Page 116 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 4,5

DOM] nc LIFE AND APPLIANCES 153

ucl bordered by loopholed houses and towers. The only
•k a
1*1 K
. i-ins are the artisan, mechanical, and servile classes.
'' Tl'e houses in general are either entirely stone-built, or have
|c>ast the lower storeys of well-hewn stone (dark basalt), fitted
?> 'ether without mortar, with the superstructure of sun-dried brick.
The larger houses are very tall and have a tendency to taper upwards,
often giving them the appearance of truncated pyramids. The
facades are usually of stucco, whitewashed, and ornamented with the
chevron pattern. They are rambling structures, with bewildering
passages and spiral stone staircases, and have tiny casements adorned
w-ith stained glass, and loopholes everywhere in the lower stories.
The interiors are usually arranged in long, narrow rooms with many
windows. All large houses have massive embossed doors of acacia
wood, with solid wickets set in them, the latter so arranged that
the bolt can be raised from above. The dwellings of the wealthy
arc sometimes well, not to say luxuriously, furnished.
The dress of the Yemen Arabs is peculiar to themselves. The
town-bred natives of San‘a wear silk robes, girdled at the waist,
large white turbans, and square-toed sandals. Nearly all^carry
a shoulder-cloth, which they wrap around their heads in cold
weather, and they seldom wear the jubbah. The costume is
supposed to denote an educated man, which, in their eyes, means
one versed in the religious law, but in practice it is assumed by any
one who can afford it. The dress of the countryman, the moun-
taineer, and the poorer classes of townspeople is more striking and
picturesque. It consists of a black turban fastened in a peculiar
manner, a black skirt reaching to the knees, with sleeves as wide as
tlie skirt itself, and over it, in full dress, a coloured loin-cloth and
a most voluminous sash. The cloths are made in the Yemen, and,
though coarse, are very strong. The dye is indigo and is not fast :
[! ls 110t supposed nor required to be, They like to smear it off over
i/M *aces ai^d ^nds, and this, with their long black curls carefully
T C<l-’- fome^mes giyes them an extraordinary appearance. The
u |lr lsn women are dressed in black and thickly veiled. The Arab
t(;;;nen are wrapped in coloured cloths and are closely veiled in
N 'ns‘ Jn the country they go uncovered, and in some parts they
l'*nro tr°Us^rs>in shape not unlike that part of male attire in Western
worn1* ■Boots> of red or yellow colour, not sandals, are usually

m °f the Yemen highlander is the jambiyah, a short
" "7-n J fiT a br0atl curve(l hiade, which fits into a V-shaped sheath
with Jin., "u,lst; The handle is generally of horn ornamented
u'! aud the whole, including the blade, is made locally.