Page 463 - Travels in Arabia (Vol 2)_Neat

434
SOUTHERN ARABIA. [CH.

who at other ports were compelled to pay
the former, flocked to Makullah; so that, if
Mohammed is spared, that town will soon
enjoy a greater share of commerce than any
intermediate port between Maskat and
i Mokhd. Although the government of Ma­

I kullah has been hereditary in this family for

several centuries, they have amassed no
wealth, their only revenue arising from the
customs, which amount annually to about
ten thousand dollars. A few followers, prin­
cipally Suhili slaves, are retained around
their persons, who also preserve order in the
towns, but in other respects their manner of
living is as simple as that of the private in­

habitants. The room in which visitors are
received contains no other furniture than a
few old chairs; its walls are bare, and the
floor covered with a tattered mat. I
Makullah may be considered the port of
Hydramaut, and the imports are the same as
those of Aden. Two kinds of frankincense
are brought here for exportation to Hindus­
tan ; one called labdn, from Hydrdmdut,
which is a powerful aromatic, used in their
temples and houses for fumigation ; the other