New Britain herald., 1929-03-15
GUESTS IN ARABIA
 CARRY OWN COFFEE
Hadhlami Have Skycraper Homes With Shower Baths

Washington, D. C.. March 15.- Secreting few coffee berries in his turban before paying call is deli cate little attention on the part of guest in the Hadramaut, country in southern Arabia, says a bulletin from the Washington. D. c. head quarters of the National Geographic society. The polite guest in the Hadramaut always carries his own coffee berries with him because it is too much to expect 8 host to supply coffee as we'll as conversation, the bulletin continues.
 Some Borders Hay
 Everyone familiar with the map of Arabia knows that the Hadra- maut's southern border lies on the Gulf of Alden and the Arabian Sea but nobody knows just where its northern, eastern and western bor- ders are. True the great Arabian desert lies to the north but the exact line where the Hadramaut leaves off and the desert proper begins has AiSNCl pNCll lLlhC"tSC, NIld II lies on the east but no customs offi- Ger could ever tell when a traveller had one foot in Oman and the other in Hadramaut. No proper boundary line divides the Hadramaut from Alden and the upper Aulaqui terri tory on the west but this fact does not disturb the Hadhrami. It is only hard on mapmakers.
 Geologically and socially speak ing, the Hadramaut is a land of con- trasts. For ten miles in from the coast lies strip of bleak. sandy plain. Following this comes a strip of high, arid plateau. North of the plateau lies a zone of high noun tains and deep wadies or rivers, which make 1t an agricultural para disc. Farther north lies the great desert. Even the Bedouins of the Hadramaut contrast with the Bedou- in mud huts or caves and are but mediocre horsemen.
 Have Primitive Shower Baths
 In contrast with other Arabians, the Hadhrami are "skycraper build CTS" In the towns, their houses average four and even five stories in height. The upper stories are paint ed gleaming white and against the intense blue of the Arabian sky form a striking but rather hard-on-the- eyes picture. Also in contrast with some other parts of Arabia. the houses are clean and we'll ventilated. The windows are not glazed but shuttered and on cold days little bra ziers of wood give the only artificial warmth. Picturesque features of the houses are the huge entrance doors, decorated with painted arabesques and iron nails and heavy knockers of polished brass. Taking bath in such houses is apt to be an i'm promptu affair although a bathroom may be found on each floor. The would-be bather must stand in the corner of q room where there are drains to carry off the waste water, and douse himself from vessel sus- pended above him.
 The Koran allows the taking of four wives but the Hadhrami is us- ually satisfied with one. When a husband divorces his wife he risks his reputation unless the divorce takes place for a very good cause. Women in the Hadramaut veil their faces but they are comparatively free. There are no harems. The wife not only shares one quarter of the house with her husband but she reserves another quarter solely for the entertainment of her wom- en friends.
 Cooking and housework are usual ly done by the wife or her daugh- ters as only the extremely rich have slaves. Dinner guests in the Hadra- maut sit on the floor around large mat or fiat table, whereon is spread the dinner. A flickering light is provided by hanging lamps of pc troleum or sesame oil. A modern dietitian would delight in the menu: Salads, green vegetables, roast sheep or chicken, eggs. dried dates and bread of maize or wheat flour. The health of the average Hadhrami de- pends not alone on his menu for he abstains from opium, pork and alcohol.