Chap. L. 
THE PALACE. 
391 
each. In front of the palace a spacious area or square 
is laid out, ornamented with six karage-trees, besides 
a fine tamarind-tree which grows a little on one side 
of the entrance to the palace. Adjacent to the royal 
residence, on the west side, is the large house of the 
facha, or commander-in-chief, and towards the east 
a mosque, of small dimensions, with a minaret at the 
north-west corner. The other sides are occupied by 
the residences of some of the principal courtiers, such 
as the manja, the zerma, and the barma. The principal 
street of the town joins this area in the north-west 
corner ; and along it lie the dwellings of some of the 
other principal men. At the spot where this road 
passes by the north side of the deep hollow or con- 
cavity above described (12), it is crossed by another 
principal street, which, in a straight line, proceeds 
from the gate leading to A'bii-Gher, and intersects the 
market-place. 
My own residence was situated at the south-western 
angle of the inhabited quarter; and while it had the 
advantage of being in an open and airy situation, 
it had also the disadvantage of being visible from 
almost every part of the town, so that I could not step 
out of my room without being seen by all the people 
around. 
Dilapidated as was the appearance of the whole 
town, it had a rather varied aspect, as all the open 
grounds were enlivened with fresh pasture ; but there 
is no appearance of industry, and the whole has 
the character of a mere artificial residence of the 
c c 4 
