Jiddah

Jiddah, Jeddah, or Djiddah, a town and port of Arabia on the E. coast of the Red Sea, about half-way between Suez and Aden. As the spot at which pilgrims journeying to Mecca by sea have to begin their inland march, it is a busy and prosperous place, spreading, with its white houses, for a mile or more along the beach, and containing a good bazaar, several indifferent mosques, and a network of narrow streets enclosed within a dilapidated wall. The Mecca gate to the E. is surrounded by a large suburb and market. Outside the Medina gate on the N. stands the tomb of Eve and the quarters of the Turkish garrison. The sanitary condition of the town, once appalling, has been somewhat improved of late, but the scarcity of water is a great defect. Jiddah, in the 15th century, was the point at which the traders from the East and the West used to meet, but with the improvement of navigation and the introduction of steam, this state of things passed away. There is, however, still a considerable export of Arab produce - coffee, gums, mother-of-pearl, hides, and embroidered tissues;. whilst the merchants of the interior draw their supplies of Western goods from the bazaars. Turkish rule has prevailed continuously, except during the brief career of Mehemet Ali. In 1858 a massacre of the European residents led to the bornbardment of the town by an English man-of-war. The distance from Mecca is about 45 miles, and that from Medina about 200 miles.