JIDDA, or DJIDDA

JIDDA, or DJIDDA, a seaport town of Arabia on the Red Sea, 64 miles W. from Mecca, of which it is the port; N. Lat. 21. 29., E. Long. 39. 15. It stands on a gentle elevation, rising from the sea, while the surrounding country is a bare desert. Jidda, as respects cleanness and regularity of plan, is superior to most eastern towns. The streets, though unpaved, are comparatively well laid out and wide. The houses are built of coralline stone, from the shores of the Red Sea, and from the perishing nature of this material, are not very durable. In the suburbs, the houses are mere huts constructed of reeds and bushwood. The principal street of the town runs parallel with the shore, and as it contains most of the public buildings, and is much frequented, it presents a very gay appearance. The public buildings comprise numerous khans and mosques, the governor's house, citadel, custom-house, and a rude stone structure, which every true Mohammedan believes to be the tomb of Eve. A wall encloses the town proper and protects it from the incursions of the warlike Bedouins who infest the neighbourhood. It has six gates, one each towards the N., E., and S., and three towards the sea. Of the latter, only the central one is public, the other two being used only on certain occasions. The Eastern, or Mecca gate is open only to Mohammedans, and through it bands of pilgrims pass daily for the Holy City. Jidda is said to be very unhealthy, arising, no doubt, in part at least, from the great scarcity of fresh water. There are only two good

wells in the town and neighbourhood, and these being available only to the rich, the poorer classes are obliged to use the brackish water found some 15 feet below the surface, or the stagnant rain water collected in pools and cisterns constructed for that purpose.

Jidda has long been famous as the commercial emporium of Arabia, and indeed is solely dependent for its existence upon its trade. Situate about the middle of the E. coast of the Red Sea, only about 120 miles distant from the opposite shore of Nubia, and within two days' journey of Mecca, it is peculiarly fitted for the importation of foreign goods as well as for the exportation of home produce. The harbour, however, like most of the other ports on the Red Sea, is inconvenient, and the entrance rather intricate. On account of the shallowness of the harbour, large ships are obliged to discharge their cargoes in the offing about 2 miles from the shore. The imports from Egypt and Abyssinia comprise corn, rice, butter, sugar, clothing, oil, tobacco, musk, and incense; from India, muslins, shawls, spices, and cocoa-nuts; while the Malay Islands and the Mozambique coast send hither slaves. The imports are conveyed by ships to Suez, whence they find their way to the Mediterranean ports, or by caravans to Mecca and Medina, from which cities they are dispersed to Syria, Asia Minor, and Turkey. Dates, and the celebrated balm of Mecca, are brought from the interior for shipment. Next to grain, the most important article of trade is perhaps coffee, which is obtained in large quantities from Mocha. The number of vessels belonging to the port is estimated at about 250. The government of Jidda is in the hands of the Pasha of Egypt, and the town is garrisoned by Egyptian troops, amounting usually to about 400. The population is very fluctuating; the permanent population does not probably exceed 10,000, while, on the arrival of the merchant fleets, and during the feast of Ramadthan, there may be as many as 20,000 strangers within its walls.