The Nearest Gardens Appeared
To Be On The S.W. Side, At The Distance Of About Half Or Three Quarters
Of An Hour:
On that side also stands a deserted suburb, separated from
the town, with some date-trees among its ruins; it was abandoned long
before the invasion of the Wahabys.
I did not visit any of the gardens. In some of them are small pavilions,
where the people of Tayf pass their festive hours; the most noted of
them are Wady Methna, Wady Selame, and Wady Shemal. The gardens are
watered by wells and by rivulets, which descend from the mountains.
Numerous fruit-trees are found here, together with fields of wheat and
barley. The fruits which I tasted at Tayf were grapes of a very large
size and delicious flavour, figs, quinces, and pomegranates; but all the
other sorts mentioned at Djebel Kora are likewise found here. The
gardens of Tayf are renowned also for the abundance of their roses,
which, like the grapes, are transported to all parts of the Hedjaz. To
these gardens all the great merchants of Mekka formerly retired in
summer; and here the Sherif himself often passed a part of the hot
season: they had all their houses and establishments here, and therefore
lost considerable property, when Tayf was plundered by the Wahabys.
The indigenous inhabitants of Tayf are Arabs, of the tribe of
[p.86] Thekyf, [Of the Thekyf tribes are El Hamde, Beni Mohammed, and
Themale. - Vide Assamy.] who have become settlers: in their possession are
all the gardens adjoining the town, and most of the provision-shops
within its walls. A few Mekkawys are also settled here, but the far
greater part of the foreigners are Indians by origin. As at Djidda,
these people, although born in Arabia, and in some instances established
here for several generations, still preserve the dress and manners of
the Indian Muselmans: some of them are merchants; but the greater part
are druggists, whose trade is of much more importance in the Hedjaz than
in other countries, from the general predilection of all classes for
drugs, perfumes, &c. There are, I believe, no wholesale merchants in
Tayf; I counted in all about fifty shops. Before the Wahaby invasion,
this was a commercial town, to which the Arabs of the country around, at
the distance of many days' journey, resorted, that they might pur-chase
articles of dress; while those of the mountains brought caravans of
wheat and barley: it was also a considerable entrepot for coffee,
brought on camels from the mountains of Yemen by Be-douins, who thus
eluded the heavy duties levied in the harbours of the Arabian coast.
Every thing denotes great misery in the town. At present, the only
imports from the interior are dates, brought by the Ateybe Arabs from
the many fruitful plantations in their territory. The principal streets
abound with beggars, amongst whom are many Indians, who must often be
exposed to perish from absolute hunger; for, during my residence, it
required at least two piastres, (which, according to the actual
exchange, was equal to about one-sixth of a dollar, or ten-pence) to
procure bread enough for a man's daily subsistence.
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