244 



THE LIVING RACES OF MANKIND 



, Fleet Street. E. C. 



PERSIAN LADIES IN OUTDOOR COSTUME. 



with loose sleeves, a white apron, and a blue head-fillet, round which is twisted a yellow 

 string. The women wear trousers and brightly coloured shifts. On their heads they wear 

 a kerchief, and over that a broad-brimmed straw hat. They are not veiled. The women are 

 fond of setting off their simple attire with silver earrings, and even nose-rings, and silver 

 bangles round the arm and aukle. 



The weapons of the Arab consist as a rule of a short sword or dagger, a spear, and a 

 long flint-lock 'gun. He is proud of his weapons, and they are often handsomely ornamented. 

 In South Arabia silver mountings, often of a costly kind, are used, and the silver looks 

 particularly well against the dark skin of its owner. 



The conditions under which the town-dwellers live naturally differ from those of their 

 nomad brethren. The houses in the more important towns are usually built two storeys or 

 more in height, with ranges of apartments opening into a square or inner court. Subterranean 

 rooms, called serdaubs, are occupied during the day, chiefly for shelter from the intense heat. 

 The flat roofs are used for the evening meal and for sleeping. "Arabia is the land of ruins. 

 The climate, the custom of building in stone, the need of protection, the delight in destruction, 

 have covered the land with the fragments of castles and walls; and no small part of the 

 population of Southern Arabia dwells to-day in the ruins of its forefathers' houses. There is 

 hardly a bit of high ground without relics of former buildings" (Ratzel). The nomads live 

 in tents, or in huts made of some light material, such as reeds or straw. 



The food-stuffs of the Arabs consist of wheat, barley, and maize. Maize-porridge is eaten 

 in South Arabia. Oranges, melons, cucumbers, and many delicious fruits are abundant, but 

 the date is the chief article of food and the staple of commerce. It is sometimes called 



