Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-11-28
DISPOSAL
COMPLEXPROBLEM
Geographic Society Bulletin
Discusses Its Relation to
Future World Peace.

Twelve per cent of all the people
in the world take their rules of con-
duct and laws of life from Mecca, and
take keen, personal interest in all
that happens in Arabia and to
That is why, according to a bulle-
| TIN from the National Geographic So
ciety the complicated problem of
Arabia's disposition portends so much
to the future peace of the world.
Quoting from a communication by
! Frederick Simpich, the bulletin con-
! tinues:
! "In physical character, flora and
fauna Arabia is moro like Africa than
Asia. In shape, it is almost a triangle.
| and it runs from northwest to south
east. 1t is bounded on the east, south.
| and west by the Persian gulf, the
Arabian sea, and the Red sea respec-
lively; on the north it joins Syria.
! AS Josephus of old wrote, Arabia is
a country that joins on Judea. And
Roman geographers drew a map of
| Arabia that included Mesoptamia and
the Syrian desert back of Palestine.
Peninsula 1900 Miles Long.
1.-THE length of the peninsula from
the head of the gulf of Akabah to
the Straits Of Bab el-Mandeb, near
est breadth, in latitude 23 degrees
north, from the Red Sea coast on
the west to Rascal Hadd on the east,
is about 1900 miles.
GAS one sails along the Red sea
coast of Arabia with the low-2.000
feet hgh-dry and barren noun
tains lying just back Of sandy,
empty strips Of country, he is
| reminded Of the Pacific side of
Lower California above Cape San
Lucas. Many small islands. hot and
dry and uninhabited except for half
wild bands of tramp fishermen. dot
the map along this coast One of these,
called Perrin, near the mouth of Bah
el-Mandeb straits, Is occupied by
British garrison.
1.-THE southeastern coast similarly
empty and marked by sharp. jagged
rocks thrust up from glistening sand
beds, Is broken by several good har-
bors, like that at Alden. This latter
port is a British possession, not unlike
| Gibraltar. 1t is heavily fortified and
is the entrepot of commerce between
India and Europe.
| THE Persian gulf coast country is
somewhat more cheerful. cultivated
here and there, and sloping down to
salt water from the high. slightly
forested Jebel Akdar or Green noun
| tains.
| Haunt Of sindbad the Sailor.
| Famous old Maskat, once the haunt
Of Sindbad the Sailor and later the
stronghold of the Portuguese bucca-
neers, clings to the hot rocks inside
| capital of old Oman. an Independent
principally with a sultan all it's own.
Oman has been practically under
British protection for many years,
and, though an integral part of the
Arabian peninsula, can hardly be
| called part of Arabia.
Along the Red sea coast lie three
m inn, TO in
Arabia. Yemen. the most southerly
and most populous, has many arabic
valleys, producing coffee, figs, spices,
hides and dates. 1t has two port
cities. Mocha and Hodeida. Aseer
province lies north of Yemen, and
Suez canal stretches the province of
Hejaz, wherein lie the famous Mos
lem cities of Mecca and Medina
THE ancients. for convenience or
from lack of geographic knowledge,
divided Arabia into three parasitic
stony. the Desert and the Happy. Our
knowledge of it's map shows most of
its high interior plateau occupied Eek
cept for Nejd province) by four great
deserts-the Syrian. the Nefud, the
Ahkaf and the Dehna.
Provinces Unmapped.
1.-THE Mahrah and Hadramaut prov
inces. stretching for hundreds of
miles above Alden, are unmapped and
practically unknown
"Nejd, the great interior province.
is declared by Arabs to be the birth
place of their most cehrished instf-
tutions and traditions
Hasa province. at the head Of the
Persian gulf. and Koweit. it's busy
l,port, from which many cargoes of
I'dates sponges and a wealth of pearls
are shipped, is no doubt destined to
see great commercial development in
connection with Great Britains activ-
| tiles in Mesopotamia
"The Germans had selected Koweit
as the saltwater terminus Of their
famous Bagdad railway, but the Brit
ish, by a clever coup a decade ago,
made treaty with the Sheik of
Koweit and blocked. the kaisers plan
gulf"