Page 152 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 4,5

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DISTRICTS AND TOWNS 171

. limit of effective Ottoman rule. It is a considerable town of
n<’known population, and is garrisoned.

Ul Sa‘dah, the northernmost Yemen town, is the focus of
12
'/ dism and original seat of the Imams. It has supported them
even against the Hashid. Nothing certain is known of its appear-
.ince or size.
‘ 'phe principal lowland towns are the following :
1 Hodeidah, the only port of Yemen having any considerable
commercial importance, is situated on the Red Sea in lat. 14° 47* N.
It has no quay nor wharfage, nor any of the conveniences of a trading
port, and the old, primitive wooden pier has fallen into decay. There
in a small harbour, available only for the smallest craft, with two
projecting moles of stone (each with a light about 15 ft. high at the
end), a breakwater, and two entrances, of which the northern is
.slightly the easier of access. After the moles were constructed it !
was found that the water was not deep enough to allow loaded
lighters to come alongside, so the stevedores have to wade, and
merchandise for shipment, or just landed, is dumped down on the !
beach. Large vessels anchor about miles off in four fathoms ;
merchandise is transferred in native craft. Landing is difficult and,
at times, impossible with the wind between south and west. A few
years ago the Ottoman Government conceived a scheme for con- i
structing a harbour for Hodeidah, about 10 miles to the north, where j
there is a deep natural inlet protected by a long spit known as Ras
el-Kethib : this was part of a larger undertaking known as the
Hodeidah-San‘a Railway scheme. The harbour was to be linked
up with Hodeidah by a metre-gauge line along the spit and thence
to San‘a. Construction was begun at Ras el-Kethib, and about
•> miles of track were laid, but without providing adequate means
,.?r Ending or handling material. The war between Italy and
urkey and, since then, the European war, have put an end
,
o the scheme for the present, with the net result that what :
material
"was not destroyed by the Italian bombardment now
lies rusting.
rubi°be^ak kaS two f°rt,s> the north and south, both falling into
uauall Ut ,COnsP^cuous from seaward. The houses are tall and are
stone or brick, almost every one having its characteristic
air at 8 6 ter
. on the flat roof where the inhabitants seek the cool
0*rcnlar°^ i * town *s divided into two quarters by a semi- 1
in the •Wa * reaches the shore at both ends : the old town,
streets 8^a°ie towards the sea, consists of tall stone houses, narrow
1 batched b covered bazaars : outside the wall lies a large area of
houses, sheds, and compounds which recall the native