intermingled with round huts of thatch, and oblong ones of sun-dried
bricks, thatched also; but in the latter cases the occupants are
unlikely to be pure Arabs, for that race seldom so nearly approaches
to settling anywhere. When the tents are arranged in a circle, the
animals are generally picketed in the centre, but more often some are
to be found sharing the homes of their owners.

The tent itself is of an oval shape, with a wooden ridge on two poles
across the middle third of the centre, from front to back, with a
couple of strong bands of the same material as the tent fixed on
either side, whence cords lead to pegs in the ground, passing over two
low stakes leaning outwards. A rude camel's hair canvas is stretched
over this frame, being kept up at the edges by more leaning stakes,
and fastened by cords to pegs all round. The door space is left on
the side which faces the centre of the encampment, and the walls or
"curtains" are formed of high thistles lashed together in sheaves.
Surrounding the tent is a yard, a simple bog in winter, the boundary
of which is a ring formed by bundles of prickly branches, which
compose a really formidable barrier, being too much for a jump, and
too tenacious to one another and to visitors for penetration. The
break left for an entrance is stopped at night by another bundle which
makes the circle complete.

The interior of the tent is often more or less divided by the pole
supporting the roof, and by a pile of household goods, such as they
are. Sometimes a rude loom is fastened to the poles, and at it a woman
sits working on the floor. The framework--made of canes--is kept in
place by rigging to pegs in the ground. The woman's hand is her only
shuttle, and she threads the wool through with her fingers, a span at
a time, afterwards knocking it down tightly into place with a heavy