CHAPTER I.

THE YEMEN.

The Yemen may be described as forming the south-west corner of Arabia. So little is known of the geography of the interior, and to such a slight extent do even the natives define the boundaries between their own land and the surrounding provinces, that any exact description of the country is impossible. The same may be said of nearly all oriental frontiers, except where, taking an example from European customs, a clear line of demarcation has been agreed upon; for, as a rule, limits depend far more upon tribal position and inheritance than upon any natural features of the land in question; and in many cases in the settlement of frontier questions with oriental Powers, even European Governments have been obliged to follow upon these lines. This is especially clearly exemplified in the case of the Algerian and Moroccan frontier, in the southern parts of which no absolute boundary has been fixed, certain tribes, whether in French or Moorish territory, belonging to whichever of the two nationalities under which they are enrolled.

How infinitely difficult it is, then, in the case of the Yemen, to state where that province begins and ends, will be appreciated.

As to two of its limits, the task of definition is simple; for on the west the Red Sea, and on the south that portion of the Indian Ocean known as the Gulf of Aden, allow of no question. On the north and east far more serious difficulties arise. Without attempting to delineate any exact frontier, which, with our present geographical knowledge of the country, would fail at the best to be anything more than roughly correct, more general terms must be used than would be justifiable in a more pretentious work than the present.

It may be stated, then, that the province of Arabia known as the Yemen is bounded on the east by the Hadramaut tribes, and on the north by the Asir, although some authorities include the latter, making the north frontier of the Yemen adjacent with the southern limit of the Hejaz, the province of Arabia in which are situated the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. As far as the writer was able to gather, however, from the natives themselves, the Asir is considered to be an entirely different district, although its inhabitants are nearly related to the Yemenis by blood. In fact, it may be said without much exaggeration that the present divisions of Arabia as marked upon the maps are but little in advance geographically of the ancient Greek and Roman arbitrary distinctions of Arabia Felix, Arabia Petræa, and Arabia Deserta. Even allowing for the widest limits claimed for the Yemen, the whole country lies between 42° and 46° east longitude and 12° and 20° north latitude.

Although no natural formation of the Yemen can assist one in correctly determining its inland frontiers, the same cannot be said of the two great divisions into which the country is split up. These are so apparent that, from the earliest geographers to the present day, they have remained unchanged and fully recognised. But in order to appreciate this, a few words must be said as to the formation of the country. While the interior consists of vast mountain-ranges and elevated plateaux, some of which lie at an altitude of over eight thousand feet above the sea-level, the seaboard consists, both on the west and south, of low-lying sandy deserts and plains, varying in breadth from thirty to nearly a hundred miles. The only exception where a spur of the mountains approaches the sea is at the headland of Sidi Sheikh, the south-west corner of the Red Sea—a spur of land a few miles in width exactly opposite the island of Perim, from which it is divided by a narrow channel. It may be remembered that only a few years back there was a false report that France had purchased this advantageous spot from the Turkish Government.

The formation of these maritime plains is such that it may be safely surmised that a very considerable portion, at least of what is now desert, was at one time covered by the sea. So fast, indeed, has been the silting action, that more than one former port now lies well inland. As an example of this, Sir R. L. Playfair, in his excellent ‘History of the Yemen,’ mentions the town of Muza, once a flourishing sea-port, now over twenty miles inland. In many places, too, shells and chips of coral are to be found at great distances from the coast. The same retrograde action of the sea can be traced, too, at Aden, which was, no doubt, at one time an island, and is now joined to the mainland by a low isthmus, formed by the silting of sea-sand upon a submarine basis of rock.

The name Teháma is applied to these plains of the Yemen. It is a district exceedingly subject to drought, and with a very small rainfall. What water-supply it boasts, with the exception of oases, is principally due to the mountain torrents, which, originating in the highlands, rush impetuously down the steep slopes, usually to be entirely exhausted by the desert before reaching the sea. It is said, however, that even in the driest seasons water may be found by sinking wells in the river-beds. Although the supply thus obtained is sufficient to maintain the lives of Bedouins and their flocks and herds, it is far from proving of any great utility to cultivation, in such spots where, even in good years, cultivation is possible. However, fortunately for the inhabitants, there are scattered over these deserts many oases, where cereals can be reared with tolerable certainty of reaping the crops. The poor quality of the soil as a rule renders agriculture, except in the most favourable positions, an unprofitable pursuit. The plains serve, too, for the breeding of camels,—those of the Abdali and Foudtheli country, lying to the north and north-east of Aden, being especially famous for their swiftness and carrying capabilities.

The Jibál, or highlands, display entirely opposite features. Enormous ranges of mountains rise abruptly from the Teháma to great altitudes, in places probably 14,000 and 15,000 feet. These ranges for the most part take a general south-easterly direction, and are split up into a series of wide, fertile, parallel valleys. It was doubtless the luxuriance and agricultural wealth, added to the attractiveness of the climate, of this portion of Arabia, that won for the Yemen in former days the title of Arabia Felix. In these great valleys the coffee is grown, sharing with the production of the indigo-plant and other dye-giving species the attention of the mountaineers. Added to this, the climate is such as to allow nearly all European vegetables to grow and flourish, and also many varieties of fruit-trees. The nature of the country renders necessary for cultivation the terracing of the steep mountain-sides, and over this laborious task an almost incredible amount of work and time is expended. But of this I shall have opportunity of speaking anon.

There is, as might be expected, a vast difference in the temperature of the highlands and the plains. While at Aden and the surrounding country the thermometer averages all the year round some 85° Fahrenheit, it probably does not rise above a mean of 61° or 62° in the shade at Sanaa, the capital of the Yemen, where, as in all the elevated country, frosts are by no means uncommon in winter. Nor is it solely in temperature that great differences are apparent with regard to the low and high elevations; for whereas also in the former the rainfall is uncertain and sometimes almost nil,[1] the mountain country boasts two regular wet seasons—in spring and in autumn respectively. In this respect the seasons may be said to correspond with those of the plateaux of Harrar and the Galla country. In both cases the rain is said to be of almost daily occurrence, but lasting only a short time, the showers being broken by periods of bright sunshine.

Nothing can be imagined more beautiful than the scenery of the mountains of the Yemen. Torn into all manner of fantastic peaks, the rocky crags add a wildness to a view that otherwise possesses the most peaceful charms. Rich green valleys, well timbered in places, and threaded by silvery streams of dancing water; sloping fields, gay with crops and wild-flowers; the terraced or jungle-covered slopes,—all are so luxuriant, so verdant, that one’s ideas as to the nature of Arabia are entirely upset. Well known as is, and always has been, the fertility of this region, its extent is almost startling, and it can little be wondered at that Alexander the Great intended, after his conquest of India, to take up his abode in the Yemen, had not death cut short his career.

[Illustration: COFFEE PLANTATION ON TERRACES AT ATTARA, NEAR MENAKHA.]

Thus briefly described, it will be seen that the Yemen consists of two entirely different systems of country, influenced by two entirely different climates: the one arid plains, without much appreciable rainfall; the other a mountainous district, producing cereals, dyes, aromatic gums, coffee, and other rich produce—a country of valleys and plateaux, well watered withal, and enjoying a climate that for salubrity may be said to equal any in the tropics. Having now pointed out in a general way the difference of the two districts, I purpose to enter a little more definitely into the description of each.

To commence with the Teháma, as being the seaboard. It consists, as already stated, of plains varying from thirty to a hundred miles in breadth, and separating the highlands from the sea, both on the west and south. These, for the sake of distinction, I shall call respectively the western and southern Teháma. The former contains some five cities of importance, situated either on the coast of the Red Sea or in that district which divides it from the mountains. Almost in the Asir country lies Lohaya, a small town on the coast, to which I shall refer more particularly in a chapter on the Yemen rebellion. Proceeding south, the next coast town of importance is Hodaidah, to-day the capital of that portion of the Yemen, and still farther south Mokha. As it was my lot to spend a week in the fever-stricken town of Hodaidah, I shall reserve anything I have to say about it for another opportunity; but as it was my ill fortune to see Mokha only from the sea and not to land there, and as I shall therefore not have to narrate any personal experiences in reference to it, I shall add some description of the place and its history at this juncture.

There is certainly no name of any city in the Yemen as familiar to Englishmen as that of Mokha, with the exception of Aden. This it owes to its having for a long time enjoyed almost the sole reputation of the export city of the coffee-berry. However, it is not generally known that no coffee grows at all in the immediate vicinity of Mokha, and that all that was shipped from there was previously carried to the city by caravans from the mountains, often over very great distances. Almost as suddenly as Mokha rose to fame has it fallen again. Before the arrival in the Red Sea of the English and Portuguese traders it scarcely existed at all, the outlets for the trade of this portion of the Yemen being Okelis and Muza. It was not, in fact, until the fifteenth century A.D. that Mokha became a place of resort for ships, and it owes its origin more to the discovery of coffee than to any advantages or attractions of its own. In the early part of the seventeenth century the English and Dutch founded trading “factories” there, and from that time for a period of some two hundred years its fame and wealth were renowned. Van den Broeck describes the place as it existed at the time of his visit in 1616, and notes that to such an extent has its trade recently augmented that goods from Hungary and Venice were found in the market, which had been carried by caravans the whole length of Arabia, to be exchanged for the produce of the far east.[2] He further describes the town as a most flourishing community, containing within its walls numbers of numerous nationalities who had flocked there on hearing of its fame and renown.

A century after the Dutch and English had founded their factories the French followed their example, while in 1803 the Americans commenced to trade direct with the Red Sea ports. On the British occupation of Aden in 1839, the immense superiority of that place as a port, and the security and advantages assured by British rule, drew the commerce from Mokha thence, the former celebrated city fast falling to decay and ruin.[3] Before this period, however, serious outrages had been offered to British subjects, and during the first twenty years of this century there had been constant trouble brewing between the fanatical natives and the Christians, augmented no doubt by the jealousy felt by the former for the manner in which the Europeans had annexed their trade. More extraordinary still than these outrages was the manner in which their perpetration was looked upon by the British Government, and it was not until things became unbearable that forcible means were taken to punish the offenders, and in 1820 a force under Captain Bruce, who had been sent thither to enforce a treaty with the Imam’s Amir, and Captain Lumley of H.M.S. Topaz, bombarded Mokha, and succeeded in forcing an entry into the town. The result of this long-delayed act of reparation on the part of the Indian Government was the placing upon an honourable footing of the British “factory,” and the carrying through of a treaty of commerce with the Government of the Yemen.[4]

Although the author did not land in Mokha, the captain of the steamer on which he proceeded from Hodaidah to Aden very kindly approached as near the shore as was compatible with the ship’s course, and with the aid of glasses a very good view of the place was obtained. From a distance it still has the appearance of being a flourishing town, but on nearer approach one can see that, although the walls of the houses are still standing, the roofs and floors have for the most part fallen in, and Mokha is to-day little more than a vast ruin, from which a few tall minarets still rise to tell of its former beauties. A handful of Turkish soldiers and a few Bedouins are all that remain of its once heterogeneous population; and where once the streets were filled with richly robed merchants, goats feed to-day on the coarse weeds.

As Lohaya and Hodaidah are more particularly mentioned elsewhere in this book, little more remains to be said of the ports of the western Teháma. Some mention must be made, however, of the islands of Kamaran and Perim, the two most important of the many that lie on the eastern side of this part of the Red Sea. The former owes its importance to-day from the fact that it is a British possession, and serves as the quarantine station of the pilgrims going to and returning from Jeddah, _en route_ to and from Mecca. It is situated in latitude 15° 20′ N. and longitude 42° 30′ E., and is about ten miles in length, varying from two to four wide. In some parts it is little more than a swamp, in others some low hills allow of the growth of palm-trees; but the inhabitants are nearly all engaged in the pearl and turtle fisheries.[5]

The other island which may be included in a description of the Teháma is Perim. It is situated in the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb, a mile and a half from the Arabian and about ten miles from the African shores. It is formed of dark volcanic igneous rock and plains of sand on which a few sand-loving flowers grow. The highest point of the island is between two and three hundred feet above the sea-level. What, however, compensates for its aridness and hideous character is the grand harbour it possesses. This bay is a mile long by half a mile wide, well sheltered, and averaging a depth of five fathoms in the good anchorages. In 1799, in consequence of the invasion of Egypt by the French, a British naval force, under Admiral Blanket, proceeded to the Red Sea, while the Bombay Government, acting in conjunction with the other force, seized Perim in the name of the East India Company. No fresh water, however, being procurable, it was during the next year abandoned as a station for troops. To-day, under the hands of the Perim Coal Company not only offices but a hotel has been erected there, and the place promises to become a flourishing coaling-station. All the water is, of course, produced by condensers. A few British troops are habitually quartered there, being sent from time to time for that purpose from Aden, and there is telegraphic communication both with that port and Hodaidah.

Two cities of importance lie in the interior of the western Teháma—namely, Zebeed and Beit el-Fakih. The former has throughout all the medieval history of the Yemen played a part of great importance; for not only has Zebeed been a seat of learning and art, but also has been inseparably connected with all the great civil wars and religious differences that have from time to time shaken the Yemen to its very foundations. Before the invasion of the Turks it was the capital and seat of government of the Teháma, though to-day Hodaidah has usurped its position as such.

The foundations of Zebeed were laid by Ibn Ziad after his conquest of the Teháma in 204 A.H.[6] The city is described not only by Omarah but also by many other native historians, who one and all make mention of its political importance as well as of its size. The account most to the point, perhaps, is that of El Khasraji, who states that the city is circular in form; that near it to the south flows the river of the same name, while to the north is the Wadi Rima, the two ensuring a fertile situation and a constant water-supply. He adds that it stood midway between the mountains and the sea, and almost equidistant from both, the time taken to reach either the one or the other being half a day.

Of Beit el-Fakih little need be said here, as to-day it is a place of but slight importance. Like all these cities of the Teháma, it is irregularly built of sun-dried mud bricks. Its name, “The House of the Scholar,” is derived from its being the place of burial of a certain Seyed Ahmed ibn Musa, whose tomb is still much reverenced and visited as a place of veneration. The town possesses no claim to interest either politically or commercially.

The next portion of the Yemen of which notice must here be taken are the plains commencing from the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb, and extending to some sixty miles east of Aden. These plains are included in the Teháma, but in order to distinguish them from that part already noticed, I describe them as the southern Teháma. Like the western Teháma, they separate the mountains from the sea, and in many respects these two portions of desert bear great resemblance. The southern Teháma varies from fifty to a hundred miles in breadth, and is inhabited by wild tribes, the most important of which are the Subaiha, the Abdali, and the Foudtheli, the first being nomad in character. These plains boast no cities of any size except Howta, the capital of the Sultan of Lahej, chief of the Abdali tribe, which lies some twenty-seven miles north-west of Aden, and Taiz,—though the latter, from its situation on a spur of the mountains, may be said rather to dominate than to belong to these southern plains. Ibn Khaldun, in his geography of the Yemen, refers to Taiz as an important city overlooking the Teháma, and mentions that it had at all times been a royal residence. Without much further mention of this city, which the author did not visit, a few remarks may be made upon its later history. Owing to jealousies between members of its ruling family, a certain Seyed Kassim, uncle to the then ruling Imam, Ali Mansur, treacherously sold the place to the Egyptians in 1837, and it was taken without resistance by Ibrahim Pasha, a general in the service of the famous Mahammed Ali Pasha, who held it until in 1840 a fanatical Mahdi el-Fakih Saïd took the town, only to have it wrested from him in 1841 by the Imam Seyed Mahammed el-Hadi. During the late Yemen rebellion it fell into the hands of the Arabs, for formerly it lay within the limit of Turkish influence, and has probably by this time been reoccupied by the Osmanli troops.

With these few remarks upon the plain districts of the Yemen, scanty as they are, notice may now be taken of the mountainous districts. Such parts as the author travelled through will be more minutely treated of in the narration of his journey, together with the towns of Yerim, Dhamar, and Sanaa, the three principal cities of the Yemen plateaux. However, there are other places of importance to which reference must be made here, and which, although not situated upon the plateau, must by their position be included in this division of the Yemen. Of these the most important are Ibb and Jiblah. Both of these mountain-fortresses are of some antiquity, and have played no mean part in the history of the country. Ibb is mentioned by Omarah as being situated upon the great pilgrim-road built by Huseyn ibn Salaamah, a slave-vizier, which led from the Hadramaut, east of Aden, to Mecca itself, which was constructed about the year 400 A.H. After leaving Aden this great pilgrim-route was split up into two parts, one proceeding _viâ_ Ibb and the mountains, joining the author’s route at Kariat en-Nekil, north of Dhamar; the other following the Teháma. The road which leads _viâ_ Ibb proceeds through Sanaa, and thence _viâ_ Sadah and Taif to the Holy City.

Jiblah, or Dhu Jiblah, as it was formerly called, owes its name to the fact that it was built upon the site of a pottery belonging to a Jew, Jiblah by name. It lies some ten miles to the south-west of Ibb. Ibn Khaldun gives a short description of the place. It is, he says, a fortress, and was founded by Abdullah, the Sulayhite, in the year 458 A.H. Like Taiz, it was a royal residence.

[Illustration: VIEW OF MOUNTAIN-RANGES NEAR SÔK EL-KHAMIS.

_On the road from Sanaa to Hodaidah._]

The other cities of the mountain district, lying principally north of Sanaa, the capital, and therefore not coming under that portion of the country which it was the author’s lot to travel over, will be noticed anon.

Rough as these notes are, they will, I venture to think, help to illustrate the map. To attempt here the task of identifying the ancient sites with modern names would be not only a task of great difficulty, but also one unsuitable to the present book. Mr Kay, in his most able translation of Omarah’s History, has pointed out how extremely laborious and uncertain has been his attempt to do so, even with such maps as to-day exist of the country. The author, after consideration, thought it more advisable to avoid entering into discussions that bear but little relation to his work, and would, he fears, but prove uninteresting to the general reader. He has therefore confined his geographical notes to such portions of the country as he himself passed through, supplemented by a few remarks upon places that demand some notice, either from their importance to-day or from historical interest. In the chapter relating to the history of the country the same course has been pursued, a few pages of print being put aside for what would fill volumes were it taken in hand.

Having now treated of the Yemen as it appears from a cursory glance at the map, it is intended to enter a little more fully into its description, unconnected with its natural formation of plains and highlands.

Ibn Khaldun, in the preface to his Geography, states that the Yemen is divided into seven royal seats of Government;[7] but Niebuhr gives a larger list of provinces, which is again added to by Sir Lambert Playfair. These divisions of the country, it must be understood, are entirely Arab in origin, and to-day have been more or less altered to suit the Turks. However, on inquiry from the natives, the writer found that, although disregarded by the Osmanli conquerors, the names are still in common use amongst the indigenous peoples.

The author gives the list of these provinces in the order in which they are printed in Playfair’s ‘Yemen’:—

Aden. The Teháma. Sanaa. Lahej. Kaukeban. Beled el-Kabail (Hashid wa Bakil). Abou Arish. A district lying between Abou Arish and the Hejaz, inhabited by Bedouins, &c. Khaulán. Sahán (including Sadah). Nejrán. Nehm. East Khaulán (several small principalities). Beled el-Jehaf (or Mareb), and Yaffa.

“These are,” says Playfair, “as nearly as they can be classified, the great political divisions of the country; but numerous smaller states and tribes exist which cannot be classed with propriety in any of the above districts, yet which are too insignificant to require a separate notice.”[8]

The first two of these provinces, the _Teháma_ and _Aden_, are described elsewhere. The third is _Sanaa_, taking its name from the city, the capital of the Yemen. On account of continued wars and struggles, its boundaries have for ever been shifting. Within the province are situated the cities of Dhamar, Yerim, Rodaa, Ibb, Jiblah, Kátaba, Taiz, and Hais.

_Lahej_ is described more fully elsewhere, so there is little further need to make mention of it here, except to roughly indicate its limits; for under this title are contained not only the tribe-lands of the Abdali Sultan, but also the Subaiha, Akrabi, Foudtheli, and Houshabi tribes. The country inhabited by these Arabs of the Plains may be said to extend from the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb to about eighty miles east of Aden. The country is poor, and boasts but one or two towns, but many large villages.

The next province is _Kaukeban_, which, with _Beled el-Kabail_, _Abou Arish_, and _Beni Hallel_, may be taken altogether. The latter tribe inhabit a strip of plain country along the borders of the Red Sea, while the three former include that portion of the country lying to the north-east and east of Beni Hallel, and extending as far east as a line drawn from Sanaa due north.

North again of Abou Arish, and between that country and the Hejaz, is the Asir, part of which is mountainous and part plains—the former inhabited by dwellers in fixed abodes, and the latter by wild Bedouins.

North of Sanaa, and upon the road connecting that city with Mecca, the continuation of the pilgrim-road of Huseyn ibn Salaamah mentioned elsewhere, is the province of _Khaulán_, east of which again is _Sahán_, included in the province and former principality of Sadah. This forms one of the richest portions of the Yemen, being famous for fruits, honey, and cattle. It consists of large valleys well watered, and at such an elevation as to render them not only suitable for the growing of fruit-trees, but also exceedingly healthy. Niebuhr mentions these tribes as hospitable but inclined to robbery, and as speaking as pure Arabic as is anywhere in use.

The next province is still more mountainous, and, on account of its inaccessibility, has remained almost unconquered. It is known as _Nejrán_, and consists of wide fertile valleys reaching nearly to the desert of Akhaf. Like Khaulán, it is renowned for its cattle and fruit, the breed of horses, too, being celebrated. They are said to be of the famous Nejed strain.

The province of _Kahtan_, situated eleven days’ journey north of the valley of Nejrán, is another example of the difficulties of fixing any reliable frontier to the Yemen. Evidently it is inhabited by Yemeni people, as it takes its name from the founder of that stock, Kahtan, who is said to be no other than Joktan of the Jewish Scriptures.

_Eastern Khaulán_ lies to the north-east of the capital Sanaa. It possessed formerly a celebrated city of the Jews, which is now said to be almost entirely deserted. Although generally known by the name of Eastern Khaulán, it in reality consists of a number of small principalities.

_Beled el-Jehaf_ may be said to form the extreme eastern division of the northern portion of the Yemen, but whether it should be considered as part of that country is open to doubt. It extends from a few days’ journey east of Sanaa as far as the desert that divides Oman from Western Arabia. It is in this district that is situated the city of Mareb, otherwise known as Saba or Sheba, whence the celebrated queen visited Solomon. The natives have traditions of a Queen Balkis, whom they affirm to have been the lady in question. However, this has been proved impossible, as the dates do not correspond. It was at Saba that the celebrated dam was built, the destruction of which, about one hundred years A.D., wrought such widespread destruction. A few words about this prodigious building will be found in reference to the tanks at Aden in the chapter upon that possession.

The last of the list of provinces is _Yaffa_, which lies between the Hadramaut on the east and south, and the districts of Lahej and Sanaa on the north and west. It became independent some two centuries ago, up to that time having been under the rule of the Imams of Sanaa.[9] It is a rich fertile country, producing gums, cereals, and coffee. It possesses three towns—Yaffa, Medinet el-Asfal, and Gharrah. Living in close conjunction with the Yaffai tribe are the Oulaki, divided into the upper and lower, their capitals being respectively Nisáb inland, and Howr on the coast.[10]

These, then, are the principal provinces into which the Yemen is considered by the natives to be divided, though to define exactly their boundaries, as in the case of the frontiers of the whole country, would be an impossible task.

With regard to the geography of the Yemen but few more words are needed, in order to render clear the following pages of the narrative of the author’s journey. Although an account is given elsewhere of the Turkish dominion of the Yemen, it may be as well to delineate the present frontier since the Osmanli occupation of the country, although again it is almost an arbitrary one.

To commence from the south. The division between the Arab tribes of the southern Teháma and Turkish Yemen commences some ten miles east of the Straits of Bab el-Mandeb, and so includes the promontory of Sidi Sheikh, which projects toward Perim Island, from which it is divided by a narrow strait a mile and a half in width. From thence the frontier runs in a north-easterly direction, passing a little to the east of Taiz, from which it again turns more directly east, passing to the south of Mavia, and, skirting the territory of the Amir of Dhala, includes the town of Kátaba. From this spot it turns almost due north, keeping well to the east of Yerim and Dhamar, although these towns, as a matter of fact, form practically the eastern boundary of the Turkish Yemen. From Dhamar to Sanaa the frontier runs almost due north and south, and may be said to exist about forty to fifty miles east of a straight line drawn between these two cities.

From Sanaa to the north the Turks claim authority as within their limits over all the country lying to the west of a line drawn from Sanaa to the south-eastern corner of the province of the Hejaz, although over the Asir and other inaccessible mountain tribes their authority is purely nominal, and has never been acknowledged to any extent.

It must not be thought that all the country lying within the frontier thus described is securely under Turkish rule, for there are whole tribes which do not, nor ever have done so, acknowledge anything more than a nominal subjection to the Sublime Porte.

That these notes upon the geography of the Yemen will prove of but little value to _savants_ the writer knows only too well; but if his journey was unproductive of any scientific or historical discoveries, it must be borne in mind the period at which it was undertaken: that not only was a rebellion still taking place, that a month or two before had shaken the whole country to its very foundations, but also that the author was by the Turks treated as a spy, and was more than once in great personal danger from the Arabs. Under these circumstances he feels that he cannot be blamed if his journey was devoid of any great results. All that he can boast to have brought back with him is a story of travel and adventure, and numerous photographs and notes, that will tend to throw light upon the present condition of the Yemen, especially on what has been taking place in that country since the Turkish occupation of the highlands in 1872. His narrative of travel tells a story of long night marches, and of days spent in hiding; of a sojourn in a Turkish prison; and this story, he trusts, will prove sufficient evidence that he had little or no opportunity for research. It was owing to a mere chance that his notes and photographs were saved from destruction by the Turkish authorities at Sanaa.

If these pages tend to throw some light upon this most interesting corner of Arabia, and help to show what the country and its inhabitants are like, the author will be well satisfied with the result.