains. Almost in the Asir country +lies Lohaya, a small town on the coast, to which +I shall refer more particularly in a chapter on the +Yemen rebellion. Proceeding south, the next coast +town of importance is Hodaidah, to-day the capital +of that portion of the Yemen, and still farther +south Mokha. As it was my lot to spend a week +in the fever-stricken town of Hodaidah, I shall +reserve anything I have to say about it for another +opportunity; but as it was my ill fortune to see +Mokha only from the sea and not to land there, +and as I shall therefore not have to narrate any +personal experiences in reference to it, I shall add +some description of the place and its history at +this juncture.</p> + +<p>There is certainly no name of any city in the +Yemen as familiar to Englishmen as that of Mokha, +with the exception of Aden. This it owes to its +having for a long time enjoyed almost the sole +reputation of the export city of the coffee-berry. +However, it is not generally known that no coffee +grows at all in the immediate vicinity of Mokha, +and that all that was shipped from there was previously +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[11]</span>carried to the city by caravans from the +mountains, often over very great distances. Almost +as suddenly as Mokha rose to fame has it fallen +again. Before the arrival in the Red Sea of the +English and Portuguese traders it scarcely existed +at all, the outlets for the trade of this portion of +the Yemen being Okelis and Muza. It was not, +in fact, until the fifteenth century <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> that Mokha +became a place of resort for ships, and it owes its +origin more to the discovery of coffee than to any +advantages or attractions of its own. In the +early part of the seventeenth century the English +and Dutch founded trading “factories” there, and +from that time for a period of some two hundred +years its fame and wealth were renowned. Van den +Broeck describes the place as it existed at the time +of his visit in 1616, and notes that to such an +extent has its trade recently augmented that goods +from Hungary and Venice were found in the market, +which had been carried by caravans the whole length +of Arabia, to be exchanged for the produce of the +far east.⁠<a id="FNanchor_2" href="#Footnote_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> He further describes the town as a most +flourishing community, containing within its walls +numbers of numerous nationalities who had flocked +there on hearing of its fame and renown.</p> + +<p>A century after the Dutch and English had +founded their factories the French followed their +example, while in 1803 the Americans commenced +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[12]</span>to trade direct with the Red Sea ports. On the +British occupation of Aden in 1839, the immense +superiority of that place as a port, and the security +and advantages assured by British rule, drew the +commerce from Mokha thence, the former celebrated +city fast falling to decay and ruin.⁠<a id="FNanchor_3" href="#Footnote_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> Before this +period, however, serious outrages had been offered +to British subjects, and during the first twenty years +of this century there had been constant trouble +brewing between the fanatical natives and the +Christians, augmented no doubt by the jealousy felt +by the former for the manner in which the Europeans +had annexed their trade. More extraordinary still +than these outrages was the manner in which their +perpetration was looked upon by the British Government, +and it was not until things became unbearable +that forcible means were taken to punish the +offenders, and in 1820 a force under Captain Bruce, +who had been sent thither to enforce a treaty with +the Imam’s Amir, and Captain Lumley of H.M.S. +Topaz, bombarded Mokha, and succeeded in forcing +an entry into the town. The result of this long-delayed +act of reparation on the part of the Indian +Government was the placing upon an honourable +footing of the British “factory,” and the carrying +through of a treaty of commerce with the Government +of the Yemen.⁠<a id="FNanchor_4" href="#Footnote_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p> + +<p>Although the author did not land in Mokha, the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[13]</span>captain of the steamer on which he proceeded from +Hodaidah to Aden very kindly approached as near +the shore as was compatible with the ship’s course, +and with the aid of glasses a very good view of the +place was obtained. From a distance it still has the +appearance of being a flourishing town, but on nearer +approach one can see that, although the walls of the +houses are still standing, the roofs and floors have for +the most part fallen in, and Mokha is to-day little +more than a vast ruin, from which a few tall minarets +still rise to tell of its former beauties. A handful +of Turkish soldiers and a few Bedouins are all that +remain of its once heterogeneous population; and +where once the streets were filled with richly robed +merchants, goats feed to-day on the coarse weeds.</p> + +<p>As Lohaya and Hodaidah are more particularly +mentioned elsewhere in this book, little more remains +to be said of the ports of the western Teháma. +Some mention must be made, however, of the islands +of Kamaran and Perim, the two most important of +the many that lie on the eastern side of this part +of the Red Sea. The former owes its importance +to-day from the fact that it is a British possession, +and serves as the quarantine station of the pilgrims +going to and returning from Jeddah, <i>en route</i> to and +from Mecca. It is situated in latitude 15° 20′ N. and +longitude 42° 30′ E., and is about ten miles in +length, varying from two to four wide. In some +parts it is little more than a swamp, in others some +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[14]</span>low hills allow of the growth of palm-trees; but the +inhabitants are nearly all engaged in the pearl and +turtle fisheries.⁠<a id="FNanchor_5" href="#Footnote_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p> + +<p>The other island which may be included in a +description of the Teháma is Perim. It is situated +in the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb, a mile and a +half from the Arabian and about ten miles from the +African shores. It is formed of dark volcanic igneous +rock and plains of sand on which a few sand-loving +flowers grow. The highest point of the island is +between two and three hundred feet above the sea-level. +What, however, compensates for its aridness +and hideous character is the grand harbour it possesses. +This bay is a mile long by half a mile wide, +well sheltered, and averaging a depth of five fathoms +in the good anchorages. In 1799, in consequence +of the invasion of Egypt by the French, a British +naval force, under Admiral Blanket, proceeded to +the Red Sea, while the Bombay Government, acting +in conjunction with the other force, seized Perim +in the name of the East India Company. No fresh +water, however, being procurable, it was during the +next year abandoned as a station for troops. To-day, +under the hands of the Perim Coal Company not +only offices but a hotel has been erected there, and +the place promises to become a flourishing coaling-station. +All the water is, of course, produced by +condensers. A few British troops are habitually +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[15]</span>quartered there, being sent from time to time for +that purpose from Aden, and there is telegraphic +communication both with that port and Hodaidah.</p> + +<p>Two cities of importance lie in the interior of the +western Teháma—namely, Zebeed and Beit el-Fakih. +The former has throughout all the medieval history +of the Yemen played a part of great importance; for +not only has Zebeed been a seat of learning and art, +but also has been inseparably connected with all +the great civil wars and religious differences that +have from time to time shaken the Yemen to its +very foundations. Before the invasion of the Turks +it was the capital and seat of government of the +Teháma, though to-day Hodaidah has usurped its +position as such.</p> + +<p>The foundations of Zebeed were laid by Ibn Ziad +after his conquest of the Teháma in 204 <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span>⁠<a id="FNanchor_6" href="#Footnote_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> The +city is described not only by Omarah but also by +many other native historians, who one and all make +mention of its political importance as well as of +its size. The account most to the point, perhaps, +is that of El Khasraji, who states that the city is +circular in form; that near it to the south flows the +river of the same name, while to the north is the +Wadi Rima, the two ensuring a fertile situation +and a constant water-supply. He adds that it +stood midway between the mountains and the sea, +and almost equidistant from both, the time taken +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[16]</span>to reach either the one or the other being half a +day.</p> + +<p>Of Beit el-Fakih little need be said here, as to-day +it is a place of but slight importance. Like all these +cities of the Teháma, it is irregularly built of sun-dried +mud bricks. Its name, “The House of the +Scholar,” is derived from its being the place of burial +of a certain Seyed Ahmed ibn Musa, whose tomb +is still much reverenced and visited as a place of +veneration. The town possesses no claim to interest +either politically or commercially.</p> + +<p>The next portion of the Yemen of which notice +must here be taken are the plains commencing from +the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb, and extending to some +sixty miles east of Aden. These plains are included +in the Teháma, but in order to distinguish them from +that part already noticed, I describe them as the +southern Teháma. Like the western Teháma, they +separate the mountains from the sea, and in many +respects these two portions of desert bear great resemblance. +The southern Teháma varies from fifty +to a hundred miles in breadth, and is inhabited by +wild tribes, the most important of which are the +Subaiha, the Abdali, and the Foudtheli, the first +being nomad in character. These plains boast no +cities of any size except Howta, the capital of the +Sultan of Lahej, chief of the Abdali tribe, which lies +some twenty-seven miles north-west of Aden, and +Taiz,—though the latter, from its situation on a spur +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[17]</span>of the mountains, may be said rather to dominate +than to belong to these southern plains. Ibn Khaldun, +in his geography of the Yemen, refers to Taiz as an +important city overlooking the Teháma, and mentions +that it had at all times been a royal residence. +Without much further mention of this city, which +the author did not visit, a few remarks may be made +upon its later history. Owing to jealousies between +members of its ruling family, a certain Seyed Kassim, +uncle to the then ruling Imam, Ali Mansur, +treacherously sold the place to the Egyptians in 1837, +and it was taken without resistance by Ibrahim +Pasha, a general in the service of the famous Mahammed +Ali Pasha, who held it until in 1840 a fanatical +Mahdi el-Fakih Saïd took the town, only to +have it wrested from him in 1841 by the Imam Seyed +Mahammed el-Hadi. During the late Yemen rebellion +it fell into the hands of the Arabs, for formerly +it lay within the limit of Turkish influence, +and has probably by this time been reoccupied by +the Osmanli troops.</p> + +<p>With these few remarks upon the plain districts of +the Yemen, scanty as they are, notice may now be +taken of the mountainous districts. Such parts as +the author travelled through will be more minutely +treated of in the narration of his journey, together +with the towns of Yerim, Dhamar, and Sanaa, the +three principal cities of the Yemen plateaux. However, +there are other places of importance to which +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[18]</span>reference must be made here, and which, although +not situated upon the plateau, must by their position +be included in this division of the Yemen. Of these +the most important are Ibb and Jiblah. Both of +these mountain-fortresses are of some antiquity, +and have played no mean part in the history of the +country. Ibb is mentioned by Omarah as being +situated upon the great pilgrim-road built by Huseyn +ibn Salaamah, a slave-vizier, which led from the +Hadramaut, east of Aden, to Mecca itself, which was +constructed about the year 400 <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span> After leaving +Aden this great pilgrim-route was split up into +two parts, one proceeding <i>viâ</i> Ibb and the mountains, +joining the author’s route at Kariat en-Nekil, +north of Dhamar; the other following the Teháma. +The road which leads <i>viâ</i> Ibb proceeds through +Sanaa, and thence <i>viâ</i> Sadah and Taif to the Holy +City.</p> + +<p>Jiblah, or Dhu Jiblah, as it was formerly called, +owes its name to the fact that it was built upon the +site of a pottery belonging to a Jew, Jiblah by name. +It lies some ten miles to the south-west of Ibb. Ibn +Khaldun gives a short description of the place. It +is, he says, a fortress, and was founded by Abdullah, +the Sulayhite, in the year 458 <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span> Like Taiz, it +was a royal residence.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="fp03" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp03.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>VIEW OF MOUNTAIN-RANGES NEAR SÔK EL-KHAMIS.</p> + <p><i>On the road from Sanaa to Hodaidah.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The other cities of the mountain district, lying +principally north of Sanaa, the capital, and therefore +not coming under that portion of the country which +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[19]</span>it was the author’s lot to travel over, will be noticed +anon.</p> + +<p>Rough as these notes are, they will, I venture to +think, help to illustrate the map. To attempt here +the task of identifying the ancient sites with modern +names would be not only a task of great difficulty, +but also one unsuitable to the present book. Mr +Kay, in his most able translation of Omarah’s History, +has pointed out how extremely laborious and uncertain +has been his attempt to do so, even with +such maps as to-day exist of the country. The +author, after consideration, thought it more advisable +to avoid entering into discussions that bear but little +relation to his work, and would, he fears, but prove +uninteresting to the general reader. He has therefore +confined his geographical notes to such portions +of the country as he himself passed through, supplemented +by a few remarks upon places that demand +some notice, either from their importance to-day or +from historical interest. In the chapter relating to +the history of the country the same course has been +pursued, a few pages of print being put aside for +what would fill volumes were it taken in hand.</p> + +<p>Having now treated of the Yemen as it appears +from a cursory glance at the map, it is intended to +enter a little more fully into its description, unconnected +with its natural formation of plains and +highlands.</p> + +<p>Ibn Khaldun, in the preface to his Geography, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[20]</span>states that the Yemen is divided into seven royal +seats of Government;⁠<a id="FNanchor_7" href="#Footnote_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> but Niebuhr gives a larger +list of provinces, which is again added to by Sir +Lambert Playfair. These divisions of the country, +it must be understood, are entirely Arab in origin, +and to-day have been more or less altered to suit the +Turks. However, on inquiry from the natives, the +writer found that, although disregarded by the +Osmanli conquerors, the names are still in common +use amongst the indigenous peoples.</p> + +<p>The author gives the list of these provinces in +the order in which they are printed in Playfair’s +‘Yemen’:—</p> + +<ul> + <li>Aden.</li> + <li>The Teháma.</li> + <li>Sanaa.</li> + <li>Lahej.</li> + <li>Kaukeban.</li> + <li>Beled el-Kabail (Hashid wa Bakil).</li> + <li>Abou Arish.</li> + <li>A district lying between Abou Arish and the Hejaz, inhabited by Bedouins, &c.</li> + <li>Khaulán.</li> + <li>Sahán (including Sadah).</li> + <li>Nejrán.</li> + <li>Nehm.</li> + <li>East Khaulán (several small principalities).</li> + <li>Beled el-Jehaf (or Mareb),</li> + <li class="isub1">and</li> + <li>Yaffa.</li> +</ul> + +<p>“These are,” says Playfair, “as nearly as they can +be classified, the great political divisions of the +country; but numerous smaller states and tribes +exist which cannot be classed with propriety in +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[21]</span>any of the above districts, yet which are too insignificant +to require a separate notice.”⁠<a id="FNanchor_8" href="#Footnote_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> + +<p>The first two of these provinces, the <i>Teháma</i> and +<i>Aden</i>, are described elsewhere. The third is <i>Sanaa</i>, +taking its name from the city, the capital of the +Yemen. On account of continued wars and struggles, +its boundaries have for ever been shifting. Within +the province are situated the cities of Dhamar, +Yerim, Rodaa, Ibb, Jiblah, Kátaba, Taiz, and +Hais.</p> + +<p><i>Lahej</i> is described more fully elsewhere, so there +is little further need to make mention of it here, +except to roughly indicate its limits; for under this +title are contained not only the tribe-lands of the +Abdali Sultan, but also the Subaiha, Akrabi, Foudtheli, +and Houshabi tribes. The country inhabited +by these Arabs of the Plains may be said to extend +from the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb to about eighty +miles east of Aden. The country is poor, and boasts +but one or two towns, but many large villages.</p> + +<p>The next province is <i>Kaukeban</i>, which, with +<i>Beled el-Kabail</i>, <i>Abou Arish</i>, and <i>Beni Hallel</i>, +may be taken altogether. The latter tribe inhabit +a strip of plain country along the borders of the Red +Sea, while the three former include that portion +of the country lying to the north-east and east of +Beni Hallel, and extending as far east as a line +drawn from Sanaa due north.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[22]</span></p> + +<p>North again of Abou Arish, and between that +country and the Hejaz, is the Asir, part of which is +mountainous and part plains—the former inhabited +by dwellers in fixed abodes, and the latter by wild +Bedouins.</p> + +<p>North of Sanaa, and upon the road connecting +that city with Mecca, the continuation of the pilgrim-road +of Huseyn ibn Salaamah mentioned elsewhere, +is the province of <i>Khaulán</i>, east of which again is +<i>Sahán</i>, included in the province and former principality +of Sadah. This forms one of the richest +portions of the Yemen, being famous for fruits, +honey, and cattle. It consists of large valleys well +watered, and at such an elevation as to render them +not only suitable for the growing of fruit-trees, but +also exceedingly healthy. Niebuhr mentions these +tribes as hospitable but inclined to robbery, and as +speaking as pure Arabic as is anywhere in use.</p> + +<p>The next province is still more mountainous, and, +on account of its inaccessibility, has remained almost +unconquered. It is known as <i>Nejrán</i>, and consists +of wide fertile valleys reaching nearly to the desert +of Akhaf. Like Khaulán, it is renowned for its +cattle and fruit, the breed of horses, too, being celebrated. +They are said to be of the famous Nejed +strain.</p> + +<p>The province of <i>Kahtan</i>, situated eleven days’ +journey north of the valley of Nejrán, is another +example of the difficulties of fixing any reliable +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[23]</span>frontier to the Yemen. Evidently it is inhabited +by Yemeni people, as it takes its name from the +founder of that stock, Kahtan, who is said to be no +other than Joktan of the Jewish Scriptures.</p> + +<p><i>Eastern Khaulán</i> lies to the north-east of the +capital Sanaa. It possessed formerly a celebrated +city of the Jews, which is now said to be almost entirely +deserted. Although generally known by the +name of Eastern Khaulán, it in reality consists of a +number of small principalities.</p> + +<p><i>Beled el-Jehaf</i> may be said to form the extreme +eastern division of the northern portion of the Yemen, +but whether it should be considered as part of that +country is open to doubt. It extends from a few +days’ journey east of Sanaa as far as the desert that +divides Oman from Western Arabia. It is in this +district that is situated the city of Mareb, otherwise +known as Saba or Sheba, whence the celebrated queen +visited Solomon. The natives have traditions of a +Queen Balkis, whom they affirm to have been the lady +in question. However, this has been proved impossible, +as the dates do not correspond. It was at Saba +that the celebrated dam was built, the destruction of +which, about one hundred years <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, wrought such +widespread destruction. A few words about this prodigious +building will be found in reference to the +tanks at Aden in the chapter upon that possession.</p> + +<p>The last of the list of provinces is <i>Yaffa</i>, which +lies between the Hadramaut on the east and south, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[24]</span>and the districts of Lahej and Sanaa on the north and +west. It became independent some two centuries +ago, up to that time having been under the rule of +the Imams of Sanaa.⁠<a id="FNanchor_9" href="#Footnote_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> It is a rich fertile country, +producing gums, cereals, and coffee. It possesses +three towns—Yaffa, Medinet el-Asfal, and Gharrah. +Living in close conjunction with the Yaffai tribe are +the Oulaki, divided into the upper and lower, their +capitals being respectively Nisáb inland, and Howr +on the coast.⁠<a id="FNanchor_10" href="#Footnote_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a></p> + +<p>These, then, are the principal provinces into which +the Yemen is considered by the natives to be divided, +though to define exactly their boundaries, as in the +case of the frontiers of the whole country, would be +an impossible task.</p> + +<p>With regard to the geography of the Yemen but +few more words are needed, in order to render clear +the following pages of the narrative of the author’s +journey. Although an account is given elsewhere of +the Turkish dominion of the Yemen, it may be as well +to delineate the present frontier since the Osmanli +occupation of the country, although again it is almost +an arbitrary one.</p> + +<p>To commence from the south. The division between +the Arab tribes of the southern Teháma and +Turkish Yemen commences some ten miles east of the +Straits of Bab el-Mandeb, and so includes the promontory +of Sidi Sheikh, which projects toward Perim +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[25]</span>Island, from which it is divided by a narrow strait a +mile and a half in width. From thence the frontier +runs in a north-easterly direction, passing a little to +the east of Taiz, from which it again turns more +directly east, passing to the south of Mavia, and, +skirting the territory of the Amir of Dhala, includes +the town of Kátaba. From this spot it turns almost +due north, keeping well to the east of Yerim and +Dhamar, although these towns, as a matter of fact, +form practically the eastern boundary of the Turkish +Yemen. From Dhamar to Sanaa the frontier runs +almost due north and south, and may be said to exist +about forty to fifty miles east of a straight line drawn +between these two cities.</p> + +<p>From Sanaa to the north the Turks claim authority +as within their limits over all the country lying to the +west of a line drawn from Sanaa to the south-eastern +corner of the province of the Hejaz, although over the +Asir and other inaccessible mountain tribes their authority +is purely nominal, and has never been acknowledged +to any extent.</p> + +<p>It must not be thought that all the country lying +within the frontier thus described is securely under +Turkish rule, for there are whole tribes which do not, +nor ever have done so, acknowledge anything more +than a nominal subjection to the Sublime Porte.</p> + +<p>That these notes upon the geography of the Yemen +will prove of but little value to <i>savants</i> the writer +knows only too well; but if his journey was unproductive +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[26]</span>of any scientific or historical discoveries, it +must be borne in mind the period at which it was +undertaken: that not only was a rebellion still taking +place, that a month or two before had shaken the +whole country to its very foundations, but also that +the author was by the Turks treated as a spy, and +was more than once in great personal danger from the +Arabs. Under these circumstances he feels that he +cannot be blamed if his journey was devoid of any +great results. All that he can boast to have brought +back with him is a story of travel and adventure, and +numerous photographs and notes, that will tend to +throw light upon the present condition of the Yemen, +especially on what has been taking place in that +country since the Turkish occupation of the highlands +in 1872. His narrative of travel tells a story of long +night marches, and of days spent in hiding; of a sojourn +in a Turkish prison; and this story, he trusts, +will prove sufficient evidence that he had little or no +opportunity for research. It was owing to a mere +chance that his notes and photographs were saved +from destruction by the Turkish authorities at Sanaa.</p> + +<p>If these pages tend to throw some light upon this +most interesting corner of Arabia, and help to show +what the country and its inhabitants are like, the +author will be well satisfied with the result.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[27]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_I_CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br> +<span class="smaller">THE YEMEN BEFORE THE HEJIRA.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>Having in the last chapter briefly sketched the principal +geographical features of the Yemen, it remains +now to make mention of its history. The same remarks +as were made as to the geography are applicable +here, that with the exception of certain periods +which have been made the study of archæologists +and orientalists, there is but very little known of the +history of the Yemen, and there are long periods +existing between the times of which something has +been written or translated that are almost blanks. +Nor is it on this account alone that the task of compiling +in two chapters so many centuries of historical +matter is a difficult one, for many of the times and +dynasties of which there exists some trustworthy +account are all but unimportant in treating of the +country in general, what knowledge we possess in +very many cases being simply the genealogies of local +princes and rulers. However, it is only by a study +of these shreds of history that we are able to gain +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[28]</span>any facts concerning the condition of the country +during the early centuries after the introduction of +Islam, for instance; and if they in themselves appeal +almost solely to the student of things oriental, they +yet tend to throw more light upon the inner life of +the people than it would be possible to gather elsewhere.</p> + +<p>But the history of the Yemen is by no means confined +to such a brief period as that which has passed +between the birth of Islam and to-day. There exists +a far more ancient and more wonderful history, of +which, unhappily, we know as yet but little, but +which, should it even be possible to make thorough +examination of its monuments and records, may +prove that many of the existing civilisations sprang +from the Yemen and Hadramaut, and that the ancient +Egyptians themselves, owed the foundations of their +arts and learning to the inhabitants of Southern +Arabia. Some light has been thrown lately upon +the old civilisation of Southern Arabia by the successful +excavations carried on by Mr Theodore Bent in +Mashonaland, which have proved most clearly that +the Arabs of Southern Arabia were in touch with +that distant quarter of Africa, and not only in touch, +but even so firmly rooted there as to erect forts and +temples, to build and to decorate, and to work the +mines of that country.</p> + +<p>At present scientific exploration of the Yemen and +the other divisions of Southern Arabia has been, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[29]</span>for many reasons, so seldom undertaken that there +remains to be discovered there more than is probably +to be found in any part of the world. How rich the +country is in archæological remains may be judged +from the quantity of inscriptions, &c., brought back +by the enterprising and scholarly Austrian Dr Glaser, +to whom we owe nearly all that is known of the +earlier periods of Yemenite history. It was through +the extensive researches of this <i>savant</i> that any conclusive +data have been given not only to individual +sovereigns but to whole dynasties, with the result +that although far from perfect knowledge, very considerable +light has been thrown upon the early days +of the Yemen.</p> + +<p>Before, however, entering into any precise account +of the historical records of the Yemen, it may be as +well to briefly mention a few well-founded traditions +generally accepted amongst the natives and believed +by themselves to be undisputable. In this they are, +no doubt, mainly right in the origin; but in attempting +to trace their descent, through periods later than +those of the earliest times, they have to some extent +become confused. This is most apparent in the cases +of the two great divisions, or nations, which inhabited +the Yemen, the weaker of which, at times, finding +similarity between names, claimed descent from a +common ancestor with the stronger, until by force of +time no clear line of division was possible in many +cases.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[30]</span></p> + +<p>Although there can be little doubt of a prehistoric +and almost pretraditional race inhabiting Southern +Arabia, the only record worthy of acceptance from +native sources of their existence is their mention in +the Koran. No traditions exist as to them amongst +the people to-day, or even amongst those Arab historians +of the middle ages who made special studies +of the subject.</p> + +<p>The inhabitants of Southern Arabia may be divided +into two great stems, to which the names of Yemenite +and Ishmaelite tribes have been very properly given.</p> + +<p>The Yemenite nation are the direct descendants of +Kahtan, generally identified with Joktan of the +Jewish Scriptures, of the line of Shem, the son of +Noah, another of whose descendants, Hazarmaveth, +gave his name to what is to-day known as Hadramaut.</p> + +<p>The second great division into which the inhabitants +of the Yemen may be divided are the descendants of +Adnan, who was of the family of Ishmael, son of +Abraham: although unfortunately the connecting +links are absent, yet in spite of this there can be no +doubt as to the fact. This Adnan is said to have +been the contemporary of Bukht Nasser, in other +words Nebuchadnezzar;⁠<a id="FNanchor_11" href="#Footnote_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> and it was the fierce wars +waged by this monarch, tradition relates, that drove +the Ishmaelite tribes to seek refuge amongst the +Yemenite peoples. If this be the case, it is a marvellous +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[31]</span>fact that two nations inhabiting the same country +for such an enormous period of time, and for the last +twelve or thirteen hundred years united in religious +ideas, are able to-day to speak with any certainty as +to which branch they belong. Yet such is the case, +with the exception of certain Arab tribes who claim +descent from Kahtan, the mistake arising through +certain similarities of names to be found amongst his +descendants and those of Adnan.</p> + +<p>Each of these two divisions of the population are +again split up into sections, though in the case of the +Yemenites such is not to be found until the days of +Himyar, son of Abd esh-shems and great-grandson of +Kahtan. It is unnecessary here to enumerate the +tribes still existing which claim to have sprung from +the family of Himyar, more than to mention the +three principal ancestors on which their claims are +based. These are respectively Himyar himself, and +Malik and Arib, sons of Zayd, son of Kahtan, son of +Abd esh-shems.</p> + +<p>The family of Ishmael are likewise split up into +many tribes, claiming descent from three separate +members of the posterity of Abraham—namely, El-Yas, +Kays Aylan, and Rabiah.</p> + +<p>There yet remains another section which cannot be +passed over without notice, as commentators differ as +to from which stem they originated. These are the +descendants of Kudaah. While some protest that +their ancestor was Himyar, son of Abd esh-shems, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[32]</span>others claim that they are of Ishmaelite descent, and +ought to be enrolled under the heading of Arab +tribes. It is more than possible that in their case an +early amalgamation took place between the two stocks, +and individuals adopted as their ancestor whichever +of the founders of the parties it best suited their +interests to put forward.</p> + +<p>Such, then, was the origin of the two nations which +to-day, still to be distinguished from one another by +their traditions of ancestry, form the population of +the Yemen.</p> + +<p>Although there is no reason to doubt the genuineness +of these traditions, and in fact everything points +to their being authentic, the next period with which +we come in contact is no longer a traditional one, but +has been handed down to us in monuments and inscriptions +still existing. The knowledge we have +upon this period of the history of the Yemen is due +to the aforementioned Dr Edouard Glaser, who has +successfully translated over a thousand inscriptions, +with the result of practically proving the existence of +two separate great dynasties that in succession held +sway over the country. In so doing, what was +commonly believed to have been the fact until his +discoveries were made has been disproved, and an +entirely new epoch in the history of the world brought +to light. I refer to the dominion of the Minæan and +Sabæan kings. It is, too, from these records that +there has been found to have existed, contemporarily +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[33]</span>with early Egyptian times, a remarkable state of +civilisation and commerce in the Yemen, and what +was wrongly believed to have been in early pre-Islamic +days a country of savagery, has been proved +to have contained a cultured population, skilled in +art and excelling in commerce. This fact doubtless +to no small degree influenced the history of the +civilisation of the ancient world.</p> + +<p>The earlier of the two great dynasties which at +different epochs held sway over the Yemen, if not +also over the surrounding coasts of Africa, was that +of the Minæans, who are known in tradition as the +Maïn. Thirty-two names of kings of this dynasty +have already been discovered; and as a proof of the +immense power they must have held, tablets commemorative +of their wars have been found as far removed +from the seat of their government as Teima, on the +road from Damascus to Sinai; while an inscription from +Southern Arabia renders thanks to Astarte for their +escape from the ruler of Egypt and their safe return +to their own city of Quarnu. This votive tablet was +erected by the governors of Tsar and Ashur, which +again speaks for the immense tract of country owing +allegiance to the Minæan king; for of these places +one has been identified as being situated near where +the Suez Canal now passes. This extension of frontier +was doubtless owing to the great importance of +the trade-routes from East to West, the possession +of which in later times brought the otherwise unimportant +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[34]</span>Jewish kingdom so much to the fore. +But more important, perhaps, than the discovery +that these peoples were living in a state of considerable +civilisation, and carrying on most profitable commerce, +is the fact of their knowledge of writing; for +many of the recently discovered inscriptions in +the Yemen date from a period contemporary with +Egyptian hieroglyphics and Chaldæan cuneiform, and +earlier than any known inscription in the Phœnician +characters.</p> + +<p>Following upon the Minæan dynasty, of which, +as before stated, thirty-two kings are known by +name, is that of the Sabæans: yet the nature of the +inscriptions shows that a very considerable period of +time must have elapsed between the two; for whereas, +in the earlier specimens of writing, full grammatical +forms are found, the latter is not nearly so +complete. Yet the Sabæan dynasty can be traced +back with certainty to the time of Solomon, one +thousand years <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>, and there is every reason to believe +that they had been in power at that time for a +very considerable period. How very remote, then, +must be the antiquity of the preceding dynasty, which +we know to have been separated from the latter by a +sufficient lapse of years to have allowed of radical +changes in the formation and grammar of their +written language! Besides which, although comparatively +few inscriptions have been discovered of +this period, we have a list of no less than thirty-two +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[35]</span>Minæan sovereigns. Professor Sayce, in an able +article upon this subject, states that he believes that +it is quite possible that inscriptions may be discovered +which will prove Southern Arabia to have been in a +state of civilisation in the days of Sargon I., or even +of Menes, who is supposed to have lived some five +thousand years <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>: nay more, he expresses his +opinion, which many traditions tend to prove, that +all civilisation may have sprung from the Yemen and +its adjacent provinces.⁠<a id="FNanchor_12" href="#Footnote_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> + +<p>Apart from the great interest attending this alone, +another point must at once attract our attention—namely, +the existence of an alphabet earlier than +that of the oldest discovered Phœnician inscriptions. +Until these researches into the writings of the Yemen, +it was believed that the Phœnician formation of +letters was an abridgment of the hieroglyphics of +Egypt; but there seems now to be reason to suppose +that this still more ancient writing of Southern Arabia +may prove to be not only the source from which the +Phœnicians derived their alphabet, but also the origin +of those of all modern nations, including Greece and +Rome. What may be said almost to prove this +theory, says Professor Sayce, is the fact that while +the Phœnician letters, described by name as animals +and things, have but little resemblance to the object +from which the name is taken, this still older form of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[36]</span>Semitic writing bears a decided resemblance to the +objects described in the names of the Phœnician +letters.</p> + +<p>Probable as all this is, it must remain for the time +at least only a theory, until further discoveries are +forthcoming; but apart from all suppositious matters, +it may safely be stated that, be the Aryan origin +what it may, it is to Southern Arabia that we must +look for the home of the Semitic peoples. Referring +back to the earlier paragraphs of this chapter, in +which mention is made of the two great divisions of +the inhabitants of the Yemen, it will be seen that the +tradition existed in the time of Mahammed, and is +mentioned in the Koran, of an older population, whom +it may be inferred were the original Semitic stock,—for +it must be remembered that the present geographical +position of the Semitic races is almost entirely +owing to the spread of Islam, and it is to Arabia, and +Arabia alone, that we must look for their origin,—at a +time preceding the first Minæan kings, and probably +at a period when the stone age was passing into that +of metal, and fishers and hunters were becoming +traders and agriculturists.⁠<a id="FNanchor_13" href="#Footnote_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> But of all the incidents +of the ancient history of the Yemen, there is one that +will especially appeal to all. I refer to the visit of +the Queen of Sheba to Solomon about the year one +thousand <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> Sheba has always been identified with +Saba, the capital of the Sabæan empire, a city lying +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[37]</span>some seven days’ journey to the north-east of Sanaa, +the present capital of Turkish Yemen. The story is +too well known to need any comment here; it need +only be noticed that the point it is written from is +that of a Jewish historian, who would naturally tend +to magnify the glories of Solomon and the admiration +of the queen at his wonderful city, palace, and temple. +Yet, as a matter of fact, it is not at all improbable that +Saba possessed buildings as fine as any of those of +Solomon; and certainly, whereas no ruins remain of +the latter, the great dam, built some seventeen hundred +years <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> at Saba, still stands, though of course +in ruins, to tell the tale of the vast building powers +of the Sabæan architects. Nor do we in the gorgeous +description of Solomon’s works find reference to anything +that could possibly have compared in size and +structure with this extraordinary <i>barrage</i>, of which +it is sufficient to say that it measured three hundred +cubits thick, one hundred and twenty feet high, and +two <i>miles</i> in length.⁠<a id="FNanchor_14" href="#Footnote_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> The presents which the Queen +of Sheba brought to Solomon tend as much as anything +to prove that she was a native of Southern +Arabia, for her offerings will be found either to be produce +of that country, or such articles as could, owing +to the enormous commerce of Saba, find an outlet in +that direction from farther south and east.</p> + +<p>Although the already discovered inscriptions point +to Saba having been the capital of a great and civilised +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[38]</span>empire eight hundred years <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>, the existence of +the great dam, which may be attributed to Lokman, +who lived 1750 years <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span>, and the visit of the Queen +of Sheba to Solomon, speak of greater antiquity.</p> + +<p>The religion of the Sabæans is too large a question +to attempt here, more especially as there are evidences +that during the long periods of the Minæan and +Sabæan dynasties it underwent many changes, merging +from a primitive idolatry into worship of the +planets and stars, and even, in cases, to the recognition +of a supreme deity. They believed in the immortality +of the soul, a future state of reward or +punishment, and many also in transmigration. The +gradual change of doctrine appreciable in the religion, +besides being due to the natural outcome of increased +civilisation and culture, was no doubt largely influenced +by the astronomers and astrologers of Chaldæa. +Doubtless, too, there existed in their religious traditions +a sort of hero-worship, for we read in various +authorities of certain names as being those of deities +and of men. Thus we find the city of Saba was +called after a god of that name, while again the +founder is mentioned as being Saba the son of Abd +esh-shems, the father of the so-called Himyaric +dynasty.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp04" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp04.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>ANCIENT TANK AT MENURA, NEAR DHAMAR.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Any attempt, with the space at disposal here, to +draw conclusions from the traditions existing as to +the earliest inhabitants of the Yemen, is out of the +question; and rather than do so, it will better suit +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[39]</span>our purpose to keep to what have been proved to be +facts—the existence of the Minæan and later the +Sabæan dynasties; the high state of culture and commerce +in Southern Arabia at a very remote period; +and the existence of a written language that was +possibly, if not probably, the origin of Phœnician, +and so of all European forms of writing; and the still +greater idea that Southern Arabia may be proved to +be the land of “Punt,” and the birthplace of the +Egyptian race, and their arts and culture.</p> + +<p>Shortly before the commencement of the Christian +era Egypt became a Roman province, and a few years +later an expedition under Ælius Gallus was sent to +explore Arabia and Ethiopia. How difficult would +be the task was evidently realised, for when the +expedition started from Cleopatris, near the modern +Suez, it consisted of no less than eighty vessels of +war and a hundred and thirty transports, with ten +thousand Roman troops and fifteen thousand mercenaries.⁠<a id="FNanchor_15" href="#Footnote_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> +But the expedition was destined to disaster, +for although it penetrated as far as Southern Arabia—probably +Nejrán—the troops were decimated by +famine and disease, and only a small handful ever +returned.</p> + +<p>In looking through these early pages of the history +of the Yemen, one cannot but be struck with the +important part that women played in politics; and +even after the introduction of Islam, and the women +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[40]</span>had been assigned a lower position, the old custom +crops up again and again, and we find women seizing +the reins of government.</p> + +<p>The first example that we find of the power exercised +by women is without doubt the Queen of +Sheba; while a second example follows within a few +years after the failure of the expedition of Ælius +Gallus, in the person of Queen Balkis, whose real +name was Belkama or Yalkama, and who was sufficiently +strong-minded to amalgamate two kingdoms by +marrying her rival, whom she immediately removed +by poison.</p> + +<p>About <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 120 the great dam of Saba or Mareb +burst, spreading wholesale destruction throughout the +wide fertile valley below it. About this period, too, +an expedition was carried by the then King Tubba +el-Akran as far as Samarcand, and thence into China; +and in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 206, Abou Kariba, one of the most illustrious +of all the Himyaric kings, invaded Chaldæa and +defeated the Tartars of Adirbijan. He started on a +second expedition to conquer Syria, but returned +after taking the Hejaz to the Yemen, where he is said +to have renounced idolatry and embraced Judaism.</p> + +<p>A legend, quoted by Sir Lambert Playfair in his +‘History of the Yemen,’ tells of the introduction of the +Jewish faith into the Yemen during the reign of this +Sultan. It savours of the priests of Baal; for, wishing +to put to the test the merits of Judaism and idolatry, +the priests of either creed proceeded to a certain spot +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[41]</span>whence fire emerged from the ground. Pushed on by +the crowd, the test was tried, and while the Jewish +priests passed through the flame unscathed, the idolaters +perished. But the feeling between the two was +by no means destined from this fact to become a +cordial one, and constant fights occurred between the +two parties. Although Christianity seems to have +appeared in the Yemen previous to the year 297 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, +it was not until that date that it became a religion of +importance in the country. It was during the reign +of the king Tubba ibn Hassan, who held the throne +at this period, that Christianity was introduced into +Abyssinia; and about the middle half of the fourth +century the Emperor Constantius sent a certain +bishop, Theophilus Indus, to convert the Yemenis, of +whom the king was so far tolerant, even if he did not +himself embrace Christianity, to allow the building of +churches. One was erected at Zafar, near Yerim; +another at Aden; and a third at a port in the Arabian +Sea, supposed generally to be Hormuzd.</p> + +<p>So king succeeded king with the usual rapidity of +oriental countries, until in 478 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> a certain Lakhnia +(or Lakhtiaa) Tanú usurped the throne, whose +cruelties to the surviving members of the royal +family are recorded by more than one historian. +However, it remained for one of these, a youth by +name Asaad abou Karib, or Dhu Nowas, to revenge +his relations by stabbing the usurper with a dagger, +he himself being unanimously elected to the throne. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[42]</span>He embraced Judaism, and adopted the name of +Yusef (Joseph). However, like many converts, he +became a fanatic, and his cruelties toward the +Christians are perhaps unparalleled in history. Dhu +Nowas attacked them in Nejrán, and having foully +broken his promise that no harm should befall them, +gave them the choice between death or Judaism. +Twenty thousand, it is said, were burned alive in +huge pits filled with blazing wood. The Koran commends +these people who died for their religion, and +calls a curse upon their persecutor.⁠<a id="FNanchor_16" href="#Footnote_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a></p> + +<p>But the cruelty of Dhu Nowas was to reap its +reward. A few Christians who escaped fled to the +Court of the Christian emperor of the East, who +presented them with letters to the Christian king of +Abyssinia, requesting him to punish the perpetrator +of these cruel outrages.</p> + +<p>In <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 525, accordingly, the Abyssinians invaded +the Yemen, and Dhu Nowas was defeated, being +drowned, purposely, it is said, after the first battle. +From that moment the Abyssinian general Aryat met +with but futile resistance, and pushed into the heart +of the country, destroying and razing the cities as he +went along.</p> + +<p>Thus was overthrown, never to rise again, the +Himyaric dynasty, which had held the throne of the +Yemen for over two thousand years. Many of the +kings had been celebrated both for war and culture, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[43]</span>but their ancestors were now, on account of their +fanatical persecution of the Christians, in return to +suffer from cruelties and oppression as severe as any +they themselves had ever practised.</p> + +<p>It is but one of the many examples of the terrible +bloodshed consequent upon diversity of opinion on +religious subjects,—for with bloodshed did Christianity +force itself into the Yemen, and with bloodshed +was it destined a few years later to disappear. Aryat, +having conquered the Yemen, was appointed Viceroy +of the King of Abyssinia in that country, and reigned +until nearly the middle half of the sixth century, +being succeeded by Abrahá, in fighting with whom +Aryat was slain.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, by every means of cruelty and oppression +Christianity had been pushed forward; but at +length a bishop was appointed at Zafar, whose name +is to-day included in the calendar of saints as St +Gregentius, who persuaded Abrahá to adopt more +lenient measures than those of his predecessor; and +even the Arab authors acknowledge him to have been +a just and compassionate prince. That he was, however, +a fanatic is certain; for the church at Sanaa +having been defiled by an Arab from Mecca, where +for centuries the Kaabah had been a place of pilgrimage, +he vowed to destroy that place, and at the head +of a great army marched into the Hejaz. Approaching +Mecca, the inhabitants fled; but Abrahá, mounted +upon his famous white elephant Mahmoud, failed,—for +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[44]</span>it is said not only did the huge pachyderm refuse to +turn toward the city, but that a miraculous flight of +birds dropped pebbles upon the heads of the invading +army, killing both men and elephants. This miracle +is generally explained as an epidemic of smallpox: +however, be it what it may, it ended in the total +rout and flight of the Abyssinian troops, who in a +miserable plight resought the Yemen, where shortly +afterwards Abrahá died.</p> + +<p>This “battle of the elephant,” as the Arab historians +called it, is doubly famous, as it happened in +the year of the birth of Mahammed.</p> + +<p>But the Abyssinian rule was soon to end. Acts of +tyranny and cruelty hurried on its termination, and +Jaskum, the last sovereign, died in 575 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, when +the ancestors of the Himyaric dynasty, certain of +being unable to regain the throne for themselves, and +having failed to persuade the Romans to take up +their cause, implored the aid of the Persian monarch +Kesra, who after many delays fitted out an expedition, +formed for the most part of convicts from the +prisons, which reached Aden, under the personal +conduct of a descendant of Himyar, Maadi Karib, +and a Persian general of the name of Wahraz. A +battle ensued with the Abyssinians, in which their +monarch—for the Viceroys had by this time taken +imperial rights—was killed. Sanaa was reached, and +the gates broken down to allow the Persian conqueror +to enter with uplifted banners, and Maadi +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[45]</span>Karib was proclaimed viceroy, paying tribute and +owning allegiance to the Persian sovereign.</p> + +<p>The event of the return of a descendant of Himyar +to power is celebrated by many an Arab historian +and poet.</p> + +<p>Amongst many other ambassadors and men of +repute who flocked to the court at Sanaa, after the +overthrow of Christianity, was the grandfather of +Mahammed, Abd el-Mutalib, who was received with +special honours, as belonging to the powerful tribe +of the Koreish, lords of Mecca. But Maadi Karib +was destined to fall a victim to Abyssinian treachery, +being murdered by his body-guard, which consisted +of javelin-throwers of Habesh. A state of anarchy +ensued, in which the natives struggled with the +Abyssinians for the supreme power; and finally the +Persian monarch Kesra Paruiz was forced to send an +expedition, which proved entirely successful. But +bloodshed was the result, and the Abyssinians were +put to the sword with great cruelty, even the half-breed +children being slaughtered.</p> + +<p>Great as was the number of the slain, both the +Abyssinian and Persian occupation has left its mark +in the Yemen, and a particular and despised race +exists there to-day known as the Akhdam.⁠<a id="FNanchor_17" href="#Footnote_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> Authorities +differ as to whether they are the descendants +of the Abyssinians or Persians; but so closely did +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[46]</span>one occupation follow upon the other that it may be +reasonably supposed that, owing to the youth of the +children at the time, and the rapidity with which +both nationalities died out of the country, but little +distinction would exist, in spite of diversity of colour, +between the two.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the Persian rule was for a time fairly +established, though many tribes were almost entirely +governed by their own local chiefs. All religions +were tolerated, and Christianity maintained its +ground, principally in Nejrán, and we find mention +amongst early authorities of a Christian bishop of +that province, Kos by name. It was probably in his +time that a Christian Church was erected in Nejrán.</p> + +<p>At this period a great change was to take place in +the religion and government of Arabia, for there had +arisen at Mecca a prophet, Mahammed by name, of +the tribe of the Koreish, who was destined to influence +not only all Arabia but the whole history of the +world.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[47]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_I_CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br> +<span class="smaller">THE YEMEN SINCE THE HEJIRA.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>Mahammed was destined to overthrow the whole +social and religious status of Arabia. But the +Yemen was by no means anxious at the first to +accept the new doctrine, and for a time remained +steadfast to the Persian cause and religion, under +the viceroyalty of Budhan, who, though eventually +he accepted the faith of Islam, hesitated until pressure +was brought to bear upon him, and until he +had obtained, to him, satisfactory evidence of the +Prophet’s miracles.</p> + +<p>The dissensions at this period existing amongst +the Christians of the Yemen added not a little to the +success of the spread of the new religion. Yet in +these first days of conversion every leniency was +shown to the Christians, and a treaty was made between +the princes of Nejrán, which, it may be remembered, +was the stronghold of Christianity in the +Yemen, and Mahammed himself, very advantageous +to the former, one of the clauses stipulating that +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[48]</span>tolerance was to be allowed, and no Christians forcibly +converted to Islam.</p> + +<p>But the Prophet had fixed his heart on the conversion +of Arabia Felix, and for this purpose, in the +tenth year of the Hejira, Ali ibn Abou Taleb, his +son-in-law and nephew, was despatched thither. +Failing by moderate means to bring over the people, +the sword was resorted to; but in spite of this fact, +authorities state that Islam was grafted in the country +with the loss of only some twenty lives.</p> + +<p>But its course was to be by no means a smooth +one, for amongst several other pretenders two arose +at the same period, 632 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, who laid claim to the +prophetic office. Both had been converts to Islam, +and one at least had actually seen Mahammed, and +it was no doubt the report of his enormous success +that stirred these men to rival his claims.</p> + +<p>The first, Mosailma by name, was a chief of the +tribe of Hanífa. Being of a diplomatic turn of mind, +he thought to make an alliance with Mahammed, and +a correspondence took place between the two, worthy +of repetition here. The letters ran as follows:—</p> + +<p>“From Mosailma, the Prophet of God, to Mahammed, +the Prophet of God! Let the earth be half +mine and half thine.”</p> + +<p>Mahammed’s answer was short but to the point:—</p> + +<p>“From Mahammed, the Prophet of God, to Mosailma, +the Liar. The earth belongs to God. He +giveth it as an inheritance to such of his servants as +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[49]</span>pleaseth him, and the happy issue shall attend such +as fear him.”</p> + +<p>But Mosailma was not to be discouraged by this +reply, and continued his career until, shortly after +the death of Mahammed, his successor the Caliph +Abou Bekr sent an expedition under a certain general +Khalid to attack him. In a battle near Akriba +Mosailma was slain, and his followers disbanded; who, +seeing their leader die, once more reverted to Islam.</p> + +<p>The second impostor was El-Aswad, chief of the +tribe of Anis. He had previously been an idolater, +but had become a convert to the Mahammedan faith. +Meeting at first with every success, he installed himself +at Sanaa, and nearly the whole of the Yemen +acknowledged his authority. But at the instigation +of Mahammed, who was at this time still alive, he +was treacherously slain by his wife and accomplices.</p> + +<p>These two impostors, although their career did not +to any extent permanently affect the history of the +Yemen, are celebrated throughout Arab traditions, +in which they are known as “The Liars.”</p> + +<p>But the troubles in the Yemen were by no means +at an end. Every preceding dynasty had left dissension +and rival blood in the country, and for a +long period, during the reign of the early Caliphs, +the country was constantly disturbed with war and +bloodshed. Pretender to the throne followed pretender, +and it was not for a period of some years +that any tranquillity was restored to the Yemen.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[50]</span></p> + +<p>In <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 655 Ali succeeded to the Caliphate on the +death of Othman, and having to quell many disturbances +and dissensions at home, he did not for +some time turn his attention to the Yemen, where, +after a lapse in the war between Muavia, governor +of Syria, and the Caliph, a large band of the troops +of the former, under the leadership of Bashir ibn +Ardeb, carried out the most horrible atrocities on +the partisans of the cause of Ali. But revenge was +near, and a short time later—39 <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span>—troops to the +number of four thousand were despatched by Ali +from Kufa, who equalled perhaps the cruelties of +Muavia’s adherents; but they succeeded in stamping +out the cause of Othman, the lately assassinated +Caliph, and Ali’s son was proclaimed +governor of the Yemen. Islam had by this period +made such a firm footing in the country, that, in +spite of the dissensions between Christians, idolaters, +and Jews, we find the troubles confined almost +entirely to the many sects of Islam itself. Some +of the most important of these will be found mentioned +elsewhere, so that no reference is necessary to +them here, except as showing how firm a hold the +acceptance of the new religion had gained amongst +the inhabitants of the Yemen.</p> + +<p>The country after the death of Ali became subject +to the Omeyyad dynasty of Caliphs, until in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> +749 the Abbasides exterminated them, with unparalleled +bloodshed and cruelty, the conquest of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[51]</span>the Yemen being carried out by Mahammed Abousi +Mahammed. The typical cruelty of this man is well +exemplified by a paragraph in Sir R. L. Playfair’s +‘History of the Yemen.’ Finding the inhabitants +suffering from what is now known as “Yemen boils,” +an exceedingly common complaint in that country, +he ordered all those who showed any signs of the +sickness to be buried alive as unclean. Happily his +own death prevented this cruel order from being +carried out. Sharing the ups and downs of the +Abbaside dynasty, to whom the Yemen acknowledged +a varying system of vassalage, in 811 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> the inhabitants +declared for El-Mamun, son of Harun el-Rashid, +the great Caliph of the East, who was sharing +with his brother Amin the government. Under +this Caliph the governor of the Yemen was Mahammed, +son of Ziad. He conquered the Teháma, or +western plains, and became sovereign of the whole +country.</p> + +<p>There remained at this period a tribe of the name +of Beni Yafur, descendants of the old Himyaric +kings, who lived at Sanaa. Acknowledging the +Abbaside Caliphs, they were by force obliged to fall +under the jurisdiction of Ibn Ziad; but Asaad ibn +Yafur, the last of the family, took advantage of the +Karmathian rising throughout the Yemen to usurp +the power, which he held until his death. He was +the last prince of the Himyaric people; and although +his family held the throne for a few years they never +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[52]</span>arrived at any great power, their position being +materially weakened by insurrections and family +strifes.</p> + +<p>Ibn Ziad having died, and been succeeded by +several members of his family, Abou’l-Jaysh his +grandson came to the throne. On the death of the +Caliph El-Mutawakil and the abdication of El-Mustain, +he disclaimed all allegiance to the Caliphate, +and took to himself regal honours, though +there seems to be some apparent discord as to dates, +for the assassination and abdication of the Caliphs +occurred before Abou’l-Jaysh came to the throne. +Probably he was the first to assume regal power, +although his immediate predecessors had ceased paying +tribute to the Caliphs.⁠<a id="FNanchor_18" href="#Footnote_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a></p> + +<p>Apparently Abou’l-Jaysh was a man of great power, +and by the time of his death he was master of the +whole of the Yemen, while his revenues reached an +enormous sum. It was during his reign that the +Zaidite dynasty sprung up. The foundation of +what afterwards was the principal line of the Imams, +or Sultans of the Yemen, is not without interest. +Although to-day ousted from power by the Turks, +the leader of the late rebellion was no less a personage +than a descendant of the great family who in +<span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span> 288 (<span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 901) founded at Sadah the Zaidite +dynasty. As of the direct family of the prophet +Mahammed, it may be interesting to trace the line +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[53]</span>from the founder of Islam to Yahya, who returned +to the Yemen from India in 288 <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span> to announce +the supremacy of the Zaidis. This is best done by +a short genealogical tree.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp25" style="max-width: 9.375em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/genealogy1.jpg" alt="Genealogical descent: + MAHAMMED. -> Fatima and Ali. -> Hasan. -> Hasan. -> Ibrahim. -> Ismail. + -> Ibrahim. Tabátabá. -> Kasim er-Rassi. -> Huseyn. -> El-Hadi Yahya. + (D. 298 A.H.)"> +</figure> + +<p>Although Yahya succeeded in wresting Sanaa from +Asaad ibn Yafur, he was unable to hold it, and eventually +returned to Sadah, where descendants of his family +are to-day living.</p> + +<p>From this period we find a constant rise and fall +of dynasties. While Imams alternately held and +lost authority, there were springing up, generally +to disappear, princes in many parts of the country, +so that at times the Yemen was divided into a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[54]</span>number of principalities. Celebrated amongst these +were the Sulayhites and the Zurayites, of whom the +latter for centuries held possession of the southern +province of Aden. But, meanwhile, in the north the +Imams were succeeding one another with the usual +rapidity of oriental sovereigns, and with very varied +authority. In the fifth century <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span> we find the +Abyssinian line again in possession of Zebeed, at +this time the principal city of the Teháma.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the Zaidi family of Rassites continued +to govern at Sadah without serious interruption.</p> + +<p>In 1173 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> the then reigning Sultan of Sanaa +surrendered his power to Turan Shah, brother of +Salah ed-din (Saladdin), the Ayyubite Caliph of +Egypt; and Ali, son of the Sultan El-Mansur Hatim, +was nominated governor of that city.</p> + +<p>It would be out of place here to trace the long +lines of governors and rulers who dominated the +Yemen during the next two centuries. A few +names, however, are remembered to-day, and mentioned +by authorities as being men of great power +or culture. The first is El-Muzaffer, who united +for the time at least all the Yemen under his +sway, and who died at the end of the thirteenth +century; and again, Abdul-Wahab, who reigned +early in the sixteenth century, and founded many +colleges at Sanaa, Taiz, and Zebeed, and built a +number of cisterns and aqueducts at places where +water was scarce.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[55]</span></p> + +<p>During the next period of the history of the +Yemen, we come in contact for the first time with +European traders and the Turks, who were destined +in no small degree to influence the future of the +country.</p> + +<p>About the year 1445 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> the Christian king of +Abyssinia sent a mission to Florence, and a famous +missive to the priests of Jerusalem. This king is +well known to history from these two acts alone, +and to-day is celebrated as Prester John. Whether +his embassy stirred the religious zeal or the cupidity +of Europe it is difficult to say, but it resulted, whatever +its cause may have been, in a Portuguese expedition +to the far East, which eventually ended in +the leader, De Covilham, marrying and settling in +Shoa.</p> + +<p>I think there is but little need here to repeat the +adventures of many European expeditions that were +sent at various periods to visit this portion of the +globe. Such as refer more immediately to Aden will +be found mentioned in the chapter on that possession, +while I have elsewhere referred to the “factories” at +Mokha.</p> + +<p>Early in the sixteenth century the Mamlook power +in Egypt was overthrown by the Sultan Selim I., +upon which event the larger portion of the Arabian +states went over to the new cause. This Selim was +desirous of himself leading an expedition for the conquest +of Arabia, but was obliged to abandon the idea +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[56]</span>on account of ill health; nor did he ever recover +sufficiently to carry out his purpose. His son, Suleiman +the Magnificent, was equally intent upon the +conquest of India, and for this purpose fitted out a +fleet in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 1520. On the 27th June 1538 the +fleet left Suez, and Aden was reached a few months +later, and the town was taken. Proceeding to India, +Suleiman Pasha was forced to retire on being attacked +by the Viceroy of Goa, and returned to Aden, where +he left sufficient troops to garrison the town, and +proceeded to Mokha, whence messengers were sent +to Zebeed with the demand that the governor of +that city should at once proceed to the coast. The +Arab’s refusal to comply with this order cost him his +life, for a few months later Zebeed was taken, and a +number of its inhabitants put to the sword. This +completed the conquests of Suleiman the Magnificent, +and all the coast of Arabia acknowledged the Turkish +rule, Sanaa itself becoming the seat of the Pasha of +the Yemen. But although firmly rooted in the +country, the Turkish forces were unable to extract +tribute from the numerous tribes, many of which +remained practically independent. A revolt occurred +at Aden in 1551, which was, however, put down by +Peri Pasha, who wrested the town from the Portuguese, +to whom it had been handed over by its Arab +inhabitants.</p> + +<p>Eight years later a still greater rebellion broke +out throughout the whole of the Yemen. However, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[57]</span>the Turks, under Hasan Pasha, were able to quell +it, and continue their rule in the country.</p> + +<p>At the beginning of the seventeenth century the +English appear for the first time in this part of +the world, the first ship to trade in the Red Sea +being the East India Company’s vessel Ascension, +Captain Sharpey, who, however, failed in his desire +to establish commercial relations between the two +countries. This voyage was followed by several +others, but of these mention will be found in the +chapter relating to Aden.</p> + +<p>In 1630 the Turks withdrew from the Yemen, +and the government fell into the hands of a descendant +of Ali ibn Abou Taleb, who married Fatima, +the daughter of the Prophet Mahammed. This man +was by name Kasim, whose full titles were Mansur +el-Kasim el-Kebir. His ancestor, El-Hadi Yahia, +had founded the Rassite dynasty in 284 <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span> The +family of Kasim, which now commenced to hold +the government of the Yemen, continued until the +conquest of Sanaa by the Turks in 1872 to fill the +posts of Imams.⁠<a id="FNanchor_19" href="#Footnote_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> A few words are necessary in +explanation of this title, by which the rulers of the +Yemen have been so long known. The word Imam +literally means the leader of prayer in the mosque. +Thus it will be seen that the office was not merely +a temporal one, but was also imbued with religious +rights, enjoyed on account of their descent +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[58]</span>from the Prophet. Not daring to assume the title +of “Caliph,” they preferred the minor one “Imam,” +though practically by carrying out the old-established +customs, such as changing their names on succeeding +to power, they took upon themselves the position +enjoyed by the direct successors of Mahammed himself. +The office was a hereditary one, and generally +succeeded to by primogeniture, provided the eldest +son was of an age and character suitable to his +being able to carry out the necessary duties.</p> + +<p>Niebuhr gives an interesting account of the principal +officers in the service of the Imams, a portion +of which may be mentioned here.⁠<a id="FNanchor_20" href="#Footnote_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> The various +provinces were, he says, under the governorship of +a “Dowla,” or military governor, who was responsible +for his district, collected the taxes, commanded the +troops, and regulated all local affairs. It was customary +for a man only to hold the office for a few years, +in order to prevent his acquiring great wealth +or influence. Their position was always an uncertain +one, as they necessarily made many enemies, +who were ready to do them some ill turn at headquarters. +The Bas-Katéb was secretary, appointed +by the Imam, under each, whose principal work +was to spy upon and report to their lord and +ruler the actions of the “Dowla.” As ordained by +the tenets of Islam, all cases relating to laws laid +down in the Koran were tried by the Cadi, or +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[59]</span>chief judge. The ports were under the rule of three +officers,—an Amir el-Bahr, or captain of the port; +an Amir es-Sôk, whose duty lay in regulating the +markets; and a Sheikh el-Beled, who collected the +taxes. El-Kasim was succeeded by his son El-Muayyad +Mahammed, who in turn was succeeded +by his brother Ismail, who lived a life of supreme +simplicity, and died after a long reign, mourned by +the whole country.</p> + +<p>So Imam succeeded Imam with all the changing +fortunes of oriental rulers, and without apparently +performing any deeds which redound to their own +praise or raised the splendour of their country. In +all probability their lives were simply spent in +Eastern uxoriousness, and in keeping in order the +turbulent tribes by which they were surrounded.</p> + +<p>In 1709 the French appeared for the first time +in the Red Sea, and carried out a treaty with the +governor of Mokha, on behalf of the then Imam +El-Mehdi. The principal clauses referred to religious +toleration, the duties on merchandise, and that redress +should be given for any insults offered to +French subjects.⁠<a id="FNanchor_21" href="#Footnote_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> In spite of this treaty in 1738 +Mokha was bombarded by the French, on account +of debts owing to the traders by the governor of +that city. The town was taken, but handed back +to the Imam on the payment of the debt. This +ended in the drawing up of a second treaty, somewhat +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[60]</span>reducing the duty chargeable on the imports +and exports.</p> + +<p>For the next twenty years affairs in the Yemen +remained in a state of tolerable peace. From time +to time tribes raised the standard of independence; +but there seems to have been no organised attack +upon the Imams, although the family was continually +engaged in intrigue as to the succession. However, +in 1758 a serious rebellion broke out, under a certain +Abd er-Rabi ibn Ahmed, who had been governor of +a small province in the service of the Imam. Abd er-Rabi +had made enemies in the household of the Imam, +and at their instigation was recalled. He refused, +however, to obey, whereupon the Imam sent a force of +some three thousand men to bring him. Nevertheless, +he was able to hold out within the walls of Kátaba +for no less a period than nearly a year, and eventually +made his escape by night to his followers in the tribe +of Hajeriya. Finding it impossible to capture Abd +er-Rabi, the Imam made overtures to the Sultan of +Aden to assist him. Abd er-Rabi hearing of this, +entered Lahej and blockaded Aden. He was destined, +however, to fall a victim to an act of treachery. The +Imam was at this period attacking the city of Taiz, +which he was unable to capture, and, hoping to kill two +birds with one stone, invited Abd er-Rabi to join him. +This the latter did, and the city was taken. The +Imam, delighted with his success, under the most +solemn protestations of friendship invited him to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[61]</span>Sanaa, where on his arrival he was, after every ignominy +had been showered upon him, decapitated.⁠<a id="FNanchor_22" href="#Footnote_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp05" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp05.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>HOWTA, THE CAPITAL OF LAHEJ.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>In 1762 King Frederick V. of Denmark organised +an expedition for the exploration of Arabia under the +leadership of Karsten Niebuhr. With him were associated +three other Danes, who all died either during +the expedition or immediately upon its termination. +In spite of the fact that more than a century has +elapsed since this expedition took place, we have +never since been given a clearer or more interesting +and valuable account of the Yemen. The social +state of the country is particularly well described, +and no one can overestimate the value of Niebuhr’s +work. He twice interviewed the Imam during his +stay at Sanaa, and the second time greatly interested +his royal host by exhibiting and explaining his scientific +instruments. Niebuhr’s account of the Imam +and his surroundings is most interesting, but unfortunately +space does not allow of my giving any +extracts here.</p> + +<p>In 1770 an attack was made upon the British factory +at Mokha. However, two British men-of-war +were sent to the spot, and an indemnity was paid, +which it was found out eventually had been extracted +from Indian merchants, who were, of course, British +subjects! The Yemen at this time had attracted a few +European adventurers, who had become Moslems and +entered the service of the Imam. Amongst these was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[62]</span>a certain Scotchman of the name of Campbell, who +was commanding the artillery of El-Mehdi Abbas, the +then Imam. A rebellion had burst out in the country, +and the rebels had seized upon a stronghold in the +vicinity of Sanaa, in which was water, and where +they had collected a quantity of provisions. Such, +however, was the fear of the natives for the ingenuity +of these European renegades, that they surrendered +on hearing that Campbell and his companions were +engaged upon the manufacture of shells—a task they +had neither the means nor the knowledge of carrying +to a successful end. The episode is merely interesting +as showing the acknowledgment of the Arabs of +the superiority of the European over themselves in +such things—an allowance readily made to-day by +nearly all classes of the Arab world.</p> + +<p>In 1799 a British force was sent to cruise in the +Red Sea, on account of the French having taken +possession of Egypt; and Perim, an island situated +in the straits of Bab el-Mandeb, was occupied, though, +on account of the scarcity of water, it was only held +for a period of four months.</p> + +<p>The trade of the Red Sea with India had up to +this period been a very considerable one, but owing +to the misgovernment of the Imams, and their inability +to offer security to traders, it had greatly diminished +in the last few years. On this account Sir Home +Popham was sent on a special mission to the Yemen in +1801, and was nominated Ambassador to the Southern +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[63]</span>Arabian states. He arrived at Mokha on his return +from Calcutta in 1802, and set out for Sanaa. However, +he reached only as far as Taiz, and there, as had +been the case along the entire route, he was treated +with every ignominy. The Imam protested that the +treatment of the Ambassador had been carried on +without his knowledge and contrary to his orders, +and he promised to punish the offenders. In all probability +Ali Mansur, who then held the throne at +Sanaa, was entirely unable to cope with the turbulent +tribes, and it is known for certain that from his +extravagances he was always in arrears with the subsidised +chiefs of the neighbouring districts.</p> + +<p>I have briefly mentioned elsewhere the Wahabi sect, +which, under the leadership of Abd el-Wahab en-Nejdi, +sprang up in the eighteenth century. It had +not, however, seriously made itself felt in the Yemen +until this period, its progress being no doubt largely +influenced by the Wahabi conquest of Mecca and +Medina. During the years 1804 and 1805 the Yemen +suffered from continual raids of the Wahabi leaders, +for the most part chiefs of the Beni Asir, the tribes +lying between the Hejaz and the Yemen proper. +But treachery was on foot, and certain Shereefs +nominally owing allegiance to the Wahabi doctrine +were really working in the interests of the Imam of +Sanaa, and in this manner the marauders were held +more or less in check. Meanwhile the Imam Ali +Mansur had been deposed by his son Ahmed, who +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[64]</span>had seized the reins of government. But the city of +Mokha refused to acknowledge Ahmed while the old +Imam was still alive, and on that account Ahmed +put an expedition into the field against the Dowla +of that town. Happily for the country Ali Mansur +died, and the people of Mokha were then able to acknowledge +his son as Imam, and so a disastrous war +was staved off.</p> + +<p>So great had become the power of the Wahabis that +in 1813 Mahammed Ali Pasha invaded the Hejaz in +the name of Turkey, and restored Mecca and Medina +to the Osmanli Sultan. Thence an envoy was sent to +the Imam at Sanaa, requesting his co-operation in +the stamping out of the Wahabis. This was readily +granted, for the Imam evidently saw that Mahammed +Ali’s eyes were turned in the direction of the Yemen; +and although he protested that he himself was devoid +of means to carry on warfare, he gave the envoy +letters to the Dowla of Mokha to supply him with +vessels and material, knowing full well that he +possessed neither.⁠<a id="FNanchor_23" href="#Footnote_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a></p> + +<p>In 1814 Mahammed Ali’s troops took the town of +Konfoda, north of Lohaya; but the Asir tribes surprised +it a few months later, drove the Turks out, and +seized an enormous quantity of booty and supplies. +So worn out were the Turkish troops with their long +campaign that Mahammed Ali was obliged to abandon +his scheme for the taking of the Yemen, and retired to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[65]</span>Cairo, leaving Ibrahim Pasha to continue the campaign, +which ended in the downfall of the Wahabis. The +viceroyalty of Ibrahim was marked with every kind +of cruelty and despicable corruption, and his departure +from Jeddah in 1819 was the signal for great rejoicings. +Mahammed Ali then carried out a treaty with the +Imam, who, on the condition of paying one hundred +thousand dollars a-year, was to be restored several +provinces which he had lately lost, including Konfoda +and Lohaya, which the Turks themselves had taken.</p> + +<p>On account of a brutal attack that was made +upon Lieutenant Dommicetti, at the time confined +to his bed with fever, and upon the employees of the +British factory, a force was sent to that place in +1819 to demand reparation, and a treaty from the +Imam, in which certain privileges were granted to +British subjects. Difficulties arose, and in December +1820 Mokha was bombarded by Captain Bruce, and +full reparation made by the governor.</p> + +<p>The Porte meanwhile had become uneasy at the +great success attending the campaigns of Mahammed +Ali Pasha; and on a Mamlook, Mahammed Agha, +generally known as Turkchee Bilmas, rebelling +against Mahammed Ali, the Sultan of Turkey, +hoping to profit through his agency, installed him +governor of the Hejaz. Marching south, Turkchee +Bilmas took Hodaidah in 1832. Zebeed was the +next city to fall, whence he marched upon Mokha, +which also surrendered; but the tide changed, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[66]</span>a year later Mokha alone remained in Turkchee +Bilmas’ hands, where he was attacked by a large +force by sea, under Ahmed Pasha, and by some +20,000 of the Asir tribes by land. In the attack +upon the city Turkchee Bilmas escaped to the East +India Company’s vessel Tigris, and was conveyed +in her to Bombay.</p> + +<p>In 1837 the Imam’s uncle, Seyed Kasim, treacherously +sold Taiz to the Egyptians; but their power +there was of short duration, for in 1840 the +Egyptians evacuated the Yemen, which thereupon +became distracted with strife. Although Ibrahim +Pasha had previously agreed to hand over the +Teháma to Mahammed ibn Oun, Shereef of Mecca, +he was not successful, for a Shereef of the Abou +Arish disputed its possession. The Shereef of Mecca +therefore despatched troops to the coast, who occupied +Hodaidah the very day the Pasha left it, but +only to hold it for a very short time, for a month +later the Asir tribe entered the town. Shereef +Huseyn, brother of Mahammed el-Meccawi, assumed +the governorship of Mokha, and commenced to ill-treat +the British subjects there, at the same time +demanding, in an insulting letter, the surrender of +Aden.⁠<a id="FNanchor_24" href="#Footnote_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a></p> + +<p>The Imam was not at first able to attend to these +matters, as a religious rebellion had broken out +under the leadership of a fanatic, El-Faki Saïd, who +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[67]</span>called himself “Medhi el-Mantether.” But as soon +as this impostor had been attacked and killed, the +Imam turned his attention to the Teháma. Failing +in obtaining the aid of the British, it appears that +both he and her Majesty’s Government referred the +matter to Constantinople, with the result that a +commissioner was sent by the Porte to confer with +the Shereef. However, he appears, says Playfair in +his notes upon the subject, to have been bribed by +Shereef Huseyn, and returned to Constantinople with +but little accomplished. The result, however, of his +mission became apparent a year later, when the +Sultan appointed him Pasha of the Teháma, on the +understanding that he paid a tribute of 70,000 +dollars per annum to the Porte.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp41" id="illus01" style="max-width: 17.1875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus01.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>A Native of the Teháma.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The Imam, El-Hadi Mahammed, died in 1844, and +was succeeded by Ali Mansur, who had been formerly +deposed, and whose great idea seemed to be to +retrieve the losses his predecessors had suffered. +Fighting at once commenced, but the Imam’s troops +met with but little success, and smallpox carried +off a very considerable number. A rebellion broke +out a few months later, the Imam was deposed, and +his cousin, Mahammed Yahya, placed on the throne +in his stead. Desirous of carrying out the scheme +of his predecessor for the recovery of the Teháma, +he took the field and finally routed the Shereef +Huseyn at Bajil, near Hodaidah, the Shereef himself +being taken prisoner. Hodaidah, Zebeed, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[68]</span>Beit el-Fakih were handed over to the Imam, and +shortly afterwards he captured Mokha, where he +learned that another division of the Shereef Huseyn’s +army had retaken Zebeed. The Imam fled to Sanaa, +and a few weeks later Mokha fell once more into the +hands of Huseyn. The Turks, seeing the opportunity +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[69]</span>a suitable one to push their interests in +Southern Arabia, sent an expedition to Hodaidah, +on the arrival of which the Shereef Huseyn handed +over the place to the new-comers. The Imam was +compelled to visit the Pasha at Hodaidah, and a +treaty was signed, the principal clauses of which +were as follows:—</p> + +<p>1. The country governed by the Imam was to +continue under his jurisdiction, but he was himself +to be considered as a vassal to the Porte.</p> + +<p>2. The revenues of the country were to be equally +divided between the Porte and the Imam.</p> + +<p>3. Sanaa was to be garrisoned with a thousand +regular Turkish troops.</p> + +<p>4. The Imam was to receive 37,000 dollars per +month from the revenue previous to its division.⁠<a id="FNanchor_25" href="#Footnote_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a></p> + +<p>Both the Turks and the Imam suffered, however, +from the results of this treaty—the former by being +almost annihilated on their arrival at Sanaa, the latter +by being deposed and murdered. The power of the +Imams was gone; the Turks, although driven out of +the highlands of the Yemen, retained their footing on +the coast, and carried on desultory warfare in many +directions. The country, after years of war and bloodshed, +remained in a state of anarchy, and the descendants +of the great Imams seemed to lose all spirit +and authority. They sank into private life at Sanaa, +giving themselves up to luxury and vice; and the +greatness of the Yemen was finished.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[70]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_I_CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br> +<span class="smaller">THE INFLUENCES OF ISLAM IN THE YEMEN.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>Before entering upon any account of the various +religious influences that have since the time of +Mahammed disturbed the Yemen, it may be as well +to put aside a few pages for some general remarks +upon the religion of Islam, the tenets of which are +well known enough to those who have made any +study of the subject, but are to the general world +almost a closed book. It is this disregard of religions +other than our own which so weakens the constant +cry of their inferiority. Rather it should be the +desire of such as wish to uphold Christianity to carefully +study and compare its doctrines with those +of the beliefs they are so ready to cry down. The +world has arrived at a stage when people are not +satisfied with a mere assertion, but demand to hear +both sides of the question and to reason for themselves; +and to those who have taken up or made even +a small study of Islam it is a pain, or perhaps at +times an amusement, to listen to the rabid cries as to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[71]</span>its inferiority, issuing from the throats of men who +base their action upon a few what they call “practical +results.” It is not the author’s purpose here to enter +into a long discussion upon the subject, or to point +out at any length the many fallacies which are +believed to be doctrines of Islam by a large proportion +of the British public.</p> + +<p>But of all the arguments used to show the inferiority +of the Mahammedan religion, there is none so +loved and so often brought into use as the present +condition of countries practising its belief. How little +real value this argument possesses it will not take +long to prove; and it may be generally stated that +the backward condition of Mahammedan states is not +owing to their form of religion to nearly so great an +extent as it is owing to the nature of the people who +profess it; in other words, the low standpoint of most +Islamic countries can be traced to the origin of its inhabitants +rather than to their beliefs. Strong as is +this statement, there is at least one very good example +to prove its truth—namely, that under similar circumstances +of breed and climate we find Christian +nations sunk deeper in degradation and vice than +their Moslem neighbours. Take, for example, Abyssinia, +into which Christianity was introduced between +the years 300 and 320 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> Why then, since from +that period they have been pursuing the Christian +belief, do we not find them to-day in a state infinitely +superior to the surrounding Moslem countries—in +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[72]</span>fact, living in a state of civilisation equalling that of +the European nations, or even of the Yemenite Arabs +or the Turks? Why do we find Abyssinia to-day a +country given over to drink and debauchery, when +they are regular attendants at church? Why do we +find them living in the circular thatch-huts and +wearing the same apparel that they did probably +when Christianity first made its appearance amongst +them? Because, I say, their nature is such that +it is untouchable by any religion, no matter how +lofty be its aims and aspirations. “Can the Ethiopian +change his skin, or the leopard his spots?” +Certainly not, no matter how much he may be +painted over with gaudy colours. Again, why in +Egypt do we not find the Kopts in a far higher state +of civilisation and intellectual superiority than their +neighbours? It may be argued that their Christianity +is not an example of true Christianity, just as it may +be argued that the Islam of to-day is not the true +Islam. Yet it strikes one that Islam is very much +nearer its original ideal than we are to ours, who +have turned our religion round and round and inside +out to make it fit the requirements of modern progress +and personal comforts. Before, Christian reader, +you turn to smite your neighbour the Moslem, look +round you. Before you begin to pull the mote out +of his eye, pay a little attention to the beam that is +in your own. Look at the great armies of Europe +ready to tear one another to pieces! Look at the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[73]</span>streets of the great cities flocked with prostitutes! +Look at the swarming drunken population of our +towns! Look at the financial robberies and the uncharitableness +of our own lands,—and when you have +mended that, then you may turn to show your +brotherly love, which is so engrafted in the Christian’s +heart, and rend your neighbour.</p> + +<p>Justice, I say! If it be one’s desire to take up +the cudgels against what millions hold most dear, +then let it not be done until the cudgels can be taken +up and victory assured by making a careful study of +what one is going to fight against. Religious tolerance +is one of the boasts of Englishmen; let it be +their care that the boast is not a vain one.</p> + +<p>Again, it is often said that by its so carefully laying +down the laws, Islam has prevented any material +change from taking place in the condition of those +that profess it. How about Judaism? The laws are +as equally, if not more specifically, laid down in their +books than even they are in the Koran, and yet we +find to-day the Jews in all material matters almost +the leaders of the world.</p> + +<p>There can be no doubt that Christianity is a far +finer religion than Islam. Christianity is beautiful +in its simplicity—beautiful in that it touches so little +upon affairs of worldly importance; but it is doubtless +a religion founded for Western and Northern +people. There is no doubt that, coming from Palestine, +it chose its natural course when it proceeded to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[74]</span>Europe. Why was it not embraced by the Arabs +and peoples of the south, who at that time, with the +exception of such as were Jews, were professing the +foul rites of idolatry? The southerner, wild turbulent +son of the desert, is unsuited to Christianity; +he must have some belief that touches him deeper, +that inspires his ardour by teaching something he +can understand,—some religion that regulates his +course of life, as well as offers him hereafter a future +existence. Mentally and bodily, he is different to us +northern people. His mind runs in an entirely +different channel. He exists, he thinks, in a different +sphere, and it was this sphere that Islam touched.</p> + +<p>He was tempted by earthly spoil, by the love of +persecution, and promised licentiousness hereafter, +it is often said. Perhaps; but has not the same +over and over again tempted Christian Powers?—has +not love of persecution found sufficient examples in +the history of Christianity to deter us from looking +for it abroad? Is not our heaven, painted by St +John in the Revelation, tended to increase our desire +to share in it by picturing its beauties? The Revelation, +it may be answered, is an allegory; yet he who +argues thus would have been burned at the stake for +his pernicious views not many centuries ago. To +those who are capable, though generally unwilling, +to understand Christianity, it is a religion at once +perfect and superlative. It is an ideal seldom if +ever reached. It is a goal to be striven after, with +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[75]</span>but little hopes of doing more than one’s feeble best +to reach; and more, far more than all, it is the truth. +But so is Islam to the Mahammedan. It is a goal +which many reach, because its ideals are tangible and +comprehensible. It is a religion founded by a man +of vast intellect to enforce a belief in the existence of +one God, which the intricacies of Christianity had +failed to prove to the Arab races. To them, materialists +to the very backbone, the Trinity is impossible. +To us it is incomprehensible, but acknowledged. +Christ was the Son of God! This alone is sufficient +to drive to a distance the Arab, who acknowledges +the Messiah’s origin as divine and supernatural, but +to whom the idea of filial relationship with the Deity +is revolting and incredible.</p> + +<p>An example of the power that Islam asserted over +the minds of the inhabitants of the Yemen is near at +hand. There were many Christians in that country +at the moment when they received the tidings of the +Prophet’s mission. Nejrán, a large province, was +governed by a Christian family, and boasted a bishop, +by name Kos, who died during the earlier half of +the seventh century <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, probably during the lifetime +of Mahammed; yet but a comparatively few +years later we find all traces of Christianity disappeared. +Not so in Abyssinia, where it exists +to-day amongst a people given up to one vice at +least, drunkenness, from which were they Moslems +they would be free. Were Europe a Mahammedan +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[76]</span>Power, there is no reason to doubt that we should +not be in the same state of civilisation as we enjoy +to-day. The Turks are an oriental race, and cannot +be taken as a fair example; yet they have so far +followed upon the lines of Christian Powers that we +find them to-day squeezing their people to obtain +the means wherewithal to purchase the destructive +implements of war, and existing in a very tolerable +state of civilisation and drunkenness.</p> + +<p>No! the Ethiopian cannot change his skin; and +just as Christianity is the religion best suited, apart +from its inestimable truth, to Northern people, so is +Islam to the Arabs and the children of the south. +Each has sorted itself and taken root where best it +will flourish. Any attempt to influence one by the +introduction of the other must, by the laws of nature +which have thus sorted them, be prejudicial to the +world at large.</p> + +<p>A few words as to the general tenets of the +Mahammedan religion.</p> + +<p>It must not be forgotten that it was in <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span> 12, a +year after the Prophet’s death, that the Koran was +collected by Zaid, and that therefore there can be +little doubt that in its arrangement and sequence +it is far from the order in which the words were +uttered. The fragments of which it is composed +were collected from every source, but although it +may be said in its present form to follow no particular +chronological order, at the same time there +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[77]</span>can be little doubt that, apart from this weakness, +it contains the words of the Prophet himself. However, +in the building up of a new religion, it was +impossible to ordain for every class of society likely +to embrace it; and on this account the Moslems, +especially the Sunnis, hold that, after the sacred +book, the “traditions” are next in sanctity. These +“traditions” are the teaching, verbal or in example, +of the Prophet himself, not absolutely inculcated in +the Koran, but handed down upon the authority of +“his companions.” On these traditions many schools +of theology and law have been built up, referring +to them in cases in which the Koran does not sufficiently +render clear, or perhaps omits altogether some +point. Needless to say these “traditions,” being +almost innumerable and often disputed, have caused +more dissension amongst the world of Islam than +any passages in the Koran itself.</p> + +<p>The central idea of Islam is the unity of God, and +the association of any other with the Deity is the +one mortal sin.⁠<a id="FNanchor_26" href="#Footnote_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> There is no priesthood; the religion +is a religion of the people, explained to them by +doctors, such as the Sheikh el-Islam, the Moulas, +and the Cadis, whose authority is acknowledged, but +solely as exponents of religion and law, which it is +in no one’s power to revise or alter. Idolatry is +to be rooted out and trampled under foot. “There +is no God but God, and Mahammed is the prophet +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[78]</span>of God.” Soundless, rhythmless, as are the words +to us, their very repetition stirs the Moslem heart; +their very mention is sufficient for an infidel to become +a Moslem. They are the only bond that binds +Sunnis and Sheiyas together, the common birthright +of all Islam.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp65" id="illus02" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus02.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>A Yemeni.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The principal and best known of the Mahammedan +tenets, as well as being those on which the religion is +most founded, are the immortality of the soul; the +resurrection of the body; the judgment of good and +evil; heaven and hell; predestination, about which, +however, contradictory remarks are found in the +Koran; the ministry of good angels, and the evil +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[79]</span>influence of the bad. To none of these precepts +can exception be found, for, after all, they resemble +to a great extent our own. But at this point the +Koran steps ahead of us by the prohibition of wine, +games of chance, usurious dealings, the flesh of +swine, or of things strangled or which have died a +natural death, all of which are strictly forbidden. +How beneficial this has proved and is proving to +the Mahammedan races is very clear; and it may be +said that it is only when Moslems have come into +contact with Jews or Christians that they have broken +through these ordinances.</p> + +<p>As to other restrictions laid by Mahammed upon +his followers, and other privileges allowed to them, +a few words must be said. Polygamy is legal, and +it is this more than anything, perhaps, that raises +indignation amongst Christians. Every Moslem is +allowed four wives and as many slaves as he likes. +Shocking! yet do we not decorate our church windows +with pictures of David and Solomon? do we +not read their words in our places of worship? and +I doubt if either would have been satisfied with this +small allowance. Were not the patriarchs, who after +Christ we are taught most to reverence, polygamists? +They at least, like the Arabs, have an excuse, which +Solomon and David certainly had not—namely, the +constant wars in which they were engaged killed off +so large a population of the men that the women +were greatly in excess. Yet to-day in many Moslem +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[80]</span>countries it is unusual to find amongst the respectable +classes more than one wife. We are by law +restricted to one, they are by law and by religion +allowed four. After all, they have just as much +right to swear that their custom is the best one as +we have to put forward our own.</p> + +<p>That divorce is lax amongst the Arab races is true; +so are the morals of both men and women. But let +us look again at the Kopts in Egypt, or the Christian +race of Abyssinians,—are they any better? Certainly +not. Again, in Moslem countries, these laws of +divorce are appealed to more by the poorest classes +than by the rich. In England the fact that a +wretched couple of paupers do not agree has no +remedy, until one day the husband jumps on his +wife and kills her. In Moslem countries he divorces +her, and probably both are married again in the +course of a month.</p> + +<p>The fact of the case is simply this. To attempt +to judge Islam from a Christian standpoint is as +ridiculous as to attempt to judge Christianity from +a Moslem one. We shudder at the civil codes and +conditions of the Mahammedans; they are horrified +at our Trinity, at the decoration of our churches, at +lax laws as to purification, at our drunken habits, at +the Pope, at our paid clergy, and at a hundred other +details. To criticise Islam one must have seen it in +its own lands, and that with unprejudiced eyes.</p> + +<p>There is but one more question that must be +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[81]</span>touched upon here—namely, slavery. Never have +there been more exaggerated reports as to slavery in +oriental countries than are from time to time cropping +up to-day. It must be understood what slavery +really is in the East; it must be remembered that it +is not agricultural slavery—that it is entirely domestic +slavery. Stories are from time to time appearing of +atrocious cruelties to slaves: they are true, no doubt, +but they are exceptional—just as, happily, the cruel +treatment of children is exceptional in England. It +is not after the slaves have passed through the market +that they suffer, it is on the long desert-marches +in which they are brought from the interior. Another +point is scarcely understood in England—namely, +that probably ninety-nine hundredths of the slaves in +servitude in oriental countries have been born in servitude, +and never were brought from the Soudan at +all. In this case they have been often reared in the +houses of their masters, and as often as not treated as +his children.</p> + +<p>That slavery is contrary to law and nature all will +acknowledge; that it ought and must be put down is +equally true; but as to the means of doing it? The +slave-trade must be stopped from the interior of +Africa, not by the freeing of the slaves already arrived +at their journey’s end. For instance, the emancipation +of slaves in Morocco would mean thousands +of men thrown out of doors to gain a livelihood by +murder and robbery, or starve; and thousands of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[82]</span>women driven to be prostitutes. And this is what +we are attempting to do in the name of progress and +religion!</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp55" id="illus03" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus03.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Jew of the Yemen.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>How vastly Islam was in advance of the pagan religions, +which for the most part it replaced in Arabia, +need not be mentioned here. From practising horrible +rites of “fetich,” from the offering even of human +sacrifices, from dissensions and religious tribal wars, +the mission of Mahammed called the Arabs to something +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[83]</span>far higher—far above anything they had known +before. Christianity had failed, in spite of repeated +efforts, to attract them to anything more than the +smallest extent; Judaism was out of date, and unsuited +to the epoch they had reached. They were +ready, were yearning, for a new religion, and Mahammed +took the opportunity to found one. In place of +hideous pagan rites, in place of a few converts to an +unappreciated Christianity, in place of Judaic laws of +which the people were weary, he brought amongst +them a new inspiriting religion, lofty in its recognition +of monotheism, higher than anything they had +as yet known in its moral code.</p> + +<p>But from this simple form of monotheism numerous +branches were destined to sprout; and just as Christianity +is split up into innumerable sects, so is Islam +divided into many differences and brotherhoods. It +is with comparatively few, however, of these that we +have to deal in regard to the Yemen,—for although in +early times changes had begun to be apparent in the +course of the religion, it is only comparatively lately +that the enormous quantity of sectarian differences +now existing sprang into life; and these, with few +exceptions, have but to a very slight extent influenced +the political aspect of the country.</p> + +<p>The first important dissension in the course of +Islam occurred about the year 37 <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span>, when the +theocratic party, recognising that the existence of the +Caliphs was likely to become, and was even at that +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[84]</span>time becoming, an excuse for power and a cause of +strife, and that the religious influence was lapsing +into an autocratic supremacy, stood aside and cried +for an oath of allegiance to God alone, and an elected +Council of State to regulate affairs. Revolting first +against Ali, the nephew and son-in-law of the Prophet, +we find them again and again all through the +history of Islam bursting forth, egged on by such +wild fanaticism as only men of those countries can +know. High though, perhaps, the original motives of +the Kharejites were, they were too often in after-times +fanned by the aspirations of pretenders to power, and +it needed all the force of temporal and spiritual rulers +to check these outbursts of fanaticism. The Kharejites +were again split up into many divisions, all more +or less founded upon the idea of treating sin as infidelity, +which it would be straying from the objects of +this book to specially mention here, except that of +the Obadites, who from time to time recur in the history +of the Yemen.</p> + +<p>Although the Kharejites formed the first absolute +split in Islam, there had been gradually growing up +what have always formed, and to-day form, the two +great divisions of the Mahammedan belief—namely, +the sects of the Sunnis and the Sheiyas. To mention +some of the standpoints of both. The Sunni tenets +are held by Turkey and the greater part of Mahammedan-professing +India, while Southern Arabia and +Persia and portions of North Africa profess Sheiyism. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[85]</span>The differences of the two, briefly stated, are as follows. +While the Sunnis acknowledge the election of +the Caliphs from the general professors of Islam, the +Sheiyas assert that Ali, the fourth Caliph, was the +natural successor of the Prophet, ignoring Abou Bekr, +Omar, and Othman. But here again the Sheiya sect +becomes split up; for one division, which continued +under the name of Sheiyas, contend that Ali held his +right to succeed the Prophet in office in virtue of his +personality; while the other side, the Zaidis, contend +that Ali was the legitimate successor and heir of the +Prophet, not by reason of his personality, but through +his merits. Consequently they assert that the successors +in the Caliphate, or Imams, as they were +called in the Yemen, must necessarily be of the +Prophet’s family, but were to be chosen to fill the +holy office on account of merit and character, in place +of succession by birthright alone, but that in the +veins of those elected to the post must flow the +Prophet’s blood. Amongst those of the former persuasion +was the sect of Imamites, and its sub-sects, +the Dodekites and Ismailites, the latter of which +was founded and flourished in the third century <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span> +It was from this branch that the Fatimide dynasty +sprang, and their descendants are to be found in the +mountains of Lebanon under the name of Druses, +who are still awaiting the return of their prophet +Hakim. The point on which the Zaidis separated +from the sects of the Dodekites and Ismailites is as +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[86]</span>to the lawful holders of the Imamate or Caliphate +after the death of the grandson of Ali.</p> + +<p>But the Zaidis were destined also to divide, and at +a subsequent period we find the Arab and Persian +Zaidis submitting to the allegiance of two separate +Imams, one of whom reigned in Arabia and one in +Persia.</p> + +<p>Even to-day intense hatred exists between the +followers of Sunni and Sheiya doctrines. No better +example of this is to be found than the fact that +when Russia was engaged in a war with Turkey that +threatened to be a death-blow to Islam in Europe, +not one sword was raised by the Sheiya-professing +Mahammedans for her assistance; and Persia and +other parts who do not acknowledge the Sultan +Abdul Hamid as the rightful Caliph—for the Prophet’s +blood does not flow in his veins—sat impassively +and watched, with but comparatively little +interest, the struggle.</p> + +<p>The Sunnis derive their name from the Arabic +word <i>sunnat</i>, a precedent; and their faith is built +up, apart from the differences already specified, upon +the example established by the Prophet himself, as +handed down to them by history and tradition. +Their belief can be justly called, perhaps, the orthodox +one, for Mahammed himself chose as his successor +in office Abou Bekr, who was not of his family. +Therefore to them it is no prejudice that the present +holder of the Caliphate, or successor in the religious +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[87]</span>supremacy of Islam, is the Sultan of Turkey, who, +it will be seen, fails to be acknowledged by any of +the branches of the Sheiya faith on account of his +descent.</p> + +<p>These few words may prove sufficient to throw as +much light as is necessary in the question of the Yemen +upon the two great divisions of Islam. It need only +be added to how great an extent the Turks, though +co-religionists in as far as they profess Mahammedanism, +would be separated from the Yemeni people in +religious ideas; and it is this fact, more than even +the extortion they practised, that gave rise to the +Yemen rebellion.</p> + +<p>About 280 <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span> there appeared a new sect in the +Yemen, that of the Karmathians, who sprang from +the Dodekites and Ismailites, though far exceeding +them in fanaticism and excesses. They arose in the +Yemen under the leadership of two powerful men, +Ali ibn Fadl and Mansur ibn Hasan, of whom the +former appears to have been most implicated in +promulgating the extraordinary and often revolting +tenets of the new belief. Beginning as a hermit, he +collected round him a little band of devoted followers, +and setting forth, he commenced a series of +victories. At length, overpowered with success, he +acknowledged himself a prophet, and preached from +the pulpit of Janad the rightful use of wine and permission +of incest. Continuing his march, his cause +grew, and both Dhamar and Sanaa fell before him. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[88]</span>At the latter place his excesses were beyond recording.⁠<a id="FNanchor_27" href="#Footnote_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> +Seventeen years after having gained his enormous power, +Ibn Fadl died at the hands of an assassin, +who, taking advantage of the common Eastern habit +of the drawing of blood, secreted poison in his long +hair, and after having sucked the lancet to prove it +was clean, dried it in his poisoned locks. The historian, +El-Janadi, states that there were great rejoicings at +his death. The remnants of this sect, inoffensive now +and law-abiding, still exist in Bombay.</p> + +<p>The next great secession from the direct Islam was +that of the Nizarites or Assassins, a name derived from +<i>Hashishiyin</i>—in other words, the eaters of <i>hashish</i>, a +narcotic much resorted to in the East. This word was +the origin of our present “assassin,” but in the East +to-day has no deeper meaning than that given above. +The brotherhood arose about 400 <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span>, a few years +after the death of Nizar, son of the Khalifa el-Mustansir, +whom they asserted had been wrongfully withheld +from succeeding his father. Thus they gained +their first title, that of “Nizarites.” They swore an +oath to devote their energies to the propagation of +their faith, and many perils they undertook for this +purpose, often sacrificing their lives in the fulfilment +of their vows. The remains of this once dreaded sect +are to-day to be found in Bombay, in Zanzibar, and +in the Lebanon.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[89]</span></p> + +<p>The later sect of the Wahabis shows a tendency on +the part of orthodox Arabs to the ancient tenets +of Kharejite theocracy. With the Sheiyas the contrary +is the case, and they incline rather toward transcendental +doctrines, bursting out into such mystical +rites as those of the sects of Mutazelites and Sufis, +or, in the Yemen, in their devotion for a divine +Imamate.</p> + +<p>How important have been these sects in forming +the history, not only of the Yemen but of all Arabia, +cannot be exaggerated. Whole dynasties have been +built up or overthrown by their fanatical devotees. +From the very earliest years of Islam we are constantly +coming across the turbulent risings of one or the other; +and while the Sunnis have more or less strictly upheld +until to-day their original orthodoxy, with any variation +of which they are intolerant, we see the other +great division, the Sheiyas, split up again and again +into sects and sub-sects, struggling for a theocracy that +was impossible, or used by unscrupulous pretenders as +a road to power.</p> + +<p>Looking at Islam to-day, we find the Sunnis in very +much the same religious position as they have always +held, even from the very first. Their key-note, so to +speak, has been unswerving allegiance to the <i>sunnat</i>, +or precedent of the Prophet. On the other hand, we +find the Sheiyas split up into hundreds of sects and +brotherhoods, each following some particular instruction +or belief of their several founders, who for the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[90]</span>most part have been descendants of the Prophet himself.</p> + +<p>One of these sects, now making itself felt in the +Yemen, as it is doing all over the Moslem world, is a +modern one. I refer to the followers of El-Mehdi +Senussi, about which, as one of the coming powers of +Islam, a few words may not be out of place. The +idea of Sheikh Senussi was to bring Islam back to its +original purity—to revive its great social laws, moral +and religious, as instituted by the Prophet, and to +defend and propagate the same.⁠<a id="FNanchor_28" href="#Footnote_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> In this it will +be seen that the tenets of Senussism resemble both +those of the Sheiyas and the Sunnis—the former in +the desire for a theocracy, the latter in the punctilious +observance of precedent. Its sole distinctive +feature is in its transcendentalism and in the repetition +of certain prayers. Like the Wahabis, too, music, +dancing, singing, and coffee are forbidden. In fact, +the Sheikh Senussi seems to have introduced into his +new revival of Islam the doctrines of many of the +former sects. The Sheikh himself is dead, being +followed in office by his son, who is still living near +Siwah, in the desert between Egypt and Tripoli. +But what makes this sect so vastly important is its +political power, and it may safely be prophesied that +the next great revolt of Islam against the Christians +in Africa, no matter what form it may take, will owe +its origin to this movement. The author, within a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[91]</span>few months, heard Senussism preached in Somali-land +and in Morocco, in both of which countries, not to +speak of the more central Tunis, Tripoli, and the +state of Fezzan, it is deeply rooted. If, then, a new +movement in Islam is able in the lifetime of two men +to gain converts, and many converts, in countries so +distantly removed from one another and from the +headquarters of its founder, it can clearly be understood +the immense power it must hold over the minds +of the people; and one of the greatest drawbacks to +European venture in Africa is the undoubted fact that +this smouldering fanaticism will one day burst into +flame.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[92]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_I_CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br> +<span class="smaller">THE REBELLION IN THE YEMEN.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>It is seldom that the Sublime Porte is free from +trouble regarding one at least of her possessions; and +although the Turkish Government has taken, in the +case of the rebellion in the Yemen, every means to +throw dust in the eyes of Europe, yet sufficient has +from time to time leaked out to show how seriously +the affair was regarded by the Sultan and his Ministers. +From such scraps of information it would be +impossible to piece together a history of what has +taken place; but the writer, by making a journey of +over four hundred miles through the country at the +very time of the rebellion, was, as the only European +in the interior, with the exception of a few Greek +shopkeepers, able to take advantage of his unique +opportunity of seeing for himself, and gathering a +considerable amount of information on the subject.</p> + +<p>But before any account is given of the rebellion, it +must be explained of how great a value to the Sultan +of Turkey are his possessions in Arabia. It is on +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[93]</span>them, and on them alone, that he bases his claim to +the title of Caliph—a title on which his prestige in +the eyes of the Moslem mainly rests. Amongst Mahammedan +potentates he is the greatest; for although +many sects of Islam do not hold that one in whose +veins the blood of the Prophet does not flow is able +by divine right to succeed to the Caliphate, the possession +of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina cannot +but add to his fame. From all parts of the world +the pilgrims flock yearly to Mecca, there to come +in contact with the Turks as a governing power, +to hear the name of Abdul Hamid blessed daily in +the mosque; and in their eyes, by force of circumstance, +the Sultan is inseparably connected with the +Holy Places.</p> + +<p>True it is that the Yemen is separated from the +Hejaz, the province in which Mecca and Medina are +situated, by a large tract of country, known as the +Asir. But the tribes inhabiting this district are, and +always have been, largely influenced by the Yemenite +faction, and like them are in their belief of the Sheiya +sect, holding that the claim of the Sultan of Turkey +to the Caliphate is irregular and illegal. This alliance, +not only by blood but by doctrine, which is perhaps +the strongest tie of all amongst the Moslems, caused +the rebellion in the Yemen to be a likely forerunner +to a war in the Asir. The Turkish rule has never +been more than nominal amongst the mountains of +the latter, so that the repudiation by them of the Osmanli +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[94]</span>Government, which has taken place, is fraught +with no great danger to Turkey, provided the discontent +and consequent rebellion remains within bounds, +and does not reach the Hejaz. Although largely +subsidised by the Turkish Government, there can be +little doubt that, did they clearly see their way to +success, the members of the Shereefian family of +Mecca, direct descendants of the Prophet Mahammed, +would attempt to bring back the succession of the +Caliphate into their own line, and thus into the strain +of the descendants of the Prophet; and to a cause so +nearly touching their doctrinal beliefs there is but +little doubt the Bedouins of the Hejaz, as well as +many of the inhabitants of the cities, would readily +lend their aid and assistance.</p> + +<p>Therefore it will be seen that to the Turks a successful +rebellion in the Yemen meant not only the +loss of the southernmost of their Arabian States, but +also the probable ensuing loss of the Hejaz, and the +fall of the Sultan of Turkey in the eyes of the larger +portion of the world of Islam. How many thousands +of Mahammedans daily in the mosques call for blessings +on the head of Abdul Hamid the Caliph, who +would never pray for Abdul Hamid the Sultan! +The difference is enormous, though to us somewhat +incomprehensible; and it is said, and no doubt +rightly so, that his Majesty of Stamboul values far +more than his temporal powers the title of “Commander +of the faithful.” In the one case, as Caliph, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[95]</span>he is in the eyes of all Sunnis⁠<a id="FNanchor_29" href="#Footnote_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> Sultan of the Moslem +world, and as such successor to the Prophet himself. +In the other, as a Sultan, he is merely a stranger, an +Osmanli, not even of the great Arab race, whose +ancestors have by force of arms conquered and left +him a kingdom.</p> + +<p>From these remarks it will be inferred how vastly +important it is to the Sultan and the Porte to retain +intact the Turkish possessions in Arabia.</p> + +<p>Although it was not until the summer of 1891 that +the rebellion in the Yemen took any outward form, +the Turks must have been aware, for a long period +previous to that time, that their relations with the +Arabs were becoming day by day more strained. Yet +such is the character of Turkish provincial officials, +especially of those so far removed from the seat of +the Government as in the Yemen, that they still continued +their policy of oppression, trusting to fate that +there would be no open hostilities until the jobbery +that had put them into power would follow its inevitable +course by removing them and reinstating others +in their places, on whom would fall the brunt of a +rebellion, which they saw might for a time be postponed +but impossible to avert. “Make your hay +while the sun shines,” is the motto of the Turkish +official; and for him, as a rule, the sun shines but for +a very short period. It is this extraordinary want of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[96]</span>forethought and co-operation, this shifting of responsibilities +upon successors in office, amongst those who +help to rule the destinies of the Turkish provinces, +that is the chief root and origin of all their troubles. +“Let me enrich myself,” thinks the official. “In a +month or two I may no longer have the opportunities. +I must make enough in this short period of office to +retire upon. What may follow, what may be the +result of my policy, I care not; it interests me not +at all.”</p> + +<p>It was the perpetual practice of these theories that +gradually drove the Arabs into resistance. The rebellion +was no sudden affair; as long ago as several +years back there had commenced on the part of the +Arabs a series of outrages against Turkish officials +that would have rendered apparent to any other nation +but the Turks the danger that was threatening. Cruel +and bloodthirsty as many of these outrages were, +they were the only means in the power of the Arabs +of protesting against the exorbitant taxation and the +oppression that were ruining them. Their appeals to +Sanaa, and even to Constantinople, had resulted in no +amelioration of their condition.</p> + +<p>It is necessary, I think, to give but one example +of these outrages. At Dhamar, one of the largest +cities of the Yemen, there lived a certain general, by +name Mahammed Rushti Pasha, between whom and +a neighbouring tribe there had arisen misunderstanding +as to the amount of taxation to be levied upon +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[97]</span>them. The pasha insisted on the full sum, and a +quarrel ensued between the Arab sheikh and himself, +the former fleeing from the city swearing revenge. +Shortly afterwards Mahammed Rushti being called +away to another part of the country, the tribe in +question took advantage of his absence to blow up +his house and family with gunpowder. His wives, +children, and servants died that night, in all some +eleven persons. Returning with all speed to Dhamar, +the general, with such forces as were at the time in +the city, almost exterminated the little tribe who had +accomplished so horrible a vengeance. Over the grave +of those that died that night Mahammed Rushti raised +a mosque and a domed tomb, the interior of which he +hung with rich silks. Thither he would repair and +sit alone. On the taking of Dhamar by the Arabs in +November last, this tomb was looted, and when visited +by the writer at the end of January, the city +by that time having been reconquered by the Turks, +he found the tomb and mosque in ruins, robbed of +all its treasures.</p> + +<p>That the feeling was so strong as to find vent in +such outrages as these—and that mentioned is but one +of many—would have made it apparent, one would +have thought, that the existing state of affairs could +not continue with impunity. But the lot of the +Yemeni was to be squeezed to fill the coffers at Constantinople, +and to pay for the harems and pleasures +of unscrupulous officialdom. Such, then, apart from +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[98]</span>all religious differences, was the existing state of feeling +in the Yemen when in the summer of the year +before last the rebellion broke out. Before the conquest +of the Yemen by the Turks in 1872—for +although they possessed a firm footing on the coast +previous to that period, their power had not made itself +felt in the interior—the Yemen was governed by +a ruler after their own hearts; for, being of the Sheiya +sect—Zaidis they call themselves—it was necessary +to the tenets of their belief that their Sultan should +be of direct descent from the Prophet, through Ali +ibn Abou Taleb, his nephew and son-in-law. This +condition their Imam fulfilled; for although the +Yemen had at different times fallen into foreign +hands, still the direct family had never disappeared.</p> + +<p>Sanaa, now the capital of Turkish Yemen, was his +residence. It is a large city, situated roughly two +hundred and forty miles north of Aden, and a +hundred and sixty east of Hodaidah. Here the +Imam lived the usual secluded and sensual life of an +oriental despot, looked upon by the Arabs as a +spiritual Sultan, but powerless to hold in check the +depredations and robberies of the many tribes under +his nominal sway, who, with true oriental zeal, were +continually doing their best to exterminate one +another. As long as money was forthcoming, the +Imam was content to dwell at Sanaa without +troubling himself about more external affairs than the +management of his own household, and the receiving +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[99]</span>of gifts from the Arabs who performed pilgrimages +to his presence. Apparently wanting in education, +except such religious knowledge as is considered +necessary for the welfare of an Oriental of high degree, +he possessed no ability to govern, nor does he +appear to have been even renowned as a soldier or +organiser of troops.</p> + +<p>Such became at length the state of the country, +that trade almost ceased on account of the attacks +upon the caravans; and the Sanaa merchants—quiet +respectable Arabs—saw nothing but ruin before them, +and considering solely the benefits that would accrue +to themselves by such a step, and ignoring what the +result would be upon the agricultural population, +invited the Turks to take the place. This was accomplished +in 1872 by a force from Hodaidah. The +Imam was deposed; but on account of his spiritual +influence over the Arab horde, was permitted to reside +in Sanaa, receiving a pension on the condition that +he would exert his powers in furthering the interests +of the Osmanli Government. This until his death he +fulfilled; on which event the <i>baraka</i>, or holy birthright, +passed to his relative Ahmed ed-Din, who, like +his predecessor, was by no means dissatisfied to receive +the adoration of the Arabs and the regularly paid +allowance of the Turks.</p> + +<p>Such, briefly, was the history of the Turkish occupation +of the Yemen and the state of affairs until last +year. The tribes, in the time of the Imam, left undisturbed +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[100]</span>both in their labours in the fields and in their +welfare, boasting an independence of centuries, found +themselves, on the Turkish occupation, little better +than slaves—oppressed, taxed, and retaxed by a people +whose extortions ruined them, whose personality they +hated, and with whom, although co-religionists, there +was no unison in religious views.</p> + +<p>But the smouldering discontent was destined to +burst into flame, even though the flame might blaze +forth but to flicker and die.</p> + +<p>On an appeal from the governor of Lohaya, a body +of four hundred Turkish troops were despatched last +summer to assist in collecting by force the taxes due +from the Beni Meruan, a branch of the Asir people, +and their southernmost tribe, who inhabit the country +lying to the east of Lohaya, a port on the Red Sea +coast north of Hodaidah. In command of this force +was the very Mahammed Rushti Pasha whose house +had been destroyed at Dhamar. The expedition was +destined to complete failure, and being surprised by a +large body of Arabs, was nearly annihilated before +the security of a fort was reached, amongst those who +fell being the pasha himself.</p> + +<p>In countries like the Yemen news travels with +extraordinary rapidity, and the Arabs, hearing an +exaggerated report of what had taken place, believed +that at last their deliverance had come, for it was +rumoured that the great district of the Asir, between +the Yemen and the Hejaz, had risen, intent upon +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[101]</span>exterminating the Turks. Where the news travelled +the people rose in arms. Tribal banners long hid +away were unfurled, and the cry of “God give victory +to the Imam” echoed and re-echoed throughout the +mountains and valleys of the Yemen.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile the hero of the rebellion, Ahmed ed-Din, +was living quietly at Sanaa on the subsidy of the +Turkish Government, unconscious of what was taking +place, although, doubtless, there was ever present in +his mind the possibility of some day regaining for +himself and his descendants the throne. He clearly +saw that affairs were not ripe for a great rebellion, +and almost against his will he was obliged to fly +from the capital, and become the head of the rebel +movement. Premature as things were, he must in +the enthusiasm of his partisans have almost believed +in their future success.</p> + +<p>It was a new <i>Jehad</i>, or holy war! The Turks +were to be exterminated or driven away; the beloved +Ahmed ed-Din—beloved on account of his birth and +descent rather than from any knowledge of his personality—was +to be reinstated on the throne. One +by one the tribes rose, except only the Bedouin +inhabitants of the Teháma and the southern deserts, +who, possessing nothing but a few flocks and herds, +and always wandering, were indifferent to Turkish or +Arab rule, and awaited the result before promising +allegiance to either side. The same plan was followed +by many of the merchants and citizens, whose position +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[102]</span>and intimacy with the Turkish officials placed +them outside the bounds of oppression and taxation, +and who in many cases were only too ready to take +advantage of their fellow-countrymen’s unenviable +position, by buying from the Turks the right of +collecting the taxes of certain districts; for the privilege +of levying dues is a commercial article, sold +from time to time by auction, a system that relieves +the Government of much anxiety and trouble, but +encourages to an almost incredible extent cruelty +and oppression.</p> + +<p>In what state were the Turks to repress a general +rising of this sort? The force in the country was +estimated at some sixteen thousand men, although +in reality probably far short of that number; for +during the two previous years cholera had wrought +great havoc amongst the troops. These troops consisted +of Turkish regulars, Bashi-bazouks, and a large +number of Arab auxiliaries, drawn principally from +the Mshareg and Hadramaut, the country to the east +of the Yemen, who did not care whom they fought +against, or for what reason they were fighting, so +long as they were paid, and whose one stimulant to +feats of bravery was promised reward. The Turkish +troops already in Yemen were in a miserable state. +Ill fed, ill clothed, thinned by disease, badly housed, +and seldom, if ever, paid, it is no wonder that their +spirit was broken in a land where during summer +they were liable to a temperature that seldom falls +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[103]</span>below a hundred in such shade as their badly built +barracks afforded, and in winter to frosts, and at +times snow—to all the vagaries, in fact, of a tropical +climate on the tops of mountains of from seven +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[104]</span>thousand to nine thousand feet in altitude. A more +pitiful picture than the Turkish soldiers presented +when the writer was in Yemen he never saw, and +yet they fight like devils rather than men.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp48" id="illus04" style="max-width: 20.3125em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus04.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Turkish troops on the march.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>A few days after the flight of the Imam, Sanaa, +the capital, was besieged by an enormous force of +Arabs, as was Amran, another walled city; while +those which were not so protected fell, many without +even a struggle, into the hands of the Arabs. Menakha, +on the road from Hodaidah to Sanaa, offered a +little resistance, but in vain. Those of the garrison +who were not killed or wounded in the first onslaught +of the Arabs were spared on surrender, and taken +away prisoners, amongst their number being the +Kaimakam or military governor. The same happened +at Dhamar and Yerim, on the road from +Sanaa to Aden; while in quick succession Ibb, Jiblah, +and Taiz, all three large towns situated farther south, +proclaimed for Ahmed ed-Din. All Turkish prisoners +were spared. Many voluntarily went over to the +side of the Arabs; some retired into private life on +surrendering their arms. Those of importance were +sent to the Imam, where report said they were housed +and fed at his expense, doubtless in the hope of persuading +them to throw in their lot with his own, and +so obtain use of their superior knowledge of warfare. +In very exceptional cases do we hear of the cruel +treatment of Turks by the Arabs in their days of +victory; and even when the tide of affairs was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[105]</span>changed, the writer met amongst the Arabs, in districts +where no Turkish troops could enter, deserters +from the Osmanli forces being fed and clothed by the +kindly Arabs; and in many cases money was supplied +them by their <i>quondam</i> enemies to assist them in +reaching Aden, or in escaping by other means from +the hard life of soldiering.</p> + +<p>By this time telegrams were pouring into Constantinople +from Hodaidah beseeching assistance; +and the Porte, having at length realised how serious +a turn affairs had taken, exerted all its activity in +forwarding troops to the scene of war. By the time +the new forces had embarked for Hodaidah, the whole +country, with the exception of Sanaa and Amran and +a small city in the Asir, by name Dhofir, had fallen +into the hands of the rebels, the plains and seaboard +towns holding aloof from any participation in the +affair, though probably it was only the presence of +better organised Turkish forces which kept in check +the feeling which no doubt existed almost as strongly +there as anywhere. The Beni Meruan, many of +whose villages lie on the sea-coast, were pitilessly +shelled by a couple of Turkish gunboats.</p> + +<p>Ahmed ed-Din remained at Sadah,⁠<a id="FNanchor_30" href="#Footnote_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> whither he had +fled from Sanaa; nor at any part of the revolt did +he take active part in the fighting, a fact that in no +small degree accounts for the subsequent failure of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[106]</span>the rebellion. In all probability he never left Sadah, +though in his religious character his movements were +always spoken about with much mystery.</p> + +<p>Sanaa at the end of October was still in a state of +siege, the garrison and townspeople suffering greatly +from hunger and disease, though in Amran the state +of the inhabitants was still more pitiable.</p> + +<p>Badly fed as they were at all times, worse now than +ever, one cannot but admire the immense pluck of +the handful of Turkish troops who kept at bay for +several months an immense horde of Arabs. Not +only was their courage exhibited in the dogged resistance +within the town, but in their constant and often +successful sorties against the enemy.</p> + +<p>A short description of the city of Sanaa is necessary +in order to explain the positions of besiegers and +besieged during the whole of last autumn.</p> + +<p>The city, which contains some fifty thousand inhabitants, +lies in a wide level valley. It takes the +form of a triangle, the eastern point consisting of a +large fortress, dominating the town, and built upon +the lowest spur of Jibel Negoum, a mountain which +rises immediately outside the city walls. The town +is divided into three distinct quarters, each walled, +and the whole surrounded by one continuous wall. +They are respectively the city proper, in which are +the Government buildings, the huge bazaars, and the +residence of the Arabs and Turks; the Jews’ quarter; +and Bir el-Azab, where are gardens and villas belonging +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[107]</span>to the richer Turks and Arabs. The city was +once of great wealth and prosperity, and to-day +remains one of the most nourishing cities of Arabia. +The shops are well supplied with European goods, +and a large manufacture of silk, jewellery, and arms +is carried on there. The quarter in which the Government +buildings are situated presents almost a European +appearance, with its large Turkish shops, its <i>cafés</i>, and +its open places, on one of which, in front of the Governor-General’s +official residence, a military band discourses +anything but sweet music of an afternoon.</p> + +<p>But the city, as the writer saw it after its recapture +by the Turks, presented a very different spectacle +from what it must have done when, surrounded on +all sides by a horde of Arabs, a continual shower of +bullets was being poured into its streets from the +Arab position on Jibel Negoum, which completely +dominated the place. Fortunately for those besieged, +the rebels possessed no artillery, otherwise their efforts +would no doubt have proved successful in gaining an +entrance into the town. However, the fire poured +into the city was sufficiently harassing to render it +expedient to drive the Arabs from their position above +the town, and several unsuccessful sorties were made. +At length, mustering all the troops at his command, +the pasha made a final sortie about the middle of +November. Maintaining a steady fire from the fort +upon the Arab position, the troops issued from the +southern gate, and wheeling to the left after a gallant +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[108]</span>attack—for the Arabs were in overwhelming numbers—drove +the rebels back. They retreated on Dar es-salaam, +a small village a few miles outside the walls +of Sanaa, consisting of perhaps a dozen or so stone +houses surrounded by a wall. Bringing up some +small field-guns, the artillery opened fire upon the +rebels, completely destroying the place and rendering +a precipitate retreat of the Arabs necessary, which +they are said to have accomplished in the wildest +disorder, leaving, as I was informed, several thousand +dead upon the field. But the victory was not altogether +a blessing, for there being no one to bury the +Arab dead, the inhabitants of the city suffered from +violent disease, while the stench of the decaying +bodies is said to have been terrible. Retiring once +more within the precincts of the city, the Arabs again +took up their old position; but their defeat seems to +have to a great degree crushed their spirits, and the +remainder of the siege, severe though the sufferings +of the townspeople were, is said to have been less +acute than previously. At any rate, the alarm of a +successful attack on the part of the rebels seems to +have abated.</p> + +<p>But relief was at hand. The Turkish reinforcements +had landed in Hodaidah under the command +of Ahmed Feizi Pasha, formerly Governor of Mecca, +and commander of the Seventh Army Corps.</p> + +<p>Learning on his arrival at Hodaidah how serious +was the state of affairs, he at once took active +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[109]</span>measures, and without even waiting for commissariat +arrangements to be carried out, marched his +troops <i>viâ</i> Bajil to Hojaila, a village at the foot of +the mountains on which the town of Menakha is +situated, and over which the road to Sanaa passes. +Here three days later they were overtaken by the +commissariat camels bringing flour and provisions for +the soldiers. Having rested his men, he commenced +the ascent of the steep road, and here met with the +first show of resistance. But the Turkish soldiers +were fresh and fought well, and the superiority of +arms did its work. With but a short delay to force +the road, Menakha was reached.</p> + +<p>There is perhaps in the world no city situated in +the way that Menakha is. At an altitude of seven +thousand six hundred feet above the sea-level, it is +perched on a narrow ridge joining two distinct +mountain-ranges. On either side of the city are +precipices, each of considerably over two thousand +feet in depth. So narrow is the town that there are +places in it where one can stand and gaze down both +these precipices at the same time. To reach it from +the west there is only one path in the steep mountain-side; +while from the east it can only be approached +by a narrow track cut in the face of a precipice and +winding up it for an ascent of two thousand five +hundred feet. In the hands of well-regulated forces +it would be impregnable; but the Arab defenders, +learning how easily the new Governor-General and his +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[110]</span>troops had forced the road at Hojaila, made no plucky +resistance: and armed as they were almost entirely +with matchlock and fuse guns—and many only with +spears—they could have made no permanent stand +against the field-guns of the Turks, who are said in +one day to have brought their light artillery from +Hojaila to Menakha, an ascent of nearly six thousand +feet, by a break-neck path. But few shots had been +fired when the Arabs fled, and the Turks once more +took possession of the place. Leaving a sufficient +garrison to protect the town, and to keep open a +line of communication with the coast, Ahmed Feizi +marched on towards Sanaa. About thirty miles from +Menakha, on the road to the capital, is a spot called +Hajarat el-Mehedi, where the track is so narrow and +so bad that even without resistance it would offer no +slight obstacle to the passage of troops. Here the +rebel army under Seyed esh-Sheraï, a cousin to Ahmed +ed-Din, took up a position, and a twelve days’ delay +and fighting took place before the Turks could force +their way through. But on the twelfth day it was +accomplished, and the rebels dispersed. Halting but +now and again to shell some village, the troops by +hurried marches reached Sanaa, and on their being +sighted by the Arab besiegers on Jibel Negoum, the +Imam’s force retired into the mountains to the east, +where no Turkish troops could follow them.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="fp06" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp06.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>MENAKHA.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The capital relieved, Ahmed Feizi was not idle. +He arrived in time to save the garrison of Amran, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[111]</span>where, as at Sanaa, the Arabs retired on the approach +of the Turkish forces. Returning to Sanaa, he set to +work to reorganise affairs, despatching Ismail Pasha +with a considerable number of troops to recapture +Dhamar and Yerim. Proclaiming military law, which +in this case meant almost no law, throughout the +country, the new Governor-General offered a reward +for the head of every rebel brought to him, and turned +loose upon the Arabs his Turkish troops to loot and +plunder their villages. Marching to the south, Ismail +Pasha halted at Maaber to shell the villages of Jibel +Anis, retook Dhamar without any opposition being +offered, and, leaving a garrison there, proceeded to +Yerim, and thence by Seddah and Sobeh to Kátaba, +where the writer found him encamped with four hundred +troops toward the middle of last January. Ibb, +Jiblah, and Taiz returned under Turkish rule without +a struggle.</p> + +<p>There is no nation in the world that can put down +a rebellion as the Turks can, but they have a great +objection to any one seeing the process; and the presence +of the writer, turning up suddenly in Sanaa +while Ahmed Feizi Pasha was engaged upon this +task, caused such a shock, that he and his servants +were securely confined in prison as spies in spite of +passports, until, from the unsanitary conditions of +the place and the bad water supplied, he was seized +with a violent attack of fever; and no doubt thinking +that it would be better to get rid of him alive +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[112]</span>than have an objectionable corpse on their hands, and +probably a good many questions to answer, a guard +of soldiers was prepared, and the writer was hurried +away to Hodaidah with orders to quit. Yet, in spite +of the fact that his relations with Ahmed Feizi Pasha +were a little strained, he cannot but testify to his +admirable activity and soldier-like bearing—an admiration +dimmed only by the cruelty, perhaps almost +necessary, of some of his commands. Thus it will be +seen, from the day that Ahmed Feizi Pasha took over the +governor-generalship of the Yemen, the tide of events +had completely changed. A series of Arab victories +had ended in a series of Arab defeats. Had Sanaa +been taken, the result would doubtless have been +different; but in their endeavours to take it they +failed. Renowned in history, sacred to them as the +former seat of government of their Imams, their want +of success in capturing it, together with the action of +Ahmed ed-Din, who held aloof from any active part +in the warfare, broke their spirits. Had they succeeded +in entering Sanaa, had they brought their +Imam there in state, there is some possibility that +the Turks might have lost the Yemen for ever. They +themselves, and Ahmed Feizi Pasha the first of them, +told the writer this.</p> + +<p>Thus by the end of January the Turks had reconquered +all the cities of Yemen with the exception of +one, Dhofir, at that time still besieged by the Arabs. +Yet in spite of the fact that Turkish rule was again +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[113]</span>reinstated in the country, in spite of the fact that +what with the reinforcements there were altogether +some forty thousand troops in the Yemen, the rebellion +was by no means stamped out. This is easily understood +when the nature of the country is described. +Central Yemen consists of a great plateau, upon which +are situated the three principal cities, Sanaa, Dhamar, +and Yerim. This plateau is surrounded by a system of +mountains broken and torn into valleys and cañons, +peaks and pinnacles, amongst which it would be impossible +for any Turkish force to operate. Many of +these mountains reach an altitude of over twelve +thousand and thirteen thousand feet, the summits +often connected with the valleys beneath by precipices +of thousands of feet in depth. The only roads—mere +tracks they are—are cut in the face of these +walls of rock, and often are not a yard in breadth. +Amongst these enormous mountain-ranges—and to +the north of Sanaa one can travel for days and weeks +amongst them—the spirit of rebellion burns as fiercely +to-day as ever. Certainly the towns are now in the +possession of the Turks, yet the main roads that connect +the towns are unsafe for Turks to pass over, +except in considerable numbers together. It was to +a large extent from these mountain districts that the +revenues of the Government were previously drawn; +for the Arabs of the Yemen, unlike those of the Hejaz +and most other Arabian States, are tillers of the soil, +living in well-built and permanent villages, one and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[114]</span>all roughly fortified, from which they would be able +to withstand any band of armed tax-collectors, such +as were wont formerly to be sent to levy the dues, as +often on behalf of those who had purchased the rights +of collecting from the district as on the part of the +Government direct. In many of these villages the +writer sat, sharing with the Arabs their humble repast, +sipping their coffee and smoking their hubble-bubbles, +and listening to their strange songs and +prayers for the return of the Imam, Ahmed ed-Din, +to power.</p> + +<p>The rebellion has been outwardly crushed, but the +prestige of Turkey in the Yemen has received a severe +blow. The exorbitant squeezing will have to be +abandoned, with the results that the revenue will +probably fall to a tenth of its former sum. Many +tribes formerly taxed will maintain an armed independence. +The garrisons in the towns must be doubled, +and the Yemen as a means of filling the Turkish coffers +will be finished. Over the rebellion the Porte +has expended a vast sum of money, while any attempt +to recoup itself from the scene of action will but bring +on a second and probably more disastrous rising.</p> + +<p>Little more remains to be told except to consider +briefly in what manner a permanent Arab success +would have influenced ourselves. It was generally +believed amongst the Turks in all quarters that it was +British intrigue that stirred up the rebellion in the +Yemen, although even the Turks themselves were at +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[115]</span>a loss to understand what advantages we should reap +through such an action. They called attention to +the independent States that lie between Aden and +the Turkish frontier at Kátaba, the states of Lahej, +Dhala, and the lands of the Houshabi, Aloui, and +other tribes. Yet Ahmed Feizi Pasha himself informed +the writer that, equally with the English, the +Turkish Government subsidise their Sultans, Amirs, +and Sheikhs; but the object of our subsidising them +is misunderstood by the officials of Sanaa and Constantinople. +To them it is impossible to consider in +the same light as we do the vast importance of trade; +and it is merely that the roads which pass through +these various States may be kept open and safe for +caravans trading with Aden, that we pay large monthly +sums to the native rulers. At the same time, it is +doubtless an advantage to possess a more or less independent +strip of country between our frontier at +Aden and that of the Turkish Yemen.</p> + +<p>What has been to England the result of the Turkish +occupation of the Yemen? It has been a result +enormously beneficial. Formerly, in the time of +Arab rule, no caravans were able to pass and repass +in safety from the interior to Aden. The inability +of the Imam to hold the tribes in check rendered the +looting of every caravan probable. But since the +arrival of the Turks things have altered. By keeping +the roads open the Turks have rendered a vast +service to England, by, as far as their power went, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[116]</span>ensuring safe-conduct to the passage of caravans, +while unconsciously their greed in levying enormous +export and import dues at Hodaidah and their ports +has driven the greater part of the Yemen trade to +Aden—a free port. Thus it will be seen how vastly +beneficial to England has been the conquest of the +Yemen by the Turks; and had the Osmanli Government +lost possession of the country, the result could +have brought about but one effect—a return to the +state of affairs previous to Turkish annexation, and +a consequent enormous diminution of the Aden trade +both in coffee and exports, and in the European +goods and tobaccos from the Persian Gulf, for which +the returning caravans create a great demand. Yet +the Turks assured the writer that the British Government +was supplying arms and assistance to the rebels. +In reality the rifles were being smuggled in by +private traders from the French port at Obock.</p> + +<p>As to what will be the future policy of Turkey in +the Yemen it is difficult to surmise. No doubt +Abdul Hamid will be guided much by the report of +his aide-de-camp Yakoub Bey, who was despatched to +Sanaa for the purpose of bringing a full report to the +Sultan. Rather than risk a second rebellion, there +is little doubt that a conciliatory policy will be +attempted; but the Yemen is too far removed from +Constantinople to be governed from there, and as +soon as affairs have quieted down, the officials will +take advantage of their positions to commence once +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[117]</span>more the oppression of the people and the filling of +their pockets. Could they be persuaded that extortion +is not the road by which to arrive at a +satisfactory system of government, they would find +the country daily growing richer, and their relations +with the Arabs more peaceable and less strained +than at present. But the leopard cannot change his +spots; and it is only probable that as long as +Osmanli supremacy exists in the Yemen, officialdom +will continue to enrich itself and impoverish the +country.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[118]</span></p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[119]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="PART_II">PART II.<br> +<span class="smaller">A JOURNEY THROUGH THE YEMEN</span></h2> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[120]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_II_CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.<br> +<span class="smaller">ADEN.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[121]</span></p> + +<p>There is not a breath of wind to stir the placid surface +of the sea—not a breath to cause a draught upon the +ship and cool us for a second. It is one of those +terrible still tropical days, motionless, silent, oppressive. +Nothing to hear but the hissing of the sea as +the vessel’s bows plough up the turquoise water, and +the thud, thud of her never-ceasing screw. Even the +Lascars in their white clothes and bare feet, children +of the sun as they are, seem downcast.</p> + +<p>We are passing Perim. It lies on the port side, a +dirty blot upon a scene of opalesque transparence, of +shimmering water and palpitating sky.</p> + +<p>A youth travelling round the world stretches himself, +jots a few lines in his diary, and commences to +tell the old story of the taking of Perim. But he is +soon cried down, and silence reigns again.</p> + +<p>On both sides we can see the land,—burning rock +seen through a burning atmosphere. A number +of flying-fish buzz over the surface of the water, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[122]</span>and with a series of little splashes disappear once +again.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>A few hours later and Aden is in sight, with its +broken and torn peaks and jagged outline. A little +movement is noticeable amongst the passengers, but +it is half-hearted at the best.</p> + +<p>Then we enter the grand bay, surrounded by desolate +rock and still more desolate desert, and drop +anchor a mile or so off Steamer Point, as the shipping +quarter of Aden is called.</p> + +<p>The steamer is quickly surrounded. A few steam-launches, +heavily awninged, screech their whistles; +while a crowd of small boats manned by coal-black +Somali boys, each striving to be the first upon the +scene, crowd upon us. They are boatmen, divers, +and sellers of curiosities—smart, bright little fellows, +more than half nude, and as black as coal, many with +their hair left long like the cords of a Russian poodle. +Such a screaming and a yelling! Such a diving after +small coins! Such a display of leopard-skins, antelope-horns, +especially those of the lovely oryx, and ostrich-feathers, +products of the opposite coast! A few dull +austere Indians and Cingalese display embroideries +and table-cloths, but the heat seems to depress them, +just as it does the buyers.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp07" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp07.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>TOMB AND MOSQUE OF SHEIKH OTHMAN, NEAR ADEN.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>It is a wonderful sight to watch the divers, balanced +on the gunwales of the boats, their hands above their +heads, watching eagerly for the tiny splash of a small +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[123]</span>coin, then breaking the water into a series of dancing +circles as their dusky bodies disappear into the transparent +blue. One can see them too under water, turning +like fishes in search of the slowly sinking +money. When the excitement had worn off, and +those passengers who cared to brave the sun’s terrific +rays by taking a short run ashore had left, I hailed +a boy, who, with the aid of Abdurrahman, my ever-faithful +Arab servant from Morocco, stowed my luggage +into the boat. Then I said good-bye to the +P. and O. steamer, and was rowed ashore.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp96" id="map1" style="max-width: 50.0em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/map1.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>SKETCH MAP OF ADEN AND ITS SURROUNDINGS<br> + To Illustrate Mr. W. B. Harris’ “A Journey through the Yemen”</p> + <p>W. & A. K. Johnston. Edinburgh & London.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>At some steps leading to a galvanised-iron-roofed +landing-place I stepped ashore. What a scene of +desolation and dreariness Aden presents to the new-comer! +and how soon one gets to like the place in +spite of it all! A background of dreary blackish rock, +a sandy road, half-a-dozen rickety <i>gharies</i> under the +shelter of a hideous iron-roofing, with sleepy little +ponies and still more sleepy Somali drivers; a whitewashed +domed saint’s tomb, with an apology for a +garden on each side, in which a few weary-looking +plants were trying to appear green under a thick +coating of dust and a sweltering sun; a long crescent +of badly built houses, with the exception of the handsome +Aden Bank buildings, faced by an expanse of +sand and black palings,—and that is Steamer Point, +as one first sees it. But as the sun sinks low a figure +or two appear, and toward sunset the place wears a +gay and flourishing appearance.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[124]</span></p> + +<p>Getting my baggage into a hand-cart, I set off for +the hotel, where at least was shade and tolerable coolness, +say some 90° Fahrenheit. But in spite of its +dreary aspect, in spite of the dull monotony of its +colouring, one gets quite fond of Aden. The cheery +hospitality of the garrison, the gorgeous early mornings +and evenings, the delicious warm January nights, +the club, the verandahs of which are laved by the sea, +the white hulls of the men-of-war in the bay, and the +pleasant evenings spent under their awnings, dispel +all the unfavourable impressions which are at first +so numerous and apparent. In a few days one has +forgotten that the whole place, from the top of Sham-sham +down to the sandy isthmus, is all a volcanic +hideosity; one has forgotten that the whole is so +impregnated with salt as to almost forbid any verdure +to grow, and that, should it by chance take root, +the sun is there to kill it. One sees after a time only +the picturesqueness of the place,—the strange torn +mountain-peaks; the gay thronging crowd of many +nationalities all bent on their several businesses, +except the Jews, who seem bent upon everybody +else’s; and the Somalis, who are as indifferent to the +general world as they are to the heat, excepting when +a passing steamer lands for an hour or two a flock of +extraordinarily habited travellers—and then the cabs +fly backwards and forwards, the ponies kicking up the +dust, their feet rattling along the hard roads and +making almost as much noise as the cracking of the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[125]</span>jehus’ whips; then the Jews, the money-changers, +pass and repass, spilling their coins one by one from +hand to hand, until the very jingling drives one +frantic; and the black urchins, who have learnt English +enough to lie with facility, and to beg, worry, and +bother until they are paid to go away, appear. Then +the curio-seller, be he Greek or Jew or swarthy Indian, +creeps out from amongst his moth-eaten lion and leopard +skins and his boxes of stale “Turkish delight,” +and with outstretched hands bids the traveller enter. +Then, too, there is the jingling of long tumblers on +the wide verandah of the hotel, and a crowd of boats +in readiness at the landing-place. Just like a flock of +locusts they come and stay their hour or two, and just +like a flock of locusts they go, some outward bound, +some returning home; and Steamer Point is itself +again.</p> + +<p>Often as Aden has been described, it is necessary +here to make some mention of its various sights and +the varied scenes it presents; for, as part and parcel +of the Yemen, it cannot be passed over in a book that +attempts to deal with that country. If, however, the +reader has been there, or has read more pretentious +accounts of it, let him skip it over.</p> + +<p>Hated, spoken of as typical of the infernal regions, +ugly as it is, Aden perhaps can claim an antiquity and +an importance throughout all history unparalleled, for +its size and its situation, in the annals of the world. +When countries, now the centres of vast civilisations, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[126]</span>consisted of primeval forests, inhabited by almost +primeval man, and filled with wild beasts, Aden was +an emporium of trade. With every possible natural +disadvantage, except its harbour and its situation, it +was inhabited by merchants, who collected and reshipped +by vessel and by caravan the wealth of many +lands. Africa, India, the Persian Gulf, poured on +to the arid volcanic rock their gold and their purples, +their spices and their precious stones.</p> + +<p>“Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they occupied +with thee in lambs, and rams, and goats: in +these were they thy merchants. The merchants of +Sheba and Raamah, they were thy merchants: they +occupied in thy fairs with chief of all spices, and with +all precious stones, and gold. Haran, and Canneh, +and <i>Eden</i>, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, and Chilmad, +were thy merchants.”⁠<a id="FNanchor_31" href="#Footnote_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> There is no doubt in +the minds of competent authorities that the place +here referred to as Eden is none other than Aden, +while many other of the names mentioned have been +identified with ruins and towns of modern Arabia; +but of this more anon.</p> + +<p>Ibn Khaldun, in his geographical notes on the +Yemen, writing in the eighth century <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span>, mentions +the extreme antiquity of Aden, speaking of it as a +place of importance in the time of the Tubbas, who +were the kings descended from Himyar, son of Abd +esh-Shems, great-grandson of Kahtan, said to be the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[127]</span>Joktan of the Jewish Scriptures, the founder of the +oldest authentic tribes in the Yemen; for although +they migrated to that country, there are no remains +to be traced of the inhabitants who were there before +them.</p> + +<p>Returning to more historical times, we find that +during the reigns of one of the Cæsars, probably +Claudius, Aden was destroyed by the Romans,⁠<a id="FNanchor_32" href="#Footnote_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> +probably in order to divert the trade of India to the +ports which Ælius Gallus had founded on the shores +of the Red Sea, to which Aden proved, no doubt, +a formidable rival. Later we find it conquered by +the army of Constantine, and re-named Emporium +Romanum.</p> + +<p>Returning once more to oriental sources, we find +the place split up by the wars and factions which were +so constant throughout the Yemen, and Aden several +times was besieged and conquered. Most important, +perhaps, of these early monarchs was the line of +Hamdani princes, who, descended from the Beni +Zuray, held it from about 440 <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span> with many ups +and downs of fortune, until in <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span> 569 it was +conquered by the troops of Turan Shah of the Ayyubite +dynasty of Egypt.</p> + +<p>In 1487, some three hundred years after the +accession of the Ayyubite Sultans over Aden, a period +of continued strife, we find the place visited by a +Portuguese by name John Pedro de Covilham. This +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[128]</span>expedition was organised to explore that quarter of +the globe after an ambassador had been sent to +Florence by the Christian King of Abyssinia whom +we have learned to know by the name of Prester +John. Covilham eventually ended his days at Shoa, +at the Court of Iskander, or Alexander, the then +reigning prince.</p> + +<p>From the next European, however, who visited +Aden we have a more succinct account, though unfortunately +his work upon the subject of his travels⁠<a id="FNanchor_33" href="#Footnote_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> +is so taken up with personal narrative, and his names +are so unreliable, that it is with some difficulty that +historical events are recognised. I refer to Ludovico +de Barthema, known also as Vertomanus, who travelled +in Arabia about the year 1504.</p> + +<p>Albuquerque’s attack upon Aden forms one of the +most interesting items in its history, and short notice +must be taken of it here. The sovereign of Abyssinia +at this epoch was a Christian, Queen Helena by name, +who, wishing to obtain assistance by which to keep +off the Arab invasions into her own country, sent an +Armenian envoy to the Court of Lisbon. After +wandering about in a somewhat vague way for several +years—he went <i>viâ</i> India, where he was detained +twenty-three months—he at length, in 1513, arrived +at Lisbon. He found on his arrival that an expedition +was already organised to carry out the proposals +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[129]</span>he was bringing from his queen, and in command of +which Alphonso de Albuquerque left India in February +of the same year with two thousand five hundred men, +two-thirds of them Portuguese, the rest Indians. On +Easter eve they arrived at Aden, and at once attacked +the place. After a siege of four days further efforts +were found to be useless; and bombarding the town, +and destroying the native shipping, the Portuguese +flotilla sailed for the Red Sea. A second attempt on +the part of Albuquerque to take Aden the following +spring again failed, owing to the fact that it had +meanwhile been refortified.</p> + +<p>A few years later, in 1516 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, Aden was again +besieged, this time by an expedition sent from Egypt +under Raïs Suleiman; but the city was again found to +be impregnable, and the attacking force suffered very +considerable loss. However, so weakened had the +fortifications been by these repeated attacks, that +when Soarez arrived shortly afterwards, the governor +surrendered the place into his hands; but on the +Portuguese attempting to follow and capture Suleiman’s +fleet, the governor made haste to repair the +fortifications, and on Soarez’s return he found himself +baffled, and Aden more firmly in the hands of the +Amir Morjaun than ever.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile Suleiman had organised an enormous +fleet, with part of which he visited Aden. The city +was taken by treachery; for the governor, having +been enticed on board the ships, was hung, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[130]</span>soldiers landed on beds under the pretence that they +were sick men. In 1551 the inhabitants, oppressed +by the cruel representatives left by Suleiman, rebelled, +and ceded Aden to the Portuguese.</p> + +<p>It is not for nearly fifty years later than this date +that we find the English in these seas. On the 8th +April 1609 a ship belonging to the East India Company, +by name the Ascension, visited Aden. Received +with every possible courtesy, the captain +was, when once safely in the hands of the governor, +entrapped and imprisoned, and only allowed to leave +Aden after paying heavy fines in goods and money. +A year later the Darling and the Peppercorn arrived, +under the command of Admiral Sir Henry Middleton. +On the Darling proceeding to Mokha, the crew of the +Peppercorn were treacherously seized and detained in +prison.</p> + +<p>The Dutch were the next to appear upon the scene, +Van den Broeck arriving with a fleet in 1614, in order +to found trading relations between the natives and +the Dutch East India Company. Their overtures +were exceedingly well received by the officials, but +the jealousy of the more influential native merchants +prevented their being able to come to any satisfactory +arrangement. From this period until the beginning +of the present century Aden shared the ups and +downs of fate that are so frequent in all oriental +places; but as any account of these would prove +tedious, they can very well be omitted. In 1802 +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[131]</span>we find Aden visited by Sir Home Popham, who, +having failed in concluding a treaty with the Imam +of Sanaa, was able to enter upon and carry through +a commercial and amicable treaty with the then +Sultan of Aden. As late as 1833 we find another +example of the treachery of the natives of Aden. +Turkchee Bilmas, as Mahammed Agha was nicknamed, +after his series of extraordinary victories, having demanded +and received the surrender of the governor +of Aden, sent thither a mission of forty persons. +They were well received, but during the night more +than half their number were foully murdered, the +rest escaping in miserable plight.</p> + +<p>In 1835 steamers of the Indian Government having +harboured in Aden, made use of it as a coaling-station; +but it was, on account of the difficulty of +obtaining labour, changed for Makulla, a port to the +east on the Hadramaut coast. After, in 1837, being +sacked by the Foudtheli tribe, the attention of the +Indian Government was called to Aden by the fact +that a ship flying British colours, the Deria Dowlat, +being wrecked near that port, the vessel was looted, +and the passengers, some of whom were native +ladies of rank, insultingly treated. Captain Haines, +in command of the war-sloop Coote, arrived in +December, and laid a claim before the Sultan +for twelve thousand dollars compensation. A plot +being in the air to obtain possession of the person +and papers of Captain Haines, he sailed for India, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[132]</span>returning in October 1838 to enforce the carrying out +of the cession of Aden in return for an annual payment +to the Sultan of nearly nine thousand dollars +a-year. Having been insultingly treated, Captain +Haines commenced to blockade the port, until, in +January 1839, H.M.S. Volage and H.M.S. Cruizer +arrived upon the scene. A message to surrender +being left unanswered, the town was bombarded and +taken, the Sultan and his family escaping to Lahej, +a city some thirty miles in the interior. The capture +of Aden is curious as being the first addition to the +Empire made during the reign of Queen Victoria.</p> + +<p>It is wonderful to notice how soon it became +apparent to the natives that they had nothing to +fear from the British occupation; but, in spite of +this feeling of satisfaction in the eyes of the lower-class +natives and the merchants, the chiefs of the +Abdali tribe, in spite of solemn bonds to the contrary, +attempted to retake the place. In this they +failed, and, exasperated at their want of success, commenced +a series of depredations upon the caravans +and local property of Arabs residing in Aden. After +a severe struggle in 1841, in which two Arab forts on +the mainland were destroyed by the British troops, +affairs remained in a more peaceful condition until, +in 1846, Seyed Ismail, a fanatical Shereef, preached a +holy war and the retaking of Aden from the infidels. +Augmented by many local tribes, three separate attempts +were made upon Aden, each of which was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[133]</span>successfully repulsed. Like all such failures in the +East, the Seyed was stamped as an impostor, and, +his army having dissolved, he was killed by a Bedouin +in 1848. In 1850 the crew of a man-of-war’s boat +landing on the north side of the bay was attacked, +and some of the number were wounded, one man +being killed. A still more melancholy affair happened +in February 1851, when a shooting-party was +attacked at the village of Wáhat, of whom Captain +Milne was killed and several others badly wounded. +A series of like depredations and outrages continued +to take place, until in 1858 an attack was made upon +the Arabs and the battle of Sheikh Othman fought, +which ended in the blowing up of the fort and the +village, and the opening of negotiations for a friendly +understanding between the British Government and +the Abdali Sultan.</p> + +<p>From this time on affairs became more quiet; but +on the Turks conquering the interior of the Yemen in +1872—they had held a firm footing on the Red Sea +coast before this period—it was found necessary to +demand the withdrawal of the Osmanli forces from +the tribe lands surrounding Aden. At this epoch, +too, Little Aden, a sister peninsula which forms the +western shore of the Aden bay, was purchased, and +in 1883 British territory was extended across the +isthmus, by which arrangement the entire shores +of the harbour fell under the jurisdiction of the +British Government. Included in this deed of purchase +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[134]</span>is the village of Sheikh Othman, now a flourishing +little township, with a police station and a clock +tower dominating its principal square. Bungalows +have been built there and gardens laid out, and +Sheikh Othman to-day presents quite a prosperous +appearance, though the less said about its inhabitants, +for the most part Arab dancing-girls, the better.</p> + +<p>Thus, then, the extent of territory in the possession +of the British Government in the vicinity of Aden +may be described as follows: Aden on the east, +Little Aden on the west, and an intermediate strip +along the north shore of the bay; the total area +forming some seventy square miles. Of these, Aden +alone is fortified.</p> + +<p>The peninsula is situated one hundred and twenty +miles from the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb, in latitude +12° 47′ N., and longitude 45° E. It is five miles in +length and three in breadth, and consists of hills of +bare grey-black rock, the highest of which, Jibel Sham-sham, +reaches an altitude of nearly eighteen hundred +feet above the sea-level. The volcanic origin of the +place is clearly demonstrated by the fact that there +exists a large crater, which, owing to the broken +spurs of rock by which it is surrounded, renders +a greater portion of the peninsula uninhabitable. +However, in such parts as are suitable for building +the most has been made, and an extraordinary +number of people find room to exist upon the barren +rock, which of itself produces none of the necessities +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[135]</span>of life. Including the population of Sheikh Othman, +the census return in 1891 was over thirty-eight +thousand, whereas at the time of the British conquest +in 1839 the population numbered only some six +thousand.</p> + +<p>The greater portion of the population consists of +Arabs and Somalis. The Arabs are for the most +part labourers, ship-coalers, and some shopkeepers +and traders. The Somalis prefer the lighter trade +of cab-driving, the rowing of small boats, and such +work. They seem perfectly incapable of stationary +labour, and unable to conquer their nomad traits. +Almost every nationality is found in Aden: besides +the Europeans there are Hindus, Parsees, Turks, +Egyptian Arabs, Persians, Chinese, Seedy boys, +Abyssinians, Jews, and many natives of India of +different types and classes. Principal amongst the +British Indian subjects are the Parsees, who act as +agents and shopkeepers, in which professions they +equal the meanness—or shall I call it business talent—of +the Jews. One sees them everywhere with their +long white flimsy garments and curious head-gear +resembling a coal-scuttle. They have brought to +Aden a spark of the ever-living fire of Bombay, and +have established themselves there with their temples +and womenfolk, and are annexing a very considerable +proportion of the trade.</p> + +<p>The peninsula of Aden boasts two towns and an +important village. The former are Aden proper, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[136]</span>situated on the level bottom of the crater, and +Tawahi, at Steamer Point, which contains some +seven hundred houses, inhabited for the most part +by those who gain a livelihood dependent upon the +shipping. The large town of Aden proper contains +some eighteen thousand inhabitants. The principal +village is Maala, where the native craft, strange +dhows and <i>bugalas</i>, anchor; and here nearly all the +native trade is shipped or landed, as the case may be.</p> + +<p>Before entering upon any description of Aden as it +appears to the traveller of to-day, it may be as well to +finish such statistics as are necessary here. First, as +to the anchorage that Aden affords to shipping. The +bay, which attains its greatest length almost due +east and west, consists of two distinct portions, the +inner and the outer harbour. The former, almost +landlocked, extends to a length of some five miles, +while the latter is the large portion lying between +Little Aden and Aden. The depth varies from three +to five fathoms in the western bay and at the +entrance, while a couple of miles outside ten and +twelve fathoms can be found. A small island in the +inner harbour, opposite Tawahi, serves the purpose of +a quarantine station. Very considerable improvements +have lately been carried out, and the depth of +certain anchorage in the inner bay successfully increased +by aid of a large dredger—a veritable eyesore +amongst the strange and picturesque native craft +with which at certain times the bay is crowded. The +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[137]</span>larger steamers, such as the P. and O. and the Messageries +Maritimes, lie at some distance from the shore, +toward the mouth of the harbour; but the British +India, Austrian Lloyd’s, and several other important +lines, bring their ships in close under Steamer Point. +This, however, is due to the fact that they usually +remain a longer time there, and that it affords them +greater and cheaper facilities for coaling.</p> + +<p>It is, of course, as a coaling-station that Aden is +most renowned. In 1891 some 165,000 tons were +imported, which, together with the other trade of the +colony, brings the value of imports and exports up +to a sum of over five millions sterling per annum. +What result the opening of the coaling-station on the +island of Perim may have on the coal trade of Aden +remains yet to be seen, but it seems improbable that, +as was said at the time, it will ever become a more +important place than the other.</p> + +<p>Apart from the commerce in coal, there is by no +means an unimportant trade carried on with the neighbouring +coasts of Arabia, the Persian Gulf, the Red +Sea, and the African coast. This is principally in the +hands of native merchants, and a very considerable +quantity of the cargo is transported in native sailing +craft. The chief articles are hides, coffee, feathers, +gums, dyes, spices and perfumes, silk, and mother-of-pearl +shells and ivory.</p> + +<p>The coffee trade which now finds its outlet at Aden +was formerly almost entirely in the hands of the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[138]</span>Mokha and Hodaidah merchants; but the former +town is now deserted, and the heavy dues of the +Turkish authorities at the latter have diverted a large +part of the coffee to Aden, a free port, although a +considerable amount is still shipped from Hodaidah +to Aden by sea. The coffee which reaches Aden +direct is brought down by caravan from the highlands +of the interior and sold to the Aden merchants. +A very considerable quantity is also brought across +from the African coast, shipped almost entirely from +Zeilah, one of the Somali ports, to which spot it is +brought on camels from the highlands of Harrar and +the Galla country, all of which is practically suitable +to the growth of the coffee tree, which necessitates a +high altitude above the level of the sea. The ostrich-feathers +are the produce of Somali and the Donakil +country. Mother-of-pearl shells are brought from the +Persian Gulf and the Red Sea fisheries, and ivory +from Somali-land and Abyssinia. The food for the +garrison is imported from the African coast and from +Arabia. Sheep and goats are weekly shipped in large +quantities from Berbera, Bulhar, and Zeilah; while +oxen, vegetables, fodder, and fuel are brought in by +camel-caravan from Lahej and the surrounding country.</p> + +<p>What, however, astonishes one about Aden is the +fact that it has no local industries. All skilled labour +has to be imported from China or India; while even +such simple trades as mat-making, boat-building, and +suchlike are almost neglected.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[139]</span></p> + +<p>The climate of Aden is by no means so bad as it is +generally described to be, and I believe that statistical +returns give a very fair average of health +there. The temperature for the whole year averages +about 85° Fahr. in the shade, the extremes being +72° and 102°. During my visit the thermometer +only once rose above 90°, and then only for a short +period, and once fell as low as 74°. The sky during +the winter months is unclouded, and the climate may +be said to be delightful, though great care must be +taken not to get chilled at sundown. Early in June +the south-west monsoon breaks. Damp and unpleasant +as this ocean wind may seem, it is the sole +cause that renders Aden inhabitable for Europeans +during the summer. The changes of the monsoon, +May and September, are the worst periods in the +year, the thermometer often varying only between +100° in the day and 90° at night! The rainfall of +Aden is very changeable, in some years rising to +eight inches, in others being only one-fourth of an +inch; but it is sufficient to keep alive a few plants, +that do their little best to break the monotony of +the dull rocks. After a shower the valleys sometimes +wear quite a green appearance, but as a rule +this does not last long, for the sun and dust soon +dry them up again. However, it is said that there +are no less than one hundred and thirty species, of +over forty different orders, the most common being +<i>Euphorbiaceæ</i>, the <i>Acacia eburnea</i>, <i>Caparidiciæ</i>, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[140]</span>and the lovely <i>Adenum obesum</i>. A few wild dogs, +jackals, and foxes can be found in the rocky valleys; +and birds are common—kites, hawks, flycatchers, +and wagtails being permanent residents, while many +species pay the place an occasional visit.⁠<a id="FNanchor_34" href="#Footnote_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></p> + +<p>Having thus briefly run through the statistics of +Aden to such an extent as I deem necessary for a +work of this kind, I will continue with the personal +narrative of my journey, and, having exhausted my +books of reference, describe Aden as it appeared +to me.</p> + +<p>I have said elsewhere that the terrible feeling of +oppression soon wears off, and that, after only a few +days’ residence in the place, one has forgotten how +truly desolate and dreary are the great brown peaks +that rear their heads so far above one on all sides. I +never was in a place that so shocks one at first, and +yet which one so quickly comes to like. It took only +a day or two to shake off the feeling of the hideous +barrenness of the place; and having made a few +friends, I soon began to perceive how charming life +can be made with all the disadvantages of such surroundings +and climate as Aden possesses.</p> + +<p>The club, the very verandahs of which are laved +by the sea-waves, is one of the best of its kind in the +East; and many a pleasant evening I spent there, +listening now and again to a military band which +once a-week discourses sweet music in its precincts. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[141]</span>Pleasantest amongst many pleasant recollections of +Aden is the kindness I was shown by all with whom +I came in contact—kindness that extended not only +to entertaining, but in rendering me great service in +arranging my journey into the interior of the Yemen. +I cannot here attempt to thank all those who took +pity on a stranger, but I must not pass on without +saying how grateful I am to General Jopp, H.M. +Political Resident, and to Colonel Stace, C.B., Assistant-Resident, +for their many kindnesses.</p> + +<p>As soon as I had settled in at my hotel and rested +a day to study my whereabouts, I set to work to see +the sights of the place. Fortunately they are not +very many, though some of them, such as the street +scenes in the bazaars, one can never tire of looking at. +Our hotel, too, was a “sight.” It was full of curiosities, +from the exceedingly stout and none too clean +Greek who kept the place, to the dirtiest of dirty +kitchens I ever saw. The centre courtyard, surrounded +by a rickety balcony, had once been used as +a <i>café-chantant</i>, and the stage and framework still +remained, festooned with cobwebs. Below, the Greek +kept a curiosity-shop, which seemed principally to +contain moth-eaten skins of what once may have been +wild beasts, and rusty Somali spears. His “Turkish +delight” was good. I found he sold it to my servant +at exactly half the price he charged me, so I made +Abdurrahman buy it in future, and between us and +Saïd, my Yemen man, we did a large business with +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[142]</span>him. However, on the whole, the place was inhabitable, +and in a climate like Aden one lives mostly out +of doors on the verandahs.</p> + +<p>My first stroll to see the sights was confined to the +little town of Tawahi, in which the hotel was situated, +and which is generally known under the more general +designation of Steamer Point. There is little to see +in this quarter, though a crowd of natives lying out +on their long wood-and-string beds in front of the +tiny <i>cafés</i>, smoking the murmuring hubble-bubble, +is always a picturesque sight. But it is only in +the back streets that one finds this, the front of the +town being faced with what is called Prince of Wales +Crescent—in other words, a semicircle of ill-built +stucco houses, with the exception of the handsome +offices of Messrs Luke, Thomas, & Co., to whose +representative, Mr Vidal, I am under many obligations +for kindness. Facing these hideosities of houses +is an open sandy space, in which a few young palm-trees, +caged and coddled, were trying to grow. A +row of black palings divides this sandy space from +the beach. A hideous cab-stand of galvanised iron +roofing does not add to the picturesqueness of the +scene; nor, for the matter of that, does the thin filmy +coal-dust that so often floats upon the breeze, to dirty +one’s white clothes and render life gritty and unbearable. +Yet in spite of this depressing view—in spite +of the bare rocks that rise above the town—all my +recollections of Tawahi are pleasant.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[143]</span></p> + +<p>Having explored this little township, which can be +done comfortably in half an hour, I entered upon a +longer undertaking,—I chartered a rickety conveyance +and drove to Aden proper. The town lies in the +centre of the crater of an extinct volcano, and one +cannot help thinking how unpleasant it would be for +the inhabitants did the eruption that must once have +taken place recommence.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp56" id="illus05" style="max-width: 23.4375em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus05.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Main Pass, Aden.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Driving from Steamer Point to Aden, a distance of +some four or five miles, is by no means an exciting +process, although one’s nerves are kept in constant +tension by the extraordinary evolutions of the cab, +and the thought that at any moment it may fall to +pieces—ditto the pony, which a Somali jehu on the +box causes by aid of his whip to keep up to a gallop. +Through the pass of Hedfaf, along the flat that leads +to the village of Maala—its harbour crowded with +native craft, while Arab sailors sit mending the sails +on the beach—away up the winding road to the Main +Pass, a zigzag cutting between high walls of rock, then +down again, until, issuing from the tunnel-like pass, +one sees the town of Aden before one’s eyes—a great +white block, broken up by the streets that run at +right angles to one another, and disfigured by hideous +barracks and Government offices. The plain in which +the town lies, being in reality the floor of the crater, +is almost a circle, from which torn and ragged spurs +of rock rise on all sides, except where through a gap +one can catch a glimpse of the sea and Seerah island, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[144]</span>until they join in the peaks of Sham-sham and its +neighbours. There is but little to attract the eye +about the desolate prospect, except the relief afforded +by the clean white town. Away on one of the hill-tops +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[145]</span>stands a tower. Like the Towers of Silence at Bombay, +it serves as the scene of the strange funeral rites +of the Parsees; and here the birds of prey congregate +to devour the corpse, too impure to defile fire or earth +or water.</p> + +<p>But the sight of all Aden is the tanks. I remember +long before I visited Aden listening one evening +during a long sea-voyage to an old ship’s-carpenter +discoursing on the Bible. “The Garden of Eden!” +he said; “why, of course it’s true! It’s Aden to-day, +and there’s the tanks to prove it. I seed ’em with +my own eyes.” However, in spite of the dear old +man’s religious beliefs being strengthened by having +seen the famous Aden tanks, I fear they can claim no +such antiquity as that with which he connected them. +In all probability these great reservoirs were built at +the time of the second Persian invasion, in the seventh +century <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> In this case the tanks at Aden are +much later in date than many of those existing in +Southern Arabia, of which the most important was, +without doubt, the great dam of Mareb, or Sheba as +we know it. Although I was not fortunate enough +in my travels in the Yemen to be able to reach the +ruins of this extraordinary work, I think that a few +words upon the subject may not be out of place here.</p> + +<p>The dam of Mareb was built probably some 1700 +years <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> by Lokman the Adite, though some authorities +attribute its construction to Abd esh-shems, father +of Himyar, founder of the Himyaric dynasty, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[146]</span>great-grandson of Kahtan—Joktan of the Hebrew +Scriptures. Monsieur d’Arnaud, who visited Saba in +1843, describes the ruins of the dam. He says that +it consisted of an enormous wall, two miles long and +one hundred and seventy-five paces wide, connecting +two hills. Dikes allowed the water to escape for +the irrigation of the plain below. These openings +are at different levels, so as to render practicable +a supply of water at whatever height the contents +of the reservoir might stand. The destruction of +this great work took place probably about a hundred +years after the birth of Christ; but although +the catastrophe is referred to in the Koran, no certain +date can be affixed to its occurrence. The fact that it +stood the enormous pressure of water which must +have constantly been present for some seventeen +hundred years, testifies to the immensity and solidity +of its construction.</p> + +<p>The tanks at Aden cannot, of course, compare with +the dam of Mareb, yet they are in their way colossal +undertakings, and the labour and time expended in +their construction must have been enormous. They +number about fifty altogether, and if in working +order, would be capable of holding upwards of thirty +million gallons. We know that at the time of the +invasion of Raïs Suleiman in 1538, the inhabitants +of Aden were entirely dependent upon these great +cisterns for their water-supply. On Captain Haines +visiting Aden in 1835, he found several of the tanks +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[147]</span>in use, but many were filled up with the <i>debris</i> that +the torrents had washed from the mountains above.</p> + +<p>In 1856 the restoration of the tanks was commenced, +and now thirteen are in working order, capable of +holding nearly eight million gallons of water. Their +site is well chosen. They lie above the town, immediately +under the high rocks that form the foot +of Jibel Sham-sham, and in such a position that all +the drainage of the rain-water is accumulated into +channels, and poured into the succession of cisterns +that lie one above another.</p> + +<p>The tanks are formed in various ways: some are cut +into the solid bed of the rock, which is covered with a +hard polished cement; others are dams built across the +ravine; while a third variety of shape is formed by +angles in the precipices being made use of, two of the +walls of the cistern perhaps being the natural stone, +and the others formed of masonry. The upper tanks +are the first filled, the lower for the most part being +supplied from the overflow of those above. In spite +of the enormous space to contain the water and the +slight rainfall of Aden, a series of heavy showers will +not only fill the tanks, but cause an overflow stream +of such bulk that very considerable damage has at +times been caused by it, as it poured along its channel +through the town to the sea.</p> + +<p>It was upon these tanks and a few poor wells that +Aden at one time depended entirely for water, until +in fact, in the fifteenth century, when Abdul Wahab +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[148]</span>constructed the aqueduct that brought water from Bir +Ahmed into the town.</p> + +<p>Beyond these tanks there is but little to see of the +long-past glories of old Aden; nor have the Arabs displayed +in their modern buildings, with the exception +of one decorative mosque, any attempt at architectural +beauty. Mons. de Merveille, who visited Aden in +1708, has left a description of the ruins of wonderful +marble baths that he saw at that time; but no remains +of these are known to exist to-day, nor is there any +trace of the mosque built by Yasir or the pulpit of +the Day Imran. In fact, beyond the tanks, its historical +traditions, and the strange peoples who flock +its streets, Aden can claim but little to interest the +traveller.</p> + +<p>What a sight the bazaars of Aden present of an +evening! Often and often I would drive out just to +spend the last hour or two of daylight in idly sauntering +through its streets. What strange peoples are to +be seen there! Indians gorgeous in scarlet and gold +and tinsel; Somalis in their plain white <i>tobes</i>, their +hair left long and hanging like the cords of a Russian +poodle on either side of their heads, and often their +raven locks are dyed a strange brick-dust red colour +by a clay they smear over them; Arabs, too, with long +black silky curls bursting from under their small turbans, +nude fellows, except for their loin-cloth of native-dyed +indigo cotton, the colour of which clings to their +copper skins with strange effect; creeping, crawling +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[149]</span>Jews; niggers from Zanzibar; Persians and Arabs +from Bagdad; Parsees and Greeks.</p> + +<p>Then is the time, when the heat of the day is over, +to seek some <i>café</i> at the corner of a street, and watch +the people pass. Here at a table four Somali warriors, +glorious in their very blackness, are playing dominoes +with the manners of <i>bourgeois</i> on the boulevards; +there a group of Arabs are chatting over a hubble-bubble +pipe, the mouthpiece of which they pass one +to another, over cups of the husks of the coffee-berry, +their favourite beverage.</p> + +<p>Great strings of camels pass and repass in the +street. Rickety cabs rattle along, the drivers calling +to the crowd to make way; and throughout the whole +permeates Tommy Atkins, sublime in his self-consciousness, +and a very good fellow withal. Ay, the +bazaars of an evening are a sight to be seen,—a collection +of strange peoples, only to be equalled perhaps +on the bridge between Stamboul and Galata at +Constantinople.</p> + +<p>There remains but one more sight to see in Aden, +the tunnel that connects the town with the isthmus, +and which passes under the Munsoorie hills. This +excavation is three hundred and fifty yards in length, +and is lit throughout with artificial lights. It is sufficiently +high and wide to allow of carriage and caravan +traffic. A second tunnel connects two separate portions +of the isthmus lines.</p> + +<p>Immense improvements have lately been carried +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[150]</span>out in the fortifications of Aden, and during the time +of the writer’s visit several new forts were being +erected. There is no doubt that the strategic position +of the peninsula justifies a large expenditure upon its +defences. The immense value it would prove in time +of war as a coaling-station cannot be overrated. At +the present period its garrison consists of the Aden +troop of cavalry, three batteries of the Royal Artillery, +one regiment of British infantry, one regiment of +native infantry, and one company of sappers; while +in the bay lies a gunboat and a transport steamer of +the Indian marine. The troops are spread over the +peninsula, the cavalry having lines on the isthmus +itself. Altogether, when the new fortifications are +completed, Aden may be said to be, both as regards +its defensive powers and in its commercial character, +one of the most successful spots in the world.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[151]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_II_CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.<br> +<span class="smaller">ADEN TO LAHEJ.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>With the kind aid of friends at Aden, my preparations +were easily made for my journey into the +Yemen—far more easily, in fact, than I had been led +to suppose would have been the case. Everywhere +in the bazaar were rumours of the rebellion still +raging in the interior—vague rumours, the truth of +which it was almost impossible to gather; while, more +dispiriting still, there was the fact that for several +months no caravans had arrived from any distance +in the interior, while those which came from Lahej +and the surrounding country brought tidings, by no +means reassuring, of the impassable state of the +roads in the interior, and the constant depredations +of the turbulent tribes, who were taking advantage of +the serious political troubles to enrich themselves by +robbery and plunder. Added to this, I was warned +by several European merchants and traders that even +in times of peace it was an almost impossible task to +enter the Yemen from Aden. One and all advised +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[152]</span>my proceeding to Hodaidah, and from there attempting +the road to Sanaa. In spite of this, I decided +otherwise. My reasons were these. Hodaidah being +the nearest port to the capital, and the principal sea-port +of the Yemen, it would be only natural to find +there great activity on the part of the Turkish officials,—an +activity that would not only prevent my being +allowed to pass along the well-watched road, but +would also probably put the Turks upon the look-out +in other quarters. It may seem strange to the +reader that any great difficulties should be put in my +way; but so serious had been the rebellion, and to +such an extent had false reports been spread from +Constantinople concerning it, that the officials were +determined if possible not to allow the truth of what +really had been and was taking place to leak out. +There were at this time, with the exception of a few +traders at Hodaidah, absolutely no Europeans in the +Yemen; for one scarcely counts the Greek shopkeepers +to be found in all the large towns as any +but natives, to so great an extent do they assimilate +themselves to the customs and manners of the +country. I knew, then, that did I attempt to reach +Sanaa from Hodaidah, and should I fail, as most +probably would be the case, my chance of proceeding +into the country from any other quarter would be +practically at an end. It was for this reason that I +decided to make Aden my starting-point; and should +I be unfortunate in my journey thence, to fall back +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[153]</span>as a last hope upon Hodaidah. This, happily, I was +not obliged to do; for my plans, as will be seen, +were successful.</p> + +<p>But there were several other matters to be thought +over besides this. Granting that I could reach the +capital of the Yemen from Aden, how could I best do +so with tolerable safety? Here my experiences in +Morocco stood me in good stead. My first idea had +been to purchase my camels, but on second thoughts +I decided not to do so. Not only would my camels +tempt the tribes through whose lands I would have +to pass to robbery, but even the native Arabs I +might hire as guides to go with me might not prove +indisposed to relieve me of two or three valuable +beasts of burden. It would be safer far, I argued, +to hire my beasts, as in that case it would be to the +advantage of my men to see that not only I myself +but also my baggage-animals would arrive at their +destination in safety. How, then, to find the right +men and animals without spreading the fact all over +the bazaars that a mad Englishman wanted to go to +Sanaa, in spite of dangers and the rebellion? I had +recourse to Messrs Cowasjee, Dinshaw, & Co., a great +house of Parsee merchants, and through them was +put into communication with an Arab trader. This +gentleman I called upon, and found exceedingly +pleasant; and more than that, I found that he understood +perfectly my North-African Arabic, and that +his educated Yemen dialect was comprehensible to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[154]</span>myself. I unfolded to him, over coffee, my plans, +with which he seemed not a little amused. He told +me in return to leave everything to him, and to appear +again at his house the following afternoon. This I +did, and after coffee and preliminary remarks he +introduced to me a strange character, an Arab of +the mountains of Yemen, a man of something under +forty years of age, framed like an Apollo, lithe and +beautiful. I must give a few words of description of +this strange creature. Tall, lithe, and exquisitely +built, his skin of dull copper hue showed off the +perfect moulding of his limbs. Over his shoulders +on either side hung loose black wavy curls, standing +out like the wigs of the old Egyptians. Except for a +loin-cloth of native indigo workmanship, and a small +blue turban, almost lost in the spreading masses of +raven hair that burst from beneath its folds, he was +naked. Here and there his flesh had taken the dye +from his blue raiment, giving it a strange blue tint. +Tucked into his girdle was a dagger—<i>jambiya</i>—of +exquisite Yemen silver-work; while round his left +arm hung a long circular silver box containing some +charm. In features he was extraordinarily handsome. +The brow was high, the eyebrows arched, the +eyes almond-shaped and brilliant, his nose aquiline +and thin. Added to this a fine firm mouth, the +upper lip closely shaven, while on the point of his +chin he wore a small pointed beard about an inch in +length. A strange contrast he was to my Arab host, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[155]</span>an elderly highly respectable-looking merchant, with +eyelids darkened with antimony—<i>kohl</i> the Arabs +call it—and his grey beard dyed a shade between +saffron and salmon-pink. An enormous turban was +balanced on his closely shaven head, and he was +habited in robes of yellow and green.</p> + +<p>Coffee being brought for our half-nude guest, we +began to talk matters over, with the result that for +an absurdly small sum my new-found friend undertook +to deliver me safely in Sanaa. At all my questions +about the road he laughed. Somehow he had +such an air of sincerity about him that I trusted him +from the very first, nor was I wrong. “You have +nothing to do or say,” he said, smiling; “only bring +your baggage here the day you want to start, and I will +see to the rest.” In half an hour it was all arranged. +Three camels were to take me and my servants, and, +after a certain distance, when, in fact, we entered the +highlands, they would be changed for mules. As to +guides and men, I had nothing to do with them. +There would be always enough animals to carry my +scanty baggage, my servants Abdurrahman and Saïd, +and myself. “When will you be ready?” asked the +Arab, rising to leave. “To-morrow,” I replied, expecting +to be met with excuses for so hurried a +departure. But no; and half an hour later I was +rattling back to Steamer Point in the wheeziest old +ghary that ever existed, with a fat pony galloping +ahead and an excited Somali jehu on the box.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[156]</span></p> + +<p>It did not take long to make my preparations, and +these over, I turned into bed in a fever of delight +at the idea of getting away. At dawn I was up. +I knew it was hopeless to attempt an early start, +so, having seen all my baggage put in order—it consisted +of only a sack of clothing and a mattress and +blanket, a couple of saucepans, a kettle, and a few +stores mixed up with the clothes—I turned in again.</p> + +<p>About nine I dressed; and as there were no signs +of anything or anybody, I sat down impatiently to +wait until something should happen. At length Abdurrahman, +my faithful Moor, who had come with +me from Morocco especially to make this journey, +appeared. His only fault is that, when he is particularly +wanted, he is sure to have found some place as +difficult to discover as the North Pole in which to +oversleep himself. He was followed an hour or so +later by Saïd, clad in new raiment, gay as the sunshine, +and not the least ashamed of himself for being +so terribly unpunctual. However, one could not be +angry with this butterfly, who, from his mass of wavy +black hair to the soles of his leather sandals, was a +picture of dandyism. Often and often in the marches +before me Saïd’s bright cheery manner and ingenuous +narration of his conquests amongst the female sex +kept us, tired and weary as we were, in shouts of +laughter. He was as good as mortal man could be +when once we had torn him away from the fascinations +of Aden, his earthly paradise.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[157]</span></p> + +<p>At length, collecting the men and the baggage into +a couple of gharies, we set out for Aden proper, the +old fat Greek who kept the hotel waving his hand to +me, and wishing me all good-fortune as we drove away.</p> + +<p>At the other end, of course, all the worry commenced +again. However, there was nothing to do but +to bear it patiently. First, no signs of men or camels. +At length, after much searching, we captured the +beautiful Arab of the previous afternoon; and, never +letting him out of our sight, we at length ran our +camels to earth in a back-yard. Leaving Abdurrahman +to watch the luggage and the camels, Saïd and I +sauntered out to do our last shopping. The heat was +terrific, but even my impatience did not ruffle Saïd’s +equanimity. He seemed to have a smile and a few +words to say to every one he met, and, added to this, +he insisted on bargaining for a considerable period of +time over every item of our purchasing; and if at +length he could not beat the shopman sufficiently low +down, he would saunter off to another shop, and commence +the whole business over again. It was exasperating!</p> + +<p>At last everything was completed, said Saïd, and +we turned back once more in the direction of our +camel-yard. Abdurrahman, wearied with waiting, had +gone off to a <i>café</i> to have a cup of coffee with the +camel-men! I sent Saïd to find them. In about an +hour Abdurrahman and the men returned, not having +seen Saïd, who presently came smiling in, gay as a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[158]</span>singing-bird, with the excuse that he had forgotten +to say good-bye to one of his lady-loves, whose beauty +he began to sing in flowery praises until I peremptorily +silenced him.</p> + +<p>Then they loaded the camels. I sat by and +watched, wondering what we could have forgotten. +Saïd presently was struck with a bright idea, and +before I could seize him had fled to buy a jar of ghee, +or rancid butter, for our cooking on the road. Pursuit +was hopeless, but at last I could wait no longer. +Fortune favoured me, and I found him. He had, so +far, forgotten all about the ghee, and was testing the +smoking capabilities of a quantity of hubble-bubble +pipes, one of which I purchased, and which I found +to be a veritable passport on my journey. Then off +he went to buy the ghee, the pipe under his arm; but +I accompanied him, and brought him safely back +again.</p> + +<p>With a sigh of delight I watched the camels laden +with my baggage saunter off with slouching gait out +of the yard and along the yellow dusty road, followed +by the men. Half an hour later we drove out +through the Main Pass gate of Aden, down the +steep winding hill, and along the isthmus, to join +our baggage-animals at the village of Sheikh Othman, +on the mainland.</p> + +<p>It was almost sunset, and grand and beautiful the +jagged outline of Aden looked as we left it behind. +The bay, placid as glass, reflected the great rock, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[159]</span>the ships that lay so peacefully upon its motionless +waters. The sky, a mass of primrose yellow, still +trembled with the heat of the afternoon sun. Far +away beyond the crowded masts of the native craft, +Little Aden, rival of its sister rock, rose a pale +mauve against the sky. Then the sun set, and our +cab came to a standstill with a jerk that threatened +to break it to atoms; while our Somali driver, good +Moslem that he was, alighted to pray. The air was +fresh and cool, and we descended for a few seconds +to stretch our limbs. One could not help thinking +of the strange mixture of the past and the present. +This grand lithe figure rising and falling in prayer, +now upright with outstretched hands, now prostrate +with his forehead on the ground, seemed like some +memory of the long dead glories of Islam, whereas +he was in reality only a cab-driver.</p> + +<p>On again, on over the level plain where many +an army has met and fought over the possession +of the barren rock we were leaving behind us, until +in the fading of the after-glow we drew up in the +quiet square of Sheikh Othman.</p> + +<p>I was intensely happy. A feeling of exhilaration +at the journey before me ran through my being—and +we were really started! I could not let the +Somali driver go back, so I paid him for his stabling +for the night, and dragged him off to the little <i>café</i> +where my camels and men were resting; and here +we, Arabs and Moor, Somali and Englishman, calling +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[160]</span>“Bismillah”⁠<a id="FNanchor_35" href="#Footnote_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> together, sat down to our humble repast +of fowl and coffee.</p> + +<p>But I could not sit still. I longed for the rising +of the moon to start again, and under the guidance +of my great Arab friend, set out to wander through +the half-deserted streets. From time to time one +could catch a glimpse into the <i>cafés</i> of which Sheikh +Othman principally consists, filled with dusky Arabs +and laughing women, many dancing in the circles of +their admirers, for the little town is given over to +pleasure. And as an echo to the music, one heard +the soft gurgle of the hubble-bubble pipes, the grey +fumes of which filled the air of the houses with hazy +indistinctness. On we walked between the high +walls of gardens, out on to the desert, to where, +in its little grove of palm-trees, stands the tomb +of the patron saint, Sheikh Othman, with its domes +and its mosque and strange tower of sun-dried bricks. +This tomb it is that gives the name to the little +town.</p> + +<p>The moon was rising, so we hurried back to the +<i>café</i>, and after a final smoke and a cup of the +steaming coffee, we loaded our camels, and bidding +farewell to our Somali guest, prepared to start. +Then I found that my Yemen Apollo was not +coming with us. I was sorry at this, but it could +not be helped: as long as the men who were to +accompany me were <i>his</i> men, I had nought to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[161]</span>fear. So I bade him adieu, and mounting my camel, +was lifted into the air, and set out. Abdurrahman +and Saïd followed my example, and, accompanied +by three strange dusky men, we wended our way +through the quiet squares and streets out into the +desert beyond.</p> + +<p>Twice had the village and fort of Sheikh Othman +been destroyed by British troops before, in order to +extend our frontier in that direction. The place, +and a little of the surrounding country, including Bir +Ahmed, were purchased by the British Government +from Sultan Ali of Lahej. So diplomatically are +affairs to-day managed in Aden, that not only does +Sheikh Othman enjoy immunity from plunder and +robbery, but the whole caravan-roads passing over +the wide strip of country in the Abdali, Aloui, and +Dhala country are in a condition of complete tranquillity, +and almost absolutely safe for native caravans.</p> + +<p>Out into the desert, with slow patient gait, passed +our camels. What a wonderful night it was! I had +seen the desert before in other lands, but never to +compare to this. In Egypt the nights are cold; here +a soft balmy breeze bore on its wings the scent +of the mimosa bushes, which dotted the sandy surface. +A heavy dew was falling, and seemed to +awake every drop of fragrance of the little yellow +fluffy buds. Above us a sapphire sky, brilliant with +stars and moonlight. Around us miles upon miles +of sandy plain, shimmering silver. Beyond the humming +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[162]</span>of the insects there was not a sound except the +thud-thud of our camels’ soft feet upon the softer +sand. So still, so tranquil it all seemed, that one +scarcely dared to breathe. One felt that one was +passing through some strange dreamland, whose +earth was silver sprinkled with sapphires, whose +heavens were sapphires dotted with diamonds.</p> + +<p>Those who have not known the nights of the +desert can never realise them. It passes the pen +of man to describe. It is like the periods in fever +when the fever leaves one, for it is these nights that +nature has given us in compensation for the burning, +scorching days. It was but the first of my night-marches—there +were many more to come; yet I +never tired of them. The rhythmic gait of the +camel, the gliding along under the myriads of stars, +never wearied me. One could not weary of anything +so surpassingly beautiful.</p> + +<p>At a spot, irrecognisable in the desert, our men +shouted to the camels to lie down, and we dismounted. +Saïd spread my carpet, while the Bedouins collected +the dry mimosa twigs, and by the light of the little +fire they lit I could see my camels regaling themselves +with evident relish on the dry bushes, the +thorns of which were an inch or two in length. Then +commenced the drinking of coffee, and the gurgle +of the hubble-bubble, until, calling to the grunting +animals again, we loaded our camels and set out.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp08" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp08.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>PALACE OF THE SULTAN OF LAHEJ.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>As early dawn began to tint the eastern sky we +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[163]</span>entered the oasis in which Howta, the capital of the +Sultan of Lahej, is situated. The aspect of the +country completely changed. In place of the pale +yellow sand, dotted with stunted bushes, there were +wide fields of durra, or millet, growing in all the +luxury of a damp tropical soil. The fields are divided +from one another by hedges of rank vegetation, and +little channels, here above the level of the surrounding +land, here running in and out amongst the durra +stalks, supplied unlimited water to the crops. From +amidst the tangled mass of dazzling green rise palm-trees, +many of them hung with trailing creepers.</p> + +<p>Here and there grazed the pretty humped cattle of +Southern Arabia, tended by nude boys and girls, +who shyly watched the Christian passing by on the +back of his camel. And then the town—the great +mud-built city of Howta, full of wild-looking Arabs, +and dogs, and fever, the palace of the Sultan dominating +the whole, and having the appearance that +at any moment it might slide down, and crush the +houses and huts and hovels around it.</p> + +<p>Under the guidance of my Bedouins we put up at +a small native <i>café</i>, preferring to be at our ease rather +than to have to enjoy the hospitality of the Sultan, +to whom, thanks to Colonel Stace, the Political Resident +at Aden, I bore letters of recommendation. We +easily made an arrangement to reserve the entire +accommodation of the <i>café</i> to our personal use, and +spreading the carpet and mattress, I settled in for an +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[164]</span>hour’s rest. The place in which we had taken up +our quarters consisted of a yard enclosed in a high +hedge of impenetrable thorns, forming a zareba. At +one end was a large mud-brick room, thatched with +rough matting, as was also a verandah in front of it. +Besides this, the guest-chamber, there were one or +two poor huts of mats in which quite a number of +families seemed to exist. What with goats, and dogs, +and fowls, and children, and fleas, the place was +lively. A funny group we must have made, my +men and I; but I had discarded my hat for a <i>tarboosh</i>, +or fez cap, as less likely to attract attention in +travelling. It is curious the part the hat plays between +Moslems and Christians. Apparently to them +it is the outward and visible sign of the infidel, for +as soon as one has changed it for their own more +simple head-gear their fanaticism diminishes to an +incredible extent. Of all European clothing, the hat +forms the greatest barrier to confidential intercourse +between Arab and Christian, and one of the names +in common use in North Africa for Europeans is “the +fathers of hats.”</p> + +<p>We had not been very long ensconced in our new +quarters when a gaudy creature came to call. Apparently, +from the number of weapons he bore, he +was a sort of armorial clothes-peg. In fact, his +whole costume consisted more of swords and daggers +than it did of clothing, while a long spear added +to the general effect. His wavy hair hung on either +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[165]</span>side of his face in flowing curls, and his arms were +encircled above the elbow with silver chains, bearing +charms and boxes containing mystic writings. He +shook hands as though he had known me all his +life, and sat down with a crash of his weapons +that reminded one of the fall of a coal-scuttle. +Coffee was soon prepared, and the hubble-bubble, +murmuring away in a corner in the possession of +Saïd, who had already changed his clothes and +brushed out his curly locks, was handed from mouth +to mouth. After a while my guest announced that +he had been sent by his lord and master, the Sultan, +to wish me welcome, and invited me to proceed at +once to the palace.</p> + +<p>Before, however, I tell of my interview with +Sultan Ali Mhasen, some little account of Lahej and +its rulers is necessary.</p> + +<p>The tribe of Abdali, the inhabitants of Lahej, +share with the Subaiha, Foudtheli, and Houshabi, +the possession of the south-west coast of Arabia, +from the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb, the gate of tears, +to nearly one hundred miles east of Aden, and +reaching inland an average distance of, roughly, +some fifty miles. Of these, the Subaiha are the +most warlike, being of a more distinctly wandering +nature than the others; while, on the contrary, the +Abdali tribe to whom Aden once belonged, whose +capital is to-day Howta, are the richest and +most peaceful, their habitations being fixed abodes, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[166]</span>except in the case of such as are shepherds, and are +thus necessitated to change their pasturage. As I +have already said, the town of Howta lies in a +great oasis, supplied with water from rivers flowing +from the highlands farther inland. This oasis is +richly cultivated, the principal products being durra—<i>jowaree</i> +the natives call it—cotton, and sesamum, +and more especially vegetables and fodder for the +Aden market. Besides palms, there are several +other varieties, one a luxuriant shade-giving tree, +called by the natives <i>b’dam</i>, of which a fine specimen +can be seen close to the precincts of the +Sultan’s palace. The soil produces no less than +three crops in the year, the climate being almost +equable.</p> + +<p>The town of Howta is situated some twenty-seven +miles north-west of Aden, and extends over a large +area. There is no possibility of obtaining any +certain estimate of the number of its population, +which probably reaches as many as ten or fifteen +thousand, what with Arabs, Jews, a few natives of +India, and a considerable number of Somalis. The +extreme heat and dampness of the climate render +the place too feverish to allow of Europeans residing +there with any safety, and even a sojourn of +a few days is generally sufficient to bring on an +attack of malaria. The water, too, is very bad, and +officers going to shoot there from Aden are warned +to carefully avoid it.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[167]</span></p> + +<p>Although the present state of the territory of +the Sultan of Lahej is one of tolerable peace and +security, throughout all the history of Southern +Arabia one finds it appearing and reappearing as +the scene of battles and plots and assassinations. +After the terrible massacre of its inhabitants by +Ali ibn Mehdi in the twelfth century, it was several +times taken and retaken, and the atrocious acts of +cruelty of one, at least, of its conquerors, are recorded +by historians. Omitting the many consequent +attacks and wars which took place within +its territory, we find it for five months of the year +1753 held by the rebel Abd er-Rabi, during which +period Aden existed in a state of blockade. However, +it was before this period that the present +reigning family had obtained possession of the +throne, their founder and first Sultan, ruling over +Aden as well as the surrounding country, being +Foudthel ibn Ali ibn Foudthel ibn Sáleh ibn Salem +el-Abdali, who in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 1728 threw off his allegiance +to the Imam of Sanaa, and declared himself an independent +ruler. Again, in 1771 Lahej was besieged, +this time by the Azaiba tribe, who succeeded, however, +in holding it only for the period of two days. +Notwithstanding, in a history otherwise consisting +almost entirely of massacres, wars, and murders, we +have here and there a glimpse of a happier state of +affairs, such as the sumptuous entertaining by the +then Sultan of Aden and Lahej of the British troops +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[168]</span>after the evacuation of Perim in 1799. Mr Salt, +in his work entitled ‘A Voyage to Abyssinia,’ and +published in London in 1814, gives a most charming +account of the then Sultan Ahmed, and Abou Bekr, +his representative in Aden. Wellsted also refers to +this Sultan as a remarkable instance of an Arab +chief whose great desire seemed to be to further +trade and receive foreign Mahammedan merchants +as residents into his country. His friendship toward +the British is attested in many works and accounts +of his estimable policy and sagacity. He died in +1827.</p> + +<p>I have already described elsewhere the shipwreck +of the Deria Dowlat in 1836, which ended in the +taking of Aden in 1839 by the British troops. In +1849 a treaty was engaged upon between the Sultan +of Lahej and the British Government (as to trade, +&c.), and with several ratifications and alterations the +treaty still exists. The Sultan receives a monthly +stipend from the British, or rather the Indian, Government, +for protecting the trade-routes which pass +through his country, and also certain other payments +in return for the ceding of Sheikh Othman and other +spots nearer Aden. In all, the Sultan draws a very +considerable sum from the Aden treasury <i>per mensem</i>.</p> + +<p>Having said all that is necessary, perhaps, in a work +which has as little pretensions to being a history as +this has, on the general history of Lahej, I will resume +the narrative of my story at the spot where, under the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[169]</span>guidance of the gorgeous and muchly-armed soldier, I +was escorted to the palace.</p> + +<p>This building is a huge block of houses, built +entirely of sun-dried mud-bricks, but plastered and +decorated to such an extent as to give it the appearance +of being of much greater solidity than a large +hole here and there in the wall points out to be really +the case. The principal building is covered with +domes and cupolas, with the effect of a conglomeration +of a cheap Italian villa and a stucco Constantinople +mosque. However, from a distance the place +has a very imposing look, and so large is it that on +clear days it is visible from Aden. It is not until one +approaches it closely that one discovers the incompetency +with which it is built; for pretentious as it +is, there are places where quite large portions of the +mud-brick walls have come away, and at one spot one +obtained an excellent view of the interior of a room +on the first floor through one of these enormous gaps.</p> + +<p>Passing through a large courtyard, we entered by a +small door, and after ascending a rough staircase, and +wandering along intricate passages, found ourselves +in the presence of Ali Mhasen el-Abdali, Sultan of +Lahej. The room in which the Sultan was seated was +a large square chamber. A heavy beam of carved +teak-wood ran down the centre of the ceiling, supported +on pillars of the same material. The floor was +richly carpeted in oriental rugs, and silk divans were +arranged along the walls. Light was admitted by +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[170]</span>large windows, over the lower portion of which was +trellis-work. At one corner of the room sat a group +of men, some five or six in all; while on a table close +by were three handsome silver hubble-bubble pipes +from Hyderabad, tended and kept alight by a half-nude +Arab in a blue loin-cloth.</p> + +<p>As I entered and kicked off my slippers—for having +so far resorted to oriental ways as to adopt the +<i>tarboosh</i>, or fez, I held also to their custom of not +walking on their carpets in boots—one of the group +rose to meet me. He was a stout elderly man, with +a kindly pleasing expression, dark in colour; and +although not strictly handsome, he possessed a +manner, common to most Orientals of position, that +could not fail to charm. Grasping me by the hand, +he led me to the divan, where I seated myself beside +him, and, salutations over, proffered me the amber +mouthpiece of his pipe and a bunch of <i>kat</i>, a shrub to +which the Yemenis are much addicted. This plant is +known to us as the <i>Catha edulis</i>. It resembles +rather a young arbutus in the form and shape of its +leaves. The leaves are eaten green, growing on the +stalk, and are said to cause a delightful state of wakefulness. +The taste is bitter and by no means pleasant, +though one easily accustoms one’s self to eating it. +An amusing remark was made by my Moorish servant +in the presence of the Sultan which tickled the old +gentleman exceedingly. He held out to Abdurrahman +a bunch of <i>kat</i>, which he politely refused. When +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[171]</span>asked by the Sultan why, he naively replied, “That +is what the goats eat in my country,” thinking it to +be the common arbutus of Morocco. In Yemen it is +considered a necessary luxury; and as it only grows +in certain parts of the country, where it is carefully +cultivated, and has to be transported often a long +distance, it fetches a high price. That we ate with +the Sultan of Lahej had been brought some forty +miles or more that very morning, for it must be eaten +fresh.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp96" id="fp09" style="max-width: 156.0em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp09.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>MY RECEPTION BY THE SULTAN OF LAHEJ.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Sitting next to the Sultan was a Shereef, a +descendant of the Prophet in other words, a tall +handsome young man, clean shaven, and richly +dressed. A gold dagger of great antiquity that he +wore in his belt, and which he kindly showed to me, +was as perfect a thing of its kind as it has ever been +my lot to set eyes upon. The Sultan himself was +robed in a long loose outer garment of dull olive-green, +displaying a <i>kuftan</i> beneath of yellow-and-white +striped silk, fastened at the waist by a coloured +sash. On his head he wore a large yellow silk turban, +surrounded by a twisted cord of black camel’s hair +and gold thread.</p> + +<p>The hubble-bubble was a sore trial. I was gradually, +under the guidance of Saïd, learning to inhale it; +but to have constantly to fill my lungs with the strong +smoke was by no means a pleasant task to a novice +like myself. The inhaling, even through water, of the +tobacco used in these pipes is by no means a thing +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[172]</span>one can easily accustom one’s self to, and for a long +time a whiff too many will bring on giddiness. However, +so attentive was the Sultan in handing me the +amber mouthpiece that I stuck bravely to the task, +although by the time I left I felt a sensation of incipient +<i>mal de mer</i> in a rocking-chair or the car of a +balloon. As much of the smoke seems to go to the +brain as does into the lungs. What with the pipe +and the <i>kat</i>, and the declining of Arabic irregular +verbs in a dialect I scarcely knew, I was not sorry +when, after an hour or so of conversation and agony, +I was allowed to leave. Nevertheless, I had enjoyed +my visit to the Sultan Ali, whom I found to be +a pleasant-spoken kindly old gentleman, extremely +fond of showing off various treasures he possesses, +amongst which is a unique sword of Bagdad work, said +to be eight hundred years old. Through the blade +is bored a hole, which the Sultan explained to me +was the mark that it had taken over a hundred lives. +From the condition of the steel it might have been +made yesterday, and would be quite capable of taking +a hundred more. During my visit I had been watched +with great interest by two of the Sultan’s children, a +little boy and girl, who, contrary to Arab customs, +were present all the time. They were pretty dark-skinned +little things—the boy nude except for his +loin-cloth of striped silk, the girl dressed in a mauve +garment embroidered in gold.</p> + +<p>Leaving to go, the soldiers who had brought me +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[173]</span>into the Sultan’s presence again escorted me to my +<i>café</i>, on the way to which we visited the palace stables. +There were a great many horses in the ill-paved yards +which serve as the royal stabling. Mats and thatch, +and in places rough brick roofs, keep off the heat of +the sun from the horses, some of which were very fine. +One white mare from Nejed was especially lovely, +though from the nature and heat of the country she +looked terribly out of condition. The pedigrees of the +Nejed horses are most carefully kept by their breeders, +and all over Arabia they are estimated as the very +finest to be procured.</p> + +<p>The Sultan of Lahej has his own coinage, a small +copper piece of minute value, bearing the inscription +“Ali Mhasen el Abdali,” and on the reverse “Struck +in Howta,” which, by the way, is anything but true, +as they are made in Bombay, by contract.</p> + +<p>Returning through the courtyards of the great mud +palace, I left the royal precincts, and, seeking once +more the quiet shade of the <i>café</i>, spent the heat of +the day in sleep, waiting for the cool of the afternoon +before sauntering forth to see the sights of the town +of Howta.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[174]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_II_CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.<br> +<span class="smaller">LAHEJ TO KHOREIBA.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>When I awoke the heat of the day was over, so, under +the guidance of Saïd and one of my camel-men, I +sauntered out to see the town of Howta. The place +presents, on the whole, an appearance rather of dirt +and squalor than of what one expects the capital of +an Arab Sultan to be like. The streets are narrow, +and built without any idea of regularity, turning and +twisting as they do in every direction; nor are the +houses even built in any attempt at being in line. +Here one juts out into the narrow byway, there +another stands back off the street behind a thick +hedge of bristling thorns. Nearly all the houses +are surrounded by these zarebas or yards, into which +the cattle are driven of a night. Strange mangy +dogs bark at one as one passes along, and their bark +is echoed from within by the yelps of puppies. There +is, in fact, but little to see in Howta. Perhaps the +sights best worth noticing are in the market, where +under the shade of an enormous <i>b’dam</i> tree sit women +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[175]</span>selling bread, while the surrounding strip of sand is +crowded by Arabs with long spears and their camels. +Here also are exposed for sale vegetables, camel and +horse fodder, and many other market products, which +are sent on to Aden. Not far from this market are +the bazaars, narrow covered-in streets with rough little +mud-brick shops on either side, filled with cotton +goods, for the most part of European manufacture; +a few gaudy muslins from India, however, giving a +brilliant hue to some of these dusky little box-like +shops. A whole bazaar is put aside for the workers +in metals. It forms a thatched square, divided up +by low walls, some three feet in height, like sheep-pens, +in which the various metal-workers sit, each +with his forge. The scene is a most picturesque +one. The sunlight falling in through holes in the +ill-thatched roofing strikes upon the burnished metal +until the daggers and spear-heads sparkle and glisten +like diamonds. The air is hazy with the fumes of the +forges, and rings with the never-ceasing fall of the +hammer upon the metals. And what workers! Great +lithe men, grand in the exposure of their bare limbs; +their raven locks loosely falling upon their shoulders, +and waving backwards and forwards with the motion +of the workmen’s bodies. The workmanship of Howta +is rough. In spear-heads they excel; but they fail in +the silver-work of their dagger-sheaths to attain the +results reached by the silversmiths of the larger towns +inland.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[176]</span></p> + +<p>Returning to the <i>café</i> where I had put up, I found +the camels ready to start, so mounting once more, we +set out. Leaving the town behind us, the way took +us for the first few miles through rich cultivated land, +watered by a careful system of irrigation, and gorgeous +in its verdure. Emerging from the fields, we +struck into wilder country, torn up into great ravines +by the Wadi Lahej—a river that, in the dry season, +is but a tiny stream, but after rains a series of vast +torrents, its many channels becoming filled with the +huge mass of water, often carrying away much of the +cultivated land, and doing no little damage. Sometimes +the trunks of big trees from the far interior +are carried over the desert—where at ordinary times +the sand absorbs the water to such an extent that it +never reaches the sea—and cast into the bay at Aden. +From this it can be judged how severe are the rainfalls +when such comparatively rare occurrences do +take place.</p> + +<p>The river which I mention here under the name of +the Wadi Lahej is also known by the name of the +Mobarat. It has two channels to the sea, but, as +already stated, is at most seasons exhausted by the +desert sands of the low-lying coast country. The +principal channel is the Wadi el-Kebir, or great river, +which flows out near Hashma, a small village in the +Bay of Aden, the other being the Wadi es-Seghir, or +small river, which empties itself into the Ghubbat +Seilan, a bay to the north-east of Aden, and formed +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[177]</span>by the peninsula itself and by Ras Seilan, a point +some thirty miles along the coast.</p> + +<p>Wild and depressing the scene was. Ahead of us, +almost as far as the eye could reach, stretched the +desert, unbroken by even a single bush, and gradually +sloping up to broken rocky peaks, which glowed +a dull leaden crimson under the rays of the setting +sun. We were leaving the oasis behind now, and no +longer the peasants returning from the fields stood +to gaze on us as we passed by; no longer their wild +songs rang in our ears—songs sung by the sons of the +desert and echoed by its daughters, as, hoe in hand, +or leading the flocks and herds, they wandered back +to the town. Now it was only occasionally that a +warrior with spear passed us, on foot or on camel-back. +Then night fell,—night such as we had experienced +on the previous march, and which I have +so dismally failed to describe,—night which fails all +description. But we went on, the camels patiently +plodding their way. It was eleven o’clock before +we halted and spread our carpet under a clump of +thorny trees, close to the river-bed, which we had +been following since our departure from Howta. +Here we rested for a few hours, our fire twinkling +and flickering and bursting into little flames as we +threw the thorny twigs upon it, for the night was +chilly and a heavy dew falling.</p> + +<p>There is no water, the Arabs say, more poisonous +than this stream of Lahej, and we had been carefully +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[178]</span>warned against drinking it; but in spite of this my +servants regaled themselves plenteously from its +feverish stream. There is no fallacy greater than to +suppose the average Arab can go long without water. +In cases of hereditary necessity perhaps they do, but +in all my experience of foreign lands I have seen +no thirstier race than the Arabs. They are for ever +drinking. All my journey through the Yemen, my +men were constantly alighting from their animals to +drink. In the mountains, where the water as a rule +was good, this led to no bad results; but their constant +habit of drinking from slimy pools and nasty +streams brought on attacks of fever in the cases of +both Saïd and Abdurrahman. No more unpleasant +position can be imagined than that of a traveller with +two fever-stricken servants, both shouting that they +were going to die, and refusing to take quinine because +it tasted so nasty. The drinking of this water +of Lahej brought on fever in both these men. I provided +them with unlimited coffee, which, with boiling +the water, does away with a great part of the risk; +but, rather than have the trouble of making it, they +preferred to drink the poisonous liquid. However, +they suffered for their perversity.</p> + +<p>It was dawn when we started again, pale-grey +dawn, which struck cold and chilly. An hour or +two of desert, unbroken in its monotony; but away +ahead of us we could see the outpost fort of the +Sultan of the Houshabi tribe, whose territory we +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[179]</span>were soon to enter, and a few miles nearer, half +hidden in thick thorn-trees, the frontier castle of the +Sultan of Lahej.</p> + +<p>We had hoped to make a good march, but fate +was against us, for after a few hours on the road a +gentle wind rose up. At first it was cool and refreshing, +but as the heat of the day increased it became +laden with fine grains of sand, and by no means +so pleasant. At length it became unbearable, the +stinging sensation as the sand struck one’s hands +and face being most painful. Calling a halt, we +crawled under some thick bushes, the men hurriedly +arranging a strip of canvas so as to obtain the most +protection from its scanty folds. We were only just +in time, for a few seconds after, having crawled +under its shade, the wind increased in strength and +became a veritable gale. The sand, which up till +now had been but thin, commenced whirling up in +clouds until the air became darkened with it. Huddling +together, we tied our turbans over our mouths +and waited for a cessation. It required three of us +to hold on to the slender covering of canvas—a mere +strip that I used to put between the carpet and the +ground—to prevent its being carried away. The +desert wind was intense in its heat, and the burning, +gritty grains of sand found their way under one’s +clothing and into one’s ears and eyes until life became +unendurable. I had seen a sandstorm or two +before in my life, but none like this. The poor +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[180]</span>grumbling camels lay down and wagged their necks +slowly from side to side, while the Arabs cursed. +A sandstorm is lovely in a picture, and is exciting +to read about, but personally to experience it is +quite another thing, and for the three or four hours +that we lay panting for breath under those thorny +mimosa-trees we suffered exceedingly. So strong +was the sand-laden wind that it was impossible for +the men to go even as far as the river to get water, +and our throats were parched with thirst. In spite of +the suffering, however, one could not help noticing +the extraordinary atmospheric effect. The sky took +a brick-dust red hue, and seemed literally to glow, +the fierce sun burning scarlet and fiery through it +all, though at times even the sun was scarcely visible. +Happily it was the only sandstorm we experienced +on the whole journey, and I hope I may never see a +second such as it was.</p> + +<p>Almost as suddenly as the gale had come on it +died down again, and during the afternoon we were +able once more to push on upon our journey. Reaching +El-Amat, a fort of the Sultan of the Houshabi +tribe, I delivered the letter of recommendation I bore +from the Political Resident at Aden, and, refusing the +Sheikh’s kind invitation to alight, pushed on. This +fort, like that of the Sultan of Lahej which we had +passed shortly before, is a large, square, mud building, +two storeys in height. Useful as it may be in times +of war as a defence against Arabs armed only with +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[181]</span>matchlock-guns and spears, it would not stand a +couple of shot from any field-gun, unless the structure +is so soft that the ball would go right through it, as +is not improbable. Near this spot we came across a +herd of gazelle, but they were gone and out of sight +long before we came within range.</p> + +<p>The tribe in whose country we now were is the +Houshabi. They have always been on the best of +terms with the British, and on the murder of Captain +Milne in 1851, elsewhere referred to, they refused to +harbour the assassin, a fanatical Shereef. By their +position they have an advantage over the Abdali +tribe, of which Lahej is the capital, as the river of +the latter is supplied with water from the ravines and +mountains of the interior of the Houshabi territory, +and they have on several occasions in times of war +been known to divert its course. However, happily, +the relations of the two tribes are for the most part +friendly, so that it is not often that they have +recourse to such extreme measures.</p> + +<p>On again over the desert, which, as we approached +the rocky hills, showed more signs of vegetation and +life. Here and there were Arabs tending flocks and +herds and cattle, though what there was for them to +graze upon beyond the thorny bushes it was difficult +to say. At length we left the sandy plain and entered +a deep narrow gorge at the foot of Jibel Menif, +a high barren mountain. Here the scene entirely +changed. Instead of over the open expanse of desert, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[182]</span>our way now led us between walls of rock, the path +often a mere track in the river-bed, in which at +places water was running, and at others had sunk for +a time below the surface.</p> + +<p>Afternoon was well on, and the change from the +sunlight outside to the cool depths of the gorge was +a pleasant one, but the scene looked sepulchral and +gloomy. The rocks with which the river-bed was +strewn and the cliffs on either hand were of a curious +black colour; nor did the scanty vegetation, consisting +principally of what the Arabs call <i>athl</i>, a thorny +mimosa, do much by their verdure to enliven the +scene, for in spite of their proximity to a stream +which made some pretence at running water, they +looked parched and withered and dry.</p> + +<p>The gloomy effect increased as the evening came +on. Although the sky above us was still streaked +with the radiance of the setting sun, we in the gorge +caught only its barest reflection, and a deep purple +gloom seemed to settle over everything. At one spot +by a deep pool in the rock a caravan was settling in +for the night. The wild cries and singing of the Arabs, +and the groaning of the camels as they were being +unladen, added much to the weird effect of their +already lit camp-fires, by the light of which we could +catch glimpses of the wild fellows as they hurried to +and fro, spears in hand, preparing for the night. +However, we did not stop, but with an exchange of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[183]</span>“Salaam âlikoum,”⁠<a id="FNanchor_36" href="#Footnote_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> passed on into the night. The +darkness was complete, but the uneven state of the +ground and the constant ups-and-downs in the path +clearly demonstrated that we had left the river-bed, +and were crossing country at right angles apparently +to the streams and nullahs, judging by the constant +ascents and descents.</p> + +<p>A few hours later we caught glimpses of fires in the +jungle, and one of the Bedouins creeping on ahead +and exchanging a few remarks with the camel-men +who were spending the night there, he called to me +to proceed, and glad I was to cry to my camel to lie +down, and a few minutes later to stretch myself on +my carpet before a fire, in the camp of an Arab caravan, +at a spot called Zaida. The villages in this part +of the Yemen are few and far between, and what there +are belong almost entirely to wandering tribes of +Bedouins, who are here to-day and who knows where +to-morrow; so that the caravans passing up and down +the rough track that leads into the interior have to +camp where best they can, regardless of the whereabouts +of humankind, being dependent upon their +own resources for food and fodder.</p> + +<p>We spent the whole of the next day at this spot, +for the reason, our men said, of resting the camels; +but I rather think they had fallen in with fellow-tribesmen +and friends amongst the caravan-men with +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[184]</span>whom we were sharing camp. However, I was not +sorry; for, anxious as I was to push on into the +interior, the rest was by no means unpleasant, and I +found plenty to amuse and interest in the people by +whom I was surrounded. Fortunately, too, there +were Bedouin shepherds in the neighbourhood, and +fresh food was procurable, while a few thorn-trees +gave a little shade from the sun’s fierce rays. +Amongst the caravan-men was a Turkish soldier, +fleeing from the starvation and cruelty and misery +then existing amongst the Osmanli troops engaged in +crushing the rebellion in the Yemen. His neck and +wrists and ankles were deeply wounded by the fetters +he had been made to wear, for once before he had +deserted but been recaptured. A very considerable +number of these deserters from time to time reach +Aden, whence, after they have made a little money—for +they are always ready to work—they embark once +more for their native lands, often some hill-tribe of +Asia Minor. In no way was the hospitable character +of the Arabs better shown than by their kindness +to these Turkish runaways. As long as they were +soldiers in the service of the Osmanli Government +they were looked upon as lawful game by the Arabs, +and any who bore a weapon was liable to be shot at +any time; but as soon as they threw down their arms +and sought the protection of the Arabs and their +aid in assisting them to escape, they became their +brother-men, their co-religionists, and the poor half-starved +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[185]</span>fellows were fed by their <i>quondam</i> enemies, +and often given money to help them on their road +to places where their recapture would be improbable. +I saw many instances of this during the time I was +in the country, and quite a number of the Turkish +deserters spoke to me with tears of gratitude of the +kindness they had received from the Arabs. Happily +there were less melancholy sights to see and less +doleful stories to listen to during the day we lay +under the shade of the thorn-trees. A number of +young Arabs, youths learning the art of becoming +caravan-men, had brought with them their pets, for +the most part apes and monkeys, with which the +valleys of the Yemen abound, and great fun it was +watching them playing and jumping on the backs +of the camels. They were very tame, and confined +by no chains, being quite loose to go and wander +where they pleased, but never leaving their friends +the camels, which munched their fodder regardless +of the antics being carried on upon their backs. It +was difficult to say which were the most active, the +monkeys or their masters.</p> + +<p>But still more amusing were the strolling musicians, +dancers, and players on pipes and drums, who, +finding a little piece of level sand, exhibited their +strange dances before me. There were three of these +mummers amongst the Arabs. Standing in line, +they struck up their music, one beating a rough +drum, one playing on a double pipe, the other singing. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[186]</span>As they sang they stepped slowly backwards +and forwards, at periods turning and twisting round. +Strange nude creatures they were, with long silky +hair and silver daggers, and the eye never tired of +watching their graceful movements.</p> + +<p>Saïd and Abdurrahman took advantage of our +delay to cook bread. However, owing to the fact +that we had no baking-powder nor anything to take +its place, and that it had to be cooked in Arab +fashion by rolling the dough round a heated stone, +it was not altogether a great success. Hunger, +nevertheless, rendered it palatable. As for butter, +we had not yet broached the pot of ghee that +Saïd had purchased before we left Aden. It was +rancid then, and the few days of hot sun on the +back of a camel had not added to its charm, +though it had added very considerably to its flavour. +When we opened the clay with which the jar was +sealed the whole valley became full of its odours. +One could have run a drag with only a crust and +three drops of it. Once having opened the jar, the +Arabs went for it wholesale. It served them for +two purposes—for fodder, and as pomade for their +raven locks. The manner in which they applied it +did not make its consumption more appetising, for +they dipped their long fingers into the jar and then +ran them through their hair until the effect was +gorgeously shiny—at a distance. At close quarters +the odour rather negatived the picturesqueness. Of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[187]</span>course I could have brought stores from Aden; but +to have attempted to enter Yemen with anything +like a caravan would have been impossible, as the +suspicions of the Turks on the frontier would have +been excited. I had decided to take as little as +possible, so as to be able to pass as a poor Greek +trader; nor had I laid my plans unsuccessfully, for +the scarcity of stores was well compensated by the +facilities I gained on account of having so small a +quantity of baggage.</p> + +<p>Later in the afternoon we made a start. The road +was dreary and desolate, continually ascending and +descending, and strewn with black stones and rocks +that rendered our progress very slow. Almost the +only level piece we crossed was a great circle of rocky +ground enclosed on all sides by hills, the whole bearing +the appearance of having been the crater of a +volcano; and as all the surrounding mountains show +signs of volcanic action, this hypothesis is not at all +improbable. Late at night we reached the village of +El-Melh, where were a few miserable Bedouin huts; +but on the inhabitants assuring us that they possessed +neither water nor provisions to spare, and evidently +looking upon us with some suspicion, we proceeded on +our way. The track was rough, and one had to +clutch on to the ropes that held our scanty baggage +to the camel’s backs to prevent being hurled bodily +off down the steep sides of some nullah. At long +length, camp-fires ahead told of some caravan bivouacking +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[188]</span>there, a sure sign of water, and our camels +hurried forward, and without even a call to make +them lie down, wearily deposited us amongst a group +of Arabs seated round a few blazing fires. Their +spears, stuck in the ground before them, flashed and +flashed again in the dancing firelight; but the appearance +of fierceness was belied by their kindly welcome, +and an invitation to dip my fingers with them in the +steaming pots of food. Watering the camels and +giving them fodder, we returned once more to the +fires, and spent the night in songs and story-telling.</p> + +<p>Before daylight we were on our road again, following +for a little way the course of the river Sailet el-Melh. +The country here had become more mountainous, one +flat-topped peak being particularly noticeable. The +natives call it Dhu-biyat, but I can find no mention +of this name elsewhere. On the summit is a tomb, +that of a certain Seyed Hasan, about whom there +seemed to be traditions of his having possessed remarkable +powers, but as to whose history apparent +ignorance prevailed, nor can I find any records of +any powerful Imam having been buried on this +spot. It is probable that he was merely some local +Seyed or Shereef, and that his repute has not reached +the centres of Arabian civilisation. The summit of +this mountain is said to be quite flat and rich in +pasture, and Bedouins of the Houshabi tribe have +built a village there, and graze their flocks and herds. +Near this spot the valley opens out, and one enters +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[189]</span>the Beled Alajioud, a level plain of green fields, with +a river flowing through its centre. Here one leaves +the wandering Bedouin tribes and enters a land of +fixed abodes, for houses well built of rough stone +stand about the valley; and at one spot is a village +perched on a slight eminence, and crowned with a +square tower. This turned out to be the border +village of the Aloui tribe, to the representative of +whom—a village Sheikh—I presented my credentials. +There was the usual group of men and women and +children and dogs, the usual exchange of compliments +and banter; and although at first they had appeared +a little high-handed, we parted the best of friends.</p> + +<p>The country hereabouts shows signs of cultivation, +large fields being green with the durra. As the sun +was very hot, we halted in the middle of the wide +bed of the Khoreiba river, and settled ourselves down +under a clump of oleander-bushes. The scenery was +prettier here than any we had seen, as there were more +trees to vary the dull monotony of the reddish-black +rock and the yellow land. We had been seated about +an hour when there came skimming along the river-bed, +mounted on a beautiful camel, a veritable Apollo +of an Arab, a specimen of the finest type of the +Yemen race, whom perhaps it is scarcely justifiable +to call Arabs at all, so much has their blood become +mixed since the days of Kahtan, the founder of the +Yemenite tribes, and Adnan, that of the Arab. However, +the term Arab can be generally used, as there +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[190]</span>are scarcely any discernible differences, except in +traditions, between the Arab and the Yemen blood. +Noticing us, the man alighted from his camel and +crawled into the shade in which we were sitting. +After coffee, wishing to give the new-comer an +example of the powers of the Christian tribes—as he +called them—I unpacked an electric machine I had +with me in my sack of bedding, and administered a +gentle shock to the beautiful Arab. He never lost +his presence of mind,—he merely smiled, rose and +girded up his loins, mounted his camel, and sped as +fast as the slight little desert dromedary could carry +him down the river-bed.</p> + +<p>The camels of the southern district of the Yemen +are famous for their breed and fleetness. They are +slightly built, with fine legs, the very opposite to the +heavy slow-paced camels of North Africa. Many are +especially kept and trained for riding purposes, and +their fleetness is extraordinary. However, this breed +seems not to exist any farther in the interior than +about eighty miles, as where the country becomes +mountainous we find a heavy, shaggy, black camel, +the very opposite to his brother of the Teháma, as +the plains which divide the highlands of the Yemen +from the sea are called.</p> + +<p>While we were still laughing over the flight of the +Arab on coming in contact with civilisation in the +guise of a small electric machine, two Englishmen +appeared in view, riding horses, and guarded by a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[191]</span>considerable number of Indian troopers and a few of +the Aden corps, and followed by a large train of +baggage-animals. I had been told before leaving +Aden that I might meet a surveying-party under +Captains Domville and Wahab, who had been told off +by the Indian Government to organise a survey of +the tribe-lands lying between the Turkish frontier +and Aden. Although they had been successful up to +this point, they began here to meet with difficulties +on the part of the natives, which at length, after I +had passed on into Turkish Yemen, became so demonstrative +that guns were once or twice resorted to by +the natives, and the scheme had to be abandoned +before it was completely carried out. I spent the +afternoon with them, and very pleasant it was. I +was able also to obtain from them the correction of +my aneroid barometer, for so far I had not resorted to +boiling-point tubes, keeping what few instruments I +had with me as much as possible in the dark, so as to +excite as little suspicion as possible.</p> + +<p>After dinner in the luxurious camp of Captains +Wahab and Domville, I sauntered back to find my +men already preparing to load the camels, and soon +after midnight we made a start. It was a bright, +clear, moonlight night, but chill and cold, a sure sign +that we were ascending to the highlands, which an +altitude of nearly two thousand feet on my barometer +showed to be the case. The Arabs shivered and +chattered as we pushed along through the valley. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[192]</span>Presently the road ascended on the left side of the +stream, and we crossed a plateau at an elevation of a +few hundred feet above the river. The cold as dawn +appeared became almost intense, and I was glad to +alight from my camel and run races with my men, +getting often a long way ahead of the caravan. Then +we would sit down and light a little fire of mimosa-twigs, +over which we would huddle together to keep +warm until the camels caught us up again.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus06" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus06.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>A Valley in Yemen</i>.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Dawn changed to sunset, and the world became +alive again. The scenery had altered. We had once +more entered the valley of the Khoreiba river, and +still the great, bare, rocky mountains rose on either +side; but the valley itself was green and fresh, and +the banks of the stream, which appeared in places +tumbling and dancing over the rocks, again to disappear +below the surface, were covered with thick +jungle of dense tropical vegetation, the trees hung +with garlands of creepers. Birds chirruped and +hopped from bough to bough; great painted butterflies +sailed by, rivalling the sunrise sky in gorgeousness; +and monkeys and apes chattered and grunted on the +steep mountain-sides. After the journey of desert +and rock, the change was a delightful one. Spying a +few female camels grazing in the jungle, we surmised +that there must be a Bedouin encampment near, so, +alighting from my lofty perch, I set out with a couple +of the men to find them—no difficult task, as we came +across them within the first half-hour. They had +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[193]</span>pitched their little mat huts in a natural clearing in +the thick vegetation, where they sat idly about, the +women carrying firewood and milking the cows, the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[194]</span>men, each armed with his dagger and spear, smoking +long wooden-stemmed pipes with clay bowls.</p> + +<p>They received us kindly, and we had soon joined +their little circle, and were chatting away as if we had +known each other for years. Great laughter was +caused by a very elderly female, with buttered hair—rancid +butter, if you please—and greasy saffron-dyed +cheeks, kissing me. The joke I could not for a +time understand; but it finally turned out that the +fact that I was clean shaven and in breeches led her +to suppose that I was of the female gender, as in the +Yemen the men wear loin-cloths and allow their +beards to grow on the points of the chin, while the +women decorate their lower limbs in tight-fitting +trousers. The old hag, on being pointed out her +mistake, laughed as much as any; and while I was +engaged in scraping the saffron and butter off my +blushing cheeks, went off to fetch us a big bowl of +fresh goat’s milk.</p> + +<p>Shouts from our camel-men in the river warned us +that we must not remain any longer, so pushing our +way through the thick brushwood, we resought the +river-bed and mounted once again.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp93" id="illus07" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus07.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Castle of Amir of Dhala.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>At nine o’clock, the sun being very hot, we unloaded +under the shade of some big umbrageous +trees, and settled in for the heat of the day. At +our feet ran the river, dancing and rippling over its +pebbly bed, for all the world like some Highland +trout-stream, except for the fact that above and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[195]</span>around it twined masses of flowering creepers and +strange aloes, while a palm-tree here and there +raised its feathery head above the dense undergrowth. +Away on the opposite side of the river, +about half a mile distant, and perched on the summit +of a high rock, loomed the frontier fort of the +Amir of Dhala, a square tower surrounded by some +lower buildings. The place looked a regular acropolis, +and seemed impregnable. On a gorgeous Sheikh arriving, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[196]</span>I presented the last of the letters which I had +brought from Aden, for the Dhala territory was the +farthest in touch with the British authorities, and +beyond lay Turkish Yemen. Evidently he considered +the epistle satisfactory, although he was unable to +read it, and he spent the day with us there. A +right good fellow he was; but his reports of the +turbulent state of the tribes beyond, and of the +murder and plunder with which the mountaineers +were daily amusing themselves, were anything but +reassuring. He informed me that the name of our +halting-place was Mjisbeyeh, of which I found the +altitude to be two thousand five hundred feet above +the sea-level.</p> + +<p>Off again in the afternoon, passing the picturesque +village of Thoba, above which to the left we caught +another glimpse of Jibel Dhu-biyat, with its white-domed +tomb. The fact that we had now entered +the land of fixed abodes became every hour more +apparent. At places were signs of skilful irrigation, +while ever and anon villages of stone houses piled +on to the summits of rocks peeped from amongst the +green fields and the mimosa-trees. One of these, by +name Aredoah, was particularly picturesque, although +the surrounding country was more barren than it had +been. The scenery, too, became very fine. The black +volcanic rocky hills had given place to mountains +of limestone, which towered above the surrounding +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[197]</span>country. Principal amongst these were Jibál Ahurram +and Ashari.</p> + +<p>At one spot a charming scene met our eyes. Under +the shade of a great creeper-clad rock sat an old +schoolmaster, book and rod in hand, while at his feet +squatted a number of small boys, into whose heads +he was apparently beating verses from the Koran. +A regular stampede occurred at our approach, and +the young <i>tholba</i>⁠<a id="FNanchor_37" href="#Footnote_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> rushed alongside our animals +clamouring for alms. I got one or two to show +me the books from which they were studying, and +found them to be excellently printed copies of the +Koran from Beyrout.</p> + +<p>As evening came on we kept passing the flocks +and herds, lowing as they came in from pasture, +driven by, or more often following, some child, who, +with wide-open eyes, would stand still and cease the +music of its cane pipe to watch our little cavalcade +go by. Not a breath of wind was stirring, and the +smoke from the evening fires of the little stone +houses curled up and up, all mauve and purple, +into the cloudless sky. In groups the men sat +about, under the shade of the trees, idly listening +to the hum of the insects and the song of many +a tiny stream. The whole scene was one of perfect +peace.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[198]</span></p> + +<p>The track then entered a narrow gorge between +high precipices of rock, from which echoed and re-echoed +the cries of the apes and monkeys. We +were entering the country known as Beled Ashari, +under the rule of the Amir of Dhala,—quiet, peaceable +folk, shepherds and tenders of flocks.</p> + +<p>As we proceeded, the gorge narrowed until the +scenery in the dusky evening light became almost +oppressive. Just before darkness set in we arrived +at our halting-place, at Khoreiba, below the village +of the Amir of Bishi, where, under the shelter +of a great <i>b’dam</i> tree, we settled in for the night. +The village is built of stone, and situated on the +left bank of the river, the collection of stone houses +being overlooked by a strange pile of natural rock +crowned with a still stranger tower, a position that +completely commands the valley. The altitude of +this spot I made to be four thousand feet above +the sea-level. The spot was a charming one, with +the green valley below us, and above the perpendicular +precipices, too steep almost for any scrub to +hang to. Here and there along the river-bed were +shade-giving trees, which stood out black against +the fields of young corn, as yet only a few inches +in height.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="fp10" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp10.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>KHOREIBA.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The success of my journey depended on the next +day or two. We were fast nearing the Turkish +frontier. Should I be allowed to pass? To have +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[199]</span>to turn back would mean the most bitter disappointment. +Each day’s march was interesting me +more and more in the country I was passing through, +and very keen I was to carry my journey to a successful +issue, and to reach Sanaa, the capital; especially +keen, perhaps, as, with but one exception, every +one at Aden had prophesied failure, and told me I +was insane to venture into the Yemen at the time +of the rebellion, when even in days of peace it was +rash and unsafe.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[200]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_II_CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.<br> +<span class="smaller">ACROSS THE TURKISH FRONTIER.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>We had left the Amir of Bishi’s village some way +behind when the sun rose the following morning. +The track continues along the river-bed until the +valley terminates in a steep ascent. However, the +old-world Arabs have built a paved way up the +slope, which renders its surmounting much easier +than it otherwise would be,—not that it is by any +means a simple process as it is. Scrambling up on +foot, we reached the summit some time before the +camels, and were able to rest for a time and watch +the poor grunting brutes toiling in and out the +intricate turns in the path; for it is a mere track +winding through great piles of overturned rock, and +along the edges of steep inclines. I found the +ascent from the valley of Khoreiba to the summit +to be over six hundred and fifty feet, giving us an +altitude of nearly five thousand feet above the sea-level. +The view looking back was a very lovely +one. Below us lay the valley of Khoreiba, shut +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[201]</span>in with its precipitous walls of rock, under which, +amongst green fields and shady trees, flowed the +river, a streak of silver thread. Away beyond at +the farther end of the valley one caught glimpses +of the peaks of other mountains, rearing their +fantastic heads into the clear morning sky.</p> + +<p>When the camels caught us up we filled up our +water-bottles at a spring of clear water and set off +again. These water-bottles—<i>zemzemiya</i> they call +them in the Yemen, and in Morocco <i>guerba</i> (plural +<i>guerab</i>)—are a regular institution of Arab travel, +nor would it be possible to proceed without them. +They are made of leather, those in Arabia being +cut into shape, while those of Morocco are the +whole skins.</p> + +<p>Now and then we would catch a glimpse of a +herd of apes scampering away up the steep rocks +with resounding grunts; but more often we could +only hear their cries, for their colour does much +to conceal them from view amongst the limestone +rocks.</p> + +<p>So cool and pleasant was the air at the elevation +we had reached, that instead of remounting our +camels, who, poor beasts, were tired with the rocky +ascent, we strode out on foot. Leaving the village +of Dar en-Nekil on our right, we passed through +a gorge of low walls of rock, and then descended +to the level of the plateau, which here extends +for a considerable distance, broken now and again +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[202]</span>by rocky peaks and hills. This plateau, one with +that on which Dhala is situated, may be said to +circle round Jibel Jahaf, a limestone mountain +situated just above the large village of Jelileh, +where, although not within their frontier as delimitated, +there is a small Turkish fort. The plain is +well cultivated, and ploughing was in active progress +at the time of my visit, besides being dotted +with trees; but from the fact that the young corn +had not yet commenced to push, the country looked +somewhat barren and dreary.</p> + +<p>Across the plateau all passage seems to be blocked +by an immense range of mountains, one continued +precipice without any apparent break. The range +bears two names,—the eastern part Jibel Mrais, and +the western Jibel Haddha. A few miles over the +plain brought us to a steep ascent leading to the +village of Jelileh. Although the absolute frontier +of the Turks is at Kátaba, a town a few hours’ +distance to the north-west, they have erected here +a fort, and over a round tower perched on a hillock +floated the red flag with its star and crescent.</p> + +<figure class="figleft illowp50" id="illus08" style="max-width: 9.375em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus08.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>A Girl of the Yemen.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>One of my camel-men was a native of this village, +and it was to please the good fellow that I decided +to spend a night there, as otherwise I should have +been tempted to push on and try to cross the +frontier that day. Wishing to avoid as much attention +as possible on the part of the inhabitants, +I did not spend any time in the village street, but +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[203]</span>alighted from my camel at the door of the yard of +my man’s house, and at once entered his abode. As +a typical Yemen house of the poorer class, some +description may not be out of place. Like all the +dwellings in the highlands of the Yemen, it was +built of solid squared stone, and consisted of two +large towers, some thirty feet square at the base and +twenty at the summit. The lower floor contained +an arched stable, the roofing supported on pillars +of stone. To the next storey an outside stairway +led one. This floor contained a passage and two +decent-sized rooms, the walls plastered on the inside +and the ceiling made of wood. The floors, like the +walls, were coated in cement. The staircase continuing +led one on to the flat terraced roof, round +which ran a stone wall some three feet high. The +whole showed a great amount of labour and no +little skill in its construction. The second tower +was larger, but being put aside for the women, +I did not of course see the interior of it. It +contained, however, four storeys. Into one of +these rooms in the men’s tower I was shown by +my host, who, no sooner was this accomplished, was +flying all over the place stirring up his womenfolk +with entreaties and curses to prepare a meal +befitting such a guest. Meanwhile from my window +I could obtain a very good view of the surrounding +country, ay, and more, of my host’s wives and +daughters. How ugly they were! What little +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[204]</span>attraction nature might have given them was completely +concealed under their artificial adornments. +Their hair, plastered with butter over their foreheads +in straight fringes, literally dripped with +grease, while their copper skins were thick with +paint the colour of red-lead, arranged in a triangle +on either cheek, as well defined as is that of the +clown in our Christmas pantomimes. Their loose +upper garment was more attractive, +being of dark-blue +linen embroidered round the +neck, sleeves, and edge in coloured +silks; but to do away +with any grace which this +simple and classical garment +might give them, they encased +their legs in ill-fitting +indigo trousers, with embroidery +round the ankles. +However, my host was evidently +very proud of his +ladies; for no sooner did he catch a glimpse of them +peeping over the parapet of their apartments, or +straining their heads out of the little windows, than +he would shout vociferously to them to retreat, +which they would do, again to reappear and continue +their criticisms of the newly arrived stranger. +Meanwhile the male relations of my camel-man +had appeared, to join me in the feast which was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[205]</span>being prepared,—men and youths and boys, nearly +a score in all, who quite filled up the two rooms +and passage of our apartments, while nearly every +one brought his long straight pipe or his hubble-bubble, +and there was a murmur and gurgling of +water as we inhaled the cool smoke. Besides the +guests who arrived to call we had other visitors, +those tamest of wild beasts—the fleas. It is strange +that while many an author has told of the friendly +fellowship of the dog and the horse toward mankind, +the intense love of companionship of the flea toward +the human being has been neglected. There is no +need to tame him artificially: the moment he is old +enough to swallow food he becomes the friend of +man—nay, more, he will never willingly part company +with him, especially in Arabia. His only equal +is the mosquito, and for affection he almost beats +the flea. As I write these lines one has been settling +on my hand, and on my refusing to notice him he +called attention to his presence by a gentle nip—result, +a large white lump; and when I tried playfully +to catch him, he flew away: they always do.</p> + +<p>On my next day’s march depended the success of +my journey. Once across the Turkish frontier, I felt +that unless any unforeseen event occurred I should +reach my goal. But I knew how strict the orders were +to allow no stranger to enter Turkish Yemen, lest +news of the rebellion, which had for some months been +disturbing the country, should leak out. However, I +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[206]</span>felt that I was attacking the least probable frontier +of the country, and one where they would scarcely be +expecting a stranger to attempt to enter.</p> + +<p>A ride of only a few hours brought us the following +day from Jelileh to the <i>jimerouk</i> or custom-house of +Kátaba, situated on the south side of the Wadi Esh-Shari, +and about three miles distant from the town, +which lies to the north, off the caravan-road. The +ride was a short but a hot one, and except that all +the plain was under plough, the country seemed dry +and desolate. Away to the right could be seen the +large village of Thoba, a collection of towers on a +rocky hill, from which stand up prominently the +white domes of a mosque and tomb, forming quite a +landmark on a scene otherwise a monotone in yellow.</p> + +<p>The buildings of the frontier custom-house consist +of a low block, forming a fort and a large enclosure +for the camels and mules of the caravan-owners, the +whole covering a large extent of ground. The lower +rooms of the main building are used as stores for the +goods in transit, while the portion of the upper storey +not inhabited by the officials is divided up into small +rooms for the use of people passing and repassing, +being let out on hire at so much per night. The +whole place wore a depressing and a depressed look. +For three months no caravans had passed over the +roads, and trade was dull. The goods on their way +up from Aden to Sanaa lay strewn about the place, +as there were no means for their further transit. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[207]</span>Three months before, the last caravan to go through +had been looted, and a ransom of three hundred and +sixty dollars had to be paid before the merchants had +been released by the mountaineers.</p> + +<p>It seemed strange to think that on that yellow +building depended the success of my journey, and +it was with anxious thoughts that I passed through +its open gateway, by the side of which, in the depth +of a cave-like chamber, an old Arab was brewing +coffee. Dismounting in the yard, I sought a shady +corner to sit down in while my men went and routed +out the authorities. A few minutes later they +appeared, and such a group they formed! First +came an exceedingly dirty Turk in a filthy shirt and +a well-worn pair of military trousers; following him +appeared a gorgeous creature arrayed in purple and +fine raiment, no less a person than the Sheikh Besaisi, +well known for his influence amongst the Arab tribes, +and by happy fortune a kinsman of the most disreputable +and savage of my camel-men. His clothes, +too, need description. On his bullet-shaped head he +wore an immense yellow-and-crimson turban, wound +round with a camel-hair and gold cord; flowing robes +of dark-blue silk were fastened at the waist with a +yellow sash, in which was stuck one of the most +beautiful daggers I have ever seen. This <i>jambiya</i> +was of exquisite silver-work inlaid with gold Byzantine +coins of the reign of Constantine. A few rough +turquoises in the sheath gave a tint of colour to one +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[208]</span>of the most beautiful weapons I ever saw. I longed +to make a bid for it; but I knew that should I ever +mention so large a sum as its value, my chance of +getting on would be so much the more diminished, +for it was certain that I should be gently squeezed +before being allowed to proceed, and that did I let +out that I had any considerable sum of money with +me, it would make the squeezing a more serious +process, and perhaps prevent my getting on at all, +and certainly announce to the world in general that +I was worth robbing. Following the Besaisi crept a +wizened man of perhaps some thirty-five years of age, +dressed in the costume of the people of Mecca. These +three were the officials of the <i>jimerouk</i>, though they +resembled rather three characters of opera-bouffe.</p> + +<p>Salutations over, I was asked to ascend, and a few +minutes later found myself seated with my hosts in a +small, stuffy, and very dirty room. They were too +polite to ask straight out who I was, so I began to +open the attack myself. I had been to Turkey; the +man who had not seen Stamboul had never lived! +Glorious Stamboul! All the world over it was a +pleasure to meet the Turk; he was always a gentleman, +always kind and polite; and how inexpressibly +glad I was to meet the Turk before me he might +imagine, after I had been travelling all the way from +Aden with only camel-men and a couple of uneducated +servants; and would he accept a box of cigarettes and +an amber cigarette-holder, which I had brought from +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[209]</span>my little shop in Port Said with me,—where, by +the by, my wife and children were starving—(signs +of tears)—owing to this accursed rebellion; three +months the coffee I had bought in Sanaa had been +lying there, and for the dear wife and little ones’ +sakes—(tears)—I was imperilling my life in these +strange lands to get my coffee down: meanwhile my +brother, a Greek like myself, was looking after the +shop; and how delightful the Turks always were, +&c., &c. So much for number one, my friend in +the dirty shirt; now for number two.</p> + +<p>Was this, then, the Sheikh Besaisi? No; it could +not be that my infidel eyes were blessed with the +sight of his honourable corpulency. His fame was +all over the world. Port Said rang with his name. +His honour, his boundless wealth—(exorbitant old +tax-gatherer!)—his immense charities, were famous +throughout all countries: indeed this was a blessed +day for me. (Box of cigarettes and amber mouthpiece)—number +two dead.</p> + +<p>Whence came he, number three? No; it could not +be that his family was from Fez. Mulai Idris, their +patron saint, might he protect me! Had I known +that I was destined to meet a Fez Moor here, I should +have hurried up from Aden. Fez, every street of it, +I knew, from the tomb of Sidi Ali bou Rhaleb to the +Dar al Makhzen: and here was Abdurrahman, a +Tangier Moor. How good the Deity had been in +joining us together in the bonds of friendship!—cigarettes +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[210]</span>and amber mouthpiece; general embracings +and <i>tableau</i>! <i>Exeunt</i> officials. Screams of laughter +from Saïd, which I had to choke by sitting on him +on the top of my mattress, lest he should be heard—and +then coffee.</p> + +<p>No Englishman crossed the frontier into Turkish +Yemen in January of 1892. No; the only stranger +was a penurious Greek shopkeeper of Port Said, who +rode his baggage-camel. He was attempting to reach +Sanaa to obtain some loads of coffee he had bought; +and so great was his love for his wife and children +that he was running the risk of being murdered and +plundered in order to obtain money to buy them +food, and to save them from an untimely death from +starvation. I think they believed my story: if they +didn’t at first, a few dollars wisely expended proved +to them that it was true, and after two days of +artificial tears and real dollars permission was given +me to proceed. But the squeezing was not quite +at an end, and my rifle was taken from me, on account +of no arms being allowed to enter the Yemen +during the rebellion. For this I demanded and obtained +a receipt, and eventually, after eight months’ +delay, the rifle.⁠<a id="FNanchor_38" href="#Footnote_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> However, I would willingly have +sacrificed anything I had at the time, so long as I was +allowed to proceed. It was an anxious two days, for +until within an hour or two before my leaving the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[211]</span><i>jimerouk</i> I had not received any answer to my petition +to be allowed to proceed.</p> + +<p>At length they told me I might go on. Meanwhile +Saïd had been at work. Our camels were tired, and +he had arranged that only one should proceed, a couple +of mules being supplied in the place of the other two. +This my men agreed to, as they preferred to hire +mules on, rather than have their camels attempt the +next few days’ journey, one of the greatest difficulty, +and which necessitated as silent and as quick marches +as possible, as the country was in a most disturbed +condition. Happily the contract which I had made +at Aden stipulated that in country in which camels +travelled with difficulty mules were to be supplied, +and I had no trouble in having this carried out, +although, unfortunately, only two mules were forthcoming. +The simplicity with which my animals were +changed for me seemed extraordinary; but the fact is +that these caravan-roads are worked by “companies,” +relays of animals being kept at various spots along +the road for transporting goods from district to district +or town to town.</p> + +<p>No doubt the manner in which the country is split +up into tribal districts makes this necessary, while +again the natural features of the Yemen are such as +to render it almost impossible to take the same +animals for any great distance. For instance, the +fleet camels of the Abdali of Foudtheli districts would +be useless in the precipices and ascents of the country +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[212]</span>between Kátaba and Yerim; while the mountain-mules +suffer exceedingly in desert-travelling, their feet sinking +deep into the soft hot sand.</p> + +<p>As soon as permission was granted me to proceed I +was off. I did not wish to give the people in charge +of the frontier any chance of changing their minds, +so at mid-day, when they had all retired for their +siesta, we sallied forth from the gate and entered +Turkish Yemen.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp56" id="illus09" style="max-width: 23.4375em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus09.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Village of Aredoah.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>I had told more untruths in the last forty-eight +hours than I liked to think about; but, curious to say, +my delight at having crept through was far more +keen than any remorse I felt for my wickedness. +The road does not enter the town of Kátaba, for +which I was by no means sorry; for under the walls +of the little place we could see a large Turkish camp +pitched, that of the division of the army under +Ismail Pasha, which had come on here after the +retaking of Dhamar and Yerim, two of the larger +cities of the central Yemen. Giving them a wide +range, we soon were out of sight of the camp, and +after crossing the Wadi Esh-Shari, we entered wild +broken country, the foot-hills of the great range of +mountains that appeared to block our way ahead. +A sad incident happened before leaving the <i>jimerouk</i>. +A poor Turk, whom I had noticed slouching about +the place in rags, came to me just as I was leaving. +Kissing my hand, he besought my protection in +Turkish, which an Arab in the Osmanli service +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[213]</span>translated to me. His story was a pitiable one. +He had been enrolled in the conscription from some +village near Smyrna, and sent with his brother to +fight in the Yemen. At length, after much fighting +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[214]</span>and many privations, he reached Kátaba, where the +roll of the surviving troops was called. His name +was not on the list, and it was found to have been +a mistake that he ever left his native country. +Ismail Pasha, then at Kátaba, commanded him to +be stripped of his uniform and turned loose, on the +ground that he was not a soldier of the Sultan’s at +all. This was done, and the poor fellow wandered +away, a stranger in a strange land, until the Sheikh +Besaisi took pity on him, and fed him and clothed +him (!) at the custom-house. He spoke no Arabic, +and the Arab interpreting for him was the only one +who spoke a word of his native tongue. He prayed +me to take him on with me. This unfortunately +was impossible. The presence of a Turk with me +would render me very liable to danger from the +Arabs; but I advised him to try and reach Aden, +where, being as strong and good-looking a young +fellow as ever lived, I felt sure he would get work, +and in time find his way back. Beyond giving him +the wherewithal to find his way to Aden, I was +unable in any way to assist him.</p> + +<p>Rough as the country we were passing through +was, it presented here and there little patches and +valleys rich in cultivation. In many places the +scenery resembled a lovely garden. The lawns were +barley, scarcely three inches high, while trees stood +here and there about the fields. Little streams and +pools of water added an effect of coolness, while the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[215]</span>rocky hills were clothed in plants and flowers, +noticeable amongst them being a scarlet-flowering aloe +and a variety of the euphorbia. Great ant-heaps, +some six and eight feet in height, stood like sugar-loaves +amongst the rich vegetation. After a glorious +sunset, night came quickly upon us, and the scenery +was lost in the darkness.</p> + +<p>On we plodded in the dark, our little mules carefully +picking their way over the rough boulders and +stones with which our path, now a river-bed, was +strewn. The people of the surrounding tribes had +taken advantage of the rebellion to throw off any +form of government, and it was therefore necessary +to proceed at night. Once or twice we could catch +glimpses of their village-fires glowing far up on the +steep mountain-sides, and now and again even catch +the yelping of their dogs, whose quick ears had +heard the footfall of our animals on the hard stones; +but the villagers took no notice more than to shout +to one another, their voices sounding far away and +sepulchral in the thick darkness. The river-bed +over which we were travelling commenced shortly +to ascend, and the path was by no means an easy +one to get along in safety.</p> + +<p>“We must wait here for the men,” said an old +Arab, an acquisition from the Besaisi. What men +he meant I did not know, but as he seemed to be +the recognised head of our caravan I refrained from +asking. We dismounted and lit a fire in a hole in +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[216]</span>the rock, round which we clustered to warm ourselves +at its welcome heat: not that it was allowed +to blaze, for the Arab, fearful lest its glare should +attract notice, kept damping the wood sufficiently +to keep the blaze low without putting it out +altogether.</p> + +<p>For a time we waited, but there being no traces +of “the men,” we left the burning embers as a sign +that we had passed on, and continued our journey.</p> + +<p>It was a picturesque scene this little halt of ours, +with the dark figures of the half-nude Arabs, each +one armed with a spear, bending over the glowing +fire, and one that will not easily be forgotten. It +was difficult to say which sparkled the most, their +polished spear-heads or their glossy locks. Every +now and again a bright flame would leap into the air +in spite of our precautions, showing us that the cliff +above was hung in clusters of feathery creepers, while +strange aloes and cacti appeared in the crevices.</p> + +<p>Rougher and steeper grew the road as we proceeded. +At length in the middle of a rocky ascent a shout from +behind, answered by one of the men, announced the +arrival of the long-expected party, who had seen our +signal and were following us; and a few minutes later, +in the starlight, for the moon had not yet risen, we +could discern dark shadows hurrying along after us +on the track. A wild crew they were too, six or +seven of them armed with matchlock-guns and +spears. Of all the antiquated weapons I have come +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[217]</span>across upon my travels, these guns of the Yemen are +the most curious. The stocks are straight, and end in +a lump like a croquet-ball, which forms the shoulder-piece; +the barrels are long, and nearly always rusty. +A hole in the barrel communicates with a pan on the +outside, into which a little loose powder is dropped. +The trigger possesses no spring except a weak rebounding +arrangement. The nipple is formed like a +fork, into which slides the fuse, made of aloe-fibre +and slow burning. When the trigger is pulled the +“match” descends into the loose powder, and the gun +may go off or no. The chances are about equal, I +should think.</p> + +<p>For an hour more we crept along the dark road. +Thorny mimosas tore our clothes and baggage and the +poor mules’ legs, and at places threatened to bar our +passage altogether. Then we left the path, and descending +by a steep rocky slope, we entered a deep +nullah, half a mile or so along which a halt was +called, and my guides informed me that this was to +be our night’s resting-place. Fastening the strip of +canvas sheeting, or rather such as remained of it after +the sandstorm, over the boughs of a thorn-tree, as +protection from the heavy dew, we lit a fire and set +to work to cook our supper of tough old goat and +rancid butter.</p> + +<p>This bivouac in the ravine below the large village +of Azab was the last night spent out in the open; for +although we continued for the next few days to take +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[218]</span>advantage of the darkness to push through the most +difficult country, we were able to rest in the <i>cafés</i> of +villages, and after Yerim, in the regular caravanserais, +some of which had pretensions even to being clean +and comfortable.</p> + +<p>Next morning I was able to see more of my surroundings. +We had spent the night in the rocky +course of a stream, in some of the pools of which was +water. Opposite us the hills rose almost precipitously, +strewn with boulders, and here and there tangled in +clumps of mimosa-trees and other thorny brushwood. +Away up the nullah stood Azab, a village perched on +the very summit of a high hill, a confusion of walls +and towers.</p> + +<p>We spent the day quietly under the little shade +the scanty trees gave. A couple of the men went to +the village to buy provisions, and returned with a +bowl of rancid butter, bread of a thin consistency +that would have served any purpose other than +edible, from boot-soles to wrapping up parcels in, +and a goat whose age was unfathomable. However, +one cannot be too particular when travelling in such +countries as the Yemen.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="fp11" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp11.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>VIEW OF AZAB.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>At sunset our mules were packed, and we set off +once more, creeping out of the nullah so as not to be +seen from the village above, the inhabitants of which +would be only too likely to take advantage of our +position to go shares in my belongings—probably +forgetting to give me my portion, unless they did so +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[219]</span>with one of their curved daggers. The last glow of +daylight still hovered in the sky; the last rays of the +setting sun still tinged with pink and purple and gold +the huge jagged peaks of the mountains before us. +Very grand it is, this range of limestone, torn into all +manner of fantastic shapes, the peaks here resembling +some bewitched feudal castle, there the tapering spire +of a cathedral.</p> + +<p>The track was as rough as usual, and constant short +ascents and descents rendered our progress very slow. +When darkness was complete, except for the glimmer +of the stars, our men called a halt, and ranging themselves +in line upon the soft white sand of a stream-bed, +cried “Allah Akbar,” and rose and fell with +monotonous motion in prayer. Wild shadows they +appeared in their nudeness and shaggy locks,—wild +shadows that some fevered brain might imagine; but +the odour of the rancid butter and oil on their hair +proved their reality. No decent ghost would smell +as they did.</p> + +<p>Enjoining silence on every one, the men lit the +fuses of their guns, and a couple going ahead to keep +a sharp look-out, we pushed on. Like the glow of +cigarette-ends, I could follow the spark of their guns +as they crept along.</p> + +<p>The valley becomes more distinct as one proceeds, +the mountains closing in on either side, leaving but +little level ground beyond the absolute course of the +stream, and that was uneven enough. Hanging over +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[220]</span>the river-banks were trees and thick undergrowth, +but the darkness prevented one seeing anything but +their outline. At length our path seemed abruptly +to end. Here a halt was called and we dismounted. +From this point commenced an ascent I shall never +forget. A winding path, a mere track in the face of +the precipices, climbs the mountain-side until an +elevation of over eight thousand feet above the sea-level +is reached. The night was as yet moonless, and +one could scarcely see a step in front of one, and it +was bitterly cold. Lightening the animals as much +as possible by dividing the baggage amongst the +men, every one taking his share, except Abdurrahman, +who carried my shot-gun, we commenced the +ascent. Any moment man or beast might have made +a false step and alighted somewhere in the valley +beneath. Not only was the ascent trying, but it +must be also remembered that we were now in rebel +country, and that our discovery would mean certain +death, to myself if not to all of us. The very tribe +whose lands we were entering, the Kabyla el-Owd,⁠<a id="FNanchor_39" href="#Footnote_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> +had only a few months before thrown off the Turkish +yoke, and celebrated their day of independence by +cutting up their Sheikh into small pieces and distributing +him over the country, as a warning to others. +Our party, including our new retinue supplied by +El-Besaisi, numbered in all some ten persons; but +with the exception of my shot-gun and revolver we +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[221]</span>had no weapons worth considering as such, unless it +came to hand-to-hand fighting, when ten-foot-spears +may be useful. However, our numbers made any +attack from a small party improbable. Up and up +we toiled, often on all-fours. We had not ascended +many hundreds of feet before we found that our remaining +camel was perfectly incapable of surmounting +the difficulties of the road, while his constant mumblings +and gruntings threatened every moment to +bring the natives upon us, and already we could hear +their dogs barking in the villages below. Once or +twice, too, men called to one another, and lights could +be seen moving about. Then we would lie still and +hold our animals so as to ensure silence. At length +it was decided to send the camel back, and two of the +men undertook the job, trusting to be out of danger’s +way before daylight. This made extra weights for +the men and mules, but they cheerily lifted their +burdens and our scramble recommenced.</p> + +<p>I began to think the ascent would never end. +Steeper and steeper it became, until, two hours after +commencing, and having climbed over two thousand +feet in that time, we reached the summit, where on a +ledge of rock some humane person has built a well to +rejoice the heart of man and beast with its cool waters. +Here we rested for ten minutes, but more time we +could not spare, tired as we were, for a long march +had yet to be covered before dawn. Passing through +a gorge at the height of eight thousand one hundred +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[222]</span>feet above the sea-level, we began once more to +descend; and scrambling down through thick undergrowth +and over loose rolling stones, we reached the +level of a valley, along which our road now lay, and +through which flows the Wadi el-Banna, a large stream +which reaches the sea, when flooded, at Ras Seilan, +some thirty miles north-east of Aden. How the apes +chattered and roared as we disturbed their night’s +rest; and every now and then we could hear the +stones rattling under their feet as they scampered +away. Collecting our little band together, and examining +our weapons, we continued our march in +silence through the strongholds of the Kabyla el-Owd.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[223]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_II_CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.<br> +<span class="smaller">SOBEH TO YERIM.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>With this descent to the level of the valley commenced +the most dangerous and difficult part of the +whole journey. The surrounding country was thickly +inhabited, and dotted with villages, capture by any +one of which meant the destruction of our caravan, if +not of ourselves. A long march yet lay before us +until a place of tolerable safety could be reached, and +there remained only a few hours more of night. It +would mean a fast and difficult walk at any time, but +now especially so in the midst of so many dangers. +The road had not been traversed even by Arab traders +or members of strange tribes for more than three +months. For this period the district had remained +closed, and I could not help feeling, as once more our +head-man enjoined the strictest silence, that I was +rather foolhardy in attempting to be the first to open +it again.</p> + +<p>Leaving the track, we struck into the thick brushwood +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[224]</span>in order to avoid as much as possible approaching +the villages. One, however, we were obliged, by +nature of the country, to pass much nearer than was +pleasant. This was Sobeh, the principal stronghold of +the Owd tribe. How silently we crept on! But sure-footed +as were our little mules, they could not help +now and again making a false step, and rattling the +stones with which our path was strewn. When this +happened we would all stand still for a second, holding +our breath to listen. Once a dog barked, others +took it up, and presently it seemed as though a +hundred yelping curs, intent on our discovery, were +doing their utmost to give warning of our proximity. +Happily they did not leave the village, but, after the +custom of Arab dogs, barked from the shelter of +their masters’ homes. Nevertheless, the noise was +loud enough to wake a man, who shouted to another, +and a conversation took place. Seizing me by the +wrist, my men dragged me into a thick cluster of +bamboos, whence we could see a light, evidently +a lantern, flickering in the village only a few hundred +yards away. It was an anxious moment; but +at length the dogs ceased their barking, and the +light disappeared. Waiting to make sure that all +was quiet, we stole on again, thankful at our narrow +escape.</p> + +<p>Then the moon rose, but the cold was too intense, +and I was too tired to admire the lovely mist-swathed +valley and the broken mountain-peaks. Once or +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[225]</span>twice more we awoke the dogs, and once again, too, +a man shouted to know who was passing; but we did +not hide this time, as dawn was approaching, and my +men whispered to me that even as it was it would be +a mere chance if the sun did not rise to find us still +in the enemy’s country.</p> + +<p>At length it came, cold steely-grey dawn; then the +sky flushed crimson and pink, and we put on our +final spurt, driving the mules before us with sharp +cuts from bits of rope, and hurrying as fast as our +feet would carry us. The sun was nearly up when +one of the men pointed out to me, a long way ahead, +a solitary tower standing on the edge of a precipice +overlooking the river. “Once there,” he whispered, +“we are safe; they are friends of ours.” At length +we almost ran. The sun would be up in a quarter of +an hour, and the cold grey mist which at present +helped to conceal us would rise.</p> + +<p>A little before the great gold orb appeared over the +mountains to the east, we forded the icy-cold river +and scrambled up to our looked-for goal, Beit en-Nedish.</p> + +<p>This village, standing on the very edge of high +precipices, presents a most picturesque appearance. +In the centre rises a high tower, the largest of these +solidly built Arab <i>burj</i> we had as yet come across, it +being six storeys in height, as far as one could judge +from the windows. The summit seemed to be unfinished, +and only half roofed in. Around it stood a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[226]</span>few low stone houses with flat roofs, while a little +farther from the +precipice was a +mosque, and a larger +part of the village. +A graveyard surrounded +the whole +on the mountain-side. +Near the tower +were a few shady trees, adding not a little to the +picturesqueness of this strange spot.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp60" id="illus10" style="max-width: 25.0em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus10.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Beit en-Nedish.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[227]</span></p> + +<p>A yelping and barking of dogs welcomed us, but we +paid no heed to them, but straightway lit a fire by +which to thaw our chilled limbs; and setting some +coffee in a rough earthen pot to brew, I rolled myself +up in my carpet, and was soon fast asleep. When I +awoke a warm sun was streaming down upon us. A +crowd of laughing, chattering Arabs had gathered +round us, and were seated in a semicircle anxiously +waiting for me to awake. When I did so I was +stiff and sore, and without more ado, pulling +out some clean clothes from my sack of baggage, +ran down to the river and bathed in the cool fresh +stream, after which I joined the circle, whose centre +of interest was myself—a thing the like of which +they had never seen before. Meanwhile breakfast +was ready, and inviting a few of the throng to join +us, we said “Bismillah”—“In the name of God”—and +dipped our fingers into the rough earthen +pan.</p> + +<p>What a glorious morning it was, and how fresh and +lovely everything looked! The dew still sparkled on +the green trees and grass, the mist still hovered in +the valley beneath, and the hot sun was tempered +with a gentle breeze. It was like a spring day in +England. How cheery we were, too, after our night’s +dangers and fatigues, all laughing and joking in the +exhilaration of high spirits! But our hopes for a +day’s rest were soon dashed to the ground, for my +men received timely warning that it would be safer +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[228]</span>for us to proceed, and a few hours later saw us on the +way again.</p> + +<p>We had entered Arabia Felix! On all sides of us +were tiny streams, splashing and tumbling through +fern-covered banks over pebbles and stones. One +does not realise what music there is in the sound of +running water until one has travelled, as the writer +has once or twice in his life, over deserts where the +muddy pools are two and three days apart. But +the deserts and rocky valleys were all forgotten now—they +seemed merely the imaginings of the past. +Everywhere were green fields in which the young +barley showed promise of rich crops, everywhere +great shady trees and jungle covered the slopes. +The sun was hot, but at that great altitude the +freshness of the air compensated for it. My men +went merrily on, singing and laughing, and now +and again running races and brandishing their spears—and +yet we had rested only two or three hours +after our march of nearly twelve hours, during which +we had covered some thirty miles of road, and what +a road!</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="fp12" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp12.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>MAN AND WOMAN OF THE HIGHLANDS OF THE YEMEN.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Here we came in contact for the first time with +the mountaineers, a much finer people than those of +the plains. They are, as a rule, taller and better built, +their limbs being freer in action and their legs more +gracefully formed, no doubt owing much to the fact +that they are great walkers. Like the people of the +plains, the men wear their hair long, shaving their +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[229]</span>upper lip but allowing a small beard to grow on the +points of their chins. As well as the dark-blue loin-cloth, +stuck full of daggers, they wear a thick sheepskin +coat, the wool on the inside, the rough skin +being coarsely embroidered in black thread. This +forms a very necessary precaution against the cold, +to which these high altitudes expose them. The +women, like their sisters of the plains, wear dark-blue +skirts, embroidered round the neck and sleeves +and on the breasts in coloured silks, and now and +again in gold or silver thread. Their heads they +cover with dark-blue hoods, often richly but coarsely +embroidered. While the men are often almost divinely +handsome, the women are just the contrary, being +generally thickly built. No doubt the hideous tight +blue trousers and the oil and paint on their faces +tends not a little to disfigure them. In the cold +early mornings the oil on their hair hangs in little +solid drops on the points of their fringes; but as the +heat of the day increases it trickles down their faces, +washing away the red-lead-coloured powder, with +which they so thickly smear their faces, in long +streaks.</p> + +<p>From Beit en-Nedish we proceeded on a three +hours’ ride, and crossing the river at a ford that +might have been in the upper waters of the Tay, we +ascended the opposite bank to Beit Saïd, a large and +prosperous-looking village, situated on the west bank +of the river amidst groves of shady trees.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[230]</span></p> + +<p>Before reaching this spot two large villages have +to be passed, one on each side of the river. They +are respectively on the left bank Nadir, above which +the Turks had built a fort, and on the right bank +Ghadan—both large and flourishing villages, well and +handsomely built of stone. The fort was now in +possession of the Arabs, as, in spite of its commanding +position, the Turks had found it untenable, and +deserted it on the breaking out of the rebellion. +With the exception of Ismail Pasha’s camp and the +custom-house at Kátaba, this was the first sign we +had as yet seen of the occupation of the Yemen by +the Turks.</p> + +<p>The land, carefully terraced to allow of more cultivation, +presented from a distance an appearance of +a great flight of steps, so evenly was this immense +work carried out. Although at this spot the terracing +was comparatively simple compared with many +other places, owing to the slope being gentler, it +showed signs of an enormously laborious task. But, +compared to places that we afterwards saw in the +Yemen it was <i>nil</i>. At one spot I counted one hundred +and thirty-seven of these terraces on the side +of a mountain, one above another, and each and +every one, as far as one could judge, higher than it +was wide; that is to say, the stone wall supporting +the small strip of cultivated land was perhaps nine +feet in height, while the supported strip was only six! +This is particularly noticeable in the coffee-growing +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[231]</span>districts. However, as it was in this valley of the +Wadi el-Banna that we first came across this process +of cultivating the soil, although it was well known +to me in the Atlas Mountains, Madeira, and many +parts of Europe, it struck one as showing not only a +propensity for hard work not usually found amongst +Arab peoples, but also no little amount of skill and +engineering.</p> + +<p>In other parts of the Mahammedan world the +Arabs are exceedingly fond of making and planting +gardens, and even trying experiments in cultivation; +but whether failure or success awaits their efforts, +they allow the whole concern to fall into disrepair, +and the fields and gardens to become thick with +weeds. It is not usually so much a want of experimenting +as a want of continuing that is the ruin of +so many Arab peoples. I have known Moors plant +gardens which gave promise not only of beautiful +surroundings but of considerable profit; I have +known them plant them with all manner of fruit-trees, +and build aqueducts to bring the water from +some distant spring, a work of by no means little +expenditure, and a few months later I have seen the +place deserted, goats feeding on the young orange +and almond trees, and the place run to wreck and +ruin. But not so in these valleys of the Yemen. +Here the supporting wall of every terrace was in +excellent repair, here every little artificial channel +and aqueduct brimmed over with water, and the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[232]</span>whole surroundings wore not only the appearance of +great laborious skill, but of the idea being present +that the people were aware of the necessity of +maintaining the results of their labours in a state +of repair.</p> + +<p>It was a trait of character I had never before met +with in the Arab people, and I was immensely struck +with it. In the Atlas Mountains, five hundred miles +in the interior of Morocco, I have seen on a small +scale the same industrious attention; but in that case +the people are Berbers, untainted with Arab blood. +In the country of the Gallas surrounding the city of +Harrar one finds much the same; but again, however +nearly the Somalis may be related to the people of +the Yemen, the Gallas are no doubt a perfectly distinct +race. It may be argued that the necessities of +life and the nature of the country would render existence +impossible were the people not obliged to terrace +and cultivate their lands in this manner; but I have +passed in many parts of the world where the same +argument would apply, and found an entirely different +state of things existing. I rather believe this attention +to cultivation, and especially the growing of coffee, +&c., to be due to the existence of true Yemeni blood +in the veins of the people, apart from their mixed Arab +pedigrees. There is little doubt that this system of +fixed abodes and attention to agriculture could not +have been introduced in the Arab invasions of the +Yemen, but was existent there long before the time of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[233]</span>the introduction of Islam. All the historical records +point to this effect, and it was probably owing as +much to this as to the natural wealth and beauty of +the country that the province obtained the name of +Arabia Felix.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp42" id="fp13" style="max-width: 25.0em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp13.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>MOSQUE AT BEIT SAÏD.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>We found the village of Beit Saïd to be by far the +most flourishing we had as yet entered. A large open +space divided a pretty little white mosque, half covered +by trees, from the rest of the village. The houses were +well built of stone, one especially fine, being of two +storeys in height, with arched doorways and heavy +wooden doors. This we found to be the caravanserai +and house of a cousin of the Sheikh Besaisi of Kátaba, +to whom my men were well known, and who quickly +made us welcome in an upper chamber of the house, +to which an outside stone stairway led. The room +was small but cool, and we quickly unpacked our +baggage and stored it away, settling in for a much-needed +rest.</p> + +<p>A crowd watched our operations,—a gathering of +men, women, children, and dogs, who, open-mouthed +and open-eyed, watched the strange little caravan +arrive, whispering their criticisms to one another. +However, they were quite polite, the presence of El-Besaisi +no doubt keeping them at a distance; for, like +his cousin at Kátaba, he was no small personage +here.</p> + +<p>We found the people of Beit Saïd extremely pleasant; +in fact, the callers almost crowded us out of our +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[234]</span>room, they were so many, a constant crowd watching +with the greatest interest the strange visitor. The +rest was a welcome one, and we hoped not only to +spend the day here, but to obtain, for the first time +for many days, a night’s repose; but fate was against +us. Having turned in about eight <span class="allsmcap">P.M.</span> in a portion +of the big store, where, except for the rats, I felt I +should be quieter than in the guest-room, I was soon +asleep, weary with all the anxiety and travel which +we had accomplished.</p> + +<p>I had been asleep only an hour or two when I felt +myself quietly shaken. I asked who was there. A +voice whispered in my ear, “Hush! do not speak.” +I struck a light, and as a wild long-haired creature +leant over me to blow it out, I had just time to see +that the man was a stranger. “Get up,” said the +voice again; “you are in danger. Not a word, mind. +Give me your bedding and carpet.” In the dark I +hurried into my clothes, while the unknown seized +my carpet and such baggage as I possessed, and left. +I waited for a few moments, when he returned. +“Your mules are already being laden,” he continued; +then seizing me by the hand, added, “Follow me.” I +followed him out into the quiet moonlit streets, and +keeping under the shadows of the houses, left the +village. Here I was surprised to find my mules +already laden. No one was stirring, and in the +bright moonlight we passed silently away from the +place without disturbing a soul. Our road was a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[235]</span>difficult and a steep one: at many places the track, +under two feet wide, was cut into the side of a precipice, +far down which we could see the white mists +hovering over the damp valley.</p> + +<p>The reason of our flight I was at a loss to understand, +yet never for a moment did I doubt that there +was a reason. I somehow, without knowing why, +trusted the man who had warned me. He was a +stranger, and as far as I could remember, as I watched +him leading our little caravan over the awful road, I +had never seen him before. Once in my life already +I had been saved by a stranger, who had risked his +own to save mine—an Arab too, but in a land far away +from the Yemen. I need not tell the story here: +sufficient that I arrived at his house weary, by night, +my bare feet bleeding with the stones and thorns, +pursued by men who had vowed to take my life; and +that he, good noble fellow, found me and took me in, +bathed my blood-stained ankles, and tore up his own +clothes to bind them in, and, after keeping me in +hiding for two days, escorted me in safety out of the +country. He died a few months later, foully murdered +in a blood-feud. Perhaps it was the recollection of +this that imbued me with so much confidence and +trust in my new-found friend. That I was not wrong +the sequel will show.</p> + +<p>Sometimes a stone loosened by our animals’ hoofs +would fall, and, bounding from rock to rock, disappear +into the darkness. At each of these occurrences our +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[236]</span>guide would utter a guttural sound of disapproval. +Once or twice I ventured to ask him the reason of +our sudden flight, but was always met with a sharp +“Silence!” in reply. On and on, until some three +hours after leaving Beit Saïd our path commenced to +descend, and, slipping and sliding down slopes of sand +and stones, we entered the large village of Seddah, +now wrapt in sleep; then on through the village of +Mundah, and out into the open country again. The +dogs barked a little, and one or two men, armed with +spears, accosted us, but, after a few words whispered +with our men, we passed on again. It is at Seddah +that the valley turns to the west, and here the Wadi +Thuba flows into the Wadi Banna. This latter river +has a direction almost north and south, and although +the Banna is the main stream, the other continues +the general direction of the valley.</p> + +<p>An hour later, leaving the valley and mounting a +steep ascent, we crossed an elevated plateau, finally +arriving at the village of Sôk el-Thuluth. I had been +given no idea of whither we were going or where our +new guide considered it safe for us to rest; and when, +on nearing the village, he told me that I might stay +there as long as I liked, it was a most pleasant surprise. +The streets of the little place were deserted +except by the dogs; but after knocking long and +loudly at a door, we succeeded in awakening a +woman, who turned out to be the proprietress of the +small <i>café</i> and caravanserai of the place. She was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[237]</span>a good kindly soul, and did not grumble at being +turned up at one <span class="allsmcap">A.M.</span> on a cold morning. Admitting +us into a cave-like room with a stone arched ceiling, +reeking with the pungent odours of strong tobacco +and coffee—not to mention the odours of its Arab +occupants, who lay sleeping about the door rolled up +in their dirty sheepskin coats—she lit a fire, put +water on to boil, and then commenced by violently +kicking the Arabs in order to awake them, calling +to them to turn out and make room for a more +honoured guest. I persuaded her to leave them in +peace,—more out of regard, it must be said, for my +own slumbers than for theirs; and calling to Saïd +and Abdurrahman to make up my bed on the roof, +was soon asleep.</p> + +<p>When I awoke it was dawn. What a sight met my +eyes! Never had I before, and I think never since, +seen such a view as lay before me. Sôk el-Thuluth, +or “Tuesday market,” as its name implies, is situated +above the junctions of the Wadi Banna and Wadi +Thuba, on a spur of the mountains of the main +valley. Below me lay the great valley up the straight +course of which we had been travelling for the last +two nights. Over its green fields floated a transparent +hazy mist, through which I would watch the +river sparkling and flashing like a silver serpent, as it +passed on its way to the desert and the sea. Along +its banks the dark-foliaged trees stood out clear and +defined. On either side of this silver streak lay terraced +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[238]</span>fields, rising step by step from the water’s +edge to where the mountain-slopes became too steep +for cultivation. Here they were covered with thick +jungle undergrowth, while above rose precipice upon +precipice, crowned, thousands of feet in the pink +morning sky, by broken crags and pinnacles of rock, +touched with snow. At my very feet, for I was on +the house-top, the villagers, rejoicing in the glorious +morning, were passing out to their labours, and the +flocks and herds bleated as they sought their pasturage. +Women carrying beakers wended their way to +the spring; while the men, spears in hand, their long +glossy locks tumbling in unrestrained glory over the +shoulders, added a fierce element to a scene of the +most perfect peace and beauty. It was worth all the +desert travel and all the dangers of our night marches +to see what I saw then. This was Arabia Felix! +As I gazed the mists rose, every detail in the valley +became distinct: little villages far below, crowning the +rocky mounds on which the Arabs of the Yemen so +love to build, stood out from the green fields all grey +and severe, each a fortress in itself, with its battlements +and towers. Around the pink-and-gold crags +hovered little fleecy clouds, attracted by the small +patches of snow—now hiding, now disclosing the +grandeur of the mountain pinnacles.</p> + +<p>All our dangers were over; from here our road was +safe. We were soon to enter the great plateau of the +central Yemen, now safely once more in the hands +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[239]</span>of the Turks, though woe betide the Osmanli soldier +who found himself alone and without protection. As +I looked upon that glorious valley, more glorious +than ever now that the sun had risen, I could not +realise how exciting a time we had experienced in +passing through it, so lovely, so quiet, so peaceful it +seemed.</p> + +<p>Calling to Saïd, I told him to send me the man +who had led us to Sôk el-Thuluth the night before.</p> + +<p>He had gone!</p> + +<p>Never a word of thanks, never a reward! He had +left me sleeping, and gone back to his own affairs and +to his own life. Like the character in some play that +appears but once, so had this Arab come and gone. +My men had tried to stop him, had tried to keep him +until I awoke, promising him a reward, but he had +laughed and shaken his raven curls, and, spear in +hand, girded up his loins and vanished. Strange +good fellow! he saved my life, and never even gave +me the opportunity of thanking him!</p> + +<p>We had left one of our men the night before behind +us at Beit Saïd. He had gone off in the evening +to supper in the house of a friend, where he had +slept, unaware of our flight. In the early morning +he had found us gone, and followed us, not by the +roundabout mountain-track we had come by, but by +the main road.</p> + +<p>He solved the mystery of our flight, for but a few +miles from Beit Saïd he found the road held by some +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[240]</span>forty men, armed to the teeth, whose object was my +plunder. How little the poor fellows would have got! +A few dollars and a little shabby clothing, an old carpet +and a mattress, and that was about all. But they +had imagined that I was a trader taking up great +sums of money, and had resolved my death—for life +is cheap out there—and the plundering of my goods. +I asked our man what they had said to him. He replied +that they had asked after me, and that finding +I had been warned and escaped them, they went off +laughing and swearing, apparently rather amused at +the whole episode.</p> + +<p>Our rest had done us all good, and we set out with +light hearts, knowing that no probable dangers lay +ahead.</p> + +<p>The path leads one along the east side of the valley, +at a great height above the river, often, like that we +had traversed the night before, only a footway cut in +the edge of the precipices. Here for the first time +we came across the coffee-plant, growing amidst +tumbling waterfalls on terraces built up against the +steep mountain-side. Everywhere was water, here +in artificial channels, there in tiny streamlets. Wild +flowers abounded, and in places the walls of rock were +green and white with jasmine. A thousand feet below +us were the villages, on to the roofs of the houses of +which we looked from above. It seemed but a step +from us to them. At one spot my men pointed out +where a short time before a camel and its load had +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[241]</span>fallen from an overhanging rock. It never touched +the precipice, they said, until it fell upon a ledge they +pointed out to me hundreds of feet below, and thence +it bounded into the valley.</p> + +<p>Rich in the extreme is this part of the country, +owing to its everlasting supply of water, and many +are the tales the Arabs of the plains tell of it. Beled +el-Hawad they call it, of which Howra is the chief +village,—a place like a feudal castle built on a pile of +rocks.</p> + +<p>After a time the road turns to the right, and, following +the course of a small stream, ascends a valley. +To the left of this valley, on the very summit of a +high mountain, is the village of Ofar, to reach which +necessitates a climb of a thousand feet or more from +the road. At several places one passes drinking-fountains, +erected, like the great tanks we were afterwards +to meet with in the plateau, for the refreshment of +man and beast. They are simple affairs, but excellently +built. In form they are usually square, and +domed, some six feet each way perhaps. A trough +on the outside supplies the water for the animals, +while a hole in the wall, large enough for one to insert +one’s head through, is for human beings. Within the +water rises to the level of this hole, being carried off +by an overflow pipe into the trough below, so that +the clear liquid just reaches the level of one’s lips, +while the roof above keeps it fresh and cool. These +fountains, common all over the Yemen, have been +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[242]</span>usually erected by private philanthropists for the +benefit of their fellow-men. Unlike the custom in +England, no flowery inscription tells the world the +name or the generosity of the builder—they are the +memorials of anonymous benefactors. Here, too, we +came into contact for the first time with the mountain +camel—a very different beast from that of the Teháma +and desert, being a rough-haired, heavily-boned creature, +usually black in colour and the picture of ugliness. +Those of Lahej and the surrounding country, +renowned throughout Arabia, are light in colour and +remarkably finely built, and often exceedingly pretty. +To those who think that the camel is essentially a creature +of the desert, and incapable of traversing with +ease stony or rocky country, the fact that we were +passing caravans of camels nearly eight thousand feet +above the sea-level, and on the worst possible roads, +must seem strange. It is well known, of course, that +the camel of Central Asia traverses mountainous +country, but I doubt if many are aware that it forms +also the beast of burden in the extreme highlands of +the Yemen, travelling over roads which one would +have thought impassable almost for a mule. Yet so +it is.</p> + +<p>At length the end of the little valley was reached +at an altitude of only a little under nine thousand +feet above the sea-level. A slippery rocky path winds +up the last few hundred yards of the ascent, which is +extremely difficult to surmount, both for man and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[243]</span>beast, for the constant traffic of centuries has polished +the surface until it shines like glass.</p> + +<p>Here the beauty ends, for one has reached the +plateau of central Yemen—a vast plain lying at an +average altitude of about eight thousand feet above +the sea, broken only by hideous ledges of black volcanic +rock, which crop up here and there from its +level surface. It was too early yet in the year for +the young grain to show; and the scene that met +our eyes, as we rested ourselves and our mules after +the steep climb, was a dreary one—miles of yellow +level plain, and black jagged rocks. A short but +steep descent brings one to the level of the plateau, +over which, with but little exception, the road passes +from this spot as far as Sanaa, the capital.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus11" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus11.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Inscribed stone at Munkat, near Yerim.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The natives have made use of the ledges of rock, +which appear in every direction, as sites for their +villages, many of which are perched on the extreme +summits, while others lie on the slopes. At one of +these—by name Munkat—we stopped for a little +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[244]</span>while, to see the place and some curious Himyaric +remains still existing therein.</p> + +<p>This is, I think, the first mention I have made of +the strange people, descendants of Himyar, who formerly +inhabited the Yemen; but rather than enter into +any account of them and of other historical matters +at this point, I have reserved these questions for +separate chapters, as I have also done in the case +of the geography, trade, and general description of +the Yemen. It has been my wish, as far as possible, +to separate the account of my journey from other +and more important matter, so that each may be +taken separately. In all matters historical and geographical, +I have consulted, as far as has been in my +power, the best authorities upon the subject; but in +the account of my own travels I have thought it expedient, +instead of breaking the narrative with incursions +into more serious subjects, to omit, except in +cases in which it may illustrate and explain more fully +than would otherwise be the case, nearly all reference +to historical or political affairs.</p> + +<p>Munkat is a walled village containing a considerable +number of houses, one of which, a kind of fort, is +curiously perched on an enormous boulder, and a pretty +white mosque, surrounded by tanks of good water. +Built into the wall of the mosque are stones inscribed +in Himyaric characters, and some also in Kufic. +Copies of the former were, I believe, taken some +years ago by Dr Glaser. In another part of the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[245]</span>village is a white marble column, some eight or ten +feet in height, of Himyaric origin, which is said by +the villagers to have appeared suddenly at this spot. +The ignorance of the natives in this part of the +country is astonishing; for out of many stones they +showed me, some were in Arabic and some in the +Himyaric character, but the inhabitants were uncertain +as to which was which. They seemed, however, +to reverence these remains to some extent, as +they had carefully built them into the walls. At +one spot, over a doorway and in a prominent position, +they had carefully placed a marble stone containing +the first chapter of the Koran—“Bismillah +Alrahman Alrahim,” &c.—upside down. When I +told them of their mistake, it was quite sad to hear +their excuses. “We are only poor people,” they said, +“and we are terribly taxed. We have to till the +soil to feed ourselves and the Osmanli Pashas, and +there is no time to learn to read or write.” In many +parts of the country to such an extent do they have +“to feed the Osmanli Pashas,” that they scarcely get +ought to eat themselves. It is the old tale of cruelty +and oppression, of extortion and corruption.</p> + +<p>The regard shown by the poor villagers of Munkat +for these inscribed stones is not by any means uncommon, +a great reverence for writing being innate +in all Arab peoples. I once had an Arab servant, himself +perfectly illiterate, who treasured a torn manuscript +copy of the ‘Arabian Nights.’ Its contents he +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[246]</span>did not know, nor had he ever taken the trouble to +find out: that it was a <i>book</i> was sufficient for him, +and he carried it about as a sort of talisman. In +spite of its good luck, it did not keep him out of +prison, when one day he helped himself to things that +weren’t his.</p> + +<p>One of the most beautiful sights to be seen upon +the plateau of the Yemen are the lizards—little creatures +of gorgeous metallic blue, now pale turquoise, +now transparent sapphire, as the sunlight dances on +their backs. In no other part of the world have I +come across such gorgeously coloured reptiles, although +I have seen the same lizard, but less brilliant in hue, +in the mountains of the Zarahoun, to the north of +the road between Fez and Mequinez, in Morocco.</p> + +<p>An hour or two more of winding path and we were +in sight of Yerim, one of the principal towns of the +Yemen, which but a short time before had been taken +by the Arabs in the rebellion, and retaken by the very +Ismail Pasha whose camp we had seen at Kátaba.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[247]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_II_CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.<br> +<span class="smaller">YERIM TO DHAMAR.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>The immediate approach to Yerim is over a level +plain a mile or two in width, across which, immediately +in front of one, lies the town—a poor enough +looking place, lying half on the level ground and half +on the steep slope of a mountain, Jibel Samára. This +flat ground is dotted in places with tanks, and here +the townspeople congregate to do their washing, and +many a pretty group we passed of men, women, and +children engaged in that wholesome pursuit. Eastern +washing processes are too well known to need any +description here: suffice it to say that it is generally +performed by men, whose one desire seems to be, by +stamping on the clothes and beating them with large +stones, to see how many fragments they can tear them +into. They are generally successful in sending the +things back in shreds. It must be an invigorating +profession; for the fact that one places the clothes +upon a rock, and then proceeds to dance first on one +leg and then on the other with all the energy and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_248">[248]</span>strength one possesses, at the same time issuing a +series of low cries, must tend to strengthen not only +the limbs but the lungs also!</p> + +<p>We did not stay, however, to watch the washers, +but hurried on into the town; for although I had +some days before successfully crossed the frontier of +Turkish Yemen at the <i>jimerouk</i> near Kátaba, this +was the first time I was to find myself in a Turkish +garrisoned town.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp42" id="fp14" style="max-width: 25.0em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp14.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>UPPER FLOOR OF A KHAN AT YERIM.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>As soon as we had approached the place Turkish +soldiers became apparent, and a miserable crew they +were. A few were sauntering about near the gate, +laughing and talking to others who leaned over the +parapet of the old tower that forms one corner of the +fortified entrance to the place. Passing through the +gateway without any particular notice being taken of +us, we proceeded by narrow streets to an open square, +which serves as a market, and entered the huge doorway +of a large caravanserai or khan. This place, +typical of the country, calls for some description. +The building was evidently an old one, the material +used being stone on the lower storeys, and above sun-dried +bricks. An archway led one into a large covered +space, some ten or fifteen yards in width, and perhaps +thirty in length. There was no light admitted except +from the great doorway and a curious barred window +above it. This portion of the khan was of great +height, the roof of the building forming the only +obstacle between it and the sky. This roof was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_249">[249]</span>supported by large arches on buttresses running out +from the wall on either side. A series of brick fire-places +for charcoal ran along one side of the building, +divided from one another by low brick seats, where +the Arabs could sit and brew their own <i>keshour</i>, or +drink of coffee-husks. Farther in the space served as +a stable, and there were quite a number of camels, +mules, and donkeys within its precincts. The +opposite side to that on which the stoves were was +taken up by a staircase leading to a long gallery. +Here the better class of people, such as merchants +and native sheikhs, congregated. The buttresses +supporting the roof divided the gallery into compartments, +and it seemed to be the custom for a party to +engage one for themselves, where they would spread +their carpets and smoke their hubble-bubbles, calling +to the khan servants below for their coffee and food, +and charcoal for their pipes. One end of this gallery, +on the left of the staircase, formed a little room, +which I was able to procure for my use. The fact +that it was built immediately above the kitchen, and +that the thickest of wood fumes crept up between the +ill-laid boards, did not add to my comfort. The +ceiling and walls of the whole building were black +with the smoke of ages, but the scene was a most +picturesque one, and I sat at the doorway of my little +chamber and sketched the place.</p> + +<p>However, I was not to be left very long in peace, +for an impudent young Turk came and began to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[250]</span>search my luggage, and to speak in such an impertinent +manner that he had to be ejected. I knew that, +whatever orders he might have had, he would have +received none that would allow of his conducting +himself in this way—for the Turk, be he what he may, +seldom if ever fails to be polite. There is an innate +manner in him that is always charming, in spite of +the many other drawbacks to his character.</p> + +<p>I called on the Kaimakam a little later and told +him what had happened, saying that I was quite +prepared to have my luggage searched, but asking +that I might be treated with a certain amount of +decent respect. The Turk of whom I complained +was sent for, and such wrath did the Kaimakam show +with him that the young man, a junior clerk in one +of the Government offices, had to ask me to beg the +Governor to forgive him, which I readily did. I +found my host as pleasant and gentlemanly as any +Turk I met in the country, and he insisted on my +spending an hour with him and his brother officers. +I showed him my passport, for here there was no +longer any need to pretend that I was a Greek trader, +and he seemed much impressed with the number +of seals and stamps with which it was covered. Of +what value the wording and decoration of this British +passport was at Sanaa will be told anon. But more +astonished still was his Excellency at the fact that I +had pushed through the Owd tribe and arrived from +Kátaba—for, as he said, the road had been impassable +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[251]</span>for many months, and he laughed heartily at an +Englishman having been the first to open it again. +Yerim, he said, was the dullest of dull places, and he +longed for the society and gaieties of his native town—some +out-of-the-way spot in Asia Minor, the name +of which I had never even heard.</p> + +<p>Returning from his residence to the khan, he followed +me half an hour later and returned my call, +accompanied by a couple of his officers. However, +the fact that one could scarcely see across the room +for smoke did not tend to detain him long, and I +was soon left to my own devices.</p> + +<p>As soon as it was cool enough, under the guidance +of Saïd, who knew the place well, I sauntered out +and strolled through the bazaars; but although I +wore on my head a Turkish fez, all sorts of rumours +had been spread about concerning me, and I was the +whole time the centre of a large crowd, who, though +they pressed me rather hard, were polite but dirty, +so that I found it advisable after a short time to beat +a retreat.</p> + +<p>Yerim apparently has no great pretensions to antiquity, +although there formerly stood on the same +spot, or somewhere in the immediate neighbourhood, +a city of the name of Dhu-Ruayn. The ancient +capital of this district is Zafar, the ruins of which, +lying some miles to the south-east, are still visible on +the summit of a circular hill.</p> + +<p>There is but little to see in Yerim. The town is +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[252]</span>essentially a poor one, and although built partly on +the slope of a mountain where stone is procurable, +the houses are almost entirely composed of sun-dried +bricks. Dirt and squalor abound on every side, and +the streets of narrow bazaars show no signs of any +great commerce or trade. What little importance the +place can lay claim to is owing to the fact that it lies +on the main road from Sanaa to Aden, and is a garrisoned +city. Like Dhamar, it fell into the hands of +the Arabs during the rebellion at the end of 1891, +but was retaken by Ismail Pasha, whom we had seen +a month or two after its recapture, encamped at +Kátaba. The Arabs, however, seem to have gone to +no excesses; and beyond taking prisoner the Kaimakam, +who was still at this time in the hands of the +Imam at Sadah, and his officers, behaved with great +leniency toward the Turks, many of whom threw in +their lot with the Arab cause.</p> + +<p>During the evening I received many callers, who +came probably from curiosity rather than from any +other reason. Amongst them were several of the +“Ashraf,” of the family of Ahmed ed-Din, the leader +of the rebellion, who had seen all through that their +cousins’ cause was a hopeless one, and had remained +neutral during the war. I found them exceedingly +pleasant, and they conversed for a long time about +their country. One was especially a fine man, +young and exceedingly handsome. As is the custom +amongst the nobility, these guests all had closely-shaven +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[253]</span>heads. One or two of them were richly +dressed in silk robes, and wore daggers of exquisite +silver and gold work. It was late before I got rid of +the last of them, and was able to seek a few hours’ +rest before starting again.</p> + +<p>At dawn we were off, our caravan augmented by a +couple of Arab soldiers in the service of the Turks, +who, by the by, would have proved of little advantage +in an attack, as they were armed solely with +spears; but in all probability they were sent to +watch my movements. The Turks employ a very +considerable number of these soldiers in their service, +many being of the class of “Akhdam,” probably +descendants of the Abyssinians who invaded +the Yemen in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 525; while others come from +Yaffa and Hadramaut, and are ready to fight against +any one so long as pay and booty are to be +obtained.</p> + +<p>We left Yerim by a gate to the north of the city, +near which is a picturesque stone mosque, with a +white dome, which I had failed to notice the previous +day.</p> + +<p>Emerging through the gateway, the track proceeds +for a time along a straight level road, lying below +the slopes of Jibel Samára, on which a few Arabs, +mounted on ponies, were galloping to and fro, with +the evident purpose of thrilling me with their equestrian +powers. They were good riders certainly, and +very picturesque they looked with their long black +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[254]</span>hair waving behind them, and the rising sun sparkling +on their polished spear-heads.</p> + +<p>The level surface of the plateau over which we +were passing made one forget the great altitude we +had reached; and such is the appearance of the surrounding +country, that one could scarcely realise that +one was not on some low level plain, but at an elevation +of over eight thousand feet above the sea-level.</p> + +<p>At one spot, however, this is forcibly brought to +one’s mind, for the road passes close to the edge of +a deep narrow gorge through which flows the river +Kha. This valley presents a most extraordinary +appearance as seen from above, for it is nothing more +or less than a huge slice cut out of the plateau. We +passed it at its apex, and could see down nearly its +whole course. The distance from side to side at +the upper part is extraordinarily small, the sides of +the valley being formed of perpendicular precipices. +Far, far down below us, some thousands of feet at +the nearest part, were the coffee-groves and villages, +dotted here and there along the broken rocks that +fringed the edge of the river, which we could follow +with our eyes, a thread of silver, till it was lost in +the hazy mists that lay across the valley many miles +away. Beyond this again rose the torn fantastic +peaks to which we were now becoming so accustomed. +It was a wonderful sight, and we reined in our mules +and stood, Arabs and European alike, gazing at it +with wondering eyes. The Wadi Kha, unlike so +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[255]</span>many of these Yemen rivers, eventually reaches the +sea. It flows into the Wadi Zebeed, and continuing +its course through the city of that name, and across +the Teháma, reaches the Red Sea at Ras Zebeed, +opposite the island of Jibel Zukur. Just as suddenly +as we had come in sight of this strange gorge, just so +suddenly did we lose it again, and only a few minutes +after having left its brink the surrounding scenery +assumed its former appearance, that of a dusty rocky +plain.</p> + +<p>Close to this spot is a mark in a rock which is +supposed to be the footprint of Ali, the son-in-law +and one of the successors in the Caliphate of the +Prophet Mahammed, or of his horse, there seems to +be no certainty which. The imprint itself is vague +enough to be anything, but too large to be either +of those mentioned.</p> + +<p>Below the village of Digishúb we stopped to refresh +ourselves and take breakfast. A few rough stone +huts have been erected by the roadside, near which +some kind philanthropist has built a series of small +tanks, supplied with delicious cold water by a spring. +In one of these tanks live an enormous quantity of +fish. The water is very shallow, and the pond small, +and were it not that the passers-by feed them on +crumbs, there would be but little chance of their +being able to exist in such a small space. Unlike +fish in the springs of Morocco, they are not held in +any way sacred, and the Jews often catch and cook +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_256">[256]</span>them, though the Arabs say that they themselves +never touch them.</p> + +<p>The funniest old specimen of age, rags, and dirt +made our coffee for us—as dishevelled an old witch as +ever man set eyes upon. She is reported, in spite of +her filthy condition, to be of great wealth—for the +country, of course—and is apparently a well-known +character upon the road. Quite a number of caravan-men, +who happened to be resting there, kept up a +continual volley of chaff, which reached its climax +when, on hearing of her reported riches, I offered to +become a Moslem, and lead her a blushing bride to +the altar. She took it all in very good part, and +laughed as much as her begrimed parchment-like +skin would allow, but I feared now and again it +would crack.</p> + +<p>On the road between Digishúb and the city of +Dhamar are three sets of old Himyaric tanks, cut in +the solid rock, as are, with the exception of a few +where the nature of the country allows of some small +gully being made use of, all the tanks of this period. +Although resembling somewhat the tanks of Aden, +there are here none of the natural advantages to be +found at that place; for there the crater pours its +water by aqueducts and natural channels into the +tanks, which are built tier above tier in the wall of +rock and between precipices. These between Digishúb +and Dhamar, however, lie in the level plain, and are +excavated. They are dependent entirely upon the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_257">[257]</span>rainfall for supply, and, as far as has been found +possible, the water has been drained toward them; +but this, owing to the dead level of the country, is +to a very slight extent practicable. These tanks are +circular in form, and of considerable size and depth. +At one spot a flight of steps descends to the water’s +edge, while a smaller tank above the steps can be +filled from buckets, &c., for the animals to drink from. +The entire tanks are lined with intensely hard cement, +which takes a peculiar polish, and on one were visible +rough designs of men on horseback, and gazelle, +scratched into the plaster evidently at the time it +was originally applied. The extraordinarily perfect +condition in which these tanks are to-day, steps and +all, speaks to the excellence of the workmanship of +those who excavated and built them; and the caravans +are still mainly dependent upon these extremely +antique reservoirs for water for the men and their +beasts of burden.</p> + +<p>Again, the plateau is broken by valleys to the west, +but in no way to compare with that through which +the Wadi Kha flows. There a slight descent takes +one from the boulder-strewn undulating hills to the +flat ground again, broken here and there by rocky +barren crags which stand out against the dull yellow +earth. On one of these is situated Dhamar el-Gar, a +village of some size; and on approaching this spot we +caught sight of, far ahead of us, all shimmering in the +fierce sunlight, the city of Dhamar itself. For the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_258">[258]</span>last hour and a half of the road we proceeded over +perfectly level ground, strewn with sandy dust, and, +though showing signs of cultivation, boasting scarcely +a blade of anything green. As we neared the city we +obtained a better view of the place, so twisted and +turned had it at first been by the steaming vapour +rising from the heated ground.</p> + +<p>Dhamar lies in the flat plain, the nearest hill of any +size being Hait Hirran, a mountain rising some +hundreds of feet above the surrounding country a +couple of miles or so to the north of the city. Many +high mountains, however, are visible, especially the +range of Jibel Issi to the east, though it is a long way +distant. This and its neighbouring mountains must +be of great height, for Dhamar itself is situated almost +exactly eight thousand feet above the sea-level. It +is not a walled city, but is more or less defended by a +series of small, and, for the most part, mud-built forts. +Three minarets dominate the town, one of them sadly +out of the perpendicular, as it was struck by a cannon-shot +during one of the many wars it has been its lot +to witness.</p> + +<p>A narrow street, twisting and turning amongst open +drains, ruined tombs, and apparently objectless walls, +leads one into the city. Here there are signs of more +wealth, many of the houses being well built of stone, +while a wide open square gives quite a handsome +appearance to the place.</p> + +<p>It is on to this square that the Government offices +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_259">[259]</span>look, and before we had half crossed it our mules were +stopped by a number of Turkish soldiers, under whose +guidance we proceeded to visit the Kaimakam of the +town.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp60" id="illus12" style="max-width: 25.0em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus12.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Mosque and minaret at Dhamar.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Alighting at a large gate leading into a yard and +garden, we entered a house, built in European style +and with glass windows, and, ascending a staircase, +found ourselves in a large room. Divans surrounded +the walls, and a few shabby chairs and a table or two +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_260">[260]</span>stood about the place. Seated at one end of the room, +drinking coffee and smoking, were four or five Turkish +officers in clean bright uniforms. As I entered one of +these rose, and, walking to meet me, shook hands with +me, and led me to the divan, at the same time calling +to a servant for cigarettes and coffee. My guard, who +had come with me from Yerim, presented a letter +that had been intrusted to him by the Kaimakam of +that place, which was immediately opened and read. +The officer then told me I was welcome, and we conversed +for about half an hour on general subjects. He +could not understand how I had ever attempted or +succeeded in getting through the country between +Kátaba and Yerim, and laughed considerably when I +told him of my adventures. He was, in fact, as were +those with him, most polite and kind, and the one or +two calls I paid to him, and he to me, during my stay, +will always be remembered by myself as most pleasant.</p> + +<p>Before leaving the Kaimakam I obtained his permission +to take up my residence in the house of Saïd +during my stay in that town; for the latter had insisted +on my not going to a khan, but spending the +few days we had determined to stay here in his father’s +house. This favour was readily granted me, and +mounting my mules once more, Saïd, full of impatience, +leading the way, we crossed the big square, +and winding in and out amongst the narrow streets, +finally drew up at a large three-storeyed detached +mud-brick house, which Saïd, almost dancing with +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_261">[261]</span>delight, pointed out to me as “<i>el-beit betaana</i>”—“our +house.”</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp91" id="fp15" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp15.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>MY QUARTERS AT DHAMAR.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Saïd received quite an ovation on his arrival, being +kissed and hugged in turns by all manner of strange +people: an old grey-bearded father followed his grey-haired +mother; brothers, sisters, cousins, children, +aunts, swarmed out of that house like ants, until one +believed that every available inch of the place must +be taken up by living people, and I began to feel +quite nervous as to where room would be found to +put myself away. At length the greetings were got +through, and the male portion of the relations turned +their attention to my mules, which were quickly unpacked +and the baggage carried indoors. Then Saïd +approached me, and having run his hand through his +wavy black curls, as was a habit of his, bade me enter. +As I stepped into the doorway with him he greeted +me in true Yemen fashion, and with all the demonstration +an Arab loves so much—and I believe in his +case it was genuine.</p> + +<p>Climbing to the top storey of the house, we entered +a large airy room, the proportions and decoration of +which fairly astonished me, for from the outside, although +the house was large, it had a poor enough +appearance, being built entirely of sun-dried mud-bricks.</p> + +<p>The guest-room, for such the chamber evidently +was, measured some thirty-five feet in length by +fifteen wide. One end showed a bare floor of cement, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_262">[262]</span>but the other was richly carpeted with rugs and +striped cloths, while divans, thick woollen mattresses, +ran round the walls. The room was evidently not in +use, which was reassuring, as I feared vermin. A +number of handsome bronze brasiers, and strange +bowls and coffee-pots, were piled up in one corner, +while another was occupied by a pile of cushions, +principally covered in European cottons, and happily +tolerably clean. Sunk into the walls were alcoves, in +which scent-bottles and sprinklers, cups and saucers, +and many other things in which the heart of the +Oriental delights, were standing. But of all the pretty +things with which the room was filled, the windows +were certainly the most lovely. Except for two or +three that closed with wooden shutters from the inside, +they did not open, the place of glass being taken +by alabaster. The effect of the light falling through +the semi-opaque stone was soft and luxurious, a rosy +yellow in colour. The slabs used for these windows +vary in thickness, so that the light is regulated, and +though in this particular instance they were of uniform +depth, in other places I saw them richly carved +in relief, so that the background was a monotone of +yellow; but where the carving, principally geometric +designs, was, a much deeper tone of colour was reflected, +owing to the thickness of the material being +greater. Such, then, were the quarters we took up in +the house of Saïd el-Dhamari.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="fp16" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp16.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>KARIAT EN-NEGIL.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_263">[263]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_II_CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.<br> +<span class="smaller">DHAMAR TO SANAA.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>Although the city of Dhamar boasts of a considerable +antiquity, it displays none of the more remarkable +points of the interest of age, and except that a +large portion of the place is in bad repair, it might +have been built but a few years ago. There are no +walls to the city, and necessarily no gates. The +absence of this has led the inhabitants to extend +the town in many directions, with the result that +it occupies a much larger space than would be +necessary for the population it contains. This, +however, has not prevented the streets from occupying +the narrow limits the Oriental loves to +give to the passer-by, and in the bazaars especially +only two or three people could possibly walk +abreast.</p> + +<p>Ibn Khaldun, in his geography of the Yemen, +makes no mention of Dhamar, but this can scarcely +be looked upon as meaning that the town did not +exist in his day—in fact, it is more probable that +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_264">[264]</span>his failing to notice the place was due to an omission, +as the neighbouring fortress of Hirran is also +left without mention, though from the remains existing +there it is very probable that it was a site and +fortress of no little importance in far earlier times +than that of the native geographer; and El-Janadi, +in his account of “The Karmathians,” speaks of the +capture of Hirran by Ibn Fadl about the year 293 +<span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span>, and as the fall of the fortress was only one item +of the leaders successful march to Sanaa, it is very +probable that the event was considered one of no +little importance. Several of the other early Arab +historians make direct mention of Dhamar itself.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp75" id="map2" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/map2.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>ROUTE MAP—DHAMAR TO SANAA<br>BY W. B. HARRIS</p> + <p>W. & A. K. Johnston. Edinburgh & London.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>A few hours after my arrival in the city I sauntered +out with Saïd to the bazaars, to purchase a few little +luxuries in the way of food and fruit, for so far we +had lived during our journey upon the bare necessities +of life. Although at times a considerable crowd +thronged us, we found the people extremely polite, +and what little inconvenience we were put to was +owing entirely to the curiosity of the inhabitants. +The bazaars boast but little beyond their natural +picturesqueness, which in many places is most +noticeable. The shops are the usual little one-storeyed +box-like dens of the Eastern world, and +the trades are divided up into separate streets and +quarters. Here, as elsewhere, the Jews have an +entirely separate town, situated to the east of the +city, from which it is divided by a large open space. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_265">[265]</span>Near this great square is the principal mosque of the +town, a walled enclosure, with three large gates facing +the city, and a handsome, though damaged, +minaret. In one respect, however, it is in better +order than that of another of the mosques, for it +still maintains its upright position, whereas the +other is sadly out of the perpendicular, owing to +its having been struck by a cannon-ball. A third +mosque of considerable size is within the bazaars, +but none of them possess much claim to architectural +beauty, being built in the simple and undecorative +Arab style, native cement and mud-bricks +being the principal materials used in their +construction. Prettier, certainly, are one or two of +the Shereefian tombs, with their white domes and +arcades of arches. One of these, lying on the +extreme south of the city, near where we had +entered the town, is realty charming, with a small +garden in front of it and a huge shady tree for the +pilgrims to the sanctuary to rest under. Near here, +but standing separate from the town, we saw the +ruins of the Turkish barracks, which had been destroyed +by the Arabs on their capture of Dhamar +from the Turks a few months before.</p> + +<p>At sunset we returned to Saïd’s house to spend +the evening in a family party, the members of which +varied between the ages of seventy or eighty and +grimy babies of a few months old. However, it +was an insight into Arab life, and was rendered +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_266">[266]</span>by no means unamusing by Saïd’s wonderful lies +about Aden, his earthly paradise. He fairly took +the breath away from his relations with the startling +untruths he told, but I scarcely believe that +they gave him credence; and probably had he kept +to the strict truth, and only told about the forts +and troops and good government there, they would +equally have taken it for exaggeration. Perhaps +after all he pursued the best course, and possibly +by knocking off some ninety-nine per cent for the +native love of story-telling, they arrived at about +the right result.</p> + +<p>We were up with the sunrise, and enjoyed the +luxuries of a Turkish bath. Fortunately the windows +to admit the light were very small, otherwise +we should, I think, have seen much that was not +tempting; but one forgot any possible disadvantages +in the luxury of soap and hot water. From the +“hummum” we proceeded to a <i>café</i> in the principal +square, and perching ourselves cross-legged under +an awning in front of the coffee-shop, joined in +the swim of conversation over “hubble-bubble” +pipes. A handful of troops were drilling before us +in the square, poor dishevelled creatures, many +without even a boot on their feet. There were +perhaps a hundred and fifty in all, and I was told +that of the four hundred who had been sent to +garrison the place after Ahmed Feizi Pasha’s successful +relief of Sanaa two or three months before, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_267">[267]</span>these were all that remained, sickness having +carried off the rest—starvation probably. The +officers seemed as disheartened as the men, and +appeared to lack all interest in the drill. Many of +the soldiers were smoking cigarettes, but no one +seemed to take any notice of it; and after an +hour or so the soldiers wandered off in different +directions, without apparently being dismissed. It +was sad to see their poor wan faces, thinned and +paled with sickness and hunger.</p> + +<p>Although crowds now and again collected round +me, it was surprising how polite every class of native +was to me, and I do not once remember, during all +the time I was in the Yemen, except on one or two +occasions from the guards of my prison at Sanaa, a +word of abuse. The Yemenis are the aristocracy of +Islam. Wild in appearance, their manners are perfect, +and though their nature now and again leads +them to violence, they are as a rule gentle and hospitable, +and as my travels proceeded, the more I saw +of them, especially the inhabitants of the mountains +and the plateau, the more I liked them. Nor did I +find any difference with the townspeople, and many a +kind word of welcome was said to me now and again.</p> + +<p>Much as I wanted to push on to Sanaa, I had +promised Saïd to stay three days at his house at +Dhamar, and to tell the truth, I was by no means +sorry of a pretext to rest in such comfortable quarters. +Many a visit I received there. I think that there +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_268">[268]</span>could not have been a single Turkish official in the +town who did not at some time or another come and +see me, and although they seemed always to be suspicious +as to the objects of my travels, they were +charmingly polite. Nor were the Turks my only +visitors, for many an Arab merchant in long robes of +silk came and spent an hour or so over coffee and +tobacco, and on one occasion I was honoured by the +visit of a local Shereef, first cousin to Ahmed ed-Din, +leader of the late rebellion, but who, wisely, had +not taken part on either side, preferring before entering +into the affair to see who was going to win. +Saïd’s people thought a great deal of the visit of this +Shereef, and personally I found him charming. He +was a man of perhaps some thirty years of age, +extremely handsome and beautifully dressed. He +seemed well educated, and had travelled a little, and +the hour he spent with me I shall always remember +with pleasure.</p> + +<p>But of all the insights that I obtained into Arab +life during my time in the Yemen, the most interesting +was the dinner-party given by Saïd in my honour. +About seven o’clock our guests commenced to arrive—and +what guests! The first to come were half-a-dozen +Arab tribesmen, with long wavy black hair and +a scarcity of clothing—in fact, their entire costume +consisted of a turban and a dark loin-cloth, from the +latter of which appeared the handles of their silver +daggers. Strange lithe beautiful creatures they were, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_269">[269]</span>with limbs that would have been worth a mint of +money to an artist to paint from. A couple of merchants +followed a few minutes later, their servants +carrying their silver hookahs. Natives of the same +country, it is extraordinary what a difference is apparent +between the townspeople and the tribesmen; +and our merchant friends were fat and heavy, boasting +little of the grace of their wilder countrymen, and +in place of the scanty clothing, wrapped in long silk +garments of gaudy hues, and wearing white turbans +on their heads. More of the tribesmen followed, each +as he entered placing his long spear against the walls +in the corners of the room, till the place wore quite +the appearance of an armoury. Then came the +musicians, natives of the Hadramaut, wilder and +longer-haired than the Yemenis present, and bearing, +in place of spears, strange richly painted instruments. +More and more guests, until our room, big as it was, +was filled.</p> + +<p>What a night it was! One of those nights in a +lifetime which can never be forgotten. The cool dim +light of the swinging alabaster lamps, the flashing +spears heaped together in the corners, the wonderful +dark crowd of swarthy men, the steam of the brewing +coffee issuing from strange jars, the rich dark carpets +and gaudy cushions, the murmur and the blue curling +smoke of the pipes—ay, a dinner-party in +Dhamar is worth seeing! And then the soft music +and singing of the musicians, whose tall beautiful +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_270">[270]</span>figures moved slowly here and there as they played +strange melodies! It seemed like some dream:—no +wild African feast, merely the echo of the long-past +glories of Arabia!</p> + +<p>Then they brought us great dishes heaped with +food, for the most part our old friend the antiquated +goat, and we dipped our fingers into copper bowls of +rose-water and ate together. Then coffee and pipes, +and the bitter herb <i>kat</i>, and music and dancing. +And the cool night air blew in through the windows +and sent the filmy smoke circling here and there, and +now and again ruffled the raven locks of one or other +of our guests, who lay recumbent and silent, expressionless +and beautiful, listening to the tales of +love that our musicians, with strange monotonous +dancing, sang to the strains of their painted guitars. +We were back again in the days of Haroun el-Rashid, +and all the hurry and scurry of modern life seemed +lost and gone.</p> + +<p>At length I brought out my electric machine, and, +the guests joining hands, felt, for the first time in +their lives, a shock. They smiled, and asked for +more. Then one was brave enough to hold the +handles by himself. I turned it on full, and fairly +whizzed the wheels round. With a scream the man +jumped into the air, and then apologised. Silently, +one by one, our guests arose, and shaking me by the +hand with the compliments the Arab knows so well +how to bestow, bade me good-night. Then, taking +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_271">[271]</span>their spears in their hands, they walked slowly to the +door, until fairly outside, when they flew down the +stairs at a pace that was positively dangerous, and +from the window I could see them tearing down the +street at a break-neck run. Such was the effect of +a small electric machine at a Dhamar dinner-party. +The following morning we paid a visit to the tombs +of the family of a Turkish general, Ahmed Rushti +Pasha, who had himself fallen near Lohaya in the +beginning of the rebellion. The enclosed garden, +with its mosque and tombs, tells of a sad story, for +the family of Ahmed Rushti were assassinated by their +house being blown up with gunpowder some few years +since. However, as the story is to be found in the +chapter on the Yemen rebellion, I shall not refer to it +more particularly here. The tombs are situated without +the city, on the west side. An acre or two of +land are enclosed with high walls, in which stands a +summer-house, where the bereaved Pasha was wont +to come and sit; but this, like the tombs themselves, +was sacked by the Arabs during the rebellion, and +little but the outside walls and the graves remain +to-day. Passing back through the town we visited +the Jews’ quarter, which, unlike the Moslem city, is +walled, the gates being locked every night from the +outside. Miserable squalor and dirt existed on all +sides, although the Jews themselves seemed well to +do, and their houses airy and large. They are built +almost entirely of mud-bricks, plastered inside and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_272">[272]</span>out. This material forms a hard surface, and seems +to be very durable.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus13" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus13.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Hirran.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Our last day was spent in visiting the old fortress +of Hirran, lying a mile or two to the north of Dhamar; +and well worth the trouble and heat I found the +expedition, for Hirran boasts many antiquities. +Passing through the north quarter of Dhamar, one +emerges into the dusty plateau, across which the +road continues for a couple of miles or so. Hirran is +clearly visible from Dhamar itself, the dark rocky +hill standing out black against the light soil. One +reaches the place near the south-west point of the +jagged rock, where are some old tanks sunk in the +solid stone, and of very considerable size. Keeping +still to the west side of the hill, we shortly reached +the scene of an old cemetery, the flat rock being +honeycombed with graves. These were often sunk +to the depth of twenty feet and more, and generally +measured some seven feet in length, and two to three +in breadth, but one or two were circular. They did +not point in any direction, but lay scattered about +the little elevated rocky flat in which they were sunk, +some east and west, some north and south. Besides +the empty ones, there were a great many visible +which had apparently escaped the hands of man, nor +could I find out why or when those that had been +dug out had been spoiled. An old goatherd, the sole +inhabitant of Hirran, told me that he had always +remembered them thus, and during his lifetime had +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_273">[273]</span>never seen any one digging in the graves, though +lately some of the larger cave-tombs further up the +rock had been searched for treasure, but only a few +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_274">[274]</span>coins and beads, he said, had been found with the +bones.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="illus14" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus14.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Cave-Tombs, Hirran.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The hill of Hirran is double-peaked, each point +rising to some hundreds of feet above the level of the +surrounding plain. These peaks lie almost due north +and south, the rock taking a curving form between +them, so that the whole forms a sort of crescent, +which was formerly defended by a huge wall, still +remaining, joining the lower slopes of the two extremities +on the eastern side.</p> + +<p>Like the graveyard, the cave-tombs are situated on +the west side of the hill, at a spot where the steep +precipice, which rises to the summit, is joined by the +lower boulder-strewn slopes. Although we entered +all of the caves that are to-day open, there were signs +of numerous others which the collection of falling +material from the precipice had so blocked that considerable +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_275">[275]</span>digging would be necessary to procure an +entrance.</p> + +<p>The first cave-tomb which I visited consisted of a +circular chamber with a domed roof; the room measured +some twelve feet in diameter, and the highest +point of the roof was five feet eight inches from the +floor. To the left of the entrance was an alcove +three feet deep, three high, and four in length. +The door was three feet wide and over five feet in +height, but the walls were lower in the chamber.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp62" id="illus15" style="max-width: 15.625em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus15.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Ground plan of Tomb III.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>A little higher up the side of the precipice we were +able to gain entrance to a +second cave, which I call +Cave II. This excavation +formed two oval chambers, +partly divided from one +another by a buttress +running out from the solid +rock. On both sides of +this partition, and on the +main walls facing it, were +ledges cut in the rock three +feet above the ground; in +the dust of one of which I found a few bones and an +engraved bead.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp70" id="illus16" style="max-width: 23.4375em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus16.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Interior of Tomb III., Hait Hirran.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Cave No. III. was perhaps the most important I +visited, and showed signs of more careful excavation +than any of the others. A doorway led one into +a circular chamber, off which to right and left two +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_276">[276]</span>small rooms opened out. This circular entrance-hall +led, opposite the door, into a still larger chamber, +into which in turn opened two alcoves and a room, +all of them four-sided. On the left and immediately +in front the doors were raised above the ground and +nearly square, the floor of the alcoves being level with +the lower part of the openings. On the right, however, +was a chamber level with the floor, entered +through an archway. The two alcoves showed evident +signs of having at one time been closed up, for in +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_277">[277]</span>the lintels of rock were visible holes which may +either have held a door or been used for joists to +strengthen any masonry which may have been arranged +to fill up the opening.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp75" id="illus17" style="max-width: 21.875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus17.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Entrance to Tomb IV., Hait Hirran.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Cave IV., again, to the south of the others, presented +quite a new feature, the face of the precipice being +cut to form a large square chamber, in the back wall +of which a doorway opened into the tomb. Below +this window, a foot or two above the ground, ran a +series of five holes drilled a short way into the rock, +and which seems at some time to have held the supports +of a platform or seat. Apparently the whole +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_278">[278]</span>outer chamber was lined with plaster, and may have +been once separated from the face of the precipice +by masonry. The window or aperture opening into +the tomb was situated three feet from the ground, +and was two and a half feet in height and two feet +three inches in breadth. The interior consisted of an +alcove six feet in length, two feet wide, and three in +height. Here, as in Cave No. III., I found bones +amongst the accumulation of dust, but nothing else.</p> + +<p>The fifth cave consisted of one large room, some +sixteen feet by eight, at each end of which were +ledges in the rock eight feet long by eighteen inches +wide. The door leading into this cave-tomb was +three feet six inches wide, and the roof inside five +feet in height. The rock here was strewn with small +chips of rock, and I found no signs of bones.</p> + +<p>All these caves showed signs of having been opened, +and my old guide the goatherd said that such was +the case. Asking him how Moslems reconciled themselves +to breaking open tombs, he replied that they +were the tombs of “unbelievers,” and that had they +been Mahammedan graves no one would have dared +to have touched them. This he exemplified to me by +pointing out some tombs on the summit of the rock, +in which Moslems are supposed to be buried, and it +was quite apparent they had been left untouched.</p> + +<p>Following the hill to its southernmost extremity, +I climbed by a difficult ascent to a tank cut in the +rock where water was formerly collected. To reach +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_279">[279]</span>this spot, so difficult and slippery was the path, I had +to go barefooted, a by no means pleasant task, as the +stones were so hot as to blister my feet. Descending +again, we proceeded to the site of the former “fortress,” +formed by the two eastern points of the hill +being joined by a great wall. This, however, showed +signs of early Arab work, being built of the peculiar +cement which is typical of Arab construction. This +wall is of enormous height and width, being some +hundred and fifty yards long and twenty feet high, +and one could drive a carriage and pair anywhere on +its summit. The only one dating from Arab times +that I have seen to equal it in size is the great wall +attributed to Mulai Ismail at Mequinez in Morocco. +Within the wall is a deep well, the upper portion of +which is built, the lower part sunk into the solid +rock. Above the northern end of the great wall are +a series of three tanks, reached by a roughly cut +stairway. Still ascending, one arrives at the summit, +where are the five Moslem tombs I alluded to, enclosed +in low stone walls, and the remains of much old +building, of which it is difficult to gather any distinct +idea, to such a state of ruin has it fallen. At all +events, the enormous amount of broken pottery, some +of gorgeous colour and fine design, speaks to the size +of the place.</p> + +<p>From the summit one gains a fine view of the +surrounding country,—a great flat plain broken by +ridges of dark volcanic rock, like that on which we +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_280">[280]</span>were standing, until in the far east a tall range of +mountains appeared on the horizon. Below us to the +south lay Dhamar, almost as yellow as the plain itself, +for there is but little green in its neighbourhood, +although it is said that in the rainy season the whole +country entirely changes its aspect. To the east of +Hirran, and immediately below it, lie the remains of +an old city, the loose stone walls of the houses still +standing to the height of a few feet above the ground. +Altogether the place must have been one of great +importance in early times, and I regretted much that +I was unable in my hasty visit to find any inscriptions. +However, I was able to take the notes given +above before a mounted Turkish soldier appeared +on the scene, sent by the Kaimakam to watch my +movements, and who begged me politely to return. +Fearing that any suspicion on the part of the +Governor toward myself might prevent my continuing +my journey to Sanaa, I stated my readiness +to comply with his request, and bidding adieu to the +old goatherd, once more mounted my mule and +returned to the town.</p> + +<p>I was able to learn but little about Hirran in +Dhamar, or in fact anywhere, except that it was once +the centre of a great trade, a sort of caravanserai for +the goods of Sanaa and the north, the kingdom of +Saba or Sheba, and Aden. This is the only early +tradition the natives seem to have concerning its +former wealth and its being a centre of trade in very +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_281">[281]</span>early times, and this tradition has led me to a conjecture—it +is nothing more—that Hirran may be the +site of the Haran of the Old Testament. The places +mentioned in the same verse are, I believe, all in +Southern Arabia, and have all been recognised, Haran +alone remaining undiscovered. It is more than +possible, judging from the similarity of names and +the report of its former importance in trade, that +they may be one and the same place.⁠<a id="FNanchor_40" href="#Footnote_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p> + +<p>During the afternoon I paid a farewell visit to the +Kaimakam, which was returned an hour later, when +he promised me a couple of soldiers to see me safely +to Sanaa.</p> + +<p>The following morning we left Dhamar. There +was, of course, a great leave-taking of Saïd, and just +as they had done on our arrival, a long string of +relations, illustrating all the seven ages of man, with +many of the intermediary gaps filled in, streamed out +of the house to bid him farewell. Good simple people +they were, though the younger members of the family, +when away from their parents’ eyes, were importunate +in their demands for <i>bakshish</i>. The road led us to +the west of Hirran, close to the large tanks I mentioned +as having seen on my ride to that place, and +then on over the dreary plain. Leaving the large-walled +village of Jaffa to our left for a time, we saw +but little signs of life.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_282">[282]</span></p> + +<p>The early morning effect upon the flat plateau was +one of great beauty, in spite of its dry arid appearance. +A dull warm haze hung over the more distant +desert, for such it really was at this period of the +year, through which the far-away mountains shimmered +in the heat, turquoise-blue in colour. As we +proceeded the cultivated land became very sparse, the +soil for the most part consisting of sand and stones, +until, passing through a narrow gorge of rock, we +entered a great circular plain enclosed by low rocky +hills on all sides, no doubt the crater of some long-extinct +volcano. From this point one catches a +glimpse of Jibel Doran, a range of mountains of +great elevation, which terminate in a strange sugar-loaf +peak, unequalled in curious form by any I have +seen elsewhere in the world, with the exception perhaps +of “The Needle of Heaven” in the I-chang gorge +of the Yangtze-Kiang, some eleven hundred miles up +that river.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="fp17" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp17.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>JIBEL DORAN—EARLY MORNING.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>At a small <i>café</i>—half a cave, and half built of +rough stones—we spent an hour or two during the +hottest part of the day. Quite a number of men +and camels had arrived before us, and in spite of +the fact that scarcely a blade of anything green +was to be seen, the surroundings were by no means +unpicturesque. Joining in with the caravan-men, +a cool corner was found for me in the cave, and +our mid-day rest passed quickly and pleasantly +enough. Far above us, perched on the summit of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_283">[283]</span>a hill, was the large village of Athaik, its tall +towers dominating the surrounding plain and giving +the place the appearance of some old feudal castle. +A descent led us to a slightly lower portion of the +plain. The soil here was richer, but I noticed that +there was no cultivation, a fact that was explained +to me to be owing to the rebellion, which had deterred +any investment in crops that were bound to +fall a prey either to the Turks or independent robbers. +To our left we could see the walled town +of Resaaba, but wishing to push on to Sanaa, and +as it did not lie in our road, I did not visit it. +There is but little of interest, I was told, to be +seen within its walls. It is, in fact, rather a very +large village than a town, and bears all the characteristics +of the villages of the Yemen plateau. +Again, another reason deterred me from penetrating +there; that I felt it advisable to give as wide a +berth as possible to any places where I might be +likely to run up against Turks and Turkish authorities. +To have so nearly reached Sanaa, and then +be turned back, would indeed have been a disappointment.</p> + +<p>Several times along the road we passed the deep +rock-cut tanks that even to-day form the water-supply +of the passing caravans. One that we +stopped to drink at as evening was approaching +bore rough designs of men on horseback, and inscriptions +in the Himyaric language cut in the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_284">[284]</span>plaster that lined the rock walls. Like so many +of these tanks, a flight of steps led to the water’s +edge, at the summit of which was a smaller pool, +to be filled by hand for the beasts of burden to +drink from, and, like the main reservoir, circular in +form. The mountains we had seen all the afternoon +far ahead of us were now growing nearer, and as +evening drew on we found ourselves in a large open +valley, semicircular in form, and closed at the far +end by steep broken crags. The soil here was well +cultivated, though, as we were still nearly nine thousand +feet above the sea-level, the young crops had +not yet begun to show, and the place looked dreary +and burnt up. That the soil must repay cultivation +is evident from the great number of wells distributed +over the country. At many of these, men, women, +and camels were engaged in drawing water. A +couple of tree-trunks form uprights to a beam laid +across their tops, over which the rope that supports +the skins in which the water is raised passes. At +the other end of the rope, men, women, or some +beast of burden is harnessed. Owing to the great +depth of these wells, and the size of the skins used +as buckets, the weight to be raised is very great, +and the labour of raising it proportionately so. But +the natives have discovered a means by which the +work is lessened, while at the same time their +irrigation is rendered more practicable—namely, by +building the wells upon the summits of mounds. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_285">[285]</span>A long sloping path leads from the high mouth of +the well to the level of the surrounding fields, so +that the drawer, harnessed to the end of the rope, +is assisted by the centre of gravity, instead of being +dependent upon his, her, or its personal strength. +This raising of the wells above the fields also renders +easy the carrying of the water in little dikes +to whatever spot it is needed. The skin, on reaching +the well’s mouth, empties itself into a trough +from which the water pours into the irrigating +channels. The fact that these channels consist of +only small ditches adds much to the toil and labour, +as the thirsty soil sucks up a large quantity of the +fluid before it reaches its destination. However, +labour is cheap, and a man, so long as he possesses +a donkey, a camel, or a wife to work his well, can +sit and smoke and look on himself.</p> + +<p>At length we drew up at the village khan of +Maaber, our resting-place, and climbing a rough +outside staircase, found ourselves in a clean whitewashed +room, cool and airy, where our carpets were +quickly spread and coffee on the boil. The people +were very inquisitive, and at last I was obliged to +give peremptory orders that no one was to be allowed +to enter my room. But this did not seem to +be of much avail, and eventually I posted a guard +outside the door, armed with a long stick. The +village is a poor enough place, built of mud-bricks, +with a little stone masonry showing here and there. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_286">[286]</span>The people seemed poor and dirty, and there was +little or nothing of interest to be seen. Very different +are these villages of the plateau to the well-built +and fortified towers of the country we had +passed through to the south of Yerim, nor were the +people of this part half so clean or genial or handsome +as the wild mountaineers.</p> + +<p>Early the next morning we were on our way again, +the road continuing over the dusty plain. A mile +or two from Maaber we witnessed some skirmishing +between the Turkish troops and the hillmen of Jibel +Anis, one of the last tribes to hold out, and one that +probably will never surrender to the Turkish Government. +The country inhabited by this tribe consists +of wild inaccessible country, into which the Osmanli +troops are powerless to penetrate. The battle we +witnessed was not apparently a very bloody affair, +for it consisted principally in a small field-battery of +the Turks firing into a few hill villages, from which +a desultory and ill-aimed fire was kept up by the +Arabs. This was the first active sign we had as yet +seen of the rebellion; for although Turkish garrisons +were to be found in Dhamar and Yerim, their +reconquest of these cities from the Arabs had been +accomplished almost without bloodshed. For a time +we stayed and watched the little battle, listening to +the sharp cracking of the rifles and the louder tones +of the field-guns, until, as it was apparent that the +Turks had no idea of trying to climb to the villages +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_287">[287]</span>or the Arabs of descending to the level, we continued +our journey. The plain ends in an abrupt +line of high rocky mountains, over which we could +see our path twisting and turning in serpentine coils. +Entering a narrow gorge, we passed close under the +grandly situated village of Kariat en-Negil, its every +rock crowned by stone towers—a striking and wild-looking +place. Here it is that the old pilgrim-road +from Aden and the Hadramaut probably joins the +track I had travelled on. We had left the old road +at Lahej, whence it continues <i>viâ</i> Ibb, our route +lying more to the east. I have mentioned elsewhere +this great pilgrim-track, founded by Huseyn ibn +Salaamah in the fifth century <span class="allsmcap">A.H.</span>, and there is no +further need of description here. Suffice it to say +that at every night’s <i>nzala</i>, or resting-place, was +built a mosque, while tanks refreshed the weary with +water by the way.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="fp18" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp18.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>KHADAR.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>A tremendous climb takes one to the summit of +the pass, where there is an old round tower, now +used as a watch-house by the Turks. The path is extremely +steep, and, though roughly paved, so slippery +that all riding up was impossible, while the rarefied +air made the climb by no means an easy or a pleasant +one. The summit I found by observation to lie nine +thousand one hundred feet above the sea-level, about +eleven hundred feet above the city of Dhamar.</p> + +<p>A steep descent and an hour’s ride along a broken +valley brought us to the large village of Khadar, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_288">[288]</span>where we rested for an hour over pipes and coffee. +The place is a picturesque one, though greatly lacking +in vegetation. The upper portion of the village +is situated on the summit of a precipitous hill, and +is walled, while every available peak holds the usual +tower-house. The few buildings that stand near the +road are for the most part caravanserais and <i>cafés</i>. +The inhabitants are almost entirely Jews, who, like +certain tribes of their co-religionists that I have +seen in the Atlas Mountains, are cultivators of the +soil and agriculturists. A small mosque, the only +whitewashed building in the place, shows, however, +that there must be some Moslem inhabitants +in Khadar.</p> + +<p>A wild group were seated at the door of one of the +<i>cafés</i>, Arabs and camels from Mareb, whence they +were bringing salt. Our mutual curiosity in each +other led to conversation, and I found them good +fellows on the whole, though rougher in manners +than the Yemenis I had as yet come in contact +with.</p> + +<p>Two hours after leaving Khadar we reached our +night’s resting-place, Waalan, the best-built village +we had as yet come across. The size and solidity +of the houses was astonishing; and when, on being +led up a staircase and along a wide passage into a +beautifully clean room in a handsome khan, the +change from the quarters we had as yet found on our +journey in the other villages, almost took one’s breath +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_289">[289]</span>away. Our chamber, which commanded a fine view +of several surrounding villages through large windows +opening down to the ground, was well whitewashed, +the doors and window-shutters being handsomely +carved of polished dark wood, and with a ceiling of +the same material overhead. The change from what +we had been accustomed to was a most pleasant one, +and we soon made ourselves comfortable. A dear +old lady, and a very tolerably clean one, waited upon +us, and insisted on cooking our dinner, a task usually +shared by Abdurrahman and Saïd—and very well she +did it too.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp95" id="fp19" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp19.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>VIEW FROM WAALAN.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>This appearance of cleanliness and civilisation was +a sure sign that we were nearing the capital, and I +turned in to rest that night with a feeling of satisfaction, +for only a few hours’ ride lay between us and +Sanaa.</p> + +<p>Four hours of heat along the valley of the Beni +Matar, and we reached the large village of Estaz, +where we rested for an hour or two in a large but +dirty <i>café</i>. There is certainly but little to see in the +place, though Turkish soldiers were more common +here than elsewhere, and the curiosity of their officers +would not allow of my being left undisturbed even for +the brief space of the hour or so we stayed there. +They must needs come and call and ask all sorts of +absurd questions. Estaz, however, boasts one superiority +over much of the Yemen plateau, a river of +running water that flows by many channels through +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_290">[290]</span>gardens, the greenness of which was most pleasant +after days of travelling over yellow plains.</p> + +<p>Before mid-day we were off again, and turning a +corner could see far away across the level ground, +shimmering white and yellow in the steaming heat, +the city of Sanaa.</p> + +<p>With a thrill of satisfaction I urged my mule on to +its quickest paces, and a couple of hours later found +us entering the city by an old broken-down gateway, +near which a company or two of troops were drilling. +Signs of the fighting were common enough. Some of +the little towers erected as forts by the Turks outside +the walls were in ruins, and half an hour earlier we +had passed all that remained of the village of Dar es-Salaam, +the “house of peace”—ill-fitting name!—where +the Arabs had made their last strong stand +against their Turkish enemy, and which they only +left when driven forth by the Turkish artillery playing +upon the houses of the village. Little remains +to-day but broken walls and tumble-down towers. +In many places one could see exactly where the shot +had hit, and one tower was drilled through, the torn-up +flooring and rafters showing what havoc the ball +had accomplished.</p> + +<p>At length we were in Sanaa. The road had been a +difficult and a dangerous one, but this was all forgotten +now. In spite of warnings and repeated efforts +to dissuade us from so rash an undertaking, we had +been successful, and it was with the keenest satisfaction, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_291">[291]</span>though not without some doubts as to how I +should be received, that I watched my little caravan +enter the city.</p> + +<p>Passing through a narrow street with high houses +on either hand, we drew up at the door of a great +caravanserai, a four-storeyed building of which the +rooms all looked out on to balconies overhanging a +large <i>patio</i>. The place was in wretched condition, +and the ground-floor, which served as a stable for +camels, horses, mules, and donkeys, looked as though +it had never been cleaned out. Here I paid off my +men, with the exception, of course, of Abdurrahman +and Saïd. I had made a bargain with a caravan-man +in Aden to send me through to Sanaa, and this bargain +he had carried out in every particular, in spite +of all manner of dangers and difficulties; and it was +with much satisfaction that I paid the worthy fellows +the remaining half of the sum agreed upon at Aden, +and sent them on their way with more <i>bakshish</i> than +had probably ever been in their possession before. +Our parting was almost a sad one: from the day they +had joined me we had shared the same food and the +same room at the khans, and though it was under +three weeks that they had been with me, I felt as +though I had known them ages, and shall always +remember with pleasure the trustworthy way in which +they saw me through the country, and how, weary as +they must at times have been with the long marches, +they maintained their tempers throughout, and were +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_292">[292]</span>always ready to do me some little service, however +far removed it might chance to be from the routine +of their work.</p> + +<p>A saunter through the bazaars brought us to the +quarter in which the Government buildings are +situated, and in a few minutes more I found myself +in the residence of his Excellency Ahmed Feizi +Pasha, Governor-General of the Yemen and Commander +of the Seventh Army Corps. I was almost +immediately ushered into the generals presence. +He was seated on a divan at the end of a handsome +room, surrounded by quite a number of his staff. +His Excellency received me pleasantly, and after +exchange of salaams, a chair being fetched for me, +he began to ask me what had brought me there. +I thereupon presented him with my passport, vizéd +by the Turkish Consul-General in London, and made +out for the “Ottoman Empire,” which had been +issued to me by H.M. Foreign Office the day before +I left London to visit the Yemen. Being unable +to read English, Ahmed Feizi Pasha sent for an +Armenian who spoke and read French, and the wording +of my passport was explained to him. Suddenly +his Excellency’s manner quite changed, and he became +very red and irascible, asking all sorts of +absurd questions, which he did not give me time to +answer. First, I was not an Englishman at all; +then I was an officer sent from Aden to map out +the country, and assist the Arabs in the rebellion; +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_293">[293]</span>until at last I almost became bewildered as to what I +was, or rather what the Pasha imagined me to be. +Abdurrahman, good Moslem that he is, was an +Englishman in disguise. No Arab, the Pasha said, +ever spoke Arabic with such a foreign accent; and as +to Morocco there was no such country, and no such +person as Mulai el-Hassan, its Sultan, for he knew +well enough that all North Africa was under the +French. At length he insisted on his saying the +Mahammedan belief, to assure himself that he was +in truth a co-religionist. Abdurrahman’s indignation +was intense, especially as Saïd happened to be present; +for with a true oriental love of exaggeration the +Moor had been telling the Yemeni wonderful tales +of the greatness and power of his country and its +Sultan, and it pained him to find that the Turkish +Pasha had never heard of either, and Saïd’s smile +and look were anything but reassuring to his pride +in his fatherland.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp20" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp20.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>THE AUTHOR BEING EXAMINED AND HIS PASSPORT READ IN THE + PRESENCE OF AHMED FEIZI PASHA, GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF THE YEMEN.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>At length, in a burst of anger, Ahmed Feizi called +to a couple of officers, and his remarks being translated +to me by the Armenian, I learned that I was to +be kept in security for the present. A hand was laid +on my shoulder, and I was gently led away, leaving +the handsome old Pasha as scarlet as a tomato. In +the large anteroom I was handed over to a guard of +four soldiers, who conducted me through the streets +to a guard-room, situated above the prison yard, +where I was soon ensconced, the door banged and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_294">[294]</span>locked, and a sentry posted on the outside. My baggage, +which I had left at the khan, was sent to me +a little later. Meanwhile, Abdurrahman and Saïd +were strictly cross-examined by the Governor-General, +and as the account the first had to give of himself +did not seem satisfactory, he quickly followed me +to jail. That Saïd was a Yemeni there could be no +doubt, but he suffered a like fate—I suppose for keeping +such bad company.</p> + +<p>I spent five days in prison at Sanaa. The room +was clean, and I was decently treated, being only +once roughly handled. Wishing to speak to an +officer in the courtyard, I proceeded to leave my +room, the door of which was kept open by day, when +I was rudely pushed back by the sentry.</p> + +<p>The first night I was allowed to sleep alone and in +peace; but on the succeeding three, two non-commissioned +officers shared the chamber, dirty things in +uniforms, which wore the look of never having been +taken off. However, they were good-hearted fellows, +and both spoke Arabic well.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp75" id="illus18" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus18.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>The Author in prison at Sanaa.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>My meals I was sent out to get for the first day; +but after that, all leaving the place was forbidden to +me, except to take exercise in charge of a guard of +soldiers. On the whole I had little to complain of, +except that the water and sanitary arrangements +were both very bad—so bad, in fact, that on the last +night I was taken with violent fever, as also were +Saïd and Abdurrahman, who by no means shared +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_295">[295]</span>such good quarters as I did, being housed in a large +dirty room, where chained prisoners were their companions. +This, however, was changed on my representing +that both were suffering from fever to the +Governor-General on my second interview. On this +occasion I found his Excellency more reasonable, and +once or twice he even laughed, being apparently +much amused when I told him how I had got over +the frontier in the disguise of a Greek. But the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_296">[296]</span>Pasha’s merriment did not bring about any change +in my condition, and I was taken back from his +presence to the same prison as before. I told him +at this interview that one of my reasons for visiting +the country was to correspond for the ‘Times,’ and +he thereupon entered into a long political statement +as to the rebellion and its reasons. His Excellency +asked me what we should do in India in a like circumstance, +and I replied that I thought the matter +could be best solved by a total disarmament of the +Arabs. While agreeing with me, he acknowledged +such a task an impossibility with the troops under +his command, and said he was earnestly hoping for +further reinforcements from Constantinople. From +his manner, and what I could gather about Ahmed +Feizi Pasha, he seems to be a man of great personal +courage and perseverance, besides possessing an extraordinary +amount of diplomacy and skill in dealing +with the Arabs, learned, no doubt, during the time +that he was Governor of Mecca; and in spite of the +fact that he saw right to put me in prison, I cannot +but admire the thorough character which the general +seems to possess. His surroundings showed that +here, at least, some regard was shown for the common +soldiers, and all wore boots, not to say fezzes. +Here, too, their uniforms were not in rags, nor did +they seem to be on the eve of starvation. There +seemed, too, in Sanaa, more organisation than I had +seen elsewhere. I asked the Pasha why I was kept +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_297">[297]</span>in prison, and he replied that my presence was not +entirely satisfactory, and that he had ordered me to +be lodged in the guard-room lest the Arab population +might do me harm.</p> + +<p>I can quite imagine that to the jealous Turk the +unexpected arrival of an Englishman was by no means +a pleasant surprise. Up to this time all truth concerning +the rebellion had been withheld, and the sole +matter that the press had been able to obtain was +from official sources at Constantinople. Therefore +any chance of the truth leaking out, and the general +public being made aware how very nearly the Osmanli +Government had lost the southernmost of its Arabian +possessions, would prove far from acceptable to the +authorities. On this account Ahmed Feizi’s bearing +toward myself is explicable, nor do I complain very +much of it. Not so, however, with the action of H.M. +late Secretary of Foreign Affairs, who laid all the +blame of my imprisonment upon myself, and entirely +ignored the fact that my passport,—demanding that +I should be allowed to pass without let or hindrance, +and that I should be afforded every assistance and protection +of which I might stand in need in the Ottoman +Empire, and which had been vizéd by the Turkish Consul-General +in London,—bore his own signature, which, +if it were not lithographed, might have been worth the +sum paid for the document that bore it, as an autograph, +but was certainly entirely useless for the purpose +for which it was supposed to be affixed. Although +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_298">[298]</span>I made my journey through the Yemen with the +knowledge and consent of the late Sir William White, +then H.M. Ambassador at Constantinople, I was informed, +in one of those elegant despatches of the +Foreign Office, that I had entered the Yemen on +entirely my own responsibility, and must bear the +results of my actions myself! and that if the Turkish +Government saw right to put me in prison and give +me such bad water to drink that fever was the result, +they really could not hold any one responsible for it +beyond my own person. My question as to whether +the wording of my passport was of any value, or +merely a form that meant nothing, they entirely +ignored, and to this day I have been unable to obtain +a reply. Suffice it to say that with all its seals and +titles and stamps, a British passport does not seem to +be of much value in the Ottoman Empire; nor when +it is absolutely disregarded is any one blamed by the +Foreign Office except the unoffending bearer, who may +have been so dazzled by its splendour as to believe +that it might be of service to him. However, what +with making treaties and doing their duty in society, +it can be easily understood that the time of +the officials is too much occupied to attend to such +an unimportant question as the imprisonment of +an Englishman, even though by such an occurrence +every word and sentence of a paper to which H.M. +Secretary of State appends his signature is disregarded +and abused.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_299">[299]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_II_CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.<br> +<span class="smaller">SANAA, THE CAPITAL OF THE YEMEN.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>The city of Sanaa is situated in a wide valley, at an +elevation of seven thousand two hundred and fifty +feet above the sea-level. Although the town lies +almost altogether on the flat bottom of the valley, a +mountain, Jibel Negoum, rises abruptly on the east—so +abruptly, in fact, that the old fortress and castle +which form the citadel of Sanaa are perched on one +of its spurs, from which the main peak rises in rocky +bareness to a very considerable height.</p> + +<p>The town is in form a triangle, the apex being +formed by the <i>kasr</i> above-mentioned, and the base by +the wall of the garden suburb Bir el-Azab. There +are three distinct quarters within the outer walls: +the first or east quarter that of the Turks and Arabs, +where are situated the bazaars, the Government +buildings, and the principal native houses; the +second the Jews’ quarter, separated from the last +by a wide strip of barren ground, part of which shows +signs of once having been a cemetery; and thirdly, +this suburb of Bir el-Azab, where many a villa stands +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_300">[300]</span>within luxurious gardens of fruit and other trees, +enclosed with high walls. In spite of the fact that +Sanaa is situated only between the 15th and 16th +degree of north latitude, and so well within the +tropics, there are very few signs to be seen of anything +approaching tropical vegetation, and one is +surprised at first, until the great altitude of the place +is taken into consideration, to find that nearly all our +English fruits flourish there. Although, of course, +by day the sun is intensely hot, it is quite a common +occurrence to experience frosts on winter nights. +Yet in spite of lying at so great an elevation above the +sea, Sanaa is subject at times to serious droughts; and +although in the rainy season a torrent of water pours +down the river-bed which runs through the centre of +the town, in the dry periods of the year water is procurable +only from wells sunk to a great depth in the +solid rock. The water drawn from these wells is said +to be very fresh and good. As is the custom in so +many parts of the East, it is a marketable produce, +and is carried about in skins by water-bearers, and +sold at so much per skin, or even per cup. Yet +in spite of water being a thing of money value, it +is extraordinary how clean the general population of +Sanaa seem to be, with the exception of the lower-class +Turks, who, to judge from their appearance, one +could believe never to have even heard of its existence. +However, happily they are in the minority.</p> + +<p>The whole town of Sanaa is surrounded by a wall +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_301">[301]</span>built for the most part of mud-bricks dried in the +sun, though in many cases the towers, which at +regular intervals protect the walls, and on most of +which the Turks have mounted small guns, are of +stone. The city is entered by four principal gates, +one lying to each point of the compass. Although +extremely badly built, and capable apparently of withstanding +no armed force, the walls of Sanaa formed +a sufficient protection to the city against the wild +Arab hordes by whom the place was infested in the +autumn and winter of 1891. Had the Arabs been +possessed of any artillery, instead of being armed +with only a few matchlock-guns and rifles and their +spears, no doubt the city would have fallen. Yet +it has been found by proof, especially in the several +bombardments of Mokha, that walls and fortifications +of sun-dried bricks are by no means as easy to form +a breach in as it might be supposed. However, in +these days of shells they would offer but poor resistance, +although when fired at with shot the missile +merely buries itself in the clay, without doing any +appreciable damage. To further fortify the place, the +Turks have at regular intervals built, some few +hundred yards outside the walls, towers, somewhat +resembling our martello towers of the south coast. +Here, as they have done upon the main wall, they +have erected small guns which proved of great use in +the Arab attacks upon Sanaa. These towers, by being +built within easy range of one another, and being exposed +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_302">[302]</span>to no more serious fire than that of matchlock-guns, +are said to have played terrible havoc amongst +the natives, as a handful of Turks in each, with one +piece of artillery and a dozen or so rifles, were able to +pour a telling fire into the flanks of the Arabs as they +approached the city walls.</p> + +<p>But the strongest point in the fortifications of +Sanaa is the old fort on the spur of Jibel Negoum, +the walls of which are solidly built of stone. Where +necessary, the Turks have repaired and strengthened +it. It was opposite to the gate of this fort, which +serves as the Turkish arsenal, that I was lodged +during my stay in Sanaa; and I was not a little +amused to notice that the guns by which the walls +are protected point ominously into the city. It is +no doubt by the constant view of these cannon, whose +gaping mouths point direct at the Arab quarter, +that revolt and revolution against the Osmanli forces +was held in check within the city, when all the rest +of the Arab population, with but few exceptions, had +risen up in arms.</p> + +<p>A fort, but not nearly so large or strong, protects +the city to the west, lying close to the gate by which +the highroad to Hodaidah and the coast leaves the +town. Both this edifice and that at the east end of +Sanaa contain the remains of old palaces, but to-day +they have fallen into disrepair. No longer the fountains +splash their crystal waters into the clear air; +no longer the pavements re-echo with the bells and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_303">[303]</span>anklets of dancers: now nothing is heard but the +rough voice and rougher tread of the Turkish troops +upon the marble floors. There is, in fact, but little to +tell of the former grandeur of Sanaa. No doubt, +within many of the houses there must be beautiful +courts and gardens; but of these I saw little or +nothing, for although I visited the Turkish Governor-General, +Ahmed Feizi Pasha, in one of the old palaces +of the Imams, the place has been so changed and +decorated and spoiled that it resembles to-day a huge +barrack rather than a palace. The walls have been +whitewashed, the great staircases are dirty, and the +steps worn away by the nails of the soldiers’ boots; +and even in the great rooms in which Ahmed Feizi +Pasha resides, or does his business, the simple old +Arab taste has been changed for decoration of <i>Louis +Quatorze</i>, by no means bad of its kind, some of the +wall-painting being far above the average, but still +sadly out of place.</p> + +<p>Of the remains of the old palace and temple of +Ghumdan, reached by some sixteen hundred steps, +nothing but a heap of ruins remains to-day. Yet +what a strange great place it must have been, with +its four walls painted different colours, and its centre +tower seven storeys in height, each diminishing in +size, until the highest of all was floored with a single +piece of marble. At each corner of this little summer-house +was a marble lion, the open mouth of which +exposed to the wind seemed to emit roaring. Strange +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_304">[304]</span>fancies they had, these old-world Yemen people; and +it must be regretted that the old palace and the +adjacent temple dedicated to Zuhrah, supposed to be +the Venus of Arabia, should have incurred the fanatical +wrath of Othman, the third Caliph, and by his +orders have been destroyed; for had it been left to +die a natural death, there is little doubt that, in the +situation and climate it enjoyed, there would have +been at least some of it left to-day to tell of its former +splendour.</p> + +<p>Although one cannot see the interior of the Arab +houses of Sanaa, a fair estimate of their size can be +gained from the outside; and even to us English, +who are used to great houses, many of those of Sanaa +appear immense. It is impossible to describe the +style of architecture in which they are built, for it +is a style that exists nowhere else. It is purely and +essentially Yemenite, though in some cases gateways +and windows are found of Byzantine and Gothic form. +There is one house at Dhamar, built of red brick and +faced with white stone, with a stone porch, that, were +it set down in an English country district, would pass +for Elizabethan. The house, too, forms an E, and +although I could find out nothing about its history, +it seems impossible that the strange building could +be an accident; and I am inclined to believe that it +must have been erected by one of the many renegades +who, in the middle ages, sought their fortunes in the +wealthy cities of Arabia.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_305">[305]</span></p> + +<p>At Sanaa I saw no houses of this kind, the style +of architecture, with the exception of the decoration +of doors and windows, being more or less uniform. +Many of the larger houses are built of stone and brick +and cement, the lower two storeys perhaps being of +well-squared stone of various colours, arranged so as +to form designs, the upper portion being of brick +covered with a hard cement that takes a fine polished +surface, not unlike the material used in Cairo, and +corresponding to the <i>tabbia</i> of Fez. Many of the +upper storeys are built overhanging the streets, but +this is not carried out to nearly such a large extent +as in many of the oriental cities; while the <i>musher-ibeyeh</i> +work of Cairo is rare here, its place being +taken by long narrow windows filled in with stained +glass in designs. From the outside the pattern is +often inappreciable, as the chips of glass are simply +stuck into the plaster framework. From within, however, +only such of the glass is exposed as fits in +between the solid pattern, and the designs are often +exceedingly fine. The same can be seen in the tomb +and mosque of Kaït Bey, one of the tombs of the +Caliphs at Cairo, and again some specimens of the work +exist in the museum of Arab antiquities in the same +city. What carved wood there is used for window-screens +does not in the least resemble that of Egypt, +but is arranged in geometric designs, much more in +the style of Chinese and Japanese workmanship, with +which some of the designs are identical.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_306">[306]</span></p> + +<p>A word must be said here on the extraordinary +quantity of Chinese and Japanese pottery to be found +in the Yemen. There is scarcely a <i>café</i> by the roadside +where one will not find that the cups have come +from the far East, and yet I found that but very little +enters the country to-day. I believe the origin of the +presence of this extraordinary amount of oriental +pottery is to be traced to the last few centuries, when +Aden was the great mart of exchange between the +East and Europe. With great wealth in the cities of +the Yemen, a very appreciable quantity of the goods +brought to Aden would be taken into the interior, +and the care with which pottery and antiquities are +treasured by the natives of the country would explain +their existing until to-day. There is little doubt that +should the Yemen ever be opened up, and Europeans +be able to travel with safety and comfort, that it will +become a field for the curio-hunter such as has not +been known since the days when the Egyptian +antiquities began to be unearthed. Coins, gems, +inscriptions, sculptures, old Persian and Arab antiquities, +embroideries, arms, brass and copper work, +manuscripts, carpets, oriental pottery and glass—the +Yemen is full of them, and as yet her treasures +are almost untouched.</p> + +<p>Although many of the streets of the town consist +of narrow byways, turning and twisting in every +direction between the high walls of the houses, there +are parts that are by no means badly laid out, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_307">[307]</span>one or two of the main streets are quite wide +thoroughfares, in which the few carriages which +Sanaa boasts are able to pass each other. The most +important of these streets leads from the square +into which the Government buildings look to the +bazaars. It is only a few hundred yards in length, +it is true, but still it is sufficiently wide, and the +shops on either side sufficiently good, to compare +favourably with many in European towns. The +“square” itself is a large oblong open space, faced +on the east by the old castle and the large much-bedomed +Turkish mosque, and on the west by what +were once the palaces of the Arab rulers, and to-day +form barracks and Government offices. At one end +of the square an enterprising Turk has built a large +<i>café</i>, where the officers and the few Greek shopkeepers +love to congregate, and from the large doors +and windows of which float clouds of pale-blue tobacco-smoke, +issuing in curling clouds from the <i>shishas</i> of +the smokers. It is from this point that the main +street leads off to the bazaars, and in the few hundred +yards of thoroughfare are to be seen the best shops, +kept either by Turks or by Greeks, in which every +imaginable article can be procured, from tins of sardines +and inferior Turkish cigarettes to photograph-frames +and musty chocolate creams. One or two have +large glass windows in which the goods are exposed +to view, but they have a dingy dusty appearance, +and seem to tell that trade is not bright. There, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_308">[308]</span>too, is a small restaurant, where all the favourite +Turkish dishes can be obtained, some of which are +by no means to be despised; while bottles of Greek +and native wines standing on shelves tell that the +Turks of Sanaa do not keep too strictly to the tenets +of Islam with regard to drinking.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp93" id="illus19" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus19.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Turkish officers in a café at Sanaa.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Issuing from this street, one emerges into the +bazaars, and here one sees Sanaa proper, not as it +has been altered and changed to suit Turkish tastes.</p> + +<p>Of the many scenes that the city presents to the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_309">[309]</span>traveller, the bazaars are perhaps the most interesting; +for here one loses all idea of more modern times, +and is thrown back, as it were, into the past. The +bazaars have never changed. From time immemorial +there have existed the strange box-like little shops, +filled with much the same objects, and tended by +people who, from the distance that they are separated +from the outer world, have changed but little. Just +as they dress to-day, so have they dressed since the +word of Islam was first heard in the land. The only +change, perhaps, noticeable to the casual observer, is +the scattering of Turks and Turkish soldiers, whom +now and again one passes in the narrow streets. The +shops are all of one storey, the floor being raised +about two feet above the ground, but not projecting +on to the street in the little platforms one is so used +to in Egypt and elsewhere. Here the seller sits +cross-legged amongst his goods in the shadow of his +mud-brick shop, gazing in front of him into the sunlit +yellow street and beyond into the shop opposite. +A little awning or covering of wood often projects +above the opening, sufficient to give a patch of shade +large enough to shield the purchaser from the sun’s +hot rays.</p> + +<p>As is the custom throughout the East, each trade +has a number of shops, or often a whole street, put +aside to its special business. The workers of arms, +the jewellers, the second-hand shops, the sellers of +silks and cottons, the crockery and china vendors, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_310">[310]</span>each has his own special quarter; while the vegetable +and fruit bazaar is an open space, where, under rough +little awnings, supported on poles and canes, the +market produce is exposed for sale.</p> + +<p>Particularly interesting amongst the shops are those +of the jewellers and makers of arms. The walls of +the former are hung with silver necklaces and bangles +and anklets, many of which are of very beautiful design. +Some of the necklets particularly are extremely +lovely, resembling in workmanship the finest and best +Greek and Etruscan work, with none of the roughness +apparent in the jewellery of so many oriental +countries. The favourite design seems to be single +chains supporting pendants of various shapes and +forms, from discs of fine filigree-work to solid pear-shaped +globules of metal. The bracelets are generally +bands of worked silver, though some, like the necklaces, +are decorated with small chains and hanging +pendants. But the greatest skill of the jewellers of +Sanaa, who are rightly renowned for their workmanship, +is exhibited in the dagger-sheaths, many of +which are of rich silver-gilt, and even, at times, of +gold. Perhaps the most lovely, however, are of plain +polished silver inlaid with gold coins, principally of +the Christian Byzantine emperors; others again, of +delicate filigree, which the natives line with coloured +leathers or silks. But more than even the sheaths of +these <i>jambiyas</i>, as they call their daggers, the natives +value the blades. Antique ones are generally considered +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_311">[311]</span>the best, and the people declare that the old +art of hardening the steel has been lost. Be this as +it may, there is no doubt that the modern blades are +of no mean workmanship, and great prices, for the +Yemen, are paid for good specimens. The two parts +of the dagger are nearly always sold separately, and +a Yemeni, having found a blade to suit him, has a +sheath made according to his taste and wealth. The +early European visitors to Sanaa speak of the jewelled +arms worn by the Imams and their companions; but +I saw only one specimen of these in the bazaars, a +silver-gilt sheath studded with rough pearls and turquoises, +for which the shopkeeper was asking some +forty pounds sterling, without the blade. Another +art long lost, but of which examples are still to be +procured, is the application of silver to copper and +brass. This kind of work usually takes the form of +boxes of one of the latter metals, covered with inscriptions +in Kufic or other Arabic characters in silver. +The later forms of this work are very inferior to the +earlier, and the silver is apt to peel off.</p> + +<p>One of the great institutions of Sanaa are the +khans, or caravanserais, of which there are a considerable +number, the greater part being situated near the +gates of the city. These buildings vary in size, but +some are very large, though nearly all in bad repair. +They usually consist of large houses three and four +storeys in height, open to the sky in the centre. The +lower floor forms stabling for the animals, while a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_312">[312]</span>number of rooms of various sizes open out on to the +balconies which surround the court on the upper +storeys. The hire of these rooms is very small, something +like twopence a night, and as many as like to +crowd into it do so. There is nearly always a <i>café</i> +attached, where cooking can be done, either by the +visitors themselves, or, if more extravagantly inclined, +by the servants of the khan. Assembled round the +gates of these khans are to be seen the tribes-people +from every part of the interior—bringers of salt from +Mareb, the modern Saba or Sheba; of coffee from the +northern districts; of indigo and grain and spices +from wherever the soil is suitable to their growth. +Caravans from the Hadramaut and Yaffa discharge +their goods here too, to reload their camels with the +produce of the largest city of Southern Arabia.</p> + +<p>The population of Sanaa, although there is no +official census to base one’s calculation upon, probably +numbers some forty to fifty thousand people, of whom +twenty thousand are said to be Jews. These, as has +already been stated, have a quarter entirely to themselves; +and although many hire shops in the bazaars, +and are daily engaged in the town in attending to +them, or in carrying on their respective trades, at +night retire to the <i>ghetto</i>, with the exception of a few +who are servants, and who sleep in their masters’ +houses. There seems to be no more oppression of +the Jews in the Yemen than there is of the Arabs. +They are free to carry on whatever trade they will; +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_313">[313]</span>to attend their synagogues and schools, and, in fact, +seem very little interfered with by the Turks. They, +of course, pay their regular share in the taxation, as is +only right they should; and if it be exceptionally +heavy in their case, it is so also in the case of the +Arab inhabitants—though naturally the Jews, as to +nature born, cry out a great deal more than the +natives.</p> + +<p>The <i>ghetto</i> is quite separate from the Arab city. +The houses are built almost entirely of mud-bricks, +but look clean and comfortable, though the habit of +throwing all their refuse into the streets is by no +means a pleasant one for the passer-by. However, +in this they are little worse, if at all, than the Arabs, +whose drain-pipes project well over the middle of the +narrow streets, through which generally flows an open +drain. The passer-by has to be careful to keep near +the house-wall, or he will run the risk of coming +terribly to grief. There are said to be more than +twenty synagogues in the Jews’ quarter, and over +seven hundred boys attending the schools. The whole +male population is supposed to be able to read; but +the females attend entirely to their house-work, or +the sewing of garments, and all education is neglected +in their case.⁠<a id="FNanchor_41" href="#Footnote_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a></p> + +<p>The Jews of the Yemen are believed to have come +from India, and, as far as is known, there are none +remaining of the old Jewish stock of pre-Islamic +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_314">[314]</span>times. Although much despised by the proud Arabs, +they are seldom treated with violence or even roughness, +and what little persecution there can be said to +exist consists almost entirely of the jeers of small +boys, and even this is rare.</p> + +<p>One cannot help noticing and admiring the extremely +pleasant manners shown by the people of +the Yemen toward Europeans. With the exception +of the lower classes there is no crowding; and even +when curiosity leads the people to congregate round +a stranger, there are no rude remarks, much less any of +the ribald cursing which distinguishes the attitude of +the Moors of Morocco toward Europeans. This trait +in the character of the people of the Yemen adds +very largely to the pleasure of travelling, and many +a kind word was said to me on my journey by +“warriors” of the fiercest aspect, and many a pleasant +smile and “God-speed” followed me as I rode +away from the villages and towns. In fact, with a +very few exceptions, I never heard a word of unpleasantness +spoken either to or of myself. There is apparently +less religious fanaticism towards Christians +than exists between the two sects of Islam represented +in the country—the Zaidis⁠<a id="FNanchor_42" href="#Footnote_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> by the Arabs, +and the Sunnis by the Turks.</p> + +<p>Through the centre of Sanaa flows at times the +river Kharid. However, the river-bed is dry +except in the rainy season, when a huge torrent +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_315">[315]</span>pours down its course, often doing considerable +damage to the adjacent houses. A bridge spans the +river at one spot, and from here a good view is +obtained both up and down the stream, the high +yellow banks of which are crowned with tall houses, +built in the peculiar style of architecture common +to the place.</p> + +<p>Beyond the Jews’ quarter, and to the extreme +west of the town, is the suburb of Bir el-Azab, of +which mention has already been made. Here the +roads are wider, and pass between the high walls of +the gardens, over the top of which can be seen the +leaves and blossoms of the fruit-trees. Two villages +also form country residences for the inhabitants of +the city—Jeraaf, about two miles to the north, and +Raudha, the same distance farther on. Shortly before +my arrival at Sanaa the rebels had succeeded in +blowing up with gunpowder the Turkish barracks +at the latter place, together with some five-and-twenty +soldiers.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp93" id="illus20" style="max-width: 31.25em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus20.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Turkish mosque at Sanaa, as seen from the prison window.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>With the exception of the Turkish mosque, all the +others seem to be in bad repair, owing, it is said, +to the Osmanli Government having seized most of +the mosque property, the sole means of adding to +and keeping in order the building themselves. The +great mosque is a huge square building surrounded +by a high wall, and boasting two tall minarets of +curious construction. It was here that Ibn Fadl, +the leader of the Karmathians, in the year 911 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_316">[316]</span>carried out one of those acts of licentious cruelty +with which the history of the East teems. Having +in that year successfully installed himself at Sanaa, +from which on two previous occasions he had been +ousted, he caused the great courtyard of the mosque +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_317">[317]</span>to be filled some three or four feet deep with water, +into which were driven naked all the young girls of +the city. From his seat on the minaret he gazed +upon them, and such as pleased him he dishonoured. +The height of the water, however, +discoloured the walls, +and for centuries told the tale +of the brief power wielded by +this licentious usurper.</p> + +<figure class="figright illowp31" id="illus21" style="max-width: 12.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus21.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Turkish soldier.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>But of all the sights offered +by the city of Sanaa, the +population presents the most +interesting. Everywhere some +strange figure meets the eye: +here it is some wild tribesman +with bronzed skin and +raven-black locks, girded with +his loin-cloth of dark blue +cotton; there some merchant +from the Hejaz, slow and +stately, with strange glassy +eyes that speak of <i>hashish</i>, +robed in striped silks, and +whose turban, so white it is, +literally seems to sparkle in +the sunlight. Again it is some ill-fed, ill-clothed +Turkish soldier, with only one boot perhaps, and that +scarcely more than a shadow of its former self, with +face unshaven and sunk with illness; and as one is +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_318">[318]</span>still watching him, there rattles past a shabby +victoria, in which is seated some fat Pasha or +Bey, with hideous black-cloth clothes richly sewn +in gold lace; and one knows that as often as not +his clothes, his carriage, and his horses are bought +with the money that ought to feed the soldiers, for +but a small proportion of the pay of the troops ever +reaches them. Then, again, a woman passes, wrapt +head to foot in coloured garments, the veil of +coloured stuff just transparent enough to allow +her to grope her way, for so do the women of Sanaa +hide their charms; and here, there, and everywhere +are the “gamins,” the same all over the world, +though their blood and their language be different,—little +monkeys all, and in Sanaa rebels to the very +heart.</p> + +<p>Of all the cities of the Yemen, there is none that +can boast the antiquity of Sanaa. Tradition says +that it was founded by Ad, the ancestor of the tribe +of Adites, who were destroyed by a miraculous hot +blast of wind for refusing to listen to the voice of the +Prophet Hud. A second tribe, that of Thamud, met +with a like fate for disregarding the Prophet Salih; +only in their case it was a terrible voice that called to +them from the skies that caused their deaths.⁠<a id="FNanchor_43" href="#Footnote_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> There +is only one drawback to this tale—namely, that long +after the destruction of the Adites we find them +attacked and conquered by a descendant of Yarub, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_319">[319]</span>brother of Hadramaut, and son of Kahtan. He was +apparently more successful than the miraculous hot +wind, for they were evidently entirely wiped out on +this occasion, and we find no more mention of them +in history. But there is another interest belonging +to the Adites—namely, that they were of the autochthonous +stock of the Yemen, and therefore probably +one of the original Semitic people who afterwards +spread over Arabia and founded the Arab races, and +who have, with the propagation of Islam, wandered +far into Asia and Africa. The original name of Sanaa +was Azal, Uzul, or Uwal, the latter of which means +“primacy” in the Arab tongue. The authorities appear +to differ as to which was really the first name, +and it seems not improbable that Azal or Uzul was +the original title, which, being incomprehensible to the +later races, they changed to the Arabic Uwal—a word +that described not only the antiquity of the place, +but also bears a strong resemblance to its original +name. This is, however, merely a conjecture.</p> + +<p>Although Saba seems in the days of the Sabæans +to have been a more important place than Sanaa, +there is little reason to doubt that the latter was in +existence; and amongst other authorities Ibn Khaldun +states that Sanaa was the seat of the Tubbas +or Himyaric kings for centuries before the time of +Islam. This alone, apart from the traditions of far +greater antiquity, of which we have no reason to +doubt the truth, shows that probably two thousand +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_320">[320]</span>years ago the city of Sanaa was a flourishing community, +the seat of the government of powerful kings, +who were living in a state of civilisation and culture. +But the question of the antiquity of Sanaa is not one +that can be entered into at any length here, and interesting +as is the subject, space does not allow of +carrying it further.</p> + +<p>There are one or two episodes in the history of +Sanaa that cannot be passed over without some slight +mention. The first is the erecting there of a Christian +church by Abrahá el-Ashram, Viceroy of the Yemen, +under the Abyssinian King Aryat, for the building of +which the Emperor of Rome is said to have supplied +marble and workmen. Abrahá, who was a fanatical +Christian, hoped by the erection of this wonderful +structure, of which unfortunately we have but few +details—and such as do exist are absurd—to change +the goal of pilgrimage from the Kaabah at Mecca, +which, it must be remembered, was an object of +veneration long before the time of Mahammed, to +Sanaa. Failing to entice the Arabs, he attempted by +force to bring them to his church, which eventually +led to his famous attack upon Mecca in 570 <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span>, +and in the total destruction of his army by pebbles +dropped from the claws and beaks of birds.⁠<a id="FNanchor_44" href="#Footnote_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a></p> + +<p>At the time of the introduction of Islam into the +Yemen, we find the government in the hands of +Budhan, or Budzan, the Persian Viceroy, who, however, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_321">[321]</span>embraced the new religion, and was confirmed +by Mahammed as Governor of the Yemen—a post +he held until he died. Within a year or two of +the death of Mahammed himself, Islam was firmly +grafted in the country, owing, it must be added, to +the indomitable courage and energy of Mohajir, who, +on his triumphal march to the Hadramaut, secured +the leaders of the party dissentient to the rule of +the then Caliph Abou Bekr, and, sending them prisoners +to Mecca, planted the Caliph’s rule firmly in +Sanaa.</p> + +<p>Although the Christians of Nejrán continued such +for a period, the enthusiasm of the people for Islam +swept them along in its tide, and idolatry and Christianity +soon became extinct in the Yemen—the third +Caliph, Othman, destroying almost the last vestige +of the former by razing the temple of Zuhrah at +Ghumdan, the remains of which and of the Christian +church of Abrahá are visible to-day in a heap of ruins +at and near Sanaa respectively.</p> + +<p>From this period the history of Sanaa has been a +troubled one. Constant warfare with foreign princes, +and assassinations and rivalry fraught with bloodshed +between the local rulers, help to make up as dark a +page of history as can be imagined. Yet in spite of +this, the city has been always an important and +flourishing one, renowned for its manufactures, its +trade, and its wealth. With every disadvantage +accruing from a constant change of government, it +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_322">[322]</span>managed to survive; and not only to survive but to +increase, until toward the middle of the seventeenth +century it reached unparalleled prosperity under the +then powerful Imams. But as they sank in power, +so did Sanaa lose its prosperity. Its fate seemed +drawn along with that of its Imams; and as ruler +after ruler lost more and more of his territory, so +the glories of the capital diminished. Yet there was +now and again a flicker in its death-throes; but never +did it last above a few years, when once more the +steady decline would commence.</p> + +<p>How it ended is well known; for, broken in spirit +and harassed by the surrounding tribes, Sanaa offered +no resistance when the Turks, in 1872, entered the +place; and the city, which had nobly held her own in +so many encounters, almost welcomed the stranger +into her midst. Had the inhabitants been aware at +that time how their action would lead to their oppression, +there is but little doubt that they would have +hesitated in their invitation to the Turkish forces, +already firmly established on the coast, to come and +take over the reins of government.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp50" id="fp21" style="max-width: 29.6875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp21.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>MENAKHA, FROM THE NORTH.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_323">[323]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_II_CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.<br> +<span class="smaller">SANAA TO MENAKHA.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>As long as I live I shall never forget my departure +from Sanaa. In the cold grey dawn, the temperature +little if anything above freezing, worn out with a +night of raging fever that still throbbed in my veins, +I was lifted on to my mule at the door of the <i>conàk</i>, +and, with a couple of soldiers to accompany me, sent +upon my way. Weird and wretched everything +looked. The houses, that only the day before had +struck me as beautiful in their strange oriental architecture, +now looked like pallid ruins, depressing in the +extreme; while the few hurrying persons we passed +seemed but shadows in the grey light of dawn.</p> + +<p>On through the bazaars with their closed shops; on +by narrow streets and byways, over which the tall +houses seemed verily to hang suspended; across the +bridge that spans what is at times a roaring torrent +but was now but a dry bed; across a wide open space +and through the dirty Jews’ quarter, and the garden +suburb of Bir el-Azab; then out under the great town +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_324">[324]</span>gateway with its strange towers, on which a shivering +sentry or two kept guard, into the open country. A +long level road leads one from the city across the +surrounding plain, a road as good as one could expect +to find in England. Then a range of bare hills seems +to block the way, and one begins to climb up and up +by the winding twisting track, until the summit is +reached. Looking back, a fine view of Sanaa was +obtained, lying on the spur of Jibel Negoum, backed +by still higher mountains. To right and left extended +the valley, until some way off to the north one could +see the town of Raudha, where not a month before +the rebels had blown up the Turkish barracks and +some twenty-five soldiers with gunpowder. From +this spot one could obtain a better idea than we had +as yet been able to do of the size of Sanaa, as it lay +mapped out below us, a great flat-roofed city, dull +yellow and white, upon still yellower and whiter +plains, the only break in which were the gardens at +Bir el-Azab.</p> + +<p>At the summit of the ascent a plateau is reached +scattered with villages, now all more or less knocked +down by the Turkish artillery, after the road from +Hodaidah had been forced, and the Arab Shereef, +Sid esh-Sheraï, dislodged from Hajarat el-Mehedi, a +spot a few miles farther on. Over the plateau the +road proceeded tolerably straight, though the going +was by no means good, in spite of the fact that the +track was a wide one. But its repair had evidently +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_325">[325]</span>been neglected for a time, and it was strewn with +stones.</p> + +<p>After the sun had risen it became very warm, but +it was a change for the better from the miserable cold +of the early morning, and, weak as I was from fever, +I was glad to get off my mule for a time and stretch +my limbs by walking.</p> + +<p>At the <i>café</i> of Metneh we stopped for our mid-day +meal. A large, low, stone building forms the caravanserai, +both for man and beast. The place is roughly +built, one storey in height, the roof being supported +on arches and stone columns, round the bases of which +are little raised platforms, on one of which we spread +our carpet and rested for a time. The <i>café</i> was nearly +full of Turkish troops, poor, ill-fed, and ill-clothed +fellows, but the very acme of good-humour. It was +amusing to hear them discussing my presence with +some Arab merchants who happened to be there at +the same time. The conclusion they arrived at was +that the presence of a Christian in the country foretold +the downfall of the Yemen, and the sooner they, +the Moslems, cleared out of it the better. It was +flattering certainty to hear one’s self considered of +such vital importance to a country the size of the +Yemen; nor did the fact that I was a prisoner in the +hands of a Turkish guard seem to lessen their opinion +of me. On discovering at length that I spoke Arabic, +we joined parties and lunched together, and very +polite they all were. The group was a strange one, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_326">[326]</span>representing in the Arabs the rebel party, in the +Turks the conquerors and oppressors, and last, but +not least, in my humble self the future of the Yemen +(for so they deemed my presence to foretell). Yet +we were a merry band, and shared the same hubble-bubble +of peace, and parted with protestations of profound +respect and friendship for one another.</p> + +<p>One of the pleasantest recollections of the Yemen +that I bore away with me is, and always will be, the +hours spent in these wayside <i>cafés</i>. Then more than +at any other time one saw the people as they really +are. Then all restraint was thrown aside; there was +exhibited none of the suspicion we habitually show to +fellow-travellers; and often we unburdened our aims +and ideas to one another, the Arabs and I. As I +write of it I long once more to go back, to sit cross-legged +on the floor and sip the beverage of coffee-husks +from the tiny Japanese and Chinese cups the +Yemenis love so much, and listen to the patient +murmur of the hubble-bubble amongst a group of +half-naked Arabs.</p> + +<p>Leaving Metneh in the afternoon, we pushed on +through Bauan, with its strange market, toward our +night’s resting-place. The road still continues to +ascend, and is in most parts very rough and bad, +rendering travelling by no means pleasant. However, +any unpleasantness from this was amply repaid by +the magnificent view that from time to time met our +gaze. The track was leading us along the summit of a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_327">[327]</span>mountain-top, which to the north looked straight down +into a great valley thousands of feet below. What +a wonderful valley it was, full of coffee-groves, and +luxuriating in all the glories of gorgeous vegetation, +amongst which banana-leaves could be plainly distinguished, +waving their great green heads! Amongst +all this verdure, clinging as it seemed to the mountain-sides, +were villages, each crowned by its <i>burj</i> or fort, +the whole perched on some overhanging rock. On to +their very roofs we seemed to look. Often on the +road I would rest for a few minutes to gaze in wonderment +on this entrancing scene, until, as evening came +on, filmy mists rose from the valley, and concealed +from view all but the opposite mountain-peaks, torn +and rugged, which rose above the sea of iridescent +cloud like great cathedral steeples. What a land it +is, the Yemen! What a world of romance and history +lies hid in those great mountain valleys! What tales +the little, sparkling, dancing rivulets could tell, for +often, I wot, their limpid waters have run red with +blood! Night fell, and the scene became one of still +grey silence, weird and strange.</p> + +<p>After reaching an altitude of ten thousand feet +above the sea-level the road began to descend, and we +passed once or twice through villages, crowned by +their strange towers, until at length Sôk el-Khamis, +our night’s resting-place, was reached. There are +several of these villages in its vicinity, and one we +passed was occupied by Turkish troops, whose riotous +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_328">[328]</span>laughter and singing jarred on the peaceful sounds of +night, the humming of the insects and the soft hoot-hoot +of the rock owls.</p> + +<p>We stopped at one of these strange tower-like +buildings, and my guard informed me that this was +our halting-place. After repeated knockings at a +heavy wooden door we were admitted into a yard, +and from thence entered the house—the way led by a +dirty mountaineer in little else but a sheepskin coat, +who, with a small oil-lamp, lighted us up a flight of +stone stairs into the guest-chamber. A poor enough +place it was, and none too clean, its ceiling blackened +by the fumes of charcoal-fires, its floor of rough stones +and mortar, the ups and downs of which a carpet ill +disguised. This was, however, the sole accommodation, +and our host plaintively asked us to make ourselves +as comfortable as we could, while he went off to +search for provisions, adding that the Turkish garrison +at the neighbouring village had exhausted the supply.</p> + +<p>So we spread our carpet, and Abdurrahman and +Saïd, and the Turkish and Arab soldiers who formed +my guard, sat down together over a charcoal brasier, +in which bubbled one of the common narrow-necked +earthenware pots in which they brew their drink of +coffee-husks, and smoked our hookah in peace, sharing +alike in its cracked amber mouthpiece. We were all +tired, and talked but little; but Saïd now and again +would burst into song, and very well he sang, too, the +plaintive melodies of the country.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_329">[329]</span></p> + +<p>Presently our host returned with a scarecrow of a +fowl and some leathery bread, which was all the good +fellow was able to raise, and it was not long before a +rather too savoury dish of rancid butter and chicken-bones—for +there was little else—had usurped the place +of our coffee-pot on the brasier. What jokes we made +about that poor chicken! After all, we agreed, it +could not be anything but thin after having lived +through the late rebellion. However, we ate it +all right.</p> + +<p>The view as we left Sôk el-Khamis the next morning +was almost as lovely as that of the day before. +As the night-mists rose at sunrise, range after range +of mountains loomed up before us, peak above peak, +until in the far west one great mass overtopped all +the rest.</p> + +<p>The road descends steeply, winding the while, in +parts showing signs of the repairs of the Turkish +engineers, in others merely a foothold on the mountain-side. +Numbers of blue rock-pigeons fluttered +hither and thither in the morning sunlight; but +lovely as they were, I was enticed to shoot a few, for, +after all, one fowl is not sufficient food for eight +persons, and there seemed every likelihood of our +faring as ill at our next halting-place as we had done +the night before.</p> + +<p>At one spot we passed one of the most lovely +scenes I had as yet seen in the Yemen. Half-way +down a steep slope, wooded with forest-trees, was a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_330">[330]</span>tomb and fountain, the clear cold water tumbling +into a deep tank. Away behind a peak of the mountain +rose bare and rocky into the blue sky, its lower +slopes covered with trees, its summit crowned with +the ruins of a village which the Turkish artillerymen +had destroyed, leaving little but the walls to tell of +its existence. The domed mosque, a tiny place, +glistening white against the foliage, and the sound +of the running water, added a charm to a scene of +perfect peace and loveliness.</p> + +<p>At length the descent was accomplished, and we +entered a desolate valley, keeping to the rock-strewn +river-bed, now almost dry, as being better than the +road, which here is almost indistinguishable, winding +and turning amongst great boulders, which appear to +have fallen from the steeps above. An hour or so +later we passed under the strange fortress of Mefhak, +grandly situated on a pinnacle of rock some five +hundred feet above the valley; and, leaving a large +encampment of Turkish troops on our left, once more +began to ascend. For a while our way led through +the loveliest of little valleys, which seemed like the +greater one we had been passing through in miniature. +On either side walls of rock some fifty to a hundred +feet in height rose precipitously, but, sheltered from +the sun, a number of varieties of wild-flowers had +taken root, and the place was a fairyland of colour. +Great clusters of jasmine hung over the precipices, +while on every side bloomed acacias and aloes. A +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_331">[331]</span>gorgeous flowering-tree, bearing pale-pink blossoms, +edged the narrow water-course, just as if it had +been planted there by the hand of man.</p> + +<p>An hour more and we drew up at the caravanserai +of Ijz for our mid-day rest. Very hot it was; but the +proprietor of the <i>café</i>, a wounded Turkish soldier, +full of grievances and very dirty, amused us much, +mumbling and grumbling as he leaned over the fire +to cook my coffee and the men’s drink of coffee-husks. +Although coffee in very large quantities is exported +from the Yemen, it is drunk only by the Turks and +the richer classes, the poorer contenting themselves +with, and preferring, they say, the boiled husks.</p> + +<p>We spent only an hour or two at Ijz, as I was +anxious to push on to Menakha before dark; and +accordingly in the heat of the early afternoon we said +good-bye to our old host and the handful of Turkish +troops who had joined us in our meal, and mounted +our mules once more.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp48" id="illus22" style="max-width: 20.3125em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus22.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>Gorge near Menakha.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>As our road proceeded it increased in magnificence, +entering the heart of the mountains, on the summit +of one of which the town of Menakha is perched. +This river lies at an elevation of somewhat over five +thousand feet above the sea. Quite suddenly the +valley comes to an end, and we commenced one of +those steep ascents to which we were almost becoming +accustomed now. The path is little but a boulder-strewn +track in the mountain-side, and one could +not help wondering how our little mules would ever +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_332">[332]</span>accomplish the climb. Dismounting at the foot, +Abdurrahman, Saïd, and I raced ahead, scrambling +and tumbling over the rocks, and nearly frightening +the wits out of a descending caravan, who probably +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_333">[333]</span>had never seen the like of us before; for although +Saïd was in the Yemen costume, Abdurrahman wore +the there unknown dress of the mountaineers of +Morocco, while I was in riding-breeches, and flannel +shirt, and a red fez cap. Great proud-looking fellows +the caravan-men were, and they watched us with a +startled stare, evidently putting us down as lunatics. +However, our laughter at their surprise so amused +them that they became quite friendly, and would not +let me go on till I had shaken each singly by the +hand, which I was only too pleased to do. Up and +up we toiled, leaving the mules to follow with the +muleteers. Every here and there are springs which +the natives have aided by building tanks, and now +and again we would stop to drink and bathe our faces +and hands.</p> + +<p>Almost suddenly we reached the summit, after a +climb of over two thousand five hundred feet up the +execrable zigzag path, and the little town of Menakha +lay before me.</p> + +<p>I determined to wait here for my soldier-guards, +whom we had left a long way behind us; so we threw +ourselves down, panting and hot, upon a ledge of rock, +and gazed at the scene before us. Wonderful, stupendous +it was! Around us on all sides the bare +fantastic peaks and perpendicular precipices, on the +edge of one of which we were perched, and up the +face of which we could see the path we had climbed +winding in and out. Below us, far, far below, like +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_334">[334]</span>little ants, we could see our mules and men toiling +up. A thread of river, the Wadi Zaum, was distinguishable +down the valley, the few green thorny +trees which grew along its banks being, with the +exception of some stunted brushwood and a few +aloes and creepers, the sole vegetation in view. A +very entrance to the “Inferno,” gloomy and dark. +The rays of the setting sun lit up in contrast to all +this the roseate peaks of the mountains, many of +which, thousands of feet above us, were crowned with +strange villages and towers. At length our mules +caught us up, and mounting again for the few yards +that yet remained between us and Menakha, we made +our entry into the town, drawing up at the principal +Government building, where the Kaimakam resided.</p> + +<p>My guard of Turkish soldiers had been intrusted +with letters to the governors respectively of Menakha +and Hodaidah, and no sooner was our missive presented +than I was shown into the presence of the +Kaimakam. I found him pleasant, as nearly all +Turks can be when they like, and an hour or so +passed very cheerily. Meanwhile he had given +orders for a room to be prepared for me within +the precincts of the Government offices, and on +leaving him I was shown to a large, comfortable, +airy chamber on the ground-floor, with a window +looking over a sort of drill-yard, beyond which was +a fine view of the mountains, the opposite spur of +which, at an altitude of some hundreds of feet +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_335">[335]</span>above the town, was crowned with a Turkish fort, +near which some artillerymen were drilling.</p> + +<p>It should have been mentioned already that the +road we had been following from Sanaa was almost +identically the line taken by the Sanaa and Hodaidah +telegraph-wire, which, like all provincial Turkish +telegraphs, is, I believe, worked by the Government, +from a representative of whom one is obliged to +obtain permission before making use of it. This +permission had been refused me at Sanaa. At +Menakha there is quite a pretentious office.</p> + +<p>After leaving the Kaimakam I went for a stroll in +the town, followed of course by a guard, who, however, +did not in the least interfere with my actions, +and in whose presence I was venturesome enough to +sketch, without calling forth any sterner reproof than +that if they were caught allowing me to draw they +might get into trouble, so that I had better creep +behind a rock and make any sketches I wanted from +a spot where I would not be seen.</p> + +<p>Of all the places it has ever been my lot to see, +Menakha is the most wonderfully situated. The +town is perched on a narrow strip of mountain that +joins two distinct ranges, and it forms the watershed +of two great valleys—that up which we had proceeded +on our arrival, and the second to the west. So narrow +is the ridge on which the town stands, that the walls +of the houses on both sides seem almost to hang over +the precipices; and there are spots—for instance, near +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_336">[336]</span>the military hospital—where one can sit and look +down absolutely into the two great valleys at the +same time. Curious and wonderful as this is, the +grand effect of the scene is doubly increased by the +extraordinary peaks which rise above the place—enormous +pinnacles, for no other word can express their +fantastic shapes and forms. Great, bare, rocky crags +they are, perpendicular, and ending, like sugar-loafs, +in points, on which, in several places, the natives +have built their strange towers. How they ever +ascend or descend seems incredible, or from whence +they obtain their water-supply.</p> + +<p>The town of Menakha is quite a small one. It contains, +perhaps, some five thousand inhabitants, without +counting the very considerable number of Turkish +troops stationed there at the time of my visit. The +houses are well built of stone, some of them four +storeys, and many three, in height. The Government +offices and the military hospital and barracks +give the place quite a European appearance, for +they are all built in modern Turkish style, with glass +windows and flat roofs.</p> + +<p>The bazaar is tolerably well supplied with the necessaries +of life, though at the time of my visit meat +and vegetables were scarce, on account of the influx +of troops. There are, too, several large shops, one or +two kept by Greeks. I was surprised, in passing +through the town, to be accosted in excellent English +by one of these shopkeepers, who, he told me, had +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_337">[337]</span>been a servant to an Englishman in Suakin for some +years. I went with him to his store, where everything +was purchasable, from sardines to port wine, +and spent half an hour or so talking with him. He +was evidently an intellectual man, and seemed well +up in the affairs of the Yemen. He had been present +at the taking of Menakha by the Arabs, and its recapture +by the Turks; but his property had been +respected in both cases, and he had suffered little if +any loss.</p> + +<p>The great altitude at which Menakha is situated—some +seven thousand six hundred feet above the +sea-level—renders it liable to sudden changes of +temperature; and two hours after we had arrived +in blazing sunshine, clouds gathered over the town, +obscuring the view, and the temperature fell to below +50°. We managed to procure a charcoal brasier, over +which my men and I huddled, our circle being joined +by a couple of charming Turkish officers, both of +whom spoke Arabic well.</p> + +<p>About eight o’clock I was taken suddenly ill with +fever, which did not leave me until ten the next +morning, by which time I was so weak that I could +only stand with assistance, and accordingly travelling +was out of the question. The Kaimakam made +no difficulties about my remaining another day, and +did all in his power to make me comfortable. During +the afternoon I had sufficiently recovered my +strength to crawl out and seek the shade of a hollow +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_338">[338]</span>in the rocks, where my men lit a little fire and +brewed coffee. The spot we had chosen looked +directly into the great valley that runs west from +Menakha, far down which we could see. Away below +us, tier above tier, were the terraced coffee and +banana groves; while the rocky precipices, here bare +and frowning, were in other parts hung with creepers, +while in every crevice some strange flowering aloes +had found room to grow.</p> + +<p>Amongst this mass of verdure, for, far away below +us, lay villages, their flat roofs upturned, as it were, +to us, who were so high above them, looking like the +squares on some fairy chess-board. Away down the +valley a silvery thread of light told the presence of a +river, fed by a hundred little streams, which, issuing +from the rocky slopes, leaped and danced to join the +larger stream below. Beyond, again, all was haze +and mountain-peaks, faint as a cloud and inexpressibly +lovely.</p> + +<p>Wild-flowers and ferns, especially maidenhair, grew +in abundance round our little nook in the rocks, in +which we were shaded from the sun’s rays by an +overhanging crag. The whole scene was so framed +by shrubs and creepers and flowers, a mass of blossom +and green, that one lost the effect of distance; +and, in the clear air, it seemed but a step from our +resting-place to the bottom of the valley, and a step +more to the far-away peaks.</p> + +<p>But it is not on account of its gorgeous scenery +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_339">[339]</span>that Menakha has become an important place. +Rather it is owing to its great strategical position; +for it dominates the two parts of the highroad from +Hodaidah to Sanaa, from each of which it is roughly +equidistant. It is, no doubt, on this account, and +to the practical advantages it offers, owing to its +fine position for keeping up a line of communication +between the capital and the coast, that a considerable +number of troops are stationed and some forts erected +there.</p> + +<p>It played by no means an unimportant part during +the rebellion; and although this has been referred +to elsewhere in a chapter dealing with that subject, +it may be as well to mention the facts here. +Menakha was one of the first Turkish strongholds +to fall into the hands of the Arabs. The governor +was taken prisoner; numbers of the troops were +killed in the rebel rush; and what remained of its +military population were sent to the leader of the +rebellion at Sadah. It was not, in fact, until after +the battle fought near Hojaila, on the road from +Hodaidah, at a spot where the Teháma ends and +the mountains commence, that Menakha was retaken. +To Ahmed Feizi Pasha belongs the credit of the wonderful +march from Hodaidah to Sanaa, in which the +Turks dragged their guns by execrable roads over +passes ten thousand feet in altitude; and it was upon +this triumphal entry of the new Governor-General of +the Yemen that the town once more came into the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_340">[340]</span>possession of the Turks, being deserted by the Arabs +before the arrival of the Osmanli troops. Had the +native horde only been better officered and possessed +better arms; had they destroyed the road more successfully +than they did, and stood firmly to their +impregnable position at Menakha,—there is little +doubt that the capital could not have held out, +and that the Yemen to-day would have been in the +hands of the Imam Ahmed ed-Din. At sunset, as +had happened the evening before, the place became +wrapt in cloud, and the temperature fell to such an +extent that even in our room, with a fire, we suffered +considerably. However, one can bear the cold, provided +one is free from fever; and, tired and weary +after a sleepless night, I lay like a log, and, in spite +of the cries of sentries and the occasional blowing of +a bugle, did not awake until grey dawn was creeping +up, and my men were loading the mules.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_341">[341]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_II_CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.<br> +<span class="smaller">MENAKHA TO HODAIDAH.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>The road from Menakha to the coast leads one for the +first few miles along the mountains on the southern +side of the valley, gradually ascending the while, until, +an hour or so after leaving the town, an altitude of +eight thousand feet above the sea-level is reached. +At this spot a spur in the mountain is crossed, near +to which is the remarkable village of Kariat el-Hajra, +a rock crowned with tall stone houses, many of which +are built in the strange fashion of towers. A precipice +surrounds the village on every side, the lower slopes +of which are cultivated in terraces. The place has +the appearance of being a large and important one, +and from its position must be exceedingly strong. +The country immediately surrounding this spot is +very beautiful, there being an abundance of water and +no lack of trees, while the terraces and fields were, at +the time of my visit, green with young grass and +crops, and gorgeous with wild-flowers. Leaving +Hajra on the right, the road begins to descend, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_342">[342]</span>soon another village, more extraordinary than that we +had already passed, came into sight. This is Attara. +From an expanse of terraced slope rises a single +pinnacle of rock some hundreds of feet in height, +split perpendicularly into two divisions. On the very +summit, on which there is only just room for it to +stand, is a large building, apparently a house and +tower. Although unable to see the track by which +this, to the eye, apparently unscalable position is +reached, my men informed me that there is a stairway +cut in the solid rock, by means of which the +inhabitants ascend and descend. Close nestling under +the pinnacle is the rest of the village, built tier above +tier on the steep mountain-side. The path by which +we were descending zigzags down until one arrives in +a sort of amphitheatre, of which the village forms an +apex. The ground here is richly cultivated with +coffee-trees and bananas, growing upon terraces. In +one place the jungle seems to have gained possession +of what was originally cultivated land, and appears +in a mass of euphorbiæ and other strange trees and +plants. Here, too, jasmine grows in wonderful +abundance, the whole air being filled with its sweet +fragrance.</p> + +<p>Zigzagging down the mountain-side, we arrived +before mid-day at the <i>café</i> of Wisil, wonderfully +perched on the very edge of the precipice. The place +is poor enough, but a few shady huts of grass and +mats have been erected round a little terraced garden, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_343">[343]</span>over the wall of which one gazes far down into the +valley beneath. Here under a shady tree we spread +our carpet and refreshed ourselves, revelling in the +magnificence of our surroundings. This resting-place +was situated at an elevation of a little over four +thousand five hundred feet above the sea-level, so +that since the morning we had descended some three +thousand feet.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp22" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp22.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>THE VILLAGE OF EL-HAJRA.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>From this spot is obtained perhaps the most extraordinary +view of the terraced mountains we had +as yet obtained. These surrounding ranges are celebrated +for their coffee, principally Jibel Masar and +Safan, both of which lie to the north of the road. +Away above the terraces the mountains rise in perpendicular +precipices, and nearly every peak is crowned +with one of the curious towers already described.</p> + +<p>The view from Wisil was the last we were to see of +its kind, for we were fast leaving the mountains +behind and descending to the plains, or Teháma, and +even from here the change to the country was +appreciable, for far away to the west the great mountains +became lower, and the horizon was bounded with +rough barren hills, very like those we had seen around +Jibel Menif, when we left the desert beyond Lahej. +A weird old lady served us with coffee and food at +our resting-place—a parchment-skinned grinning old +hag, half clothed in torn dark-blue rags, with a lot of +what looked like dirty bandages wound round her +head; but she was a cheery old gossip, and Saïd took +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_344">[344]</span>advantage of her to exhibit his wit and sarcasm, much +to her amusement as well as our own.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp41" id="illus23" style="max-width: 17.1875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus23.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>View near Wisil.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Poor Saïd! The wear and tear of the last month +had worn him a bit. Fever had paled his skin, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_345">[345]</span>left him thinner than he was when he had started from +Aden; but no weariness, no fever, had caused him to +pay less attention to his personal charms than before, +and his curly locks were as soft and silky and glossy +as ever, although his loin-cloth and sash told tales of +travel. Still, in all our hardships he had been ever +bright and gay, and as we neared civilisation once +more, and there seemed some chance of his seeing his +paradise—Aden—again, his eyes regained their former +twinkle, and his laugh grew more cheery than +ever. With Abdurrahman it was different, and the +strain and exertion he had been through had told on +his more delicate constitution. Brought up in the +bracing mountains of Morocco, where frosts are common, +and even in the daytime the heat is never oppressive, +he had felt severely the sudden changes of +the tropics. All his gaiety had left him, and he +scarcely spoke. It was with difficulty that we could +rouse his spirits, try hard as we did, Saïd and I. Almost +every evening, in spite of arsenic and quinine, +fever would seize him, and he would lie awake of a +night, tossing and moaning in a way that was pitiful +to see and hear.</p> + +<p>Leaving Wisil, the road descends, by a zigzag track, +the steep mountain-side. Here were apparent one +at least of the advantages of the Turkish occupation +of the Yemen, for the road was wide and in good repair, +supported by a stone embankment, and planted +on either side with mimosa-trees, which no doubt help +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_346">[346]</span>in some degree to prevent the floods which the heavy +rainfalls occasion from washing the stones away, and +which will eventually prove no small advantage to the +traveller by their shade. At length the bed of the +water-course was reached, down which the road proceeds, +roughly and unpleasantly, over great boulders +and stones that tired our poor little mules, and +necessitated our proceeding on foot. Thick vegetation, +principally trees of the mimosa type, fringe the +edge of the river-bed, which, except for an occasional +pool or spring, contained no water.</p> + +<p>On and on, until the gorge narrows and enters a +defile, merely the water-course and walls of rock on +either hand, some eighty feet perhaps in height. +Here was a sight that caused us an hour or so of +amusement and laughter, for the precipices were the +haunt of hundreds of apes and monkeys, which scampered +away at our approach, and sat chattering and +grinning at us from their perches. So tame many of +them were, that we were able to approach within +fifteen or twenty yards of them before they would +seek refuge in the nooks and crannies of the rocks. +My men were eager to shoot one or two, but I would +not allow it, as it was a real pleasure to watch the +funny creatures in their antics, and to listen to their +squeaking and chattering. In some cases the larger +apes were carrying their young in their arms, and +handling them as carefully as a woman does her child. +Even Abdurrahman awoke from his melancholy, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_347">[347]</span>laughed heartily at the strange creatures, which +bounded from rock to rock, or showed their rows of +chattering white teeth from some hole in the cliff.</p> + +<p>Continuing along the bottom of the valley for some +little way farther, we turned eventually from the +water-course, and climbed a bare rocky hill to the +north of the river, and, crossing a small plateau, descended +to the village of Hojaila, which we reached +an hour or two before sunset.</p> + +<p>At this point we had said farewell to the mountains, +for although the foot-hills extend farther into the +Teháma, beyond Bajil in fact, we were to see no more +of the greater ranges. But not only is Hojaila the +finishing spot of the mountains, but the people entirely +change, becoming from that point Arabs of the +plains, dwelling in mud and thatch houses, and different +in appearance and habits.</p> + +<p>We had passed during the day’s march through a +part of the country the inhabitants of which need investigation, +and about which I, unfortunately, can say +but little here. These are people of a religious sect +who called themselves Makarama, but of the origin of +which, except that their belief is said to be of Indian +extraction, I have found it impossible to discover +anything. These Yemenis are in language and appearance +like their Moslem neighbours, although +several names in the vicinity tell of India. Principal +amongst them is the “Dar el Hinoud,” or Indians’ +monastery or house, farther on in the Teháma. Of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_348">[348]</span>their belief but little was to be ascertained. It is +summed up, however, in two lines of poetry, of which +I was able to obtain the translation:—</p> + +<div class="poetry-container"> + <div class="poetry"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="verse indent0">“God is indiscoverable, by day or by night.</div> + <div class="verse indent0">Do not worry about anything, there is neither heaven nor hell.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p>Professing these strange tenets, there is this sect +on the highroad from Hodaidah to Sanaa. As to +their observances, the only man of their belief I +met with would say but little, while the Moslems, +although uninfluenced by the fanaticism one would +expect to find, are careless. They have, I was told, +the old Judaic observance of the scapegoat, and a +particular night in the year in which they shut +themselves into their houses, and are said to practise +incest. This, however, may be possibly the Moslem +idea of what really takes place. Were this to be +absolutely depended upon, the fact might point to +a Karmathian origin, for Ibn Fadl allowed the +drinking of wine and this practice; but then it is +scarcely likely that a Karmathian superstition should +survive in a belief which is in direct contravention +to Islam. It is known that in certain Phœnician +rites incest was allowed, and the practice of a certain +nightly annual feast in which the houses are illuminated +might point to the worship of Adonis, certain +remains of which, I am informed, are found amongst +the mountaineers of the Himalayas. My information +on this sect of the Makarama continues that +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_349">[349]</span>they are at times visited by natives of India, who +prize the charms that they are in the habit of +writing; and most probably their origin may be +found in that country, for Hodaidah has always +been largely frequented by Indian traders.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp23" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp23.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>TURKISH CAMP OF HOJAILA.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Hojaila is but a small place, more a collection of +huts than a town, as it is elsewhere described, though +at the time I passed through it was augmented by a +large Turkish camp, pitched near the <i>jimerouk</i>, or +custom-house. There seems, with the exception of +this building, a large, low, square place, to be no +other of importance, though the Sheikh resides in a +house two storeys in height, painted red and white +in bands, which stands a curious landmark on the +edge of a steep incline leading down to the river-bed. +A few trees are scattered about the place, and +under these were lolling Turkish soldiers, while the +tents, and sentries passing and repassing, gave quite a +martial appearance to the otherwise dreary scene; for, +with the exception of these trees and the oleanders in +the river-bed, the country was dull and sun-dried.</p> + +<p>Only a short rest was allowed me here, although +we had been travelling, almost without interruption, +since the early morning. However, as I was +entirely in the hands of the Turkish guards who +had been sent to see me to Hodaidah, any attempt +at expostulation was out of the question. Another +advantage, too, was to be gained by pushing on—namely, +the moonlight night.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_350">[350]</span></p> + +<p>We had left behind us now the high elevations +and watered valleys, and nothing but plain and +desert lay between us and Hodaidah, some eighty +miles distant, over which, although the month was +February, travelling by day is torment. So an +hour or two was all the time we spent in the +<i>café</i> at Hojaila, and as soon as the sunset glow +was dying away we loaded our little mules again +and set off.</p> + +<p>From sunset until near dawn we plodded on over +the plain, the broken rocky hills showing up on +either side in the clear moonlight, which was sufficiently +bright to allow us to see that a considerable +portion of the country we were passing through was +under cultivation.</p> + +<p>How balmy and warm the night was! and had it +not been that one was tired and weary with the long +ride from Menakha, it would have proved most enjoyable. +As it was, one could not help admiring the loveliness +of the still moonlight, and the silence, broken +only by the thud of our mules’ feet upon the sand and +the humming of the insects in the air. Every now +and then we would pass a caravan of camels, slow-gaited +and patient, which seemed to grow out of the +moonlight like spectres, only to vanish again into the +darkness.</p> + +<p>As dawn grew near we reached Bohay, situated to +the north of Jibel Damir. It is a poor little place; +but the rest in a mat <i>café</i> was inexpressibly refreshing, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_351">[351]</span>for out of the last twenty-four hours we had been +nearly twenty on the road.</p> + +<p>Stretching ourselves upon the string couches, which +do not seem to be in use anywhere out of the Teháma +and the southern plains, we were soon wrapped in +sleep. But at sunrise my guards woke me, and we +made a start again. But our march was happily to +prove only a short one, and three hours later we drew +in sight of Bajil, where at length I was promised a +well-earned rest.</p> + +<p>Bajil is quite a little town, its population numbering +probably some 3000 souls. Except for a large +Turkish fort, built for the most part of squared stones, +and a few houses of the same material, it consists of +mud-and-thatch and mat houses, enclosed by high +hedges of dry mimosa and acacia thorns in the form +of zarebas. The place is prettily situated, lying at +the foot of Jibel Obaki, the surrounding plain being +cultivated with millet of two varieties, the <i>dokhn</i> and +the <i>durra</i>; while a good water-supply allows of the +growth of a considerable number of trees, principally +acacias, which render the place a veritable oasis.</p> + +<p>The <i>café</i> here, except for those of the towns and +that at Waalan, was the best we had come across; +for although it only consisted of a series of mat-huts +built round a large yard, everything was so clean and +so tidy that it was a real pleasure to rest in the shade, +all the more so as by this time the rays of the sun had +become fierce in their heat.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_352">[352]</span></p> + +<p>We engaged one of these mat-houses for our private +use, and unloading our mules, settled in for the day. +What rendered our stay at Bajil more refreshing than +it otherwise would have proved was the presence of +an excellent <i>masseur</i>, under whose skilful hands one’s +limbs lost all their weariness.</p> + +<p>As soon as the cool of the afternoon allowed, I +sauntered out for a stroll through the little town. +There was but little to see, it is true; but a Yemen +village always presents sights which, if not exactly +pretty, are generally of interest. A wedding-party +was in full swing, guns were being fired off, tomtoms +rendered the air hideous with their sound, and shrill +pipes added to the confusion. The crowd of women +who filled the open spaces between the zarebas, that +answered for streets, were attired in holiday garments, +and a gay throng they were; for, in spite of their +dull-blue clothing, they had succeeded in tying themselves +up with handkerchiefs and scarves of all colours, +until they resembled rainbows. Here, as elsewhere, +it seems to be the lot of womankind to do the hard +work, and I stood for a time to watch them filling +their pitchers from the wells. The manner in which +the water is drawn is the following. A framework of +wood is built over the mouth of the well, a solid beam +passing from side to side; over this cross-beam runs +the rope, to the end of which is fastened a bucket. +Owing to the great depth to which the wells have to +be sunk, these ropes are necessarily of enormous length, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_353">[353]</span>and the only means by which the weight can be supported +is by a couple of the women harnessing themselves +to the end and running at a gentle trot until +the bucket has reached the surface, where it is emptied +by a third. One well, the length of the track passed +over to draw the bucket to the surface I measured, +was only a few feet under two hundred in depth. +The labour is a severe one, but the women seem to +take it as a matter of course. In southern Morocco, +where much the same system is in use, camels or +donkeys are harnessed in their place.</p> + +<p>The only building of any size or importance in +Bajil is the Turkish fort. It is a great square place, +with circular towers jutting out here and there, +and is built almost entirely of cut stone and +bricks. Though useless against artillery, it would +prove impregnable to Arab hordes, armed only with +spears and matchlock-guns. A few ill-dressed Turks +were lying about under the shade of some acacia-trees, +and half-a-dozen field-guns, none too well kept, +stood near the door; but the place offered no other +signs of things military, and wore the weary appearance +of orientalism.</p> + +<p>This was all that there was to be seen in Bajil, so +I retraced my steps to the <i>café</i>, where I found our +mules being loaded preparatory to a start. A number +of Turkish officers from Sanaa had arrived during +my absence, and we instantly struck up an acquaintance, +as we were proceeding over the same road to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_354">[354]</span>Hodaidah. They had been invalided from the steamy +Teháma, and had been in hospital at Sanaa. Their +recovery told a tale of the magnificent climate of +that place, for they assured me that they had left +Hodaidah a couple of months before almost dead of +fever.</p> + +<p>At four o’clock we made a start, our two little +caravans uniting. The road continues over the desert, +which is here dotted with mimosa-bushes and tufts +of long grass. It was the delight of the Turkish +officers to throw matches into the latter, and as night +came on we left a track behind us of fiery stars and +heaps of black ashes. There was no danger of the +fire taking too large dimensions, as the tufts of grass +were sufficiently far removed from one another to prevent +the flames spreading.</p> + +<p>It was the last of our desert marches. A glorious +night, the sky a blaze of myriads of stars, the desert +like a silver sea. Quietly and quickly our little +mules glided on. Every now and again a caravan +of slouching camels would pass by us with a dozen or +so wild Bedouins in charge, on the heads of whose +spears the moonlight played and flashed, but they +soon vanished into the night. One could scarcely +believe that this cool plain, fragrant with the sweet +scent of mimosa, its fragrance increased by the heavy +dew, was in the daytime a howling desert, where the +sun scorched everything to death save the thorny +bushes and the coarse grass tufts, and the camels and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_355">[355]</span>their Bedouin drivers; but even they scarcely ever +travel by day. Wonderful as were the sights and the +grandeur of the mountains of the Yemen, I think +these night-rides over the desert have fixed themselves +more upon my memory. Tired as we often +were, one could not but wonder at the glories of the +starlit heavens, and revel in the fragrance of falling +dew and mimosa.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="fp24" style="max-width: 43.75em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/fp24.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>GATE OF A WALLED VILLAGE IN THE YEMEN.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>Before midnight we reached a <i>café</i>, merely a few +little huts in the desert, but welcome nevertheless, and +with shouts and cries we woke the owner, who lit a +lamp and showed us into his best accommodation, a +roof of grass supported on long canes. However, one +could need no more; for it kept off the chill of the +dew, and allowed the breeze, which every now and +again stirred, to cool the hot night air.</p> + +<p>I shall never forget that last night in the desert,—Turks, +Arabs, Moors, and Englishman squatting on +carpets, sharing a common pipe in a dimly lit <i>café</i> +in the desert. Coffee and supper were cooking, and +one could hear the bubbling of the coffee-husks in +the earthen pot that was preparing for our men. +And then they brought our supper, a couple of desert +fowls that tasted as though they had tramped a century +over the sand, so tough they were. A rest of +an hour or two was all we were allowed, and long +before daylight we were off again. The desert here +takes the form of sand-dunes, in parts covered with +scanty scrub, in parts bare yellow sand, broken only +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_356">[356]</span>by the hideous lines of crooked telegraph-posts. +There were no signs of a road, not even a track in +the sand, for the slightest breeze destroys the marks +left by those who have gone before. But our men +knew the way well, and just a little after seven +o’clock, when we were beginning to suffer severely +from the intense rays of the sun, a cry proceeded +from our foremost man, who stood spear in hand, a +silhouette against the burning sky.</p> + +<p>Hodaidah! There it was at last, dancing in the +shimmering heated air of the desert,—turned, and +twisted, and indistinct, but Hodaidah nevertheless! +As we neared the town the scene became quite +picturesque. Here an old Turkish fort, half in +ruins, stood out yellow from the white sand; there +the remains of some aqueduct in which no water +flowed. Then we entered palm-groves, whose greenness +after the desert was refreshing, under the shade +of which nestled the clean grass-and-mat huts and +zarebas of the Arab and Indian inhabitants.</p> + +<p>Still on; past many a pretty country-house of +the Arab merchants, surrounded by gardens, until +at length we emerged into the great market-place +that lies without the walls of the town proper, +above which rise the houses snowy white, tier upon +tier in strange disorder.</p> + +<p>Passing under a great gateway, the upper part of +which served as barracks, we proceeded by narrow +streets to our destination, a large <i>café</i> kept by a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_357">[357]</span>Greek. Here I engaged a room, and sending my +Arabs and Turkish guards to forage for themselves +until I had rested, we carried our scanty baggage to +an upper chamber, the windows of which looked out +on one side to the sea, and on the other to the +principal street I settled myself in.</p> + +<p>But the fatigue of my march from Sanaa had +been too much for me, and in an hour my fever +had returned, and I was lying, almost unconscious, +tossing from side to side. Saïd and Abdurrahman +likewise were attacked, and suffered as much perhaps +as I did. But our journey was over, we had finished +with the mountains and plains of the Yemen, and our +goal was reached.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_358">[358]</span></p> + +<h3 class="nobreak" id="PART_II_CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.<br> +<span class="smaller">HODAIDAH.</span></h3> + +</div> + +<p>The earliest mention that one finds of Hodaidah in +Mahammedan history is its capture by El-Ghuri, +Sultan of Egypt, in <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 1515. In the native historian’s +account of the invasion of this wild horde +of Circassians, Kurds, and other strange peoples, the +town is mentioned by the name of Jadidah,⁠<a id="FNanchor_45" href="#Footnote_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> the new +(town), although this by no means can be taken as +a proof that the city had only been founded shortly +before that period—for Jadidah, as the name of a +city, is common all over the East, and every place +was probably at one time “new,” though the title +may long ago have become inappropriate. This tends +to prove that it was probably not until the Red Sea +trade had reached a flourishing condition, although +at that time entirely in the hands of the natives, that +Hodaidah sprang into existence.</p> + +<p>Being situated on the sea-coast, and only a little to +the south of the country of the Asir tribes, it has not +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_359">[359]</span>escaped from attack from both quarters. Principal +amongst these, perhaps, was its capture by the Asir +chief, Abd el-Hakal, in 1804. In the interests of the +Wahabi belief, which he, like so many of his tribe, +had embraced, he made an organised attack upon the +northern Teháma. His people, buoyed up with the +fanaticism of their new tenets, devastated whole districts, +and held the entire Yemen in terror. Four +years later, however, Hodaidah was once more restored +to the then reigning Imam of Sanaa, Seyed +Ahmed ibn Ali Mansur.</p> + +<p>From this time, for a space of some four-and-twenty +years, we find Hodaidah thriving under the impetus +given to trade by the European merchant-ships, +which were at this period crowding to the Red Sea; +and its lot seems to have been a peaceful one, until +the arrival there in 1832 of the dreaded Turkchee +Bilmas, by which nickname Mahammed Agha was +generally known. Marching overland from the Hedjaz, +he encamped close to the city, while his vessels, which +had proceeded by sea from Jeddah and Yembo, blockaded +the port. On being refused provisions by the +governor, he commenced to open fire upon the town +walls, whereupon the place capitulated. However, +the energetic Mahammed Agha did not remain there, +but, leaving four hundred men under the command of +Agha Murshid, he marched on Zebeed.⁠<a id="FNanchor_46" href="#Footnote_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a></p> + +<p>The Egyptian Government abandoned the Yemen +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_360">[360]</span>in 1840, eight years after the taking of Hodaidah +by Turkchee Bilmas, and it was arranged that this +portion of the country at least should fall into the +possession of the Grand Shereef of Mecca. But +another claimant stepped forward in the person of +Huseyn ibn Ali, Shereef of Abou Areesh, who with +the Asir tribe, whose assistance he had been able to +obtain, took the field with twenty thousand men;⁠<a id="FNanchor_47" href="#Footnote_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> +and the very day that Hodaidah was abandoned by +Ibrahim Pasha, the Shereefs troops, under the leadership +of his brother, Abou Taleb, took possession of +the place. Notwithstanding the recognition of the +Shereef Huseyn’s power did not last long; for the +Asiri, ever ready for plunder, occupied the town, +and only released the merchants, whom they had +imprisoned, on their paying large ransoms.</p> + +<p>In 1849 a great change was destined to take place +in the government of the Yemen, and the Turks, proceeding +from Jeddah, occupied Hodaidah, the Shereef +of that town obtaining a subsidy from the Ottoman +Government in return for his handing over the place. +This pension, however, he never received; and accordingly, +in 1851 he started to report his case to the Sultan +at Constantinople. But sudden death cut short his +career on the road, and there is little doubt but that +he was murdered.⁠<a id="FNanchor_48" href="#Footnote_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> The leader of this Turkish expedition, +Tufieh Pasha, became governor of Hodaidah +and the surrounding country.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_361">[361]</span></p> + +<p>It was shortly after this that a treaty was drawn +up between the Imam of Sanaa and the Sublime +Porte, in which the principal clauses were that the +Imam was still to continue to reign, but that he +should be considered as a vassal of Abdul-Mejid, the +then reigning Sultan of Turkey; that the revenues +were to be equally divided between the Sultan and +the Imam; and that Sanaa should be garrisoned by +Turkish forces. Although the sequel of this story +belongs rather to the history of Sanaa than to that of +Hodaidah, it may be given briefly at this point, as it +follows as a sequence upon this treaty of Hodaidah. +Returning with the Imam, Tufieh Pasha arrived at +Sanaa, and the change in government was made +known to the inhabitants. What, however, seems +particularly to have fired them to opposition was the +substitution of the name of Abdul-Mejid for that of +their Imam Mahammed Yahia in the prayers. Being +of the Zaidi sect, one of the many divisions of the +Sheiyas,⁠<a id="FNanchor_49" href="#Footnote_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> this naturally affected them more than any +temporal changes could have done, and before midnight +they had cut to pieces a large proportion of the +Turkish troops, who, although they had taken possession +of one of the city forts, were unable to make +any resistance. At length, wounded, and with only +a handful of men, Tufieh Pasha bought a permit +to return to Hodaidah, for which he paid twenty +thousand dollars, and retired to that spot, where he +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_362">[362]</span>died of his wounds and exhaustion. Mahammed +Yahia, the unfortunate Imam who had entered into +this treaty with the Turks, was secretly assassinated,—Ali +Mansur, already twice deposed, being installed +in his place.</p> + +<p>But a still more horrible tale is yet to be told +regarding Hodaidah. In 1855 some sixty thousand +men of the Asir tribe marched against the place with +the idea of sacking it. They deferred the attack, +however, owing to the presence of British ships of +war; but the inhabitants, owing to all communication +with the interior being cut off, had reached a +condition of great misery, when cholera broke out +amongst the Asiri, no less than fifteen thousand +dying before they reached their homes.</p> + +<p>But to return to Hodaidah as I saw it in February +and March of last year—1892.</p> + +<p>Hodaidah lies on the north-east side of a large bay, +and somewhat sheltered by a promontory on the +north-west. The town is a large one, and contains +probably between thirty and thirty-five thousand inhabitants, +though at the time the author was there the +number was swelled by a large addition of Turkish +troops. The place is a nourishing one: the bazaars, of +which more anon, are well supplied; the houses solidly +built, and high. Its one great drawback is its feverish +climate, the few Europeans and the natives alike +suffering at certain periods of the year. After a rainfall, +for instance, or in the winter when the westerly +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_363">[363]</span>winds are blowing, fever attacks the place like an +epidemic.</p> + +<p>With this short description I may revert to my +personal experiences of Hodaidah.</p> + +<p>As soon as my attack of fever had worn off sufficiently +to allow of my going out, accompanied by my +guards, I proceeded to the Governors residence. He +received me most politely, a chair was at once got +for me, cigarettes and coffee brought in, while his +Excellency perused the letters which my soldiers had +brought from the Governor-General at Sanaa. This +over, he bade me welcome, and we had a pleasant +chat, conversing in Arabic, of which his Excellency +knew less than myself, so that at last we found that +things went more easily when a Greek entered who +spoke French.</p> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp60" id="illus24" style="max-width: 25.0em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/illus24.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p><i>A Street in Hodaidah.</i></p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<p>The Governor’s first question to me was worth recording. +He was a little nervous at first, and for a +minute there was an awkward silence, which his +Excellency broke by asking, “Did you fight in the +Crimea?” I replied that I was not born until some +ten years after that war was over. However, I found +the question had a purpose, for on the Governor’s +breast hung the English Crimean medal, which he +handed me to examine with great pride. After this +episode conversation was carried on more easily, and +finally I obtained his Excellency’s permission to continue +residing in the upper chamber of the <i>café</i> until +I should depart. Very different were the Government +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_364">[364]</span>offices here from the gorgeous apartments of +the Governor-General at Sanaa. Here there was only +a small bare room with a +few chairs, none of which +were in very good repair. +An outside staircase +of rickety steps leads to +the first storey of the building, where the principal +offices appear to be situated, the lower portion serving +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_365">[365]</span>as a store. A constant flow of gaudy officers and ill-clothed +soldiers passed and repassed. I had several +interviews with the Governor during my stay of a +week in Hodaidah, and on every occasion found him +polite and amiable, although he refused to allow me +to continue my journey by land, as I had hoped to +have done, <i>viâ</i> Beit el-Fakih, Zebeed, and Hais.</p> + +<p>On my return to my quarters I found a couple of +Turkish soldiers calmly seated in my room, one of +them on my bed, and smoking my cigarettes. Although +I was prepared to be watched, I was not at +all inclined to put up with this intrusion, and with +the aid of Abdurrahman, Saïd, and a boot, soon put +them to flight. I at once returned to the Governor +to explain the matter to him, and on my way to his +apartment was accosted in the most polite manner by +an officer, who begged me not to report the matter, +saying that if I liked to pay him a couple of dollars +he would see that the guard was removed. But +what with annoyance and fever, I was not in a mood +to pay anybody anything, so went straight to his +Excellency and told my story. The old man and his +officers burst into fits of laughter, explaining to me +that the guard had only been put there for me to +pay something for their removal, and that the whole +thing was a “plant.” I begged him to send for the +officer who wanted <i>bakshish</i>, and speak to him, so +that I should not be put to the same annoyance again, +and this he willingly did. Nevertheless, in spite of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_366">[366]</span>the fact that I was left in tolerable peace, I soon +found that my every movement was watched, but +never interfered with. This last was no doubt +owing partly to the good offices of one who showed +me great kindness and hospitality in Hodaidah, +Dr Ahmed, a native of India, who ably represents +H.B.M. Government as Vice-Consul there. I cannot +speak highly enough of my appreciation of his +and his English wife’s many acts of kindness toward +me; and although, owing to ill health, my recollections +of Hodaidah are none too cheery, I shall always +remember how anxious Dr and Mrs Ahmed were to +render pleasant my stay. A doctor of Glasgow University, +Dr Ahmed made his name in Assam in the +Indian medical service, and was only a short time ago +appointed Vice-Consul at Hodaidah; and it is to be +hoped that the skilful way in which he carries out +his by no means easy duties there, and keeps firmly +rooted in that town a feeling of respect between the +British and Turkish Governments, will shortly obtain +for him a post in some more healthy and important +place.</p> + +<p>The <i>café</i> in which I had taken up my quarters +faced the sea on one side, and the only wide street in +the town on the other, that which lies along the seaboard, +from which it is only divided by the Government +offices and huts of <i>areesh</i> or reeds. From my +window on the second storey I was able to watch the +people passing and repassing, and many an hour was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_367">[367]</span>spent thus in idleness. But if this street offered +scenes of character, how much more so did the bazaars! +and there, when I was well enough, I used to sit talking +to the Arab shopkeepers and sipping coffee. Good +intelligent fellows many of them were, and always +ready to waste half an hour in listening to tales of +Egypt and Morocco, and even of my journey in the +Yemen. What sights the bazaars offer! All the nationalities +of the world seem to crowd there—strange +weird people in every stage of clothing, from almost +nakedness to rich robes of striped silks. Unlike the +bazaars at Aden, those of Hodaidah are roofed in from +the sun, the fierce rays of which yet find cracks and +crannies in the wood and mats to creep through. But +their brilliant light falling upon some stall of fruit +perhaps only tends to throw into deeper shadow the +rest of the crowded street. In the cool of the afternoon +I would saunter round and take up my station +on the little shop-platform of a seller of books, and +spend an hour or two with him. A wizened little old +man he was, a native of Zebeed; but he was good +company, and would put aside all ideas of business +when he saw me coming, and would point out the +strange figures amongst the passers-by, and tell me +whence they came and who they were. Jews, Indians +of all kinds, Persians, Arabs, Egyptians, Bedouins, +Abyssinians, Turks, Greeks, negroes, and a few Europeans, +would jostle each other in the narrow ways.</p> + +<p>From the bazaars to the town walls is but a step. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_368">[368]</span>Passing out of the fortified gates, of which there +are several, one issued on to the large open space, +the <i>sôk</i> or market, which we had crossed when we +entered the town. Here garden produce was offered +for sale, generally exposed on the ground, though +a number of little mat-and-reed huts contained small +shops. The larger of these flimsy structures serve +as <i>cafés</i>, and one or two as Parsee theatres. The +largest of the <i>cafés</i> was a constant resort of mine, +and of an evening I would sit, accompanied by +Saïd, who, in spite of his fever, had polished up +his dress—what there was of it—and his raven +locks. So beautiful had he become that little +groups of the female sex would come and joke +with him; and though he treated them with a +certain amount of haughty indifference, he was by +no means unappreciative of their attentions, and +had a knack of being out after dark. There one +would see the Turkish officers in gold-lace, with +their glass hookahs in front of them, lounging +away the afternoon hours. There, too, were the +merchants, gorgeous in silk raiment and turbans, +talking business over coffee and tobacco.</p> + +<p>The remaining streets and places of Hodaidah +offer but little attractiveness. The streets are +narrow and the houses high, and except now and +again for a richly carved doorway, there is but +little of interest to be seen.</p> + +<p>The greatest disadvantage to Hodaidah, after its +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_369">[369]</span>feverish climate, is the exceedingly poor water-supply; +for although there are some brackish wells in +the neighbourhood, all pure water has to be brought +from a distance of some miles. It is carried in skins +and barrels on the backs of camels and donkeys.</p> + +<p>Near these wells, under the guidance of Dr Ahmed, +I spent a pleasant afternoon in a beautiful garden +belonging to a certain wealthy Arab, whose fortune +was made, it is said, by purchasing the right of +collecting taxes from the Ottoman Government. +This, in the hands of an unscrupulous and hard +man, means a very considerable income, and the +garden in question was a proof that the old Arab +evidently throve. The road from the town passes +along sandy lanes and amongst palm-groves until +the open desert is reached. Continuing over this +for a mile or so, one reaches the wells, while green +trees peeping over the high garden walls break the +monotony of sand and scrub.</p> + +<p>Immediately on our arrival the gate was thrown +open, and we entered a veritable paradise—a walled +garden many acres in extent, and filled with +gorgeous trees and shrubs, which the owner is said +to have collected from all quarters of the tropics. +Irrigation was carried on by water-wheels and wells, +and streamlets flowed in every direction. Under the +shade of the large trees summer-houses had been +erected of trellis-work, over which jasmine and roses +and many a creeper, the name of which I did not +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_370">[370]</span>know, climbed in luxuriance. In these divans were +arranged, and one could enjoy the sight of the +flowers in cool shade. Wonderful they were, those +shrubs and trees and plants, hung with great masses +of bloom of every colour, while here and there tall +lilies raised their stately heads. The trees were full +of birds, and the garden was sweet with the scent of +the flowers and the hum of the insects’ wings.</p> + +<p>Long into the moonlit night we sat there, until the +chill dew told us it was time to seek more secure +shelter. Yet in all their loveliness there lurks poison +in this paradise, and nearly all our party suffered +from fever in consequence of our visit.</p> + +<p>But few Europeans live in Hodaidah, with the exception +of the Greeks. The wife of the British Vice-Consul +was the one English lady in the place, the +only other British subject, excepting natives of India, +&c., being a Maltese gentleman, agent for a British +firm. A few Americans, however, are to be found, +the trade in skins to America being an important one. +Of the other nationalities there are perhaps in all +half-a-dozen representatives.</p> + +<p>During my stay the port was visited by a small +Turkish gunboat, the captain of which, whose name +I never discovered, paid me a call. He had been +educated at the Naval College at Constantinople, and +spoke English remarkably well. He was tired of his +berth, he said, his weariness being materially added +to by the irregularity of his pay. In this respect, he +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_371">[371]</span>added, he was better off than most of the Turkish +soldiers in the Yemen, for they received none at all. +Although at Hodaidah the condition of the troops +seemed fairly good as regards food and clothing, we +had found at more than one place in the interior +the soldiers bootless and payless, and receiving as +rations only two loaves of bread a-day, one of which +they usually ate, the other being exchanged for +tobacco. A piastre or two to a soldier won as +genuine thanks as ever one heard. It meant little +luxuries which his heart longed for, cigarettes and +coffee, and which for weeks very likely he had been +unable to attain to.</p> + +<p>At length, after seven days of fever, a steamer +arrived in the port, and I saw means of getting to +Aden. Saying good-bye to Dr Ahmed on the rickety +little pier, down one of the supports of which I was +obliged to clamber in order to reach the rowing-boat, +as the steps had been washed away, or never built, I +forget which, I shook off the dust of Hodaidah from +my feet, and in an hour or so was aboard an English +steamer, having a yarn with an English captain and +mate.</p> + +<p>In a few days we were back once more in Aden, +arriving on the very day on which quarantine from +the Red Sea ports was removed, so that I was only +detained half an hour on the hulk Hyderabad, in +place of the seven days I had feared I would have +to undergo.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_372">[372]</span></p> + +<p>The welcome I received from all friends here was +very kind, and many a laugh we enjoyed together +over my adventures in the Yemen.</p> + +<hr class="tb"> + +<p>Just as my journey was then concluded, so is my +account of it finished now. A year has passed since +I left the country, and yet its every detail is as clear +to me as if it had all happened yesterday. As I lay +down my pen I conjure up in my mind the desert-rides +under a myriad of brilliant stars; I feel upon +my cheek the soft balmy southern breeze; I see again +our little party hiding in the gullies, and creeping on +by night over the terrible rough roads of the mountains. +Once more, warned by an unknown friend, I +escape by night from Beit Saïd; once more, but this +time with a smile, I spend five days a prisoner in the +<i>conàk</i> of Sanaa. Once more I pass through the great +valleys and descend to the desert, and I shudder over +the remembrance of nights and days of fever—a fever +that clung to me for months. Yet my recollections +of the country are ones that I shall always treasure; +and in spite of dangers and sickness, in spite of long +marches and days in prison, the Yemen will always be +for me, at least, Arabia Felix.</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="footnotes"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="FOOTNOTES">FOOTNOTES</h2> + +</div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_1" href="#FNanchor_1" class="label">[1]</a> In 1871 the rainfall at Aden was only one-fourth of an inch.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_2" href="#FNanchor_2" class="label">[2]</a> Hist. gen. des Voyages, vol. xxxi. p. 438.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_3" href="#FNanchor_3" class="label">[3]</a> Playfair’s Yemen, p. 22.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_4" href="#FNanchor_4" class="label">[4]</a> Ibid., pp. 135-139.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_5" href="#FNanchor_5" class="label">[5]</a> Sailing Directions for the Red Sea.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_6" href="#FNanchor_6" class="label">[6]</a> Kay’s translation of Omarah’s Yemen, 1892.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_7" href="#FNanchor_7" class="label">[7]</a> Ibn Khaldun, Kay’s translation, 1892.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_8" href="#FNanchor_8" class="label">[8]</a> Playfair’s Yemen, p. 4.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_9" href="#FNanchor_9" class="label">[9]</a> Niebuhr, vol. ii. p. 68.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_10" href="#FNanchor_10" class="label">[10]</a> Playfair’s Yemen, pp. 43, 44.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_11" href="#FNanchor_11" class="label">[11]</a> Kay’s Omarah. London, 1892.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_12" href="#FNanchor_12" class="label">[12]</a> Professor Sayce’s “Ancient Arabia” and “Results of Oriental +Archæology,” in the Contemporary Review.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_13" href="#FNanchor_13" class="label">[13]</a> Human Origins. S. Laing, 1892. P. 94.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_14" href="#FNanchor_14" class="label">[14]</a> These measurements were made by Mons. D’Arnaud in 1843.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_15" href="#FNanchor_15" class="label">[15]</a> Vincent’s Periplus, vol. i. p. 53.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_16" href="#FNanchor_16" class="label">[16]</a> Koran, chap. lxxxv.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_17" href="#FNanchor_17" class="label">[17]</a> Akhdam, plural of Khedim, a word usually employed for a slave +to-day.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_18" href="#FNanchor_18" class="label">[18]</a> Ibn Khaldun, Kay’s translation, 1892.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_19" href="#FNanchor_19" class="label">[19]</a> A list of the Imams of Sanaa will be found <a href="#IMAMS">at the end of the book</a>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_20" href="#FNanchor_20" class="label">[20]</a> Niebuhr’s Travels, vol. ii. p. 85.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_21" href="#FNanchor_21" class="label">[21]</a> Playfair’s Yemen, pp. 113, 114.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_22" href="#FNanchor_22" class="label">[22]</a> Playfair’s Yemen, pp. 118, 119.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_23" href="#FNanchor_23" class="label">[23]</a> Playfair’s Yemen, p. 131.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_24" href="#FNanchor_24" class="label">[24]</a> Playfair’s Yemen, p. 147.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_25" href="#FNanchor_25" class="label">[25]</a> Playfair’s Yemen, pp. 153, 154.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_26" href="#FNanchor_26" class="label">[26]</a> Mahomet and Islam. Sir William Muir. 1887.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_27" href="#FNanchor_27" class="label">[27]</a> Al-Baha-’l Janadi, ‘Karmathians in Yaman.’ Kay’s translation, +1892.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_28" href="#FNanchor_28" class="label">[28]</a> Les Confréries Musulmanes du Hedjaz. A le Chatelier. Paris 1887.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_29" href="#FNanchor_29" class="label">[29]</a> The Sunnis hold that the Caliphate need not necessarily descend in +the family of the Prophet.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_30" href="#FNanchor_30" class="label">[30]</a> Sadah is situated about eight days’ journey north of Sanaa, on the +borders of the desert.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_31" href="#FNanchor_31" class="label">[31]</a> Ezek. xxvii. 21-23.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_32" href="#FNanchor_32" class="label">[32]</a> “Arriani periplus maris Erythræi.”</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_33" href="#FNanchor_33" class="label">[33]</a> Itinerario de Ludovico de Barthema, 1535. Translated by +Richard Eden, 1576.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_34" href="#FNanchor_34" class="label">[34]</a> Three Hours in Aden. Bombay, 1891.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_35" href="#FNanchor_35" class="label">[35]</a> “In the name of God”—the Arab grace before eating.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_36" href="#FNanchor_36" class="label">[36]</a> The salutation of Moslems all the world over.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_37" href="#FNanchor_37" class="label">[37]</a> <i>Tholba</i>, the plural of <i>thaleb</i>, a name generally applied to those who +have studied the Koran—members of the priesthood.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_38" href="#FNanchor_38" class="label">[38]</a> This rifle was returned to me on the eve of my departure from Tangier +for the Atlas Mountains in October 1892.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_39" href="#FNanchor_39" class="label">[39]</a> <i>Kabyla</i> = a tribe.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_40" href="#FNanchor_40" class="label">[40]</a> “Haran, and Canneh, and Eden, the merchants of Sheba, Asshur, +and Chilmad, were thy merchants.”—Ezekiel xxvii. 23.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_41" href="#FNanchor_41" class="label">[41]</a> General Haig, in the Royal Geographical Proceedings, August 1887.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_42" href="#FNanchor_42" class="label">[42]</a> The Zaidis are a division of the Sheiya sect.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_43" href="#FNanchor_43" class="label">[43]</a> The Koran, <i>sura</i> vii.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_44" href="#FNanchor_44" class="label">[44]</a> The Koran, <i>sura</i> xv.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_45" href="#FNanchor_45" class="label">[45]</a> Kay’s Omarah, p. 237.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_46" href="#FNanchor_46" class="label">[46]</a> Records of the Bombay Government.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_47" href="#FNanchor_47" class="label">[47]</a> Playfair’s Yemen, p. 146.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_48" href="#FNanchor_48" class="label">[48]</a> Ibid.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_49" href="#FNanchor_49" class="label">[49]</a> See chapter on “The Influences of Islam in the Yemen.”</p></div> + +</div> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_373">[373]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="APPENDIX">APPENDIX</h2> + +</div> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_374">[374]</span></p> + +<h3 id="GENEALOGICAL">GENEALOGICAL AND CHRONOLOGICAL TREE OF THE IMAMS OF SANAA,<br> +<span class="smcap">Showing their Descent from MAHAMMED.</span></h3> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp64" style="max-width: 37.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/genealogy2.jpg" alt="Genealogical descent: + MAHAMMED, died A.D. 632 (= A.H. 11). -> FATIMA AND ALI. -> HASAN. -> HASAN. + -> IBRAHIM. -> ISMAIL. -> IBRAHIM. -> ALI KASIM ER-RASSI. -> HOSEYN. -> EL + HADI YAHIA. -> EN NASIR AHMED. -> YAHIA. -> YUSUF ED DAY. -> SEVERAL + GENERATIONS. -> ALI EL AMLAHI. -> MAHAMMED. [three sons:] -> (4) AHMED, + 1677. / (1) MANSUR EL KASIM, 1620; died 1620. / HOSEYN. [son of Ahmed:] + (6) MAHAMMED, 1707. [sons of Mansur el Kasim:] (2) EL MUAYYAD MAHAMMED, + 1645. / (3) ISMAIL, 1676. [sons of Hoseyn:] (10) ABBAS, 1774. / (5) + MAHAMMED, 1678. [no issue] / (8) KASIM, 1719. [son of Kasim:] (9) + HOSEYN, 1740. [sons of Abbas:] (11) ALI, 1809. / KASIM. [descent + from Kasim:] MAHAMMED. -> (15) ABDULLAH, 1840. [son of Ali:] (12) + AHMED, 1817. -> [three sons:] YAHIA. / (16) MAHAMMED, 1844. [no + issue] / (13) ABDULLAH, 1834. [descent from Yahia:] (18) MAHAMMED, + 1849. -> (20) GHALIB (Living in 1859). [son of Abdullah:] (14) (17) + (19) ALI (three times Imam). 186-."> +</figure> + +<p><i>Note.</i>—The parentage of the seventh Imam Mahammed ibn Hasan is not known for certain. He died +in 1708.</p> + +<p>The names in italics are those of the Imams of Sanaa. The numbers within parentheses refer to the +order in which they reigned. The numbers after the names are the probable dates of their deaths.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_375">[375]</span></p> + +<h3 id="IMAMS">A LIST OF THE IMAMS OF SANAA, GIVING THEIR FULL TITLES.</h3> + +<p><i>Note.</i>—This list is compiled from Niebuhr’s table, as given in Sir R. L. +Playfair’s ‘History of Yemen,’ with one or two corrections from +native authorities.</p> + +<ul> + <li>1. Mansur El-Kasim El-Kebir.</li> + <li>2. El-Muayyad Mahammed.</li> + <li>3. Ismail El-Metawakil Al’ Allah.</li> + <li>4. Ahmed El-Mejd Billah.</li> + <li>5. Mahammed El-Mehdi Hadi.</li> + <li>6. Mahammed El-Mehdi.</li> + <li>7. Mahammed En-Nasir.</li> + <li>8. Kasim El-Metawakil.</li> + <li>9. Hoseyn El-Mansur.</li> + <li>10. Abbas El-Mehdi.</li> + <li>11. Ali El-Mansur.</li> + <li>12. Ahmed El-Metawakil.</li> + <li>13. Abdullah El-Mehdi.</li> + <li>14. Ali El-Mansur.</li> + <li>15. Abdullah En-Nasir.</li> + <li>16. Mahammed El-Hadi.</li> + <li>17. Ali El-Mansur.</li> + <li>18. Mahammed El-Metawakil.</li> + <li>19. Ali El-Mansur.</li> + <li>20. Ghalib El-Hadi.</li> +</ul> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_376">[376]</span></p> + +<h3 id="PEDIGREE">PEDIGREE OF THE REIGNING ABDALI SULTAN OF LAHEJ.</h3> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" style="max-width: 37.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/genealogy3.jpg" alt="Genealogical descent: + SALEM. -> SÁLEH. -> FOUDTHEL. -> ALI. -> [1728] 1. FOUDTHEL, First + Independent Sultan. -> [1742] 2. ABD-EL-KARIM. [three sons:] -> [1753] + 3. ABD EL HADY. / [1777] 4. FOUDTHEL. / [1792] 5. AHMED. -> [son of no. 4. + Foudthel:] [1827] 6. MHASSEN. -> [two sons:] [1847] 7. AHMED. [1849] 8. ALI."> +</figure> + +<p><i>Note.</i>—The dates are those of their succession according to +Playfair’s ‘Yemen.’</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_377">[377]</span></p> + +<h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX">INDEX TO PROPER NAMES.</h2> + +</div> + +<ul> + + <li class="ifrst">Abbaside dynasty, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Abd el-Hakal, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Abd er-Rabi, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Abd esh-Shems, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Abdali tribe, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, + <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Sultan, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Abdul Hamid, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92-94</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Mejid, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Wahab, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Abdullah the Sulayhite, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Abou Arish, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Bekr, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">’l Jaysh, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Mahammed, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Abrahá, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Abraham, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx" id="Abyssinia">Abyssinia, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Abyssinians, <a href="#Page_41">41-45</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, + <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Acacia eburnea, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ad, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Adites, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Aden, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6-8</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, + <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, + <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, + <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121-129</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130-133</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148-150</a>, + <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165-167</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, + <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, + <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Gulf of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Little, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Adenum obesum, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Adirbijan, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Adnan, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Adonis, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ælius Gallus, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Africa, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, + <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, + <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Agha, Mahammed, or Turkchee Bilmas, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Agha Murshid, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ahmed ed-Din, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, + <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Doctor, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Feizi Pasha, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, + <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">ibn Ali Mansur, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">ibn Musa, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Pasha, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Sultan, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ahurram, Jibel, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Akhaf, desert of, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Akhdam, the, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Akrabi tribe, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Akran, el-, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Akriba, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Alajioud, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Albuquerque, Alphonso de, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx" id="Alexander">Alexander the Great, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">or Iskander, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_378">[378]</span></li> + + <li class="indx">Algeria, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx" id="Ali">Ali abou Mehdi, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">bou Rhaleb, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">el-Mansur, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_362">362</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">ibn Abou Taleb, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, + <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">ibn Fadl, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">ibn Mansur, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Sultan of Lahej, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Aloui tribe, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Amat, El-, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">American traders, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Amin, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Amin el-Bahr, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">es-Sôk, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Amir Morjaun, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Amir of Bishi, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">of Dhala, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Amran, <a href="#Page_104">104-106</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Anis, Jibel, and tribe of, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Arab tribes, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Zaidis, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Arabia Deserta, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Felix, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, + <a href="#Page_272">272</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Petræa, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">South, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Aredoah, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Arib, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Arnaud, Mons d’, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Aryans, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Aryat, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx" id="Asaad_abou_Karib">Asaad abou Karib, or Dhu Nowas, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">ibn Yafur, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Ascension,” the ship, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ashari, Beled, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Jibel, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ashram, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ashur, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Asia, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Central, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Minor, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Asir, tribe of, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, + <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, + <a href="#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="#Page_362">362</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Assam, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Assassins, the, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Asshur, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Astarte, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Aswad, El-, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Athaik, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Athl trees, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Atlas Mts., <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Attara, <a href="#Page_342">342</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Aylan, Kays, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ayyubite Caliphs, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Azab, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Baal, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bab el-Mandeb, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, + <a href="#Page_165">165</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bagdad, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bajil, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351-353</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Balkis, Queen, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Banna, el-, Wadi, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx" id="Barthema">Barthema, L. de, or Vertomanus, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bashi-bazouks, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bashir ibn Ardeb, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bas-Katéb, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bauan, <a href="#Page_326">326</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bedouins, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, + <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, + <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_355">355</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Beit el-Fakih, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">en-Nedish, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Saïd, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, + <a href="#Page_372">372</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Beled Alajioud, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Ashari, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">el-Hawad, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">el-Jehaf, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">el-Kabail, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx" id="Belkama">Belkama, or Yalkama, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Beni Hallel, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Matar, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Meruan, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Yafur, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Zuray, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Berbera, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Besaisi, Sheikh, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, + <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Beyrout, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">B’dam trees, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bir Ahmed, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">el-Azab, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bishi, Amir of, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Blanket, Admiral, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_379">[379]</span></li> + + <li class="indx">Bohay, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bombay, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">British traders, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Broeck, Van den, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bruce, Captain, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Budhan or Budzan, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bukht Nasser, or Nebuchadnezzar, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Bulhar, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Cadi, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Cæsars, the, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Cairo, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Caliph of the East (Harun el-Rashid), <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Caliphs, the, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, + <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Campbell, Mr, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Canneh, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Caparidiciæ, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Catha edulis (“Kat”), <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Chaldæa, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Chevalier, Mons. A. le, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Chilmad, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">China, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Chinese, the, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Christianity, <a href="#Page_70">70-74</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Christians, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46-48</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Circassians, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Claudius, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Cleopatris, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Constantine, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Constantinople, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, + <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Constantius, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Coote,” H.M.S., <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Covilham, Pedro de, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Crimea, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Cruizer,” H.M.S., <a href="#Page_132">132</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Damascus, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Damir, Jibel, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Danish expedition, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Dar el-Hinoud, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">en-Nekil, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">es-Salaam, <a href="#Page_107">107-288</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Darling,” H.M.S., <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">David, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Day Imran, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Denmark, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Deria dowlat,” <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Dhala, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Dhamar, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, + <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, + <a href="#Page_256">256-259</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263-265</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, + <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_304">304</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">el-Gar, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Dhofir, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Dhu-biyat, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Dhu Jiblah (or Jiblah), <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Dhu-Nowas. <i>See</i> <a href="#Asaad_abou_Karib">Asaad abou Karib</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Dhu Ruayn, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Digishúb, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Dodekites, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Dokhn,” <a href="#Page_351">351</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Dommicetti, Lieutenant, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Domville, Captain, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Doran, Jibel, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Dowla, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Druses, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Durra,” <a href="#Page_351">351</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Dutch traders, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">East India Coy., <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Eden, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Egypt, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, + <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Egyptians, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Asfal, Medinet, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Faki, Saïd, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Ghuri, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Hadi Mahammed, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Hadi Yahia, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Hajra, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Hasan, Mulai, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Hinoud, Dar, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Islam, Sheikh, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Kasim, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Kebir, Wadi, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Khamis, Sôk, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Mamun, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Mehdi Abbas, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Mehdi Najoul, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Mehdi Senussi, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Muayyad Mahammed, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Mustansir, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Mutawakil, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">El-Muzaffer, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_380">[380]</span></li> + + <li class="indx">Emporium Romanum, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">En-Nekil, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Es-Salaam, Dar, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Es-Seghir, Wadi, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Esh-Shari, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ethiopia, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Euphorbiaceæ, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Fatimide dynasty, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Fez, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Fezzan, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Florence, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Foudthel ibn Ali, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Foudtheli tribe, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, + <a href="#Page_211">211</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">France, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Frederick V. of Denmark, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">French, the, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">traders, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Galata, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Galla-land, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ghadan, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Gharrah, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Ghee,” <a href="#Page_186">186</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ghubbat Seilan, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ghumdan, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Glaser, Dr Edward, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Goa, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Greece, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Greeks, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Gregentius, St, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Habesh. <i>See</i> <a href="#Abyssinia">Abyssinia</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Haddha, Jibel, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hadramaut, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, + <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Haig, General, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Haines, Captain, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hais, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hait Hirran, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, + <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hajarat el-Mehdi, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hajeriya, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hakim, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hamdani princes, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hanífa, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Haran, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Harrar, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Harun el-Rashid, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hasan Pasha, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hashishiyin (or Assassins), <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hashid wa Bakil, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hashma, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hazarmaveth, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hedfaf Pass, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hejaz, the, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, + <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_317">317</a>, + <a href="#Page_359">359</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hejira, the, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Helena, Queen of Abyssinia, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Himalayas, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Himyar, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Himyaric kings, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, + <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hindus, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hodaidah, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65-67</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, + <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, + <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>, + <a href="#Page_349">349</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, + <a href="#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="#Page_363">363</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>, <a href="#Page_370">370</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hojaila, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hormuzd, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“House of the scholar,” or Beit el-Fakih, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Houshabi tribe, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Howr, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Howra, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Howta, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, + <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hud, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hungary, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Huseyn, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">ibn Ali, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">ibn Salaamah, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Shereef, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Hyderabad, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_371">371</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Ibb, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ibn Abou Taleb. <i>See</i> <a href="#Ali">Ali</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Ali Foudthel, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Ardeb, Bashir, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Hasan, Mansur, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Hasan, Tubba, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Huseyn, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Khaldun, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, + <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Khalifa, Nizar, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Mehdi Ali, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Salaamah, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Yafur. <i>See</i> <a href="#Asaad_abou_Karib">Asaad</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_381">[381]</span></li> + + <li class="indx">Ibrahim, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ibrahim Pasha, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Tabátabá, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Idris, Mulai, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Imamites, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Imams, the, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57-59</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60-62</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, + <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, + <a href="#Page_322">322</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Imran, Day, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">India, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, + <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, + <a href="#Page_349">349</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Indian merchants, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Ocean, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ishmael, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ishmaelites, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Iskander. <i>See</i> <a href="#Alexander">Alexander</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Islam, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, + <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70-73</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82-87</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, + <a href="#Page_321">321</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="#Page_362">362</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Sheikh el-, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ismail, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Pasha, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Seyed, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ismailites, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Issi, Jibel, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Jadidah, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Janad, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Janadi, el-, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Jaskum, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Jeddah, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Jehaf, Jibel, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Jelileh, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Jeraaf, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Jerusalem, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Jews, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, + <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, + <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Jibál, the, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Jibel Ahurram, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Anis, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Ashari, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Doran, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Issi, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Jahaf, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Menif, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Mrais, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Negoum, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, + <a href="#Page_301">301</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Obaki, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Safan, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Samára, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Zukur, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Jiblah, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">John, Prester, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Joktan, or Kahtan, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, + <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Jopp, General, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Joseph, or Yusef, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Judaism, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Kaabah, the, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kabail, Beled el-, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kabyla el-Owd, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kahtan, or Joktan, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, + <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kaimakams, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>, + <a href="#Page_337">337</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kaït Bey, <a href="#Page_305">305</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kamaran, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kariat en-Negil, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Karmathians, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_348">348</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kasim el-Kebir, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">er-Rassi, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Kat” (Catha edulis), <a href="#Page_170">170</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kátaba, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, + <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, + <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kaukeban, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kay, Mr, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kebir, Wadi el-, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kedar, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kesra, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kha, Wadi, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Khadar, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Khaldun, ibn, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, + <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Khalid, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Khalifa, Nizar ibn, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Khamis, Sôk el-, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kharejites, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kharid, Wadi, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Khasraji, el-, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Khaulán, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Khoreiba, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Konfoda, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kopts, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Koran, the, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76-78</a>, + <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_382">[382]</span></li> + + <li class="indx">Koreish, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kos, Bishop, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kudaah, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kufa, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Kurds, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Lahej, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, + <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167-169</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, + <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, + <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Wadi, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Laing, Prof., <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Lakhnia, or Lakhtiaa, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Lebanon, Mt., <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Liars,” the, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Lisbon, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Lohaya, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Lokman, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ludovico de Barthema, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Lumley, Captain, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Maaber, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Maadi Karib, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Maala, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Madeira, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx" id="Mahammed">Mahammed, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44-49</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, + <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Agha, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Ali Pasha, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">el-Meccawi, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">ibn Ziad, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Rushti Pasha, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Yahya, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>, <a href="#Page_362">362</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mahdi el-Fakih Saïd, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mahmoud, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Main Pass, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Makarama, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Makulla, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Malik, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mamlooks, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mamun, el-, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mansur, el-, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mansur el-Kasim, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">ibn Hasan, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mareb, Saba, or Sheba, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, + <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Masar, Jibel, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mashonaland, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mavia, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mecca, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, + <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>, + <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Medina, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Medinet el-Asfal, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mefhak, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mehdi el-Mantether, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mehdi, Senussi el-, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Melh, el-, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Sailet, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Menakha, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>, + <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Menes, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Menif, Jibel, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mequinez, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Meruan, Beni, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Merveille, Mons. de, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Metneh, <a href="#Page_325">325</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Middleton, Admiral, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Milne, Captain, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Minæans, or Maïn, <a href="#Page_32">32-36</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mjisbeyeh, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mohajir, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mokha, <a href="#Page_10">10-13</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63-66</a>, + <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Morocco, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, + <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, + <a href="#Page_345">345</a>, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mosailma, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Moulas, the, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mrais, Jibel, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mshareg, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Muavia, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Muayyad, Mahammed el-, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Muir, Sir William, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mundah, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Munkat, <a href="#Page_243">243-245</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Munsoorie Hills, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mustain, el-, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mustansir, el-, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mutawakil, el-, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Mutazelites, the, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Muza, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Muzaffer, el-, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Nadir, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Nebuchadnezzar, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Negoum, Jibel, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, + <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_383">[383]</span></li> + + <li class="indx">Nehm, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Negil, Kariat en-, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Nejed, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Nejrán, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Niebuhr, Karsten, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Nisáb, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Nizar ibn Mustansir, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Noah, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Obadites, the, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Obaki, Jibel, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ofar, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Okelis, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Oman, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Omar, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Omarah, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Omeyyad dynasty, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Osmanli Government, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, + <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Othman, the Caliph, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Othman, Sheikh, <a href="#Page_133">133-135</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ottoman Empire, <a href="#Page_297">297</a>, <a href="#Page_369">369</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Oulaki tribe, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Oun, Mahammed ibn, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Owd, Kabyla el-, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Palestine, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Parsees, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_368">368</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Paruiz, Kesra, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Peppercorn,” the ship, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Peri Pasha, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Perim, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, + <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Periplus,” Vincent’s, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Persia, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Persian Gulf, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Persians, the, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Phœnician characters, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Playfair, Sir R. L., <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, + <a href="#Page_61">61</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Popham, Sir Horne, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Port Said, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Porte, the Sublime, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, + <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Portuguese, the, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">traders, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Prester John, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Prophet, the. <i>See</i> <a href="#Mahammed">Mahammed</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Punt, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Quarnu, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Raamah, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Rabiah, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Raïs Suleiman, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ras Seilan, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Zebeed, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Rashid, Harun el-, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Rassites, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Raudha, <a href="#Page_315">315</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Red Sea, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10-14</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, + <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_358">358</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Resaaba, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Rima, Wadi, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Rodaa, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Romans, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Rome, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Russia, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst" id="Saba">Saba, Sheba, or Mareb, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, + <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, + <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sabæans, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_319">319</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sadah, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52-54</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, + <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Safan, Jibel, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sahán, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Saïd, Beit, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, + <a href="#Page_372">372</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">el-Faki, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sailet el-Melh, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Salah ed-Din or Saladdin, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Salih, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Salt, Mr, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Samára, Jibel, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Samarcand, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx" id="Sanaa">Sanaa, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20-26</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, + <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61-64</a>, + <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104-107</a>, + <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a>, + <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, + <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322-324</a>, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>, + <a href="#Page_353">353</a>, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>, <a href="#Page_372">372</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sargon I., <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sayce, Prof., <a href="#Page_35">35</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Seddah, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Seghir, Wadi el-, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Seilan, Ghubbat, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Ras, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Selim I., <a href="#Page_55">55</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_384">[384]</span></li> + + <li class="indx">Semitic races, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Senussi, Sheikh, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Seyed Hasan, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Ismail, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Kasim, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Mahammed el-Hadi, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">esh-Sheraï, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sham-sham, Jibel, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Shari, Beled esh-, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Wadi, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sheba. <i>See</i> <a href="#Saba">Saba</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sheikh el-Beled, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Besaisi, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, + <a href="#Page_223">223</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">el-Islam, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Othman, <a href="#Page_133">133-135</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sheiyas, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84-87</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, + <a href="#Page_361">361</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Shem, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Shereef, Huseyn, <a href="#Page_66">66-69</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Shoa, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sidi Sheikh, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sinai, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Smyrna, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Soarez, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sobeh, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sôk el-Khamis, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">el-Thuluth, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Solomon, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36-38</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Somali-land, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Somalis, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Soudan, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Stace, Col., <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Stamboul, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Suakin, <a href="#Page_337">337</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sublime Porte, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, + <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Suez, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Canal, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Suleiman the Magnificent, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Raïs, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sufis, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Sunnis, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84-86</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, + <a href="#Page_314">314</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Syria, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Tabátabá, Ibrahim, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Taif, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Taiz, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, + <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Tartars, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Tawahi, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Teháma, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13-18</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, + <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, + <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_339">339</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>, <a href="#Page_354">354</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Teima, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Thamud, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Theophilus Indus, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Thoba, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Thuba, Wadi, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Thuluth, Sôk el-, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Tigris, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Topaz,” H.M.S., <a href="#Page_12">12</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">“Towers of Silence,” <a href="#Page_145">145</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Tripoli, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Tsar, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Tubba el-Akran, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">ibn Hasan, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Tubbas, the, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Tufieh Pasha, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Tunis, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Turan Shah, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Turkchee Bilmas, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_360">360</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Turkey, Sultans of, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Turkish dominions in the Yemen, <a href="#Page_24">24-26</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, + <a href="#Page_286">286</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">troops, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, + <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a>, + <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a>, <a href="#Page_330">330</a>, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>, + <a href="#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="#Page_349">349</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Turks, the, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, + <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, + <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, + <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>, <a href="#Page_356">356</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Uzul. <i>See</i> <a href="#Sanaa">Sanaa</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Venice, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Vertomanus. <i>See</i> <a href="#Barthema">Barthema</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Vincent’s “Periplus,” <a href="#Page_39">39</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Waalan, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Wadi el-Kebir, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Wahab, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Wahabis, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Wáhat, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Wahraz, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>.<span class="pagenum" id="Page_385">[385]</span></li> + + <li class="indx">White, Sir William, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Wisil, <a href="#Page_342">342</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Yaffa, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Yahya, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Yakoub Bey, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Yalkama. <i>See</i> <a href="#Belkama">Belkama</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Yarub, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Yasir, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Yemenite tribes, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Yerim, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, + <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, + <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_286">286</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Yusef, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>.</li> + + <li class="ifrst">Zafar, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Zaida, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Zaidis, the, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_361">361</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Zanzibar, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Zarahoun, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Zaum, Wadi, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Zayd, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Zebeed, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, + <a href="#Page_359">359</a>, <a href="#Page_365">365</a>, <a href="#Page_367">367</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Ras, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li> + <li class="isub1">Wadi, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Ziad, ibn, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>.</li> + + <li class="indx">Zurayites, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>.</li> +</ul> + +<p class="titlepage">PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS</p> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp54" id="map3" style="max-width: 75.0em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/map3.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p>Sketch Map of<br>THE YEMEN<br>illustrating<br>THE ROUTE OF W. B. HARRIS.</p> + <p>Stanford’s Geogˡ. Estabᵗ., London</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 76757 ***</div> +</body> +</html> + diff --git a/76757-h/images/cover.jpg b/76757-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..5e84b1a --- /dev/null +++ b/76757-h/images/cover.jpg diff --git a/76757-h/images/fp01.jpg b/76757-h/images/fp01.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..14dd62d --- /dev/null +++ b/76757-h/images/fp01.jpg diff --git a/76757-h/images/fp02.jpg b/76757-h/images/fp02.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..407a54e --- /dev/null +++ b/76757-h/images/fp02.jpg diff --git a/76757-h/images/fp03.jpg b/76757-h/images/fp03.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ea33ba5 --- /dev/null +++ b/76757-h/images/fp03.jpg diff --git a/76757-h/images/fp04.jpg b/76757-h/images/fp04.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..74dffa6 --- /dev/null +++ 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