ARABIA, THE DESERT OF, THE SEA 



By Archibald Forder, of Jerusalem 



With Photographs by the Author 



THE great peninsula known in 

 these days as Arabia is one of the 

 oldest known parts of the earth. 

 Long before the sons of Jacob went down 

 into Egypt,, the sons of Ishmael had set- 

 tled in the land Providence had assigned 

 them. The boundaries of Arabia are 

 outlined as early in the Bible as Genesis 

 xxv. 1 8. Probably many centuries ago 

 Palestine, Syria, and the Sinaitic Penin- 

 sula were important parts of Arabia. 

 Isaiah speaks of it as the "desert of the 

 sea" (xxi. i), and when one considers it 

 a land largely desert, almost entirely sur- 

 rounded by water, we conclude that the 

 ancient seer was not far wrong in his 

 designation of the land. Arabia is be- 

 tween Egypt and Persia, to put it widely, 

 also between India and Europe. It has 

 a seacoast of about four thousand miles. 



No land so little attracts the attention 

 of the speculator, hunter, adventurer, or 

 traveler as Arabia, and yet no country 

 presents so large or new a field as the 

 subject of these lines. 



Many are the obstacles to be faced and 

 overcome ere one can see and learn for 

 oneself what is beyond the mysterious 

 and almost waterless belt of uninviting 

 desert that encircles this little known 

 land, but a few have penetrated the coun- 

 try from different points and each has 

 shed some light on the interior. 



The first and perhaps the most difficult 

 obstacle to contend with is the rigid per- 

 sistence of the Turk, who practically 

 controls the entire coastline of Arabia, 

 but who holds little sway inland. Those 

 landing on the coast with the intention 

 of proceeding to the interior are met by 

 smiling officials, who politely request 

 your permission from Constantinople to 

 proceed inland, and, on failing to pro- 

 duce that, you are recommended to pro- 

 cure the same by telegraphing to your 



representative in the metropolis of the 

 empire — a costly and usually hopeless 

 procedure. 



If, however, an entrance is gained, as 

 has been done, troubles of other kinds 

 have to be overcome, such as the diffi- 

 culties of transportation, the superstition 

 of the natives and their dislike of the 

 Christian, the latter perhaps the most 

 dangerous if not the most formidable. 



Arabia is probably one of the oldest 

 of Oriental countries and at different 

 times has played important roles in the 

 making of the world's history, and the 

 probability is that in the revival of the 

 Orient it will yet figure prominently once 

 more. 



As a whole, the country is about as 

 large as the United States east of the 

 Mississippi River, and has an area of 

 some million square miles. 



The northwest part of Arabia is famous 

 for its many-hued mountains, rocks, and 

 crags, into and out of which has been 

 hewn many a fine tomb, temple, dwelling, 

 and theater by the Nabathean, Roman, 

 Greek, or Egyptian, all of whom have 

 left their mark behind them. 



Petra, as it is called today, is compara- 

 tively easy of access, either by rail from 

 Maan, on the Mecca Railway, or on 

 horseback from Jerusalem via Moab and 

 Edom. For their own protection the 

 Turkish authorities insist on the traveler 

 having a military escort, which is fur- 

 nished at a nominal sum. This insures 

 freedom from annoyance from the law- 

 less and wild Bedouin that are located 

 in that section. This interesting portion 

 of Arabia has been previously described 

 in this Magazine,* so it is not necessary 

 to again cover the ground. 



Steering east from Petra one can soon 



* Rock City of Petra. Franklin E. Hoskins. 

 Nat. Geog. Mag., May, 1907. 



