ARABIA, THE DESERT OF THE SEA 



1057 



THE PORT OF HOD^IDA, IN SOUTH ARABIA 



The principal landing place for Yemen. All merchandise is landed in the way shown 

 above, to the loss of the merchant, as the bales are frequently let fall into the water or 

 soaked by the incoming tide. 



The staple food of the Jowf is dates 

 and temmin, the latter a cereal much in- 

 ferior to rice, but raised in the oasis, as 

 are grapes, apricots, plums, citrons, 

 melons, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, 

 pumpkins, and a variety of other things 

 foreign to the Occident. 



Newspapers, mails, or telegrams never 

 trouble the Jowfees, and of course ma- 

 chinery in any shape or form is unknown, 

 as are also vehicles on wheels or rail- 

 roads. 



The reader will naturally conclude that 

 a people so isolated from the world must 

 of necessity be superstitious, ignorant, 

 and fanatical, and in all these respects the 

 Jowfee excels. 



While I was in the Jowf, and after 

 some trying and not altogether satisfac- 

 tory experiences with the chief, a high 

 tower, part of that dignitary's castle, 

 fell in, badly crushing and wounding 

 him, so that his life was despaired 



of for several days. Hundreds of the 

 men and women believed that I was the 

 sole cause of the accident and circulated 

 the report that "with my evil eye I had 

 affected the tower and caused it to fall," 

 and so scared was the chief himself that 

 he preferred ending his days with broken 

 limbs rather than have me near him to 

 set his bones, which he did. 



Another thing that was noticeable at 

 the Jowf was the extreme zealousness of 

 the people in their religious observances, 

 even the boys giving heed to the ap- 

 pointed hours of prayer. I noticed, too, 

 that, unlike cities in other Mohammedan 

 lands, there were ao mosques, the gather- 

 ing places for prayer being a large space 

 enclosed on three sides by a high wall, 

 roofless, and void of all ornamentation. 



El Jowf is tributary to Ibn Rasheed, 

 and is controlled by a chief who holds 

 office as long as he proves himself capa- 

 ble and turns in the annual poll tax levied 



