Travels In Arabia | Page 8

particularly in the supper after sun-set. Distrusting in
some measure the Pasha’s intentions, I thought it necessary to carry a
full purse to Tayf; I therefore changed the whole of the three thousand
piastres which I had received from Yahya Effendi into gold, and put it
in my girdle. A person who has money has little to fear among
Osmanlis,
[p.8] except the loss of it; but I thought that I might stand in need of
what I had, either as a bribe, or to facilitate my departure from Tayf. I
was, however, fortunately mistaken in both these conjectures.
I shall add here some remarks on Djidda and its inhabitants. The town

is built upon a slightly rising ground, the lowest side of which is
washed by the sea. Along the shore it extends in its greatest length for
about fifteen hundred paces, while the breadth is no where more than
half that space. It is surrounded on the land-side by a wall, in a
tolerable state of repair, but of no strength. It had been constructed only
a few years since by the joint labours of the inhabitants themselves,
who were sensible that they possessed no protection against the
Wahabis in the ancient half-ruined wall, built, A.H. 917, by Kansoue el
Ghoury, Sultan of Egypt. [See Kotobeddin, History of Mekka.] The
present structure is a sufficient barrier against Arabs, who have no
artillery. At every interval of forty or fifty paces, the wall is
strengthened by watch- towers, with a few rusty guns. A narrow ditch
was also carried along its whole extent, to increase the means of
defence; and thus Djidda enjoys, in Arabia, the reputation of being an
impregnable fortress. On the sea- shore, in front of the town, the
ancient wall remains, but in a state of decay. At the northern extremity,
near the spot where the new wall is washed by the sea, stands the
Governor’s residence; and at the southern extremity is a small castle,
mounting eight or ten guns. There is, besides, a battery, to guard the
entrance from the side of the sea, and command the whole harbour.
Here is mounted an immense old piece of ordnance, which carries a
ball of five hundred pounds, and is so celebrated all over the Red Sea,
that the very fame of it is a protection to Djidda. The approach into the
town from the sea is by two quays, where small boats discharge the
cargoes of the large ships, these being obliged to
[p.9] anchor in the roadstead, about two miles from shore; none but the
vessels called say, (the smallest that navigate the Red Sea,)
approaching close to the shore. The quays are shut every evening about
sunset; thus all communication is prevented, at night, between the town
and the shipping.
On the land side Djidda has two gates; the Báb Mekka on the east side,
and Báb el Medina on the north. A small gate in the south wall has
lately been filled up. The area inclosed by the new wall (about three
thousand paces in circuit) and the sea, is not entirely covered with
buildings. A broad piece of open ground extends the whole length of
the interior of the wall; and there is, besides, a good deal of waste
ground near the Báb el Medina, and on the southern extremity. Having

traversed this open space in coming from the gate, you enter the
suburbs, comprising only huts formed of reeds, rushes, and brushwood,
and encircling the inner town, which consists of stone buildings. The
huts are chiefly inhabited by Bedouins, or poor peasants and labourers,
who live here completely after the Bedouin fashion. Similar quarters
for people of this description may be found in every town of Arabia.
The interior of Djidda is divided into different districts. The people of
Sowakin, who frequent this place, reside near the Báb el Medina; their
quarters are called Haret è Sowakiny. Here they live in a few poor
houses, but principally under huts, to which the lowest class of people
frequently resort, as many public women reside here, and those who
sell the intoxicating beverage called Boosa. The most respectable
inhabitants have their quarters near the sea, where a long street, running
parallel to the shore, appears lined with shops, and affords many khans
constantly and exclusively frequented by the merchants. Djidda is well
built; indeed, better than any Turkish town of equal size that I had
hitherto seen. The streets are unpaved, but spacious and airy; the houses
high, constructed wholly of stone, brought for the greater part from the
sea-shore, and consisting of madrepores and other marine
[p.10] fossils. Almost every house has two stories, with many small
windows and wooden shutters. Some have bow-windows, which
exhibit a great display of joiners’ or