Page 243 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

224 COAST OF ARABIA. [cn.

what singular that boats in passing do not
appropriate some of this stock of wood to
their own use, or convey it away for sale; but
I am told that, notwithstanding no one is left
in charge of it, a robbery never occurs.
Sherm Bareikah has a narrow entrance,
not more than fifty yards wide; but, as the
water in the channel is perfectly smooth, and
the rocks on either side rise perpendicularly,
the passage is unattended with danger. From
this narrow gut the interior swells out into an
excellent harbour, of sufficient extent to afford

anchorage in three or four fathoms for five or
six ships.

With the exception of a narrow channel
for boats on the northern side, the upper part
of this sherm is choked up by an extensive
flat, dry at low water. This passage leads
to a low point, on which we discovered the
ruins of a town* as large as Yembo’, ex­
tending about a mile in length, and half that
space in breadth, with a square fort in the

vicinity, the remains of which have towers
at the corners and gates. Near the middle,
on either side, the walls are lofty and six feet
* Most probably the El Jar of Niebuhr.