Page 215 - Arabian Studies (II)

Notes and Communications 207

Al-Nafi*
prison
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Sketch map of Hajjah Market
L 100 yds. (approx.)

lack of variety, particularly of fresh vegetables, perhaps indicate the
low importance placed by the local population on a balanced and
nutritious diet.
The second road from the main street leads to an open area where
a good number of the eighteen shops sell cloth and do tailoring.
Much of the cloth is imported from Japan and Pakistan. Usually one
or two salt traders are found here. They do not have permanent
shops, but sit on the ground with a pile of rock-salt on a piece of
cloth or paper in front of them. Leaving this area at the western end,
one passes into a smaller open area which is used as the qat market.
i Large quantities of this leaf5 are grown around Uajjah, partly
because it is very profitable and easy to cultivate with little
attention, but also because climatic changes which have taken place