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Travels in Arabia; comprehending an account of those territories in Hedjaz which the Mohammedans regard as sacred by John Lewis Burckhardt
page 36 of 566 (06%)
supposed property of each merchant, who was thus forced to become a
purchaser for ready money. In this respect Ghaleb was not singular; for
in Egypt the present Pasha frequently distributes his coffee among the
merchants; with this difference, however, from the practice of Ghaleb,
that the price which he exacts is always above the real market-price.

Business in Djidda is conducted through the intervention of brokers, who
are for the most part Indians of small property and bad reputations.

The number of ships belonging to Djidda is very great. Taking into
account all the small vessels employed in the Red Sea trade, two hundred
and fifty perhaps may be calculated as belonging either to merchants of
the town, or to owners, who navigate them, and who consider the port as
their principal home. The different names given to these ships, as Say,
Seume, Merkeb, Sambouk, Dow, denote their size; the latter only, being
the largest, perform the voyage to India. The ships are navigated
chiefly by people from Yemen, from the Somawly coast (opposite to Aden,

[p.23] between Abyssinia and Cape Guardafui,) and by slaves, of which
latter three or four are generally found in every ship. The crew receive
a certain sum for the voyage, and every sailor is, at the same time, a
petty trader on his own account; this is another cause of the resort of
foreigners to Djidda during the trade winds, for persons with the
smallest capitals can purchase goods in retail, at the first hand, from
the crews of these ships. No vessels of any kind are now constructed at
Djidda, so scarce has timber become; indeed, it is with difficulty that
means are found to repair a ship. Yembo is subject to the same
inconvenience. Suez, Hadeyda, and Mokha, are the only harbours in the
Red Sea where ships are built. The timber used at Suez is transported
thither overland from Cairo, and comes originally from the coast of Asia
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