In The Time Of The Sherifs They
Were Much Molested, Compelled To Wear A Particular Dress, And Prohibited
From Approaching The Mekka Gate; But The Turks Having Become
[P.15] masters of the Hedjaz, abolished these restrictions, and a
Christian now enjoys complete liberty here:
If he dies, he is not buried
on shore, (this being sanctified ground, belonging to the holy city,)
but upon some one of the small islands in the bay of Djidda. Jews were
formerly the brokers of this town; but they were driven out, about
thirty or forty years since, by Serour, the predecessor of Ghaleb, some
of them having offended by their misconduct. They all retired to Yemen
or to Sanaa. During the monsoons some Banians visit Djidda in the Indian
ships; but they always return with them, and none are settled here.
The mixture of races in Djidda is an effect of the pilgrimage, during
which rich merchants visit the Hedjaz with large adventures of goods:
some of these not being able immediately to settle their accounts, wait
till another year; during this period, they cohabit, according to the
custom of the country, with some Abyssinian slaves, whom they soon
marry; finding themselves at last with a family, they are induced to
settle in the country. Thus every pilgrimage adds fresh numbers to the
population not only of Djidda, but of Mekka also, which is indeed very
necessary, as in both towns the number of deaths is far greater than
that of births.
The people of Djidda are almost entirely engaged in commerce, and pursue
no manufactures or trades but those of immediate necessity. They are all
either sea-faring people, traders by sea, or engaged in the traffic with
Arabia. Djidda derives its opulence not only from being the port of
Mekka, but it may be considered as that of Egypt, of India, and of
Arabia; all the exports of those countries destined for Egypt first
passing through the hands of the Djidda merchants. Hence, it is probably
richer than any town of the same size in the Turkish dominions. Its
Arabian name, which means "rich," is therefore perfectly well bestowed.
The two greatest merchants in the place, Djeylany and Sakkat, both of
Maggrebin [Maggrebin, "inhabitants of the West," is the name given by all
the Eastern Arabs to the natives of the Barbary States.]
[p.16] origin, and whose grandfathers first settled here, are known to
possess from one hundred and fifty to two hundred thousand pounds
sterling. Several Indians have acquired capitals nearly equal, and there
are upwards of a dozen houses possessing from forty to fifty thousand
pounds sterling. Wholesale trade is carried on here with greater
facility and profit, and with less intrigue and fraud, than any where I
have seen in the Levant; the principal reason of which is, that almost
all the bargains are made for ready money, very little or no credit
being given. This, however, is not to be understood as implying any
thing favourable to the character of the merchants, who are as notorious
for their bad faith as they are for their large fortunes; but the nature
of the trade, and the established usage, render it a less troublesome
and intriguing business here than in any other country of the East.
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