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XIII.J COAST OF ARABIA. 281

towns in England. Their fronts and sides
are decorated with exquisitely-carved wood­
work, through the interstices of which air and
light are admitted, and, in taste and orna­
ment, equal, if they do not excel, the tracery
of our finest cathedrals. I observed some

partially glazed with stained glass, The
houses are mostly cemented and decorated
with much Arabesque fretwork in bas-relief.
The roofs are flat, and the parapet exhibits
several strange devices. These, together with
the light and airy turrets of numerous mosques,
create an agreeable diversity to the otherwise
monotonous appearance of so many square
buildings.
Arabia is a country which admits of little
change; I have no doubt, therefore, this cha­

racter of architecture has existed from the
earliest period, and what we term Gothic was
brought into Europe, and disseminated
throughout its various countries, by the earlier
Arabs.
At Jiddah but little uniformity in the con­
struction of the houses is observed, and the
distribution of the rooms is the same as in
other Arabian towns. The lofty air-lowers-