DESCRIPTION OF ARABIA. 47 



cMef to\viis ; all of which have been visited by Eu- 

 ropean travellers. 



Hadramaut (the Hazarmaveth of Scripture, Gen. 

 X. 26) lies eastward of Yemen, which it greatly re- 

 sembles in its soil and surface. The hills are ex- 

 tremely fertile, and intersected with well-watered 

 vales. Its towns were more celebrated, and per- 

 haps better known, in the time of Strabo and Ptol- 

 emy, than they are at present. It was famous in 

 the days of Augustus for the bravery of its inhabit- 

 ants, and still more for being the country whose 

 mountains produced frankincense. This extensive 

 province was included in Arabia Felix ; its harbours 

 are Keshin, Merbat, Dafar, and Hasec, in the great 

 gidf of Kuria Muria, which is surrounded with isles. 

 Doan and Aidan, are towns in the interior ; but of 

 their situation we have no accurate knowledge. 

 Shibam, which seems to be the Saba of the ancients, 

 is described as the seat of a powerful prince, eight 

 days' journey from Sanaa, and ten from Mareb. 

 Niebuhr heard more than twenty cities mentioned, 

 of which he could learn nothing beyond the names ; 

 but these, he observes, bore a striking resemblance 

 to those recorded by the most ancient historians — 

 a circumstance which renders it probable that this 

 region has undergone little change since the re- 

 motest ages. The mountainous tracts called Seger 

 (or Sahar) and Mahrah are comprehended in this 

 province.* 



Oman occupies the eastern angle of the peninsula 

 between Hadramaut and the mouth of the Persian 

 Gulf. It is filled with mountains, which almost 

 everywhere extend to the sea. Muscat (the Mosca 

 of Arrian) is the capital, and the best known to 

 Europeans of all the Arabian cities on the Indian 

 Ocean. The whole coast in this quarter exhibits 

 the same bleak and steril aspect already noticed ; 



* Niebuhr, Descript. Arab. torn. iii. p. 160-254. 



