"كتيّب الجزيرة العربية. المجلد I. ١٩١٧" [‎١‎٦‎٩] (٧٤٨/١٧٨)

DISTRICTS AND TOWNS 169
within the walls, to east and south, is cultivated or covered with
ruins.' Near the Bab Sheikh Musa is the suq, or market, which
is fairly well supplied with fresh vegetables, rice, butter, dates,
bananas, lemons, and other fruits. The water is good and plentiful,
and is brought into the town by pipes from Jebel Sabor. Ot the
five main mosques, the Sherifiyah (now closed for worship) is
rectangular and has three large ornamental cupolas and an ancient
library of jumbled books and Arab commentaries (few complete) ;
the Muzafferiyah, with three big cupolas and several small ones
and three rows of columns supporting an ornamental vaulting,
is in a good state of preservation and is the ' cathedral ' of Ta izz ;
the Mukhdeblyah, a large square construction of mixed Arab
architecture, is used as a military hospital. Outside the walls is
the fine and well-preserved mosque of Sheikh Afdal. The climate
is said to be unhealthy. Ta'izz is directly connected by telegraph
with San'a and Mocha.
4. Yerim is built partly on level ground and partly on the slope
of Jebel Samarah, at an elevation of over 7,000 ft. above sea-level,
and is enclosed by strong walls with four gates, two towards the
south, one east, and one west. It has a population of from 3,000
to 4,000. Harris says: 'Yerim is a poor enough looking place with
a fortified entrance ; it has an open space which serves as a market.
There is but little to see in the town, which is essentially a poor one,
and although built partly on the slope of a mountain, where stone
is procurable, the houses are almost entirely composed of sun-dried
bricks. Dirt and squalor abound on every side, and the streets
of narrow bazaars show no sign of any great commerce or trade.
What little importance the place can lay any claim to is owing to
the fact that it lies on the main road from San'a to Aden and is
a garrisoned city.' Manzoni describes the houses as ' built either
of stone or of furnace-baked bricks There is a separate Jewish
quarter. The garrison is a small one in normal times. Telegraph
to San'a and Ta'izz.
5. Dhamar, a large, scattered town, is situated in a flat plain some
20 m. north by east of Yerim, at an altitude of about 8,000 ft. above
sea-level. It is not walled, as are most of the highland towns, but is
more or less defended by a series of small and, for the most part,
mud-built forts. There is a look of prosperity about the place, many
of the houses being commodious and well built of stone, while in the
centre of the town there is a wide and rather handsome open square.
The Government offices are here, and, near the square, is the prin
cipal mosque in a walled enclosure which may be entered by three
large gates. The population of Dhamar is about 5,000, including