Countries Tribes Of Persian Gulf by Samuel Barrett Miles

Author:Samuel Barrett Miles [Miles, Samuel Barrett]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, United States, Colonial Period (1600-1775), Social Science, Ethnic Studies, General, Middle Eastern Studies, Regional Studies
ISBN: 9781000160499
Google: UeTzDwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2020-07-26T03:51:19+00:00

The population of Muscat may be roughly estimated at 30,000 or 40,000, but a small portion only of this number reside within the town, the bulk of the people living outside the walls in huts constructed of date stick reed, split bamboos, and mats, gable roofed and rarely exceeding twelve feet in height.

Leaving the town by the Lesser Gate the path leads to a suburb called Sedab, where there is a small bay almost landlocked. On the way is a low pass defended by a tower and gate, the view from which is extremely picturesque. The path leading from the large gate has seven branches, one leading to Kalbuh, another to Riyam, and a third, very deep and rugged, to Muttrah, while a fourth takes one through Tuyan or “The Wells,” to the Wady Kebeer, at the top of which is a pass from which it is possible to descend into the Sehal Harmel and the village of Rowi. During the siege of 1877 an incident occurred which is thus narrated by Grattan Geary in his work Through Asiatic Turkey:—

“Not very long since Her Majesty’s gunboat Teazer, lying in the harbour, was called upon to fire over the town at a crowd of Bedouins who had insolently taken up a position beyond the line of hills to the south, in the hope of finding their way into Muscat and sacking it. The shells created a great moral effect, the Arabs never having seen such missiles before. They said the shells had eyes and could see where to fall. They could not understand how otherwise the shells could come right into their midst, as they were, of course, out of the view of the gunners on board the Teazer, the hills intervening. The fire was really directed by signals from an old Portuguese tower on the summit of one of the hills. A shell fell in a field and did not explode. It was immediately surrounded by a number of excited Bedouins, who determined at once to put out the ‘eye’ —the copper percussion fuse—by which it guides its course. They struck the ‘eye’ with their lances, the shell exploded, and eleven Bedouins were killed on the spot. Of course the marauders ultimately decamped.”

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.