Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-07
NATIONS Of WORLD
WELCOME ARABIA
Dual Kingdom of Heiaz and
Nejd Contains MoSIem
Shrines.

~N~-
Hejaz and the Nejd the United States
welcomes to the family Of nations two
extensive areas of the vast Arabian
Peninsula whose national names are
far less familiar than geographic fea-
lures they embrace. according to bull
letin from the National Geographic So
Getty.
"Heiaz has the two holy cities OF the
Moslem world, Mecca and Medina" the
bulletin continues. the Nejd sprawlS
over the second largest desert area IN
the world. In fact. the Nejd rates sec
onds on two contrasting geographic
areas: second to the Sahara in respect
to its arid expanSe and second 10 the
remote Antarctic Continent in respect
to the size Of its unexplored DOMAIN.
Southeastern Nejd, the district
known as Roba-el-Khali, is as barren
of names as the Sargossa Sea. 1t was
that region which Bertram Thomas.
English explorer, penetrated for the
first time early this year.
Site of Garden Of Eden.
"Other parts of the new nation en-
brace territory whose story goes back
to the early chapters Of human history
In the sandy desert wastes OF the
A abian Peninsula are the neglected
ruins of little known cities and civiliza-
tons, while along its northern borders
are the Holy Lands of Christendom. the
caravan trails and the relics Of classical
empires of Syria, and the traditional
site of the Garden of Eden itself in the
present-day kingdom of Iraq.
"Dwarfed by the huge bulk OF the
continent to which it is attached, the
Arabian Peninsula is likely to be clasSed
with peninsulas nearer home, such as
Florida But so Floridas would be lost
in this huge Asian projection; 1t is, In
fact, a third as large as the entire
United States.
The new dual kingdom Of Hejaz and
the Nejd, which dates only from 1926,
embraces, or rather claims, all but the
narrow eastern and southern fringes OF
this vast domain. The Nejd. roughly
speaking, may be said to include the
sandy core of Arabia, much Of it I'M
explored and uninhabited. even by the
nomadic tribesmen who constitute most
Of King Ibn Saud's 100000 subjects.
MosIem Shrines in Hejaz.
"Hejaz, the smaller part of the dual
kingdom, Is better known. From Brit
ish Trans jordan 1t extends, narrow
strip, along the Red Sea coast for 900
miles to the Province of Asir, pro-
tectorate of the Nejd. Within its
boundaries are the famous cities of
Mecca and Medina. the most sacred
shrines for one seventh OF the worlds
population.
Neither Of these cities, however. is
the residence of King Ibn Saud, the
Arab chieftain who was the George
Washington OF the new nation. Two
capitals are maintained. One is Mecca.
but Ibn Saud spends most Of his time
in the other capital. Rad, and rules
Hejaz through an agent-general resid-
ing in Mecca. Rad is lonely oasis,
hidden almost 500 miles back in the
desert.
why is Hejaz and the Nejd a dual
kingdom? Austria Hungary before the
war offers a convenient parallel case.
The Hejaz and the Nejd are two large
expanses of country brought together
by a powerful ruler, but the people of
each have deep-seated differences
which prevent a more perfect union.
The Nejd, home OF the Warl1ke Waha-
bis, or Arab 'fundamentalists.' must be
administered in the simplest possible
manner. without ministers of state, con-
stitutions or other formalities.
Hejaz More Civilized.
1.-The Hejaz, however, has 'consti-
tuition and six departments, three OF
which are responsible in the first place
to the agent-general at Mecca. Many
people of the Hejaz, less nomadic, live
in cities, or along the pilgrim railroad
which extends from Transjordan to Me-
dina burial place of Mohamemd.
The Wahabis Of the Nejd are COM
Wahib, from whom the tribesmen de-
rive their name, founded the Wahabis
in the latter part of the eighteenth
century. Aroused by Moslem religion
and the lavish expenditure Of time and
wealth in building mosques, he pleaded
for pure Mohammedanism under the
Koran and the return Of the old, wild,
vigorous faith of the desert.
"Wahabi simplicity is carried to the
extreme in Rad, the inland capital.
The city Is surrounded by 25-foot wall
of sun-baked mud bricks. It's only
decoration is a row Of pinnacles around
the top of the wall. of sharks tooth
design. Massive guard towers overlook
each Of the nine city gates. Inside the
wall there are no graceful white
minarets towering above huge gilded
mosque domes, nor are there any elabo-
rate shrines or rich prayer carpets such
as are found in Moslem cities outside
of the Wahabi country.
Rad Mosque Is Simple.
1.-THE great mosque of Rad is a drab,
squatty building of the same construc-
ton as the wall. No costly shrines
adorn its interior. In fact, the build
ing is little more than a shady place
of prayer where the faithful are pro-
tected from the piercing rays of the
desert sun. The palace and the fort
are the only other large buildings with
in the wall. They, too, are architec-
turally unpretentious, while the rows
of flat-topped houses bordering the
dusty Rad streets are severe in their
plainneSS.
'Ibn Saud, the ruler who has raised
two obscure Arab kingdoms to a posi-
ton of gaining recognition by world
powers, has been called the Cromwell
an obscure exile in Koweit, on the Per-
sian Gulf. He owned not an acre Of
land and had few friends But that
year at the age Of 20. the youthful exile
gathered a small party of hot-blooded
companions about him, led them into
the desert. and surprised and captured
Rad, capital of Nejd and historic
home Of his ancestors.
by 1918, having consolidated his
powe rand position in Central Arabia
1bn Saud attacked and took from the
Turks the Hasa Province on the Per-
sian Gulf. In 1921 Jebel Shammar, the
district between Rad and the Syrian
Desert. was added. In 1924 he con-
quered the kingdom of Hejaz and en-
tered Mecca victorious. Ibn Saud rose
from poverty to riches, from a prince
ling to King of Arabia. in % years
Arabia for the Arabs has been his
slogan.
City to Have Radio.
"Ibn Saud recently signed a contract
for Is wireless stations in his domain.
Even the holy city of Mecca will have
its wireless telephone and telegraph, al
though only Mohammedan faithful may
construct and operate the system with
in the sacred precincts. Installation
81 ali corS y1anfnr friIrGs nj