مجموعة ٦/ ٢١(٢) "المملكة العربية السعودية: العلاقات مع حكومة بريطانيا: المفوضية السعودية في لندن والوزير البريطاني في جدة. تمديد معاهدة جدة." [و‎‎٢‎٦‎٤] (٧٦١/٥٢٧)

THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia).
CONFIDENTIAL.
■
December 30, 1935.
Section 4.
[E 7573/3300/25]
Sir A. Ryan to Sir Samuel Hoare.—{Received December 30.)
(No. 349.)
Sir, Jedda, December 9, 1935.
SINCE I informed yon by my telegram No. 212 of the 3rd December of my
return to Jedda, I have addressed to you a series of telegrams regarding my
proceedings at Riyadh. I now have the honour to submit a summary account of
my journey which may be useful for future reference^ 1 )
2. I enclose a list( 1 ) of the stages of my journey, from which you will see
that I adhered fairly closely to my original programme, but took one day longer
than I had expected to get from Hufuf to Riyadh, and spent one extra night in
the latter place. Captain de Gaury, who accompanied me all the way from Cairo,
is preparing a further paper on the route across Arabia.
3. We were favoured most of the way by ideal weather conditions, i.e.,
sunshine following on recent rain, which had bound the soft ground in the sandy
areas. Even so the road was somewhat trying, especially between Hufuf and
Riyadh, between Ashaira and Sail, and most of the way from Sharay’a to Hadda,
where non-Moslems have to follow a detour, now known as the Christians’ Road,
to avoid Mecca. It is not too much to say that there is no such thing as a road
at all in the European sense, but a practicable track and a track practicable only
for the most intrepid drivers. The jolting was such that the wireless set, which
I had brought as a present for Ibn Saud, arrived with so many parts broken as
to be unusable. One bump more terrific than the rest, when we were crossing
an ill-famed tract known as Umm Siqyan on the 21st November, damaged the
muscles of my back so severely that I have not yet recovered the free use of them.
4. Our principal stopping places in the interior were Hufuf and Riyadh.
All the arrangements in Hasa had been put in the hands of Sheikh Muhammad-at-
Tawil, who carried them out with the utmost efficiency and courtesy. We were
received on the evening of our arrival at Hufuf by the Amir Saud-bin-Abdullah-
bin-Jiluwi, who is acting in the place of his late father and who is to be confirmed
in the appointment, when the King goes to Hasa in the near future. The Amir
is a man of 35 or so, repulsive .in appearance owing to a super-squint. Whether
from inexperience or of deliberate intention, he received me with a singular lack
of ordinary Arab politeness and left on me a most unfavourable general
impression.
5. I cannot praise too highly the courtesy which was extended to me on
every other occasion, and the efforts made to provide for the comfort of myself
and my party, including Mr. Oppenheim and Mr. Ousman, who met Captain de
Gaury and myself some little way out from Riyadh. The Saudi Government
chartered a launch to convey me from Bahrein to Uqair, where I was met by
Taufiq Bey Hamza, the brother of Fuad Bey. He had been brought from Mecca
for the purpose, and he saw us through to Jedda. The King received me daily
at Riyadh and entertained us at dinner on the 25th November, after a race
meeting and riding display, attended by His Majesty, a large number of his
sons, and various princes of the Araif and the Bani Rashid. The heir apparent
gave us dinner the next evening and was most affable, speaking much of his
experiences in England. The King's brothers did not appear on any occasion.
6. I can indeed say that, with the solitary exception of the boorish young
man of Hufuf (whose manner was strangely aloof), every Saudi personage or
subordinate with whom I came in contact used every endeavour to do honour to
me as a British representative. As I have stated elsewhere, my party were
treated throughout with the distinction appropriate to a special mission. We
were everywhere received with military honours, and a guard was attached to
( r ) Not printed.
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