ON THE EXPLORATION OF SOUTHERN ARABIA. 493 



across a very curious natural phenomenon. The valley, which is liere about 

 a mile and a half broad, with hills on either side reaching an elevation of 

 about 2,000 feet, has been blocked up by a calcareous deposit, which has 

 collected round an isolated hill in the centre of the valley, and has formed 

 itself into a perfectly sheer and precipitous wall or abyss. To the east of 

 this hill the abyss is 5.50 feet high and three-quarters of a mile in 

 length. It is hung with white stalactites, and presents a whitish-grey 

 colour ; over this abyss small waterfalls precipitate themselves, and the 

 ground' below is spongy and fertile, and all along the river bed the rocks 

 are white with calcareous deposit. At the top of this abyss an exceedingly 

 fertile flat meadow extends for several miles inland, richly wooded, and 

 providing rich pasturage for the cattle of the Bedouins, who own it ; and 

 about a mile and a half from the abyss are two lakes joined together by a 

 meandering stream. They are long and narrow, but in places of consider- 

 able depth, and it is the overflow from these lakes which falls over the 

 abyss. Bulrushes, water plants, and water birds abound here, and the 

 spot is marvellously fertile. 



(2) The inhabitants of the Dhofar district may be divided into twa 

 distinct groups, namely, the Arab inhabitants of the coast villages whO' 

 cultivate the fertile plain, and occupy themselves in Ashing, and the nomad 

 Bedouins of tlie Gara tribe, who inhabit the mountains, and are purely 

 pastoral. 



The coast Arabs are chiefly from Oman, and are of the Ibadiyeh sect, 

 recognising the Sultan of Oman as the head of the church. This sect of 

 Mohammedans is much less fanatical than the others in Arabia, probably 

 from the long struggle they had with the "VVahabis of Nejd at the com- 

 mencement of this century. They off'ered no objection to our visiting their 

 mosques, and we were subjected whilst amongst them to none of that fanati- 

 cal hatred which caused us so mrch inconvenience during our sojourn in 

 the Hadramut last year. The mosques of the Ibadiyeh are small and with- 

 out minarets ; their heterodoxy consists in not accepting any of the Imams 

 who succeeded Mohammed, but they consider that the Imam or head of 

 the church is to be elected by the people as occasion requires. 



Eighteen years ago the Arabs in Dhofar were in a very sorry condition, 

 and sent to the Sultan of Oman to ask him for a governor : the blood feuds 

 between the tribes and the hostile attitude of the Bedouins rendering 

 existence almost intolerable. Sultan Tourki of Oman sent as Wall a 

 trusted friend of his named Suleiman, who has been there nearly ever since, 

 and by his wise rule and administrative power peace and a measure of 

 prosperity have been restored amongst the Gara tribe. The Arabs them- 

 selves never penetrate into the interior, but are content to cultivate the 

 fertile plain of Dhofar, and inhabit the prosperous villages by the coast. 



The Bedouins of the Gara tribe, who are perhaps the wildest and most 

 uncivilised of any of the tribes of the South of Arabia, form a most inter- 

 esting study for the anthropologist. They are clearly an aboriginal race, 

 as distinct from the Arab as the Spaniard is from the American Indian. 

 They are small of stature and of limb, but exceedingly lithe and well made. 

 They go about naked, save for a loin cloth, and wear their long tangled 

 locks bound together by a leather thong. There are hardly any firearms 

 amongst them, but every man carries with him tliree indispensable 

 weapons — his shield made of wood or sharkskin, with a knob at one end, 

 which he turns round when tired, and uses as a stool ; his flat iron sword 

 ■with a wooden handle ; and his throw stick, a wooden weapon pointed 



