Page 5 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

VI*

Leaving aside the interest generally prevalent, for ob­
vious reasons, in the Arab oil nations, there are, in my
opinion, three reasons which justify the reprinting of Well-
sted’s “Travels in Arabia,” which was first published in
London in 1838, and appeared in a German translation in
Halle with a preface by E. Rodger in 1842:
1. The scientific significance and the significance for histor­
ical research of Wellsted’s work which is only just begin­
ning to be rediscovered.
2. The current need for historical and geographical in­
formation about the Arab countries.
3. The political and educational interest Arab governments
are showing for historical work which will help establish
their national identity.
These three reasons need detailed elaboration. This may
also serve as an introduction to this new edition.

Scientific and historical significance

There are two particularly striking facts in the history of
the discovery of Arabia. First the interest in exploration
was focused solely on the western side of the Arabian
peninsula up until 1850. Focal points were the Levant,
Hijaz and Yemen. Ibn Battuta (1325—32), di Var-
thema (1502—08), Niebuhr (1761—63) and Burckhardt
(1813—15) did not merely travel along the coast in this
area, but also penetrated far inland on extensive cross-coun­
try routes. On the other hand and second, only a few coastal
settlements were visited in South (Hadhramaut, Dhofar) and
Southeast Arabia (Oman). Ibn Battuta anchored at Dhofar
(e. g. Hasik) and off the coast of Batina (e. g. Sohar) and
Niebuhr steered for the harbour town of Muscat on his way
home from Bombay. It is clear that Niebuhr’s reports con­
cerning the hinterland are based solely on second hand in­