The sandy deserts of Arabia form one of the most striking objects of
that country. From the hills of Omon, which appear to be a continuation
of those on the other side of the Persian gulf, as far as Mecca, the
greater part of Negad is one prodigious desert, interrupted, toward the
frontiers of Hejaz and Yemen, or Arabia Felix, by Kirge, containing the
district of Sursa, and several _oases_, or fertile spots. The north-west
part of Negad presents almost a continued desert, and is considered as a
prolongation of the one above mentioned.
The Beled el Haram, or Holy Land of Islam, of which Mecca is the
capital, is comprehended between the Red sea, and an irregular line
which, commencing at Arabog, about sixty miles to the north of Djedda,
forms a bend from the north-east to the south-east, in passing by
Yelemlem, two days’ journey to the north-east of Mecca. It thence
continues to Karna, nearly seventy miles to the east of the same place,
and twenty-four miles to the west of Taif, which is without the limit of
the Holy Land; after which, turning to the south-west, it passes by
Drataerk, and terminates at Mehherma upon the coast, at the port named
Almarsa Ibrahim, about ninety miles to the south-east of Djedda.
It therefore appears that the holy land is about one hundred and seventy
miles in length, from the north-west to the south-east, and eighty-four
miles in breadth, from the north-east to the south-west; which space is
comprehended in that part of Arabia known by the name of El Hedjeaz, or
the Land of Pilgrimage, and includes the cities of Medina and Taif. It
has not any river; and the only water to be found, is that of some
inconsiderable springs, which are not numerous, and the brackish water
obtained from the deep wells. Thus it is a real desert. It is at Mecca
and Medina alone, that cisterns have been wrought to preserve the
rain-water; on which account, a garden is very rarely to be seen
throughout this vast territory. The plains are composed either of sand,
or barren earth, entirely abandoned; and, as the inhabitants do not, in
any part of the country, sow any description of grain, they are supplied
with flour, &c., from upper Egypt, Yemen and India.