As Djidda Has The Name Of A Turkish
Fortress, We Might Suppose That The Wells Would Have Been Protected By
A
fort; but the Turks have neglected this precaution, and when, in
December, 1814, the people apprehended that the Wahabis
Were advancing
on the side of Gonfady, the Governor of Djidda, in great haste, filled
the few cisterns belonging to the government houses with water from the
wells, and for several days withheld that necessary of life from all the
inhabitants, as every water-camel was employed by him. Several of the
wells are private property, and yield to their owners a considerable
income.
The town of Djidda is without gardens, or vegetation of any kind except
a few date-trees adjoining one of the mosques; even outside the town the
whole country is a barren desert, covered
[p.13] on the sea-shore with a saline earth, and higher up with sand:
here are found some shrubs and a few low acacia trees. The number of
wells around the town might be considerably augmented, and water
obtained for the purposes of irrigation; but the inhabitants of Djidda
consider their residence as merely temporary, and, like all the other
people of the Hedjaz, devote their whole attention to commerce and the
acquisition of riches: on this account they are much less inclined to
rural enjoyments or occupations than any other race of Moslems that I
ever saw.
Beyond the Bab Mekka, and close to the town, are several huts, through
the midst of which lies the road to Mekka. These huts are inhabited by
the camel-drivers who traffic between that city and Djidda; by poor
Bedouins, who earn a livelihood by cutting wood at a considerable
distance in the mountains; and by Negro Hadjis, who adopt the same means
of supporting themselves during their stay at Djidda. Here is held the
market for live cattle, wood and charcoal, fruits and vegetables in
wholesale. Coffee also is sold in many booths in this place, frequented
for a short time, at an early hour, by the inferior class of merchants,
who resort hither to learn the news from Mekka, whence the post arrives
every morning soon after sunrise. About a mile beyond these huts,
eastward of the town, is the principal burial-ground, containing the
tombs of several sheikhs; but there are smaller cemeteries within the
walls. About two miles northward of the town, is shown the tomb of Howa
(Eve), the mother of mankind; it is, as I was informed, a rude structure
of stone, about four feet in length, two or three feet in height, and as
many in breadth; thus resembling the tomb of Noah, seen in the valley of
Bekaa, in Syria.
During the predominance of the Wahabis, Djidda had been in a declining
state; many of its buildings had gone to ruin; no one constructed a new
house; trade was much depressed, in consequence of the pilgrimage from
Turkey having been discontinued, and the unwillingness of the merchants
to bring their goods hither
[p.14] for sale. Since the recovery of the holy cities, however, and the
re-establishment of the pilgrimage, together with the daily arrival of
soldiers, and a number of merchants and followers of the army, the town
has quickly recovered its former condition, and is now as flourishing as
at any former period. The number of its inhabitants may be estimated,
generally, at from twelve to fifteen thousand; but in the months
preceding the pilgrimage, and again during the summer months
corresponding with the monsoon winds, there is a great influx of
strangers, which increases the above number perhaps one-half.
The inhabitants of Djidda, like those of Mekka and Medina, are almost
exclusively foreigners. The descendants of the ancient Arabs who once
peopled the town, have perished by the hands of the governors, or have
retired to other countries. Those who can be truly called natives are
only a few families of sherifs, who are all learned men, and attached to
the mosques or the courts of justice; all the other Djiddawys (people of
Ddjidda) are foreigners or their descendants. Of the latter, those from
Hadramaut and Yemen are the most numerous: colonies from every town and
province of those countries are settled in Djidda, and keep up an active
commerce with their native places. Upwards of a hundred Indian families
(chiefly from Surat, and a few from Bombay,) have also established
themselves here; and to these may be added some Malays and people of
Maskat. The settlers from Egypt, Syria, Barbary, European Turkey, and
Anatolia, may be still recognised in the features of their descendants,
who are all mixed in one general mass, and live and dress in the same
Arab manner. The Indians alone remain a distinct race in manners, dress,
and employment. There are no Christians settled in Djidda; but a few
Greeks from the islands of the Archipelago occasionally bring
merchandize to this market from Egypt. 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.
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