'The Expedition for the survey of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, carried on by order of the British government, in the years 1835, 1836, and 1837; preceded by geographical and historical notices of the regions situated between the rivers Nile and Indus. In four volumes. With fourteen maps and charts, and embellished with ninety-seven plates, besides numerous wood-cuts. Volume the first.' [‎577] (668/905)

CHAP. XXII.] HEALTHINESS OF THE DESERT.
577
mountains, and the general elevation of the greatest part of
the peninsula, the climate is milder and more healthy than
might be expected, considering its geographical position. The
extreme heat of summer is, in consequence of the elevation,
much lessened; whilst at night there is frost, and even snow-
occasionally during the winter months. Moreover, the mis
chievous and oppressive effects of the heat are diminished hy
the dews; without which, says Niehbuhr, no vegetables could
exist in such places as Mekkah and Mokha. 1 In Yemen,
and towards the shores of the Red Sea, some rain falls in
spring, but the periodical rains begin in June, and end in Periodical
September; whilst, on the opposite slopes of the range of rain8 '
mountains, the rainy season continues as late as the middle of
November. More eastward, on the shores of the Persian
Gulf, and the banks of the Euphrates, the rains begin towards
the commencement of December and end at the beginning of
March; about the upper Euphrates the rains continue still
longer. The fact of occasional rains in Nedjd during the
summer is mentioned by Captain Sadleir, 2 and also by Mengin,
who witnessed them during the sieges carried on in that
country by the Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. .
In general an agreeable freshness prevails throughout the Purity of the
great plateau of Arabia ; which country for its extent is pro- air "
bably one of the healthiest in the world. Indeed the air of
the wilderness shews its purity, not only by giving a long and
healthy life to the Bedawin, but likewise by its beneficial effects
on those who enjoy it only for a time; an instance of the salu
brity of the climate was afforded in the case of the officers and
men of the late expedition, when returning from Baghdad
under Major, now Lieut.-Col. Estcourt. Tried as they had
previously been, by hard work and exposure, the journey was
regarded with apprehension ; but scarcely was it commenced
when an improvement was perceptible; and before the wide-
spreading wilderness was exchanged for the verdant suburbs of
Damascus every individual found himself greatly improved in
health, if not entirely recovered. But in the towns and villages
1 Niehbuhr's Travels in Arabia, vol. II, p. 314; Heron's translation.
2 Bombay Literary Society, &c., vol. III., p. 4^0.
VOL. I. 4 E