If
I Remember Right, There Is Some Idea Similar To This Among The Scotch,
And Other Northern People.
[FN#16] The Word Jabal Will Frequently Occur In These Pages.
It is
applied by the Arabs to any rising ground or heap of rocks, and,
therefore, must not always be translated "Mountain." In the latter
sense, it has found its way into some of the Mediterranean dialects.
Gibraltar is Jabal al-Tarik, and "Mt.
Ethne that men clepen Mounte
Gybelle" is "Monte Gibello,"-the mountain, par excellence.
[FN#17] It was most probably a prickle of the "egg-fruit," or Echinus,
so common in these seas, generally supposed to be poisonous. I found it
impossible to cure my foot in Al-Hijaz, and every remedy seemed to make
it worse. This was as much the effect of the climate of Arabia, as of
the hardships and privations of a pilgrimage. After my return to Egypt
in the autumn, the wound healed readily without medical treatment.
[FN#18] Abu Bakr, Omar, and Osman.
[FN#19] I have found both these forms of writing the word in books;
Moresby, or rather Mr. Rassam, erroneously spells it "Ridwah."
[FN#20] In a future chapter, when describing a visit to Mt. Ohod, near
Al-Madinah, I shall enter into some details about these "Mountains of
Paradise."
[FN21] The translator, however, erroneously informs us, in a footnote,
that Radhwah is a mountain near Meccah.
[p.225]CHAPTER XII.
THE HALT AT YAMBU'.
THE heat of the sun, the heavy dews, and the frequent washings of the
waves, had so affected my foot, that on landing at Yambu' I could
scarcely place it upon the ground. But traveller's duty was to be done;
so, leaning upon my "slave's" shoulder, I started at once to see the
town, whilst Shaykh Hamid and the others of our party proceeded to the
custom-house.
Yanbu'a al-Bahr, Yambu' or Fountain of the Sea,[FN#1] identified, by
Abyssinian Bruce, with the Iambia village of Ptolemy, is a place of
considerable importance, and shares with others the title of "Gate of
the Holy City." It is the third quarter of the caravan road[FN#2] from
Cairo to Meccah; and here, as well as at Al-Badr, pilgrims frequently
leave behind them, in hired warehouses, goods too heavy to be
transported in haste, or too valuable to risk in dangerous times.
Yambu' being the port of Al-Madinah,
[p.226] as Jeddah is of Meccah, is supported by a considerable
transport trade and extensive imports from the harbours on the Western
coasts of the Red Sea; it supplies its chief town with grain, dates,
and henna. Here the Sultan's dominion is supposed to begin, whilst the
authority of the Pasha of Egypt ceases; there is no Nizam, or Regular
Army, however, in the town,[FN#3] and the governor is a Sharif or Arab
chief. I met him in the great bazar; he is a fine young man of light
complexion and the usual high profile, handsomely dressed, with a
Cashmere turband, armed to the extent of sword and dagger, and followed
by two large, fierce-looking Negro slaves leaning upon enormous Nabbuts.
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