'The Transactions of the Bombay Geographical Society. From January 1863 to December 1864. (Edited by the Secretary.) Volume XVII.' [‎246] (421/524)

24G
REMARKS ON THE PORT OF LING AH,
still bears its old name, which is said to be deiived ftom the words Min
and Aub,—that is to say, land and water, par excellence. The fact i s ,
as a merchant of Bunder Abbass said to me, that mankind settled in the
first instance on fertile land and by the margin of sweet water; and
wherever you find these two essentials in the neighbourhood of other
ruins, you may be sure of their claim to the propriety of age.
17. As to the general character of the island of Hormuz, it seems
to be very similar with that of the salt and sulphur formations in the
neighbourhood of Khumeer, already described.
18. Leaving Hormuz I sailed across to Bunder Abbass, distant
about 12 miles in a north-westerly direction, and forming a walled
township with suburbs, along an open sea-beach, back grounded, at a
distance of about 15 miles, by a range of lofty and apparently desolate
mountains, although the clefts in the middle slopes of this range pro
duce excellent oranges,* and are said to be otherwise studded with
trees. Behind the present town are some large tombs of superior
construction ; they are falling into ruins. To the westward lie the
debris of an extensive former town, and among them the ruins of an
English factorjg wdiich seems to have been in the first instance pulled
down to prevent its being used as a point of attack by any hostile force*
A better and more sheltered position for a port lies about four miles to
the westward, the entrance of the Clarence Straits, and which is said
in the former times to have been the site of a small bunder. The
present Bunder Abbass is destitute of any pier or other artificial
improvement, has only from tw r o to three fathoms of w r ater at a distance
of two miles out, and during the frequent southerly or south-eastern
winds becomes a lee shore lashed by a heavy surf, rendering it necessary
for craft to seek shelter under the islands of Hormuz and Kishm.
19. In regard to geographical position and freedom from interferrence
of authority, Bunder Abbass appears to be the most favourable commer
cial position that I have seen along the shores of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . I
append an abstract statement of the trade, which has doubtless much
increased during the past two or three years, and would be capable pro
bably of much greater increase if industry were free and secure in
the inland territories, for which Bunder Abbass is the natural port.
* Some of the finest sort of oranges at Zanzibar are said to be grafts from tbe
trees In this mountain rango.