Page 270 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

XV.J TRAVELS JN OMAN. 231

character of its ruler is bold, reckless, and
inconsistent. The Imam, in speaking of him,

always styles him the Madman.
There are about twenty families of Jews
at Sohar, who have a small synagogue. They

are of the same class as those of Yemen, and,
like them, subsist by lending money at in­
terest to the people. The Arabs call them

“ Vad Sarah,” the “ Children of Sarah,” but
hold them in great abhorrence. Limes are
dried here, and exported in large quantities

to the Persian Gulf.
At the period of my visit the Sheikh was
engaged in hostilities with the Wahhabis, who

plundered several of his towns, and even
compelled him to shut himself up in his fort
at Sohar. The Imam, desirous of seeing his
power humbled, would neither interfere nor

render any assistance; but had his followers
possessed resolution equal to that of their
chief, the contest would very soon have been

decided. The inhabitants of the sea-coast
constitute very indifferent warriors, and hav­
ing made a dash, on their first appearance,

into the very centre of the enemy’s forces, he
found himself deserted by the greater number

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