"كُتيّب اليمن" [و‎‎٢‎١] (١٩٠/٤٦)

— 29 —
leading from the Jews' quarter, and guarded by police
and soldiers, is the exit for Hodeidah and the coast. At
the eastern angle of the town is the QaVah (citadel), a
considerable pile covering several acres, on a slight but
not very commanding elevation. Tn the Arab quarter are
situated^ the Government offices, and the Post and Telegraph
office. The barracks, handsome stone buildings, lie south
of the town, outside the walls ; and near the northernmost
outlet of the Bab es-Sabah is situated the well-equipped
military hospital. The Midan esh-Sherarah is the city
square, having the residence of the Vali in a vast walled
garden on one side and the Government school for resident
scholars on the other. There are many mosques, both
Arab and Turkish, the principal Arab one, built on the
site of a church, being of considerable architectural merit,
and consisting of a high wall with colonnades on the inner
sides; in the middle of the enclosure is a small cubical
building known as the Lesser Ka bah, and somewhat resem
bling the Ka bah at Mecca. The Turkish mosque is known
as the Bakili. The streets in the native quarter are mostly
narrow and sombre, owing to the height of the houses.
In the Jewish quarter the latter are of mud, not more
than two storeys in height and closely packed together.
The bazaars of the native quarter are plentifully stocked
with local food produce, especially with almost every
variety of fruit and vegetables, but otherwise almost
entirely with goods of European origin, beside a few objects
of native brass and copper work. The Jewish quarter
has its own bazaar, and there are some fairly good shops.
The water of Saiva is good and plentiful ; a perennial
stream runs through the plain, and there are, in addition,
[j,,,,,,.., many good wells, both within and without the walls,
is tk The purest source, however, is a spring on the lower slopes
t |e8o: of Jebel Nuqum. A stream called the Alaf also rises from
a spring within the city and flows out under the north
wall round Jebel Nuqum, to join eventually the Kharid.
Along the course of this, towards the north, is the most
extensive tract of irrigated and cultivated land round