Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 3, Anatomy-Astronomy

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ARABIA.
rabia. radishes, water-cresses, and a great variety of gourds, cucum-
, / hers, pumpkins, and melons. The melon is in such variety
' and abundance that, for a part of the year, it constitutes an
article of food. Many plants and herbs which have been
brought from India are now naturalized in the country ; and
there is abundance of indigenous plants, noted for the beauty
of their flowers and their fragrant smell. The gardens at
Tayef, among the mountains, 72 miles east of Mecca, are re¬
nowned for roses of such exquisite beauty and fragrance, that
they are sent to all parts of the country. The soil of the desert,
though sandy, yields a variety of herbs, which constitute the
food of cattle ; and every district has a peculiar plant, which
will grow in no other part. These herbs grow to the height of
three, and some of them of six feet; and when they are withered
by the sun they are eagerly devoured by the camel.1
Ic ’ee-tree. The celebrated coflee plantations of Yemen occupy the slopes
of these valleys, rising in terraces one above the other, to a
height of about 3000 feet above the sea, beyond which point
the cultivation of the tree ceases to be profitable, or becomes
impossible. A large proportion of the choice product, which
is known in Europe under the name of Mokha coffee, because
most of it is exported from Mokha, grows on those terraces ; but
as much is imported from the opposite coast of Africa, and,
being exported again, is sold in Europe under the same name.
The finest coffee is said to grow in El Ghamid, a small district
in north latitude 20°. The inhabitants of Yemen, even the
wealthier, seldom use the coffee-bean (boon), but only the
Keshir, or the husk, in which it lies ; the bean being sold at
Mokha and Djidda for exportation. The beverage also, which
is obtained from the roasted husks by an infusion of boiling
water, goes by the name of Keshir. and coffee-houses or
Keshir eshes, that is, huts, are everywhere to be found, even
along the roadside, for the accommodation of travellers. Many
of these establishments are pious institutions, where the way¬
farer is gratuitously accommodated, for three days, with lodg¬
ing, keshir, and durra. Another similar beverage is obtained
from the fleshy part of the berry ; and this is sometimes called
cawa, whence our coffee. According to the universal statement
of the natives, the coffee-tree was first brought over from Africa,
and cultivated in Yemen, in the fourteenth century of our era,
by a holy man named Shadeli, who is still revered by the Arabs
as a benefactor of mankind, so much so that they never raise a
cup of coffee, or keshir, to their lips without previously prais¬
ing his name in a short prayer. Modern travellers have con¬
firmed the fact, that the original home of the coffee-tree is in
the high, mountainous country to the south of Abyssinia ; but
while some report that the district of Kaffa is not only its
cradle, but has also lent its name to the tree, others, among
whom that eminent investigator, Dr Beke, contend that no
coffee grows in Kaffa. However this maybe, the inland town
of Hurrur, which lies to the east of Kaffa, is a chief market for
African coffee.
Kaat is also extensively cultivated and consumed in Yemen.
It is a small tree or shrub, the leaves of which resemble those
of the willow, and, when dried, taste somewhat like tea.
The Arabs chew it because it exhilarates the mind, keeps
people awake, and makes them talkative, whence it is now in
high estimation among so social and garrulous a nation as the
Yemenites are. The taste of the young leaves is a delicious
mixture of sweet and bitter, the former prevailing ; so much so,
that water drank after it tastes like scented lemonade. The
ricli use the young leaves with the morning dew still upon
them, and this makes them dear, as they are gathered at some
distance from the towns. Wealthy Yemenites will chew from
two to three crowns’ worth of Kaat in one day. Dr Beke
brought some well-preserved sprigs with him from Abyssinia,
where it also grows, which the writer of this was kindly allowed
to examine and taste.
Ai nals. The wild animals of Arabia, which are principally found
in the mountains, are the panther, sometimes mistaken for
the tiger, the ounce, the hyena, the wolf, the fox, a species
ot wild dog of a black colour, common in many countries
in the East, the wild cat, the jackal, the wild ox, and mon¬
keys in great numbers. In the sandy tracts is found that
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curiously constructed animal the jerboa. The wild boars Arabia.
are very numerous, but not in the heart of the desert. The ^
A rabs who live at Tadmor in Northern Arabia are Ihmous
for their dexterity in killing them with the lance. The
beautiful and timid gazelle is found all over the Arabian
desert. On the eastern frontiers of Syria there are several
places alio ted for the hunting of these animals, which are
taken by hundreds. There are several sorts of lizards
and the land-toitoise is common, being brought by the
peasants in cart-loads to the markets of many towns in the
East, d he domestic animals are the horse, the ass, the
camel, and the ox.
The Arabian horse has been justly renowned in all ages Horses,
of the world for all the finest qualities, namely, swiftness,
patience of fatigue, spirit, and docility of temper ; and it is
from the Arabian breed that the European horses derive all
their most valuable properties. The best horses are found
in the greatest numbers in the luxuriant pastures of Meso¬
potamia, the banks of the Euphrates, and in the Syrian
plains. In Nedjed the horses are also of a very fine qua¬
lity, though they are not so numerous as in these countries ;
and they are still more scarce in the southern provinces of
\ emen, Oman, and Hadhramaut, on the shores of the Indian
Ocean, owing to the great heat of the climate ; nor are the
mountainous regions of the Hedjaz favourable to the rear¬
ing of this fine animal. There are not, according to Burck-
hardt, more than 6000 horses in the whole western country
of Arabia, from the northern point of Akaba on the Red
Sea to the southern coasts, comprising the great chain of
mountains and the western plains. The provinces of Ye¬
men, Hadhramaut, and Oman, are also supplied with horses
from the pastures of Nedjed.
In the wars and inroads of the desert, the Arab soldier,
whether he is pursuing, or flying for his life over the naked
plain, wholly relies on the quality of his horse. On this
account they spare no pains in rearing their horses and in
preserving the purity of the breed. The birth of every
noble foal is ascertained by the presence of eye-witnesses,
and a written certificate is made out of its distinctive marks,
with the names of its sire and dam, which is wrapt in a
small piece of leather covered with wax-cloth, and is hung
round the animal’s neck as the standard and evidence of its
value. The genealogical table never ascends to the grand-
dam, because every Arab knows by tradition the purity of
the whole breed ; and there are many horses and mares of
which the noble descent is of such notoriety throughout the
tribes, that no written evidence of the fact is required. The
Arabs reckon five noble breeds of horses, whose lineal de¬
scent they assert to be from the five favourite mares of the
prophet. But as all the collateral branches claim the same
illustrious ancestry, there is an infinite variety of noble
breeds in the desert; and every mare which is particularly
handsome, and belonging to any of the five chief races,
may give rise to a new breed, the descendants of which
bear her original name. Those pastoral tribes, when a foal
is born, receive it in their arms, and so cherish it for
several hours, stretching its tender limbs, and caressing
it as if it were a child; and when it is placed on the
ground, they watch its feeble steps, prognosticating its
future excellencies or defects. The colt is mounted after
its second year, after which it is fed upon barley, which
is the usual provender throughout Arabia, though in Ned¬
jed the horses are regularly fed on dates ; and the wealthy
inhabitants give them flesh, raw as well as boiled, and all
the fragments of their own meals. In other respects
they are hardly treated. They remain in the open air
during the whole year, wdth the saddle constantly on their
backs, and are not even taken under the shelter of the
VOL. in.
Burckhardt’s Travels in Arabia, vol. ii. Appendix.
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