From that time till the years 1838-1840, the Red Sea route remained neglected, but since then it has again become the great highway of com merce. For the rapidity that it has attained to its present magnitude, the world is largely indebted to the officers of the Bombay marine and Indian navy. In 1796, a chart was constructed by Lieutenant White. Some sailing directions were drawn up by Sir Home Popham during an expedition sent from India to Egypt in 1800. Captain Court, in whose ship Lord Valentia sailed-, also made charts of some parts of the western coast of the Red Sea. But later on, from 1830, surveys of this and its neighbouring seas were made by Captains Moresby and Elwon, and under them were Captains Carless, who afterwards sur veyed the coast of Sind ; John and James Young, Pinching, Powell, Barker, the Abyssinian traveller ; Christopher, the pioneer of the Indus, who fell at Multan ; Wellsted, the accomplished author ; and Felix Jones, a skilled draughts man. The charts continued to be published until 1841. Subsequently Moresby, aided by James Young, Robinson, Barker, Macdonald, Riddle, Christopher, Michael, Lynch, and Felix Jones surveyed the Maldive Islands. In February 1837, Moresby proceeded to the Chagos Archipelago, and afterwards to the Seychelles, and returned to Bombay in September 1838. Captain Haines, in October 1833, commenced the survey of the south coast of Arabia, with Lieutenants Saunders, Grieve, Rennie, and Cruttenden, and Dr. Hutton, but it was discontinued in 1837. Most of these officers wrote memoirs of the countries surveyed.
The Red Sea was long supposed to be 36 feet higher than the Mediterranean, and the Persian Gulf rather less. The French engineers also, at the beginning of the present century, came to the conclusion that the Red Sea was about 30 feet above the Mediterranean ; but the observations of Mr. Robert Stephenson, English engineer, at Suez ; of M. Negretti, the Austrian, at Tineh, near the ancient Pelusium ; and the levellings of Messrs. Talabat, Bourdaloue, and their assistants, between the two seas, proved that the low-water mark of ordinary tides at Suez is rather more than one inch lower, and the formation of the Suez canal followed. The formation of the Suez Canal has made the Red Sea again the great highway be tween Europe and the Indies, and large ships of all nations axe now- seen in it. It was planned by Count de Lesseps, and is the greatest work of man.
The traffic between the different'places on the coast is carried on by coasting vessels (Katera Baye) ; Sambuk (vessel of mediu in size, with a short cut-water ; Bagla, the same without cut-water ; Dau or Dovvrangah, the same, with a large stern and a long cut-water. Regular communication between some of the most important plates is also kept up by the Egyptian steamers which ply fortnightly between Suez, Jedda, Sauaken, and Masaua. Steamers of the Austrian, Lloyds, and others also ply between Suez and Jedda at the tame of the Mecca pilgrimage. On the African side of the Red Sea, there is not a single place of consequence between Suez and Koser (Cosseir).
Koser (1200 inhabitants) is the harbotu• of iipper Egypt, from which it is 4f days' journey in a straight line. It was formerly 'one of the chief outlets for the products of Egypt, particu larly grain ; but since the opening of the Suez railway it has lost nearly all its importance.
Souakin (10,000 inhabitants) possesses a good harbour. It was ceded to Egypt by the Turks in
1865, and since that period it has rapidly im proved. It was formerly an important depot of the slave trade.
Masaua (5000 inhabitants), the seaport of Abyssinia,, belonged to the Turks as early as 1557, and has recently been ceded to Egypt. The climate is very hot. On the Arabian side, the seaports of the province of Yemen are Mocha, Hodeda, and Lohaya. Mocha has fallen entirely to decay, and Hodeda nearly so. These places have been superseded as seaports by Aden.
The most important seaport in the Red Sea, the great focus of oriental trade, and one of the wealthiest towns in the Turkish empire, is Jedda, situated 46 miles to the west of Mecca, of which it is the port. Pilgrims from every Muham madan country converge here, and the merchants transact business with the devotees on their arrival and departure. The inhabitants trade with the in terior of Arabia, with Egypt, East Africa, as far as Mozambique, Mesopotamia, Persia, India, and the Malay Islands. Jedda is the chief market for pearls, mother-of-pearl, and black coral, and for the coffee, balsam, senna leaves, aromatic herbs, and horses and donkeys which Arabia produces. It is also a great depot of oriental carpets, mus lins, woollen and silken stuffs, spices, and other products, which are exported to the western Muhammadan countries. The imports are corn, rice, butter, oil, and not unfrequently slaves, The harbour lies at a considerable distance from the town, which can only be approached by small craft. The town was taken by the Egyptians in 1836, but since 1840 has again belonged to the Turks. In 1858, a massacre of the Christians took place, on which occasion the French and British consuls were murdered, and in consequence the town was bombarded by the British.
To the north of Jedda lies Yemba, the seaport of Medina, which lies about 92 miles to the cast of it. It is called Yemba-el-Bahr, and has about 2000 inhabitants only, lies in a sterile re,gion, while the larger town of Yemba-el-Nakhl, with about 5000 souls, situated nearly a day's journey inland, is surrounded with palms and other vegetation.
There are no harbours of note between this point and Suez, but El Wejj, opposite Koser, is an important quarantine station. Since the cholera. was brought to Egypt by the Mecca pilgrims in 1865, the quarantine establishment has been annually fitted up for a month aud a half or two months at the time of the return of the pilgrims after the great Bahram festival. Both the cara vans travelling by land and vessels of every nation from Arabian ports must undergo quarantine here for five days, or for a longer period if the out break of an epidemic is apprehended.
The great Mecca caravan which travels via Akaba passes this way both in going and coming. The town itself has 600 to 800 in habitants only. The north part of the Arabian coast, as far as El Wejj, is under th.e supremacy of Egypt. —The 1?ed Sea and its Coasts, by Dr. C., p. 13 ; Klunzinger in Baedeker's Egypt; E. L Marine Surveys; Asiatic Researches, iii. p.
321, viii. p. 316 ; 41/aury, pp. 123, 247 ; Ilurton's Mecca, p. 288 ; Ouseley's 7'r. p. 169 ; Ajaib-al Bahian; Pliny, lib. vi. ch. xxiii. and xxiv.; Curi osities of Scknee, p. 176 ; Sharpe's Egypt, i. p. 403 ; Collingwood's Voyage ; I,eonartl Horner in Pr. Royal Society, 1853; Collingwood's Naturalist.