48 DESCRIPTION OF ARABIA: 



presenting, in many places, a precipitous rocky wall 

 towards the sea, alongside of Avhich ships might 

 float in safety. The name of Oman imphes a land 

 of peace or security, as contrasted with the unciv- 

 ilized and inhospitable countries by which it is 

 bounded It is said to extend from near Cape Mus- 

 sendom. on the north-west, to the island of Mazeira, 

 south of Ras el Hud, which is literally the " Land s 

 End" of Arabia. Its breadth is reckoned six days 

 iournev towards the south-west. Tln-oughout this 

 space are scattered towns, villages, and hamlets, in 

 nreat abundance. The mountains are in general 

 rugged and bare, but very lofty. Hence the dews 

 and clouds which they arrest give a mild and agree- 

 able temperature to the air; while the showers, 

 washing down the decomposed surface of the earth, 

 add to the soil of the valleys, and also occasion rills 

 and torrents to fertilize them. The people, from 

 their situation on the Persian Gulf, have been cele- 

 brated from the earhest dawn of commerce. Their 

 character, and the different positions on their coast, 

 are described with considerable minuteness in the 

 ancient periplus of the Er^^hrasan Sea. Northward 

 of Cape Mussendom lie the territories of Seher and 

 Julfar ; neither of which are properly included in 



the province of Oman. , ^ „ . + u^. 



L^HSA, or more properly El Hassa, stretx;hes 

 aloncr the Persian Gulf as far as the mouth of the 

 Euphrates, This district is also denominated Hajar, 

 and sometimes Bahrein ; but the latter appellation 

 is now restricted to the islands of that name in the 

 adjacent gulf. The coast is flat and dreaiy, dn-er- 

 sified here and there with groves of palm-trees, that 

 indicate the site of towns or villages, of which the 

 number contained in the province is reckoned 

 twenty Us breadth inland is only fifty or sixty 

 miles It is celebrated for its numerous wells, some 

 of which are covered over with vaulted roofs, sup- 

 ported by tall white marble columns, seen at a great 



