'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.' [‎612] (705/905)

612
TEHAMEH PROPER.
[chap, xxiii.
but the rest are mere Arab huts, whose walls are of mud
mixed with dung, and the roof thatched with a kind of grass. 1
The port is small, but there is an active commerce in coffee,
though not so extensive as that of Mokha, nor is the quality
equal to that which is brought from Be'it-el-Fakih. 2
About 18 miles southward of Lohayah is the island of
Kamran, its dependency. It contains a small town and an
excellent harbour, in which vessels proceeding from India to
Jiddah usually get wood and water, with refreshments. 3 A
parched barren country, scantily supplied with water, prevails
to the southward as far as Hodeida, containing at intervals
large villages, in one of which there is a tannery, in another
a pottery, and in a third indigo is prepared. 4 The town is
situated at the north-eastern side of a sandy bay, where it is
sheltered by a point of land running N.W.; the harbour of
Hodeida is, in consequence, superior to that of Lohayah, and
it is defended by a small citadel, situated near the sea. The
houses of the merchants, as well as those of the principal
Arabs, are of stone, but the rest of the town is composed of
huts built of mud and straw. It is under a dola, whose rank
and authority correspond with those of a pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. in Turkey;
and the revenue is raised by duties levied on the export of coffee
from Be'it-el-Fakih, which is the chief port. 5
The latter city is situated about 35 miles to the south-east;
and on the road thither are a number of coffee huts, but very
few villages. The city is large, and the most considerable
coffee-mart in Arabia, being only half a day s journey from
the hills, where it is chiefly grown, and also at a moderate
distance from the harbours of Lohayah and Mokha. The
town, which is ■ distinguished as Bei't-el-Fakih-el-Kebir, is
situated in a naturally infertile, but now carefully cultivated
plain. A citadel occupies the centre, around which is the
town, consisting of detached buildings of stone; many of
these have, however, become uninhabitable, owing to the
ravages of a species of white ant, called ard by the Arabs. 6
1 Niehbuhr's Travels in Arabia, vol. I., p. 253; translated by R. Heron,
1792. 8 Ibid., p. 253. 3 Ibid.
4 Ibid., p. 268. 5 Ibid., p. 279. 6 Ibid., p. 210.
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