It Contains Date And Nebek And A Few Other Fruit-Trees, The Verdure And Shade Of Which Must Be Particularly Agreeable.

In the time of Ghaleb, the entrance was always open to the people of Mekka.

The house is badly

[p.131] built, and is not one of Ghaleb's works. During his last wars with the Wahabys, the latter obtained possession of this residence, and fought for several weeks with the soldiers of Mekka, who were posted at the neighbouring palace or barrack to the south; and who, having laid a mine, and blown up a part of the walls, forced the Wahabys to retreat. Ghaleb subsequently repaired the damage. Some Turkish soldiers now live in the house, which is already half ruined by them. A public fountain of sweet water, no longer in use, with a pretty cupola built over it, stands on one side of the garden; on the other is a large well of brackish water: many such are dispersed over the Moabede.

The road from Mekka, eastward, towards Arafat and Tayf, passes by this house; at a short distance beyond it the valley widens, and here the Egyptian Hadj establishes its encampment, part of which generally stretches over the plain towards the birket. Formerly, the Syrian caravan used to encamp at the same place. Between the garden-house and the palace or barrack just mentioned, the aqueduct of Mekka is conducted above ground for about one hundred paces, in a channel of stone, plaistered on the inside, and rising four feet above the surface. This is the only place in the valley of Mekka where it is visible.

As soon as we pass these extreme precincts of Mekka, the Desert presents itself; for neither gardens, trees, nor pleasure-houses, line the avenues to the town, which is surrounded on every side by barren sandy valleys, and equally barren hills. A stranger placed on the great road to Tayf, just beyond the turn of the hill, in the immediate neigh-bourhood of the Sherif's garden-house, would think himself as far removed from human society as if he were in the midst of the Nubian Desert. But this may be wholly ascribed to the apathy of the inhabitants, and their indifference for agricultural pursuits. Numerous wells, dispersed throughout the town, prove that water may be easily obtained at about thirty feet below the surface.

In Arabia, wherever the ground can be irrigated by wells, the sands may be soon made productive. The industry of a very few years might thus render Mekka and its environs as remarkable for gardens and plantations, as it now is for absolute sterility. El Azraky speaks

[p.132] of gardens in this valley, and describes different springs and wells that no longer exist, having probably been choked up by the violent torrents. El Fasy likewise affirms that in his days the town contained no less than fifty-eight wells. But, in the earliest times of Arabian history, this place was certainly barren; and the Koran styles it accordingly "the valley without seeds." Azraky further says, that before houses were constructed here by the Kossay, this valley abounded with acacias and various thorny trees.

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