Page 7 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

VIII*

via Kalat by boat, travelling on to Bilad Bani Bu Ali, one of
the first highlights of the trip, via al Kamil and Bilad Bani
Bu Hasan. Via the Wadis Batha, Samad and Ithli, Wellsted
advanced further to the west and the south, reaching, via
Manah, the town of Nizwa with its wealth of traditions, the
centre of Inner Oman and seat of the Imam. From Nizwa
there followed the spectacular ascent of the Jabal Akhdar.
After returning to Muscat via Wadi Samail and the coastal
town of Sib, Wellsted was able to visit Northern Oman as
well on further expeditions.
The aims which Wellsted, who was occasionally accom­
panied by F. Whitelock, pursued during his travels may be
summarized in three points:
1. To explore the customs, manners and way of life of the
“true” Beduins of Inner Oman, to fill a gap in know­
ledge earlier pointed out by Burckhardt.
2. To locate the most important towns and oases of the
country with geographical exactitude and to fix them
cartographically; a task which neither Berghaus, Weiland
nor Niebuhr had been able to achieve in even an approx­
imately reliable form.
3. To gain knowledge about the nature of the country,
especially about the Omani mountain ranges, thus lifting
the “mysterious” veil from this “terra incognita.”
The ostensible reason for Wellsted’s expeditions into
Arabia was, however, the East India Company’s interest in
securing the sea passage along the southern shores of Arabia
by means of coast guard vessels and in finding suitable sites
for and establishing depots for the coal which the new
steamships required. Wellsted was one of the accompanying
British officers, who, arriving en route from India in 1834,
went ashore for the first time at Hadhramaut, then sailed
the Red Sea and visited the Sinai peninsula and the Gulf of
Aqaba (1834).
The British interest in the consequences of the punish­