The Wines of the Ancient Orient. 



33 



ovely maiden who takes care of the wines". Idrisi refers 

 to the viticulture of this city in conjunction with that ofAscalon 

 and Arsuf^. In Edfu the wine of the Fenkhu is called an 

 import article of the foreign country 2. 



Wherever the climate permitted it, vineyards were also 

 in the ancient times planted in Arabia. According to Diod. 

 I, 15 Osiris had even discovered the vine at Nysa in Arabia ^ 

 The Periplus advised the sailors to load little wine for Arabia 

 as a place of destination, because that country produces much 

 of it (Peripl. erythr.). Into Muza in South Arabia were im- 

 ported "wine and grain, however not much, for the country 

 itself produces a fair quantity of wheat, and a larger one of 

 wine". The fertile valleys of al-Yaman produced at least 

 sufficient wine for home-consumption. The poet al-A'sha of 

 Bakr^ sings of the pleasures of the vintage at a place called 

 Athafit. He was in possession of his own winepress. Re- 

 garding 'Anafit l^::-iU*] in al-Yaman Idrisi states that, in his 

 time, it was surrounted by vineyards. According to Bukhari'' 

 the inhabitants of al-Yaman also used to drink honey-wine 

 {Inf). Sprenger, citing Hamdani's Iklil about the Wadi 

 Dahr in al-Yaman (p. 181 fif.) says: "It is situated two 

 hours or less (west) of San a and a brook waters both 

 sides of the wadi, which produces about twenty different 

 kinds of grapes and all other kinds of fruit of excellent 

 quality". Mordtmann-Miiller, Sabiiische Denhniiler, No. 11 con- 

 tains an inscription which testifies to the culture of vine 

 amongst the Bata', who dwelled near the Wadi Dahr. Miiller 

 D. H., ibid. p. 46 states that according to Hamdani the Wadi 



i) Jaubert, Giogr. d'Edrisi, Vol. I, p. 34S. 



\ 



Geogr. p. 650 it is said of an Egyptian coast city, ' m/V O t>-= 



^,_^ ' ^^ I I I 



i. e., (to Buto of Am, who resides in Egypt) the Fenkhu sail 



l_l ^ AWAAA 



southward with their wine". 



3) See also Diod. Ill, 64. 66; IV, 2; cf. Virg., Aen. 6, 805 und Ovid, met. 

 4, 13. According to Hesychius Nysa and the Nysaean mountain, amongst 

 other countries mentioned, is also placed in Arabia. 



4) A contemporary of the prophet. 5) Bukhuri, 111, 78. 

 Lutz, \iticulture and liiewing. % 



