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SECTION VII.
voyage from suez to jidda and loheia,
Departure from Suez.
During our absence, several small caravans
had successively arrived at Suez; and the
arrival of the great caravan from Cairo,
followed soon after our return from Mount Sinai.
Although from pirates properly so called, there is little to be feared in the Arabic
gulph, yet, so unskilful
are the mariners in these latitudes, that they dare
not venture to any distance from the coasts. This timorous mode of sailing
might expose a single vessel to the robbery of the Arabs; to avoid which,
these ships sail in little fleets; four
always setting out together, that they
may join to defend themselves.
After the arrival of the caravans, Suez
seemed more populous than Cairo;
and as such a multitude could not long find subsistence there, all were eager
to set out without delay. We were recommended to the masters of two ships
that were to make the voyage. Although now accustomed to live with the Mahometans, yet, in our passage to Jidda, we suffered a degree of uneasiness,
which we had not felt upon occasions of greater danger. Some Greeks had
hinted to us, that the Mussulmans
thought Christians unworthy of making this voyage in the company of the
pilgrims who were journeying to the holy city; and that upon this account we
should not go aboard with shoes upon our feet. Some of the pilgrims, indeed,
seemed to look upon us little less unfavourably
than a Capuchin going to Jerusalem
would regard a Protestant. But, to be obliged to walk without shoes upon the deck,
was not an humiliating distinction, confined to Christians: it was a restraint
to which all on board were subjected. Nobody in those vessels but must walk
upon deck without shoes. To avoid the company of the Mahometans,
we had hired an apartment which we thought the best. In a chamber opposite to
ours, lodged a rich black eunuch, who was going to Mecca;
and, useless as it could not but be to him, was
accompanied with his seraglio, like a Turkish lord. In a large apartment
under ours, were forty women and slaves, with their children, whose crying
and noise gave us no little disturbance. Every one of the other passengers
had hired a place upon the deck, where he remained with his bales and parcels around
him, having only a small space vacant in the middle, where he might dress his
victuals, sit, and sleep. Our Greek sailors, who were very unskilful, were perplexed by these incumbrances,
and could not go about to manage the vessel, without trampling upon the goods
of the merchants, which produced endless disputes.
Our vessel, although large enough to have carried at least forty guns, was
very deeply laden. Besides her own freight, she towed after her three large shallops, and one small; the three larger filled with
passengers, horses, sheep, and even women of pleasure.
The master, an honest merchant from Cairo,
whose name was Schoreibe, would not
have been distinguished among the seamen of Europe.
He took upon himself the task of pilot to the vessel; but was indeed a very unskilful pilot. Between the two compasses, where
European navigators set a light, he had placed a large magnet, to restore, imperceptibly, as he said, their magnetic
virtue to the needles. It was with
difficulty that I persuaded him to remove it.
With such seamen, however; we were obliged to sail; although they durst
not venture out into the open sea, but coasted round the shores, at the risk
of being dashed in pieces upon jutting rocks, or stranded upon banks of
coral. We had paid the master for our passage, immediately after agreeing for
it. But, according to the custom of the country, we were obliged to give an acknowledgement
to the sailors before going on board, which, in other places, is not expected
till passengers be leaving the vessel.
To avoid any disagreeable rencounters with the
other passengers, we had taken care to go first on board. We had yet several
days to wait, till the Governor should inspect the ships, to see whether they
were not overladen. This duty he never fails to
perform; for a sum of money is payable to him from each vessel, upon the
occasion, which constitutes a part of his revenue.
At length, after all these delays, the four ships weighed anchor about
midnight, on the 10th of October. The side upon which we passed would have
been dangerous, if the wind had not been favourable;
for it is covered all over with coral rocks. The ships cast anchor
every night; and we had then liberty to
go on shore, if we chose to run the hazard, in order to see any object of
curiosity.
Of the Harbour of Tor.
The harbour, in
which we happened to cast anchor, was once a place of some consideration but
the small fort of Kalla and Tor is
now ruinous, and without a garrison. In its neighbourhood,
however, are some remarkable villages, the inhabitants of which, as of all this barren coast, live by fishing.
The inhabitants of Beled-en-Nassara are
Greek Christians. In the neighbourhood is a
convent, but only a single ecclesiastic in it. At Bir
is a well, the water of which is better than that at Naba
but not equal to what the Arabs bring upon camels from the hills. All the
pilots who sail between Suez and Jidda live in the village of Jebil. Each
of these pilots receives five hundred crowns for the voyage; and gains
something, besides, in the course of it, by instructing young persons who
accompany him, to learn his art, which consists merely in distinguishing
where the sand-banks and beds of coral ly.
Mr Forskal went on
shore to visit the pretended Valley
of Elim.
The ecclesiastic belonging to the Greek convent,
sent a guide to conduct him thither. He found it overgrown with date trees.
As he did not
immediately return, a report arose in the vessel that he had been detained by the Arabs, for
attempting to take draughts of their hills. Some merchants, who were also
janissaries, set instantly out, to relieve and bring him back. Happily, the
report turned out to have been false; and Mr Forskal returned, without having met with any unpleasant
accident.
In this place, we had an opportunity of seeing that whole range of
mountains which terminates with Jibbel Musa, and
forms a mass of which the mountain
of St Catharine’s
is the highest peak. One of those mountains rises near Tor. We had a distinct
view of St Catharine’s, and perceived how high it towers above Sinai,
This vast pile of mountains fills the whole tract between the two arms of the
Arabic gulf. Near the shore, those mountains sink into small hills, which
slope into sandy plains.
Voyage from Tor to Jidda.
We continued, till we had sailed as far as Ras Mahommed, to
cast anchor every night. But, between that cape and the coast of Arabia, we
had to cross the Red Sea at its full
breadth. The Europeans think this the safest route, as there is not, through
the whole, one rock on which a ship can be wrecked. But, the Turks think themselves
undone, whenever they lose sight of land.
So many misfortunes happen, indeed, from the ignorance of their seamen,
that they have reason for their fears. Out of four vessels that had set out
rather too late, in the foregoing year, two had perished in these latitudes.
Some persons, who had made the voyage in those vessels, narrated to us the
particulars of that event, which afforded no bad specimen of the nautical
skill of the Turks. When the storm arose, all the sailors and passengers
leaped into the boats, and betook themselves to the shore. The two ships
being thus abandoned to the storm, one was dashed against a rock, and the
other sank.
The master of the third cut away the cords of his boats, for which
the passengers threatened to cut him in pieces. But, by explaining to them
their danger, and promising to extricate them, if they should not perplex and
impede him, he
prevailed upon them to assist him in saving the ship.
In our passage, we found ourselves in danger of a worse misfortune than
shipwreck. The females, who were lodged under us, more than once suffered
linen, which they were drying, to catch fire, in consequence of which the
vessel must have been burnt, if we had not been alarmed by their screams, and
hastened to their assistance. The second time when this happened, our captain
was enraged, and seat down an inferior officer into the seraglio, to beat the
women for their carelessness. The infliction of this punishment produced, at
first, no small noise among them; but it was followed by four and twenty
hours of a sweet silence. Those women were indeed extremely troublesome and
indiscreet. Hearing their voices so very near us, I was tempted to look
through a chink, and saw three or four of them naked and bathing.
Nothing remarkable appeared upon the track by which we sailed, unless a
few small and desart islands, and the summits of
some distant hills. The last objects that remained within our view,
upon the coast of Egypt, were
the famous mountains of emeralds, called by the Arabs Jibbel
Sumrud.
On the 17th of October, an eclipse of the sun happened, which had been
foretold to our Captain by Mr Forskal.
I shewed this phœnomenon
through glasses to the Captain and the principal merchants, with which they
were much pleased; for, among the Mahometans, a
person who can predict an eclipse, passes for an universal scholar, and
especially for a very skilful physician. Mr Forskal was consulted by several of the passengers, who
fancied themselves sick upon a sudden. He mentioned some harmless medicines
to them, and recommended exercise and a peculiar regimen. At length, one of
the pilgrims complaining that he could not see by night, my friend advised him to light a
candle. This humourous prescription did him better
service than the most profound skill in medicine could have done: Those Musulmans were pleased to find him thus accommodate
himself to their manners, and became very fond of him. When we came near to
the small isle of Kassani, the Turks began
to express their joy at having escaped the dangers of such a passage, and
having so nearly reached the coast of Arabia.
Cannons and muskets were fired; the ship and
the boats were illuminated with lamps,
and lanthorns; and all was exultation and jollity.
The sailors went round with a box, asking a dole from the passengers; every
one gave some trifle; and they then threw into the sea,—not the
money,—but the box in which they had collected it.
Continuing our course, we incurred considerable danger, in doubling a cape
surrounded with banks of coral, because our pilot was drunk. He had
frequently asked us for brandy, on pretence that he could not see the hills, or the outline
of the coast, unless his sight were cleared by the
drinking of a little strong liquor. We had refused him, for fear of giving
offence to the other Mussulmans; but we soon saw
that they are not so scrupulous, for the Captain sent to us every morning for
a quarter of a bottle of brandy to his pilot. The Greek merchants might
perhaps have made him drunk, by adding to the dose which he received daily from
us.
We arrived soon after at Jambo, a
walled town near the sea, and having a safe harbour.
Not having seen a single house, since we had left Tor, we felt no small
pleasure at the sight of Jambo.
Such as meant to take Medina, on their way
to Mecca,
went on shore here. Three of our party also landed, and took their sabres in their hands,
hands, like the other passengers. An
inhabitant of Jambo, supposing them Turks, gave
them the salutation of peace, Salam Alicum,
and entered familiarly into conversation with them. But learning that they
were Franks, he
became vexed at having profaned his form of salutation, by addressing it to
Christians, and passsionately railed at the
insolent audacity of these infidels, who dared to wear arms in Arabia. But the other Arabs not seconding his
complaint, my fellow-travellers came on board,
without meeting with any other unpleasant accident.
After stopping for one day in this harbour, we
proceeded upon our voyage, retiring by degrees from the coast, near which
many beds of coral rocks were scattered. We had an opportunity of seeing the
town of Mastura,
which stands at the soot of a hill of the same name. We doubled Cape Wardan; and
anchored near Rabogh, a permanent
habitation of a body of Arabs, who live there in tents. We purchased from
them a plentiful stock of provisions.
Pilgrims, in their first journey to Mecca,
are obliged to assume the Ihhram immediately
after passing Cape
Wardan,
if the state of their health permit. This is a piece
of linen, which is wrapped round the loins. The rest of the body is naked;
and in this state, they proceed through the rest of the pilgrimage, till they
have visited
the Kaaba.
The only other garment they are suffered to wear, is
a linen cloth upon the shoulders, which hangs down in the fashion of a scarf.
But many, under pretext of indisposition, retained their ordinary dress.
Others, more devout, assumed the Ihhram, although
they had been formerly at Mecca;
so that by the evening, we saw most of those Mussulmans
dressed in a garb different from what they had worn in the morning.
It may seem strange, that Mahomet should have enjoined the observance of
stripping, which is so injurious to the health of the pilgrims. But this law
was instituted at a time, when his followers were all Arabs, and there was
little probability, that his religion would be propagated in more northern regions. His design
was to make the pilgrims appear with due humility, and in the common dress of
the Arabs. Those linens are still the only dress worn by the inhabitants of
this province. But the Turks, who are accustomed to wear warm clothes, and
even furred cloaks, find it extremely uncomfortable to change these for the Ihhram. Superstition maintains local customs and
institutions, even after circumstances have so changed, as to make them
counteract the purposes for which they were originally intended. The members
of several religious Orders retain, in cold countries,
the common dress of the warm countries in
which their Orders were instituted. In a chilling climate, we see them
repair, in the middle of winter, to damp, icy churches; because the primitive
Christians, in the mild climate of Asia,
assembled through the whole year, in such buildings, which were there
agreeable by their coolness.
At length, on the 29th of October, we arrived in the harbour of Jidda. The same reason which had
induced us to enter the ship before the other passengers, disposed us to
remain in it till they had all gone on shore. Every one was eager to get away
with his goods assoon as possible, and to conceal
them as much as he
could from the officers of the customs. They were particularly at pains to
conceal their ready money, which pays two and a half per cent, of
duty. One of the passengers failed in the attempt to secrete his money; for
his purse burst as he
entered the boat, and his crowns fell into the sea. Those who defraud the customs, suffer no confiscation of their goods upon
detection; they are only laughed at. In several places in Turkey, those
detected in these practices are compelled to pay the duties double.
All who had been this way in the former year, and were now returning from
the city, complained bitterly of the harshness with which they had been
treated by the customhouse officers.
We were therefore perplexed about our ready money, not that we
were unwilling to pay the duties, but we were afraid of being plundered by
the Arabs. As the Mahometans are unacquainted with
the use of letters of exchange, we had been obliged to carry with us in
Venetian sequins, the whole sum that we intended to expend on our journey.
After various thoughts, we resolved to put our money in the bottom of our
medicine-chest, reserving only two hundred sequins, where we expected the
officers of the customs to search. Our stratagem succeeded; and no person
offered to move our medicines.
The other three vessels which had set out with us from Suez,
did not reach Jidda
till a considerable time after our arrival. One of them, by the ignorance of
the sailors, had been in great danger in the course of the passage. She was
even overturned in the road, the sailors having, in order to gratify the
impatience of the merchants, in discharging the cargo; placed too great a
weight of goods upon the stem of the ship. She was again raised upon her
keel, but a great part of the goods had fallen into the sea, and were much
damaged, a new instance, this, of the unskilfulness
of the Turkish seamen.
Chap. IV.
Of Jidda
and its Vicinity.
We entered this city under strong
apprehensions of ill-treatment from its inhabitants. Recollecting with what
contempt Christians are regarded at Cairo,
and how our companions had been insulted by the Arab at Jambo;
we feared, that we might experience still more of the inhospitable insolence
of the Mussulmans, as we approached nearer to their
holy cities. But we found ourselves agreeably disappointed. The inhabitants
of Jidda, who
are much accustomed to Christian merchants in the European dress, were not
struck with any thing strange in our appearance, and did not seem to take
much notice of us. We went freely to the coffee-houses and markets, without
suffering any insults. But we understood, that none except Mussulmans, are permitted to pass through the gate that
opens towards Mecca, or even to approach it; and kept therefore carefully at
a distance from that gate, least we might be discovered.
Our letters of recommendation were of great use to us. Mr
Gœhler had been personally acquainted
with the Pacha
of Jidda, at Constantinople, and had
accordingly recommended us to him. We had letters from two considerable
merchants at Cairo, to two of the principal
merchants in Jidda.
A poor Schech had given us one to the Kiaja, the Pacha’s
lieutenant: a recommendation from which we had not expected much, but which
was, nevertheless, of more service to us than all the rest.
That Schech was secretary to one of the
principal members of the academy of Jamea-el-Ashar,
at Cairo. He
had been born in European Turkey, and having often heard of the superiority
of the European Christians in matters of science, he came frequently to see us, and was
eager to receive information from us. He was a truly worthy man, perfectly
free from superstition, and a friend to the whole human race. Mr Forskal and I instructed him
in the elements of botany and astronomy. He, for his part, was very useful to
us, exercising us in the Arabic language, and explaining to us many things of
which we must otherwise have remained ignorant. In his youth, he had given the Kiaja some lessons. He had written, without our
knowledge, by the last caravan, to prepossess his old friend in our favour: and gave us, besides, this letter to him.
As we had not time to deliver all our letters with our own hands, we sent
those to the two merchants by our servant, in hopes that they might find us
lodgings. But when they understood that we were so many, they excused
themselves, alleging that it was not possible to find a house large enough.
Had we been fewer, we might have taken chambers in the public Kan. Our Greek
servant, when we were thus at a loss for lodgings, applied to one of his
countrymen, who was goldsmith to the sheriffe of Mecca, and in great
credit with the principal men in the city. This goldsmith informed him, that
the Kiaja, having had previous intimation of our
coming, had given him orders to do us any service in his power. He even
offered us the use of his own house for a night, and promised us a whole
house to ourselves, by next day.
Upon receiving this notice, we went instantly to deliver the Schech’s letter to the Kiaja;
who received us with great politeness. We went afterwards frequently to see
him; and in our answers to his questions concerning the customs and manners
of Europe, we communicated to him and his
friends, more just and favourable ideas of the
Europeans, than they seemed to have before entertained. The Arabs consider us
in the same light in which we regard the Chinese. They esteem themselves the
more enlightened
and ingenious people; and think they do
us great honour, when they rank us in the second
place. The Kiaja was fond of conversing about
astronomy. Mr Forskal,
who often visited him, persuaded him to form a garden for plants near his
house, and to bring from the interior parts of the country, the shrub which
produces the balm in Mecca.
The Arabs looked upon this as a happy thought; and the more so, because the
balm is not to be
obtained pure at Jidda,
but is commonly corrupted with an intermixture of extraneous substances,
before it comes there.
After a few days, we delivered our letter of recommendation to the Pacha. He had also some knowledge of astronomy, and
wished to see our instruments. He thought them better than those used in the East, and shewed them to a Schech, a learned Turk, whom he had with him. The Pacha and the Schech spoke no
language but the Turkish, to which I was a stranger. But we had enough of
interpreters; and, among others, three French and Italian renegadoes
in the service of the Pacha. Yet they knew not the
terms of science, either in their native language, or in the Turkish. I could
not, of consequence, make myself well understood by the Pacha;
and our conversation upon these subjects was not long nor
profound. With the Kiaja I was obliged to speak
Arabic, which
I found not a little difficult, being still ignorant of the terms
of science in that language.
On the 1st of November, after hiring a house, we made our effects be carried to the
customhouse; before we should remove them into the city, and had the pleasure
to observe, that we were not the less kindly dealt with for being known to
the Kiaja. That officer sat, in an elevated
situation, with his clerks around him, and directed the goods of the
merchants to be
examined, piece by piece; but he was satisfied with opening our trunks, and did not make
them be emptied.
The officers of the customs expect a gratuity when they behave with
discretion. The Sherriffe’s goldsmith, who
had taken upon himself the direction of our expence,
gave them a trifle in our name publicly.
The news of the arrival of a party of Europeans, among whom
was an astronomer, soon reached Mecca.
The brother of the reigning Sherriffe was at that
time advancing with an army, to attack the city. With the Mahometans,
an astronomer is always deemed an astrologer. The Sheriffe,
therefore, directed his Greek goldsmith to enquire of me, Whether he should remain in
possession of the sovereign power, or be compelled to give place to his brother? I
excused myself from returning an answer, as being ignorant of future events,
and
and as cultivating astronomy only to
improve the art of navigation. But Mr Von Haven replied, that, of the two brothers, he who bore the
greatest resemblance to Hassan, the founder of the family, should remain
victorious. This response turned out the more happily, that the reigning Sheriffe was enabled to maintain himself upon the throne.
A nobleman in Jidda
asked me to discover to him the thief who had stolen two hundred sequins
which he had
lost. I alleged the same excuse as in the former case. He then applied to a
famous Schech, who was a better astrologer
than I. The Schech gathered all his servants,
ranged them in a line, and, after a long prayer, made each of them take into
his mouth a bit of folded paper, telling them, that they who were innocent
might swallow it with safety, but that the guilty person would be choaked
by it. They all swallowed the paper, save one, who, being thus surprised, and
embarrased, confessed the theft, and made
restitution.
He is said to have been Sultan El Guri,
sovereign of Egypt, who,
in the year 1514, surrounded Jidda with walls,
to protect it from the Portuguese, then beginning to become formidable on the
Red Sea. Those walls are still standing, but
are now so ruinous, that a person
may, in many places, enter over them on
horseback. The bridge is in an equally defenceless
state; a ruinous battery, with one dismounted cannon, is all that remains to
shelter it. Some cannons before the palace of the Pacha,
are good for nothing but to return the salute of ships which enter the harbour. This palace is but an indifferent building, like
the houses of the other Pachas through the Ottoman empire. In the city, however, are several fine
buildings of coral stone. But the other houses are slight wooden fabrics,
like the ordinary dwellings of the Arabs tbrough
the country.
The city is entirely destitute of water. The inhabitants have none to
drink, but what is collected by the Arabs, in reservoirs among the hills, and
brought by them from thence upon camels.
People of distinction in this place dress nearly as the Turks in Cairo. But, the poorer sort wear only a shirt without breeches. The Bedouins in
the neighbourhood wear only the Ihhram
upon their loins. The dress of the women among the lower ranks is the same
which is worn by the Arabian females in general; large drawers, a slowing
shirt, and a veil. Many of the poorer people are employed in fishing, by
which they seem to earn but a scanty living.
The country lying immediately around this city,
is sandy and barren. If we may believe tradition, these regions have
undergone no change since the creation; for the tomb of Eve is still shewn in a spot at no great distance from the sea. But, I
have remarked some sure indications of the sea having receded from the
surface of the land here as well as in other places. At a certain distance
from the shore, are hills entirely composed of coral-rock, and having a
perfect resemblance to the banks of coral lying along the coast.
As I was walking by the harbour, I had an
opportunity of observing a singular practice, which the Arabs use for taking
up wild ducks. The person, who is in search of the game, strips, puts
sea-weeds upon his head, and approaches the bird. The duck, not being alarmed
at the sight of the sea-weeds, stirs not till the Arab seizes it by the feet.
Pococke, and some other travellers,
were not credited, when they spoke of this mode of taking wild-fowls as practised in China. But no fact can be more certain (AA).
The Government and Trade of Jidda.
Jidda
has been always a part of the dominions of the Sherriffe
of Mecca. The Turkish Sultan sends, indeed, a Pacha
to this city; but he
is not absolute sovereign of it. The supreme authority is shared between the Sherriffe and the Turkish governor. The latter is changed
every year; and accordingly refuses sometimes to obey the Pacha;
as did the present Kiaja, in one instance, during
our stay at Jidda.
The Sherriffe keeps an officer, who is called
his Visier, to represent him in this city; and on
this Visier, solely, do all such of the inhabitants
of Jidda, as
are the Sheriffe’s subjects, depend. This
officer is always chosen out of the family of the Sherriffe,
from among those who aspire to the sovereign power. A descendent of a noble
Arab family would not deign to compear before a
judge of a meaner birth.
The revenue arising from the customs is shared between the Sultan and the Sherriffe; upon which account the Kiaja
and the Visier always attend together, when goods
are examined.
The dues of custom are fixed at 10 per cent. upon the value of the goods, estimated arbitrarily by the
custom-house officers; so that they may be considered as equal, in reality, to 12 or 15 per
cent. The English, however, are particularly favoured,
even more than the subjects of the Sultan: They pay only 8 per cent. and are suffered to discharge this in goods; whereas all
others must produce money.
Although the trade of Jidda is so
considerable, yet this city is no more than a mart between Egypt and India. The ships from Suez seldom proceed farther than this port; and those
from India are not
suffered to advance to Suez.
The master of a vessel from Surat, being driven one
year too far north to enter the harbour of Jidda,
proceeded to Suez, and there discharged his cargo. But he was put into prison,
next year, at Jidda, and obliged to pay the
full dues that would have been charged at Jidda,
upon the goods which he
had disposed of at Suez.
Were it not for this advantage, the trade of Suez would be very trifling. The circumjacent country affords
nothing but Taif almonds for
an objects of traffic; of these, indeed, the English carry five
hundred thousand weight a-year to India. Balm of Mecca
is also brought hither from the neighbourhood of Medina, as an article
for exportation.
The imports are greater, because both Mecca, and Medina are to be supplied from this
market. Large quantities of corn, rice, lentiles,
sugar, oil, &c. are imported from Egypt,
without which this part of Arabia could not
possibly be
inhabited. All goods from Europe come also by the way of Egypt; and, on the other hand, those which are
brought hither from India
pass generally into Egypt.
Maillet, who resided long in Cairo,
imagined that it might be
of advantage to the nations of Europe, to conduct their trade to India by the way of the Red
Sea. But it is doubtful, whether ships would be allowed to pass the harbour
of Jidda. They would
undoubtedly meet with much fraud and chicanery at Suez;
for the proprietors of the vessels which trade at present between the two harbours, are the most respectable merchants in Cairo. Besides, the
exorbitant duties, which would be exacted, would greatly curtail their profits. But European
merchants would hardly be
hindered to settle at Jidda:
One Englishman has lived several years here.
A circumstance, which must always have an unfavourable
influence upon the state of this trade, is, the low
state of the finances of the Government whieh
presides here. Continually in want of money, they often require the merchants
to advance some part of the duties for
the next year, and promise to discount what is thus advanced, when it falls
due. But these advances, when once obtained, are left to accumulate, year
after year, and will never be
repaid. The English have not yet submitted to these impositions: but their
firm refusal continually embroils them with the officers of Government.
No money is coined in this province; the specie current here is all
foreign, and the same as at Constantinople and Cairo. But the larger coins pass at a
higher rate here than in Cairo,
because small money is more plentiful here, than even where it is coined.
Pilgrims bring this abundance of small money into the country, to defray
their travelling expences,
and the alms which they are obliged to bestow on their journey, and in the Holy City.
That small money is never carried out of the country; and the province is, by
consequence, absolutely overflowed with it.
I have had occasion to speak of the trading janissaries. Those are
properly merchants, who have inrolled themselves
among the janissaries, that they might be protected by the privileges of that body,
from the impositions to which they would otherwise be exposed in conducting their traffic;
but they perform no military duty, and
receive no pay. Such a janissary is independent
of the civil magistrate: and amenable to no judges, but the officers of the
military body to which he
belongs. He enjoys also an exemption from the payment of custom-house dues,
for a trunk and two baskets, which are allowed them for the conveyance of
their baggage and provisions. But, instead of baggage or provisions, the
trading janissaries take care to fill the trunk and baskets with their most
precious goods. I have seen, likewise, some ship-captains and pilots who had inrolled themselves among the janissaries, solely to
acquire importance, and to secure the protection of this powerful body, who
are always ready to support and defend a brother janissary; for such
janissaries did not share the privileges of their Turkish brethren.
While we were in Jidda,
the janissary traders, resenting the strictness with which their goods were
inspected, threatened to defend themselves with the help of their fellows,
from what they called injustice. The Kiaja and
Vizier ordered strong detachments from the troops of the Pacha
and the Sultan, to attend them to the custom-house; and the mutineers were
thus repressed. But after our departure, the janissaries assembled in arms:
upon which the Pacha directed some cannons to be pointed against the
house in which
the ringleaders were assembled, and all
became quiet (BB).
Voyage from Jidda
to Loheia.
Our orders were, to proceed as directly as
possible to Yemen; and nothing detained us at Jidda, but the
prevalence of the north wind, which kept back the arrival of the ships going
thither for coffee; for there were none else with which we could continue our
voyage to the south of the Arabic gulph. At last,
some of those vessels arrived in the beginning of December; and we were
advised to take our passage in a ship from Maskate,
bound to Hodeida,
for a cargoe of coffee.
We went in haste to see this vessel, but were not a little surprised to
find it more like a hogshead than a ship. It was only seven fathoms long, by
three in breadth. It had no deck; its planks were extremely thin, and seemed
to be only nailed
together, but not pitched. The Captain wore nothing but a linen cloth upon
his loins; and his sailors, who were nine in number, and all black slaves
from Africa or Malabar, had nothing to cover
their nakedness, but about
an hand-breadth of linen, bound upon
their haunches with a cord. Our friends persuaded us not to stickle at
appearances, as the Arabs of Maskate are esteemed
good sailors, and manage their sails like European mariners; whereas the
subjects of the Imam are very unskilful navigators,
and use mats for sails, which it is very difficult to manage. We took their
advice, and agreed with the master, for our passage to Hodeida
Our first intention had been, to go straight by sea to Mokha,
as we hoped that some English vessels might be found there. But we were told, that this
passage would be
extremely tedious, and that we might travel more agreeably by land, and could
meet with no molestation in the dominions of the Imam. However, the danger of
living among Arabs, whom we represented to ourselves such as those whom we
had seen in the desart, still dwelt upon our
imagination. But our friends again assured us, that our fears were
groundless; and we accordingly determined to land at Loheia,
or rather at Hodeida, as we should
thus begin the sooner to traverse Arabia the
happy. The Kiaja gave us letters to the Dola’s, or governors of Loheia and Hodeida:
and the merchants to whom we had been recommended,
gave us others to some of the principal merchants in those two cities. The Pacha gave
orders, that our baggage should pass
unexamined.
We had freighted the vessel for ourselves alone; but yet we found it laden
with goods. The master excused this by telling us, that these were absolutely
necessary for ballast. A small space was however allotted to each of us,
which we found spread with a straw mat, intended equally for a seat and a bed
upon which we might sleep if we could. Bales of goods occupied every place
else, except one small corner, which served as a kitchen. It was impossible
therefore, to walk or take the least exercise. Mr
Cramer lost his watch the first night between the boards and a mat of
branches of trees, which was spread all over the bottom of the vessel, to
keep the goods dry. It was found undamaged, when we reached Loheia; a circumstance which proves that the timber of
those vessels is more closely joined than one would at first imagine.
We set out from Jidda
on the 13th of December, and our Captain followed the practice of casting
anchor every night; although the banks of coral are less numerous in the
southern, than in the northern part of the Arabic gulph.
If we had seen few towns or villages between Suez
and Jidda, we saw not more between Jidda and Loheia.
Our voyage was uniformly safe and pleasant. We observed some flying
fishes, which the Arabs call sea locusts. On the sixth day of our voyage, we
overtook a vessel belonging to Hodeida, which
had sailed from Jidda
three days before us. This was an instance of the slow-sailing of the ships
of Yemen,
whose mat-sails receive so little wind, that osten
the Arabs can scarce get out of the harbour. We saw
also several small vessels, which proceeded in such a manner, as to shew themselves to be managed by men of much more spirit than the
Turkish sailors.
After seven days sailing, we anchored near Ghunfude,
a considerable city, but consisting merely of huts. It belongs to the Sherriffe of Mecca, and is governed by one of his
officers, who lives in a small isle, at some
distance from the city. He is obliged to pass daily between the isle and the
town, in order to attend the receipt of the customs. All the ships which are
employed in carrying coffee to Jidda,
are obliged to anchor here, and pay a duty to the Sherriffe.
They are under no necessity of stopping on their return; if the crew, however, with to go on shore, they may obtain a
general permission for the payment of two crowns.
Next day after our departure from Ghunfude,
where we stayed only one day, we passed within sight of Hali,
where the Sherriffe of Mecca keeps
garrison. This city is upon the confines
of his dominions, and upon the border of the province of Hedjas. The neighbouring Arabs belong to Yemen.
As our captain needed provisions, we had an early opportunity of forming
acquaintance with those independent Arabs who live between the dominions of
the two Sherriffes of Mecca and Abu-Arisch. They are governed by Schiechs
of their own, and profess a religion which seems to have been that of their
ancestors before Mahomet arose. We had heard it mentioned, that those people
have a strong inclination to appropriate the clothes of travellers:
in imitation of our ship-captain, therefore, we dressed ourselves modestly
and simply, in indifferent shirts, and in this guise went on shore unarmed,
Some men immediately advanced to meet us; instead of a turban, they wore only
a string upon the head; to confine the hair; and a cloth upon the loins was
all the rest of their dress. Conceiving our behaviour
to be expressive
of suspicion and distrust, they threw down their lances, and told as that we
had nothing to fear.
As we wished to purchase provisions, they led us to their tents. As we
approached, two women came out to meet us, and respectfully kissed the arms
of the Schiechs, who kissed their heads in return.
They wore no veils
upon their faces; their eyes were
blackened with lead ore; and they had black spots impressed, as ornaments
upon their brow, cheeks, and chin. Those beauties, whose complexion was a
yellowish brown, and who were almost naked, immediately asked us for Kochhel, to blacken their eyes, and for Elbeune, to dye their nails yellow. We were
not a little mortified, that we had forgotten to provide ourselves in those
articles, by which we might have been enabled to gratify the eagerness of
those fair ones for dress, and to supply them with powerful aids to their
charms: They regaled us with milk and butter, which had been kept in goat
skins, and gave us bad bread to eat with these dainties. They were not
displeased at our paying them beforehand. Although wanderers in the desart, they seemed to us more civilized than most of the
other Bedouin tribes.
Next day, after this interview, we halted near a mountain called Konembel, situate in the middle of the sea,
and said by the Arabs to have been originally a volcano. It may possibly be the remains of that
burning island which is placed by Arrian and
Ptolemy in these latitudes. We saw, likewise, not far off, the city of Gesan,situate upon a tongue of land, on the coast; but
we did not venture to approach it, for the Sherriffe
to whom it belongs bears the character of
being inhospitable to strangers.
On the 29th of December, we arrived in the harbour of Loheia, and
cast anchor within a league of the town.
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