Page 435 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

4 OB
SOUTHERN ARABIA. [CH.

there are about five thousand inhabitants, of
which a third are troops. A considerable in­

tercourse is still maintained between Sana
and Lahedsje.
Markets are held on Tuesdays and Thurs­
days, when the Bedowins arrive in great
numbers from the interior, and exchange
their ghi, frankincense, and milk, for grain
and clothes. There are not, however, any
rich capitalists in the town, though almost
every individual engages in commercial pur­

suits. They bear a fair character, and being
of the Zeidi sect, are far more tolerant than
some of their neighbours. I was assured that,
wearing the costume of an European, a tra­
veller might proceed without risk from this
town to Sana.
Lahedsje, similar to many other spots I
subsequently visited on the Tehama, is situ­
ated in an oasis, and though nothing can ex­
ceed in barrenness the sandy desert which

borders on it, within its limits several kinds
of grain, fruit, and vegetables are reared. The
ground is watered either by the mountain
L
streams which pass through it, or numerous