Arabia may be described generally as an ele vated table-land, the mountain ranges of which are by some regarded as a continuation of those of Syria, but Ritter (Erdkunde, th. i. p. 172) views them as forming a distinct and independent plateau, peculiar to the country. In Arabia Felix the ridges, which are very high in the inte rior, slope gently on the east toward the Persian Gulf, and on the northeast toward the vast plains of the desert. On the west the declivities are steeper, and on the northwest the chains arc connected with those of Arabia T'etra:a.
(a) Hedjaz. Commencing our survey at the north end of the Red Sea, the first province which lies along its shores is the //edja.7, which Niebuhr and others reckon as belonging to Arabia Petram, but which the editor of Burckhardt's Travels in Arabic; has shown to belong properly to Arabia Felix. This was the cradle of Mohammedan sit iterstition, containing both Mecca. where the prophet was born, and Medina, where he hur led; and hence it became the Holy Land of the Moslem, ?? hither they resort in pilgrimage from all parts of the East. It is on the whole a barren tract, consisting chiefly of rugged mountains and sandy plains. Still more unproductive. however, is the long, flat, dreary belt, of varying width, called Tehatna, which runs along the coast to the south of liedjaz, and was at no distant period covered by the sea.
(b) Yemen. But next to this comes Yemen 11;t111(' of a particular province, as well as of the %%hole country). the true Arabia Felix of the ancients, 'Araby the Blest' of modern poets, and doubtless (he fittest portion of the peninsula. Vet if it he distinguished for fertility and beauty, it is chiefly in the way of contrast, for it is far coining up to the expectations which travelers had formed of it. Here is Sanaa (supposed to be the I'zal of Scripture), the scat of an imam; Mardi, which sonic itlei t i fy with Sheba ; Mocha. the chief mart for coffcc; and Aden, a pla.-e rapidly inereas ing in importance since taken possession of by England.
(e) Hhadramaut. Turning front the to the south coast of the peninsula, we next come to the extensive province of Uhatirantaut (the laz armaveth of the Biblel,a region not unlike Yemen in its general features, with the exception of the tracts called Malihrtili and Saliar, which are dreary deserts. The southeast corner of the pen insula. between Ilhadramant and the Persian Gulf, is occupied by the important district of Oman, which has been in all ages famous for its trade.
(d) El Hassa. Along the Persian Gulf north ward stretches the province of Lahsa, or rather El Massa, to which belong the Bahiein islands, famous for their pearls. The districts we have
enumerated all lie along the coast, but beyond them to the south stretches the vast desert of Akhaf, or Roba-el-Khali, the empty abode, a deso late and dreary unexplored waste of sand.
(e) Nedsched. To the north of this extend.; the great central province of Nedsehed, or Nejd. Ritter regards it as forming nearly a half of the entire peninsula. It may be described as having been the great officina gentinin of the south, as were Scandinavia and of the north: for it is the region whence there issued at different periods those countless hordes of Arabs which overran a great part of Asia and Africa. Ilere too, was the origin and the scat of the Wahabees, so formidable until subdued in i8i8 by Mehemet Ali. pasha of Egypt.
(f) Geology and Mineralogy. The geological structure and mineralogical productions of this part of Arabia are in a great measure unknown. In the mountains about Mecca and .Nledina the predominant rocks are of grey and red granite, porphyry, and limestone. This is also the case in the great chain that runs southward toward Maskat ; only that in the ridge that rises behind the Tehama there is found schisms and basalt instead of granite. Traces of volcanic action may be perceived around ledina, as also at Aden, and in many other parts of the peninsula. Hot-springs are of frequent occurrence on the Hadjec or pilgrim road to Mecca. The ancients believed that Arabia yielded both gold and precious stones, but Niebuhr doubts if this ever was the case. The most valuable ore found now is the lead of Oman; what is called the Nlocha stone is a species of agate that comes from India. The native iron is coarse and brittle: at Loheia and elsewhere there are hills of fossil salt.
(g) Botany. The botany of Yemen was inves tigated by Forskal, one of the fellow-travelers of Niebuhr. Arabia Felix has always been fa mous for frankincense, myrrh, aloes, balsam, gums. cassia, etc.: but it is doubtful whether the last-mentioned and other articles supposed to he indigenous were not imported from India. Here are found all the fruits of temperate and warm climates, among which the date, the fruit of the palm-tree, is the most common, and is, along with the species of grain called dhourra, the staple article of food. But the most valuable production is coffee (Arab. kahreeh, an old term for wine. the fruit being called for Yemen. if not its native country, is the habitat where it has reached the greatest state of perfection. Cul tivation here is not confined to the plains. but is carried up the sides of the mountains, which are Laid out in terraces and supplied with water by means of artificial reservoirs.