Muscat

“ About 40 years later Sultan bin Ahmad, the ruler of Muscat, having been appealed to for aid by the Arab inhabitants of the place against Persian misrule, occupied the town, and obtained a firman from the Persian government confirming him in his possession on the condition of his paying a yearly rent of a few thousand tomans. The islands were considered to be the property of Muscat. In 1852 the Persians expelled the Muscat authorities from Bander Abbāsi and its district, but retired when Muscat agreed to pay an increased rent. ”

“ Muscat, the capital of the province and the principal port on the coast, is surrounded on three sides by bare, rocky hills, and has the reputation of being the hottest place in 260 Arabia. Zwemer says the fertility of the highland region of J. Akhdar is wonderful and is in striking contrast to the barrenness of so much of the coast; water issues in perennial springs from many rocky clefts, and is carefully husbanded by the ingenuity of the people; underground channels, known here as faluj, precisely similar to the kanat or karez of Persia and Afghanistan, are also largely used. ”

“ I knelt to plead for my life, but they took no further notice of me till they had satisfied themselves that the Sultan was dead. Fatima flung the covers over the body.
'Let me be the first to congratulate you as Sultan of Muscat,' she said, turning to her companion.
'The most beautiful woman in Muscat has the right to congratulate me,' he said. Then he turned towards me, let his eyes rove over my naked form and addressed some soothing words to me. ”

“ The Imaum of Muscat is passionately fond of horses, and devotes considerable time and attention to their breeding. Of some of the finest horses in his stud, the Imaum makes presents to the governors of the Indian presidencies, and deserving officers in his own service. Horses likewise form an article of trade between Muscat and India, and yield, as I have been told, a considerable profit. ”

“ The mountains rise behind it in a rugged wall, across which no road exists. It is only from Matrah, a northern suburb shut off by an intervening spur which reaches to the sea, that land communication with the rest of Arabia can be maintained. Both Muscat and Matrah are defended from incursions on the landward side by a wall with towers at intervals. Muscat rose to importance with the Portuguese occupation of the Persian Gulf, and is noted for the extent of Portuguese ruins about it. ”

“ Oman had been governed for nine hundred successive years by independent rulers called Imams; elected by popular choice and not according to family descent. From that time until 1650 the Portuguese remained in power at Muscat. In 1741 Ahmed bin Said, a man of humble origin, a camel-driver, rose by his bravery to be governor of Sohar, drove the Persians who had succeeded the Portuguese, out of Muscat and founded the dynasty that has ever since ruled Oman. As early as 1798 the East India Company made a treaty with the Sultan of Muscat to exclude the French from Oman. ”

“ In 1650 the Portuguese were finally expelled from Oman. Muscat had been reduced previously by the humiliating terms imposed upon the garrison by the imam of Oman after a siege in 1648. For five years the Persians occupied Oman, but they disappeared in 1741. Under the great ruler of Oman, Said ibn Sultan (1804–1856) , the fortunes of Muscat attained their zenith; but on his death, when his kingdom was divided and the African possessions were parted from western Arabia, Muscat declined. ”

“ Other spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and the nutmeg, which we call muscat, and its covering (mace) , which we call muscat flower, are brought to their own Indies from distant islands till now only known by name, and in ships which are fastened together not by iron but by palm leaves. The sails of these ships are round and woven, too, of the palm-fibre. This sort of ships they call junks, and they only use them with a wind directly fore and aft.
It is no wonder that these islands should be unknown to any human beings almost up to our time. ”

“ Of these Thomas published an account in the ‘Proceedings’ of the Zoological Society for 1894, the most remarkable of them being a new Wild Goat, from the Akhdar Range behind Muscat, which was named Hemitragus jayakari after its discoverer. In 1897 the British Museum received from Surgeon Jayakar another consignment of mammals collected at Muscat within the previous two years. ”

“ When the Portuguese held Hormuz [Ormus] and Muscat, each boat which went to fish was obliged to take out a license from them, which cost fifteen abassis [$5.45] , and many brigantines were maintained there, to sink those who were unwilling to take out licenses. But since the Arabs have retaken Muscat, and the Portuguese are no longer supreme in the Gulf, every man who fishes pays to the King of Persia only five abassis, whether his fishing is successful or not. The merchant also pays the king something small for every 1,000 oysters. ”

“ In this article Mackay pleads for Arabia for Africa’s sake and asks that “Muscat, which is in more senses than one the key to Central Africa,” be occupied by a strong mission. “I do330 not deny,” he writes, “that the task is difficult; and the men selected for work in Muscat must be endowed with no small measure of the Spirit of Jesus, besides possessing such linguistic ability as to be able to reach not only the ears, but the very hearts of men.” He pleads for half a dozen men, the pick of the English universities, to make the venture in faith. ”

“ In Oman, where the conditions are more favourable, explorers have penetrated only a short distance from the coast. Niebuhr did not go inland from Muscat; the operations by a British Indian force on the Pirate coast in 1810 gave no opportunities for visiting the interior, and it was Exploration in Oman.not till 1835 that J. R. Wellsted, who had already tried to penetrate into Hadramut from the south, landed at Muscat with the idea of reaching it from the north-east. ”

“ The women in Muscat wear a kind of mask of blue stuff over the face, fastened upon springs or wires, which project some distance beyond the face; a hole is cut in the mask between the forehead and nose, which allows something more than the eyes to be seen. These masks are worn by the women only when they are at some distance from home; in and near their houses they are not used. All the women that I saw were very ugly; the men, also, had not the fine, proud features which are so frequently met with among the Arabians. Great numbers of negroes are employed here as slaves. ”

“ This part of the coast is inhabited by the Mijertayne Somauli, commanded by a chief, styled Sultaun Hussan. The Imaum of Muscat some time ago sent presents of considerable value to this tribe, and solicited permission to build a small fort on the promontory of d'Orfui (called by the natives Hafoon;) ”

“ It's awfully good of you fellows to come along—awfully lucky, too; just when things were queer. Another hour of it and my chaps would have burst out to get water or die—you saw them scurrying out. I can never be too grateful. You are on your way to Muscat, I suppose; if you can see my father, the Sultan, or get hold of the Chief Wazir, tell him you have saved his son's honour. He will do anything for you, I know. ”

“ The wadis (or valleys) of Oman (like the wadis of Arabia generally) are merely torrential channels, dry for the greater part of the year. Water is obtained from wells and springs in sufficient quantity to supply an extensive system of irrigation.
The only good harbour on the coast is that of Muscat, the capital of the kingdom, which, however, is not directly connected with the interior by any mountain route. ”

“ However, I had previously understood that the Oualé of Muscat, and all the principal chiefs at Moutrah—the last a considerable town in the vicinity—were implicated, which showed that the party of the old Imaum, the sultan’s deceased uncle, was much more extensive than I had ever deemed. ”

“ They wear a distinctive garb and are not allowed to carry arms or live in the same quarter as Moslems. Another foreign element of considerable strength in the coast towns of Muscat, Aden and Jidda, is the British Indian trading class; many families of Indian origin also have settled at Mecca, having originally come as pilgrims.
Estimates of the population of Arabia vary enormously, and the figures given in the following table can only be regarded as a very rough approximation:—
Communications.—The principal land routes in Arabia are those leading to the holy cities. ”

“ In fact, the dealers who purchase men never purchase women. The women, who are required to supply the Mussulman harems, are sent principally to Arab districts to be exchanged for ivory; whilst the men, who are to be put to hard labour, are despatched to the coast, East and West, whence they are exported to the Spanish colonies, or to the markets of Muscat or Madagascar. ”

“ In honour of the eldest son of William IV., created Earl of Munster.
Murphies. Potatoes, the chief articles of consumption among the Irish peasantry. This term is current also in America.
Muscadel. French and Italian wines, so called from the Italian muscado, musk, nutmeg. Variants of this name are Muscatel and Muscadine.
Muscatels. Raisins exported from Muscat in the Gulf of Oman, Arabia.
Muscovy Duck. A corruption of “Musk duck,” a species larger than the common duck.
Mush. An Americanism for an umbrella. ”

“ Grapes grow on the slopes of Jebel Akhdar, and the inhabitants, despite the strictures of Mohammed, both make and drink wine of them, and report says (how far it is true I know not) that the Portuguese exported thence the vines to which they gave the name of muscatel. The inhabitants of this wild range are chiefly Bedou and pastoral, and it is from this quarter that the troubles which beset the poor sultan, Feysul, generally emanate.
The harbour of Maskat is full of life. ”

“ Muscat. On September 20th of the same year a female, obviously of the same species and obtained at the same place, was received by the Society on deposit from Mrs. Harris, then of Limefield, Kirkby Lonsdale. Sir Victor Brooke having then lately published his well-known monograph of the Gazelles in the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings,’ and being specially interested in the group, Sclater lost no time in calling Sir Victor’s attention to these animals, with which he was much delighted. Sir Victor described them as belonging to a new species at the meeting of the Zoological Society on Feb. ”

“ Thus the greenhorn from the city is apt to take the muskrat's nightly plunges for the sound of deer leaping into water; and just in the same way does the sleepless tenderfoot mistake the thudding footfalls of the midnight rabbit for those of moose or caribou running round his tent.
Muskrats are fairly sociable and help one another in their work. They mate in April and their young are born about a month later. The Indians claim that they pair like the beaver, and that the father helps to take care of the children. ”

“ The Portuguese forts and the names of the ships that come here, painted in huge white letters on the cliffs, are the remarkable things about the place. There is a sort of a silent roll-call of the ships. The men like writing their names up in white letters. Matrah is round the corner, and looks bigger than Muskat. You have got to get to it by boat. Muskat itself is completely cut off. I saw a straight-looking Arab from Asir who had been with the Turks and had information, and asked the Agent to send him on to Aden.
Wednesday, April 5, 1916. Muskat. Came ashore early this morning. ”

“ Though fairly omnivorous in his tastes, the big muskrat, like all his tribe, was so content with his lilies, flag-root, and clams, that he was not generally regarded as a foe by the birds and other small people of the wilderness. He was too well fed to be a keen hunter.
Having learned (and taught his fellows) to avoid muskrat-traps, the big muskrat enjoyed his lazy summer life on Bitter Creek with a care-free spirit that is permitted to few, indeed, of the furtive kindred of the wild. There was no mink, as we have seen, to beware of ”

“ Now and again, there came a scraping of claws as one of the muskrats, unbalanced by a twist or turn, slid across the wooden floor of its prison.
As he carried his new acquisitions up the dark mountain, Andy pondered.
Muskrats, his research had taught him, are almost entirely aquatic creatures, though occasionally they make overland journeys. Their food consists of aquatic plants, tender roots and bulbs, and they are very fond of fresh-water mussels. They construct houses of mud mixed with plant stalks or dig burrows in the bank. The entrance to either type of dwelling is always under water. ”

“ The animal is called Mussong, at Java, and I found it was also known by the same name among the natives on the north-east coast of Sumatra: it licks and cleans its furry coat with the tongue like the cat, especially after it has been much handled; and seems also to possess the caution and secretiveness of that tribe. It growls savagely when disturbed or teazed. ”

“ For example, the former resident of Muskrat City might appear in the showroom of the fur dealer as "river mink," "mountain marten," "valley sable," "spruce beaver," "brook fisher," "domestic raccoon," "hillside fox," "fresh-water otter," "Hudson seal," etc., etc. Also, sometimes he does good service under plain "muskrat."
During many seasons since our first visit trappers have taken from their backs the coats of many residents of Muskrat City. These have been transformed and now, in cold weather and in hot weather, cover the backs of women in other cities. ”