A Journey through the Yemen and some General Remarks Upon that Country by Walter Harris

ADEN TO LAHEJ.

With the kind aid of friends at Aden, my preparations were easily made for my journey into the Yemen-far more easily, in fact, than I had been led to suppose would have been the case. Everywhere in the bazaar were rumours of the rebellion still raging in the interior-vague rumours, the truth of which it was almost impossible to gather; while, more dispiriting still, there was the fact that for several months no caravans had arrived from any distance in the interior, while those which came from Lahej and the surrounding country brought tidings, by no means reassuring, of the impassable state of the roads in the interior, and the constant depredations of the turbulent tribes, who were taking advantage of the serious political troubles to enrich themselves by robbery and plunder. Added to this, I was warned by several European merchants and traders that even in times of peace it was an almost impossible task to enter the Yemen from Aden. One and all advised my proceeding to Hodaidah, and from there attempting the road to Sanaa. In spite of this, I decided otherwise. My reasons were these. Hodaidah being the nearest port to the capital, and the principal sea-port of the Yemen, it would be only natural to find there great activity on the part of the Turkish officials,-an activity that would not only prevent my being allowed to pass along the well-watched road, but would also probably put the Turks upon the look-out in other quarters. It may seem strange to the reader that any great difficulties should be put in my way; but so serious had been the rebellion, and to such an extent had false reports been spread from Constantinople concerning it, that the officials were determined if possible not to allow the truth of what really had been and was taking place to leak out. There were at this time, with the exception of a few traders at Hodaidah, absolutely no Europeans in the Yemen; for one scarcely counts the Greek shopkeepers to be found in all the large towns as any but natives, to so great an extent do they assimilate themselves to the customs and manners of the country. I knew, then, that did I attempt to reach Sanaa from Hodaidah, and should I fail, as most probably would be the case, my chance of proceeding into the country from any other quarter would be practically at an end. It was for this reason that I decided to make Aden my starting-point; and should I be unfortunate in my journey thence, to fall back as a last hope upon Hodaidah. This, happily, I was not obliged to do; for my plans, as will be seen, were successful.

But there were several other matters to be thought over besides this. Granting that I could reach the capital of the Yemen from Aden, how could I best do so with tolerable safety? Here my experiences in Morocco stood me in good stead. My first idea had been to purchase my camels, but on second thoughts I decided not to do so. Not only would my camels tempt the tribes through whose lands I would have to pass to robbery, but even the native Arabs I might hire as guides to go with me might not prove indisposed to relieve me of two or three valuable beasts of burden. It would be safer far, I argued, to hire my beasts, as in that case it would be to the advantage of my men to see that not only I myself but also my baggage-animals would arrive at their destination in safety. How, then, to find the right men and animals without spreading the fact all over the bazaars that a mad Englishman wanted to go to Sanaa, in spite of dangers and the rebellion? I had recourse to Messrs Cowasjee, Dinshaw, & Co., a great house of Parsee merchants, and through them was put into communication with an Arab trader. This gentleman I called upon, and found exceedingly pleasant; and more than that, I found that he understood perfectly my North-African Arabic, and that his educated Yemen dialect was comprehensible to myself. I unfolded to him, over coffee, my plans, with which he seemed not a little amused. He told me in return to leave everything to him, and to appear again at his house the following afternoon. This I did, and after coffee and preliminary remarks he introduced to me a strange character, an Arab of the mountains of Yemen, a man of something under forty years of age, framed like an Apollo, lithe and beautiful. I must give a few words of description of this strange creature. Tall, lithe, and exquisitely built, his skin of dull copper hue showed off the perfect moulding of his limbs. Over his shoulders on either side hung loose black wavy curls, standing out like the wigs of the old Egyptians. Except for a loin-cloth of native indigo workmanship, and a small blue turban, almost lost in the spreading masses of raven hair that burst from beneath its folds, he was naked. Here and there his flesh had taken the dye from his blue raiment, giving it a strange blue tint. Tucked into his girdle was a dagger-_jambiya_-of exquisite Yemen silver-work; while round his left arm hung a long circular silver box containing some charm. In features he was extraordinarily handsome. The brow was high, the eyebrows arched, the eyes almond-shaped and brilliant, his nose aquiline and thin. Added to this a fine firm mouth, the upper lip closely shaven, while on the point of his chin he wore a small pointed beard about an inch in length. A strange contrast he was to my Arab host, an elderly highly respectable-looking merchant, with eyelids darkened with antimony-_kohl_ the Arabs call it-and his grey beard dyed a shade between saffron and salmon-pink. An enormous turban was balanced on his closely shaven head, and he was habited in robes of yellow and green.