'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.' [‎607] (700/905)

CHAP. XXIII.]
PLAIN OF ARAFAT.
607
terns belonging to the principal houses and partly from wells
at the distance of a mile and a half.
Not having any manufactures the inhabitants are either sea- wealth, &c.,
faring people, or traders by sea as well as to the interior; and of Jiddah -
being in some degree the port of India, Egypt, Africa and
Arabia, Jiddah is well entitled to its Arabian appellation,
which signifies rich. 1 Some merchants possess property to the
amount of 200,000/. sterling, and there are at least a dozen
mercantile houses, each of which has a capital varying from
40 to 50,000/. sterling. 2 The coffee trade, chiefly from
Yemen, and the Indian trade, being the principal branches of
commerce. Jiddah is governed by a pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. of three tails,
whose authority extends over Sowakin and Massona. The
public revenue arises almost exclusively from the customs here
called ashour (tithes), which are fixed at 10 per cent., and yield
about 400,000 dollars, 3 chiefly from spices and Indian piece-
goods, perfumery, &c. The market is well supplied with ghee,
meat, fruits, and vegetables. The population is estimated at
40,000 souls, which is at least one-third more than that of
the capital.
In the interior of the country, two hours east-south-east of
Mekkah, is the valley of Muna, in which the pilgrims are
enjoined to make a halt; and four hours onward is the well-
known plain of Arafat, covered with shrubs and low acacia-
trees. Near the centre stands the half-ruined mosque Jami
Ibrahim, and two miles northward is the low mountain from
which the plain takes its name. This granite hill, which is
also called Jeb-el-Rahme (Mountain of Mercy), rises to about Jeb-ei-Rahmc.
200 feet at the north-eastern side of the space; and, though
near the mountains encompassing it, it is separated from them
by a rocky valley. At the foot of the hill flows the canal of
Mekkah, and beyond, for some distance southward and east
ward, the scene at times is most animated, having the Egyp
tian pilgrims on one side, the Syrian on the other, and beyond,
the bazar, with the troops and other attendants of the Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. .
It is so arranged that the Hajl from both parts should
1 Burckhardt's Travels in Arabia, vol. I., p. 29.
2 Ibid., p. 30.. 3 In 1814.—Ibid., p. 94.