Sheikh Abdullah Ibn 選sa Aal Khalifah and His  Son, Sheikh Muhammad
This picture was taken during their sojourn in England
 

AROUND THE COASTS
 OF
 ARABIA

By:
AMEEN RIHANI

LONDON:    FIRST EDITION, 1930

Publisher/Year: LONDON, Constable & Co. Ltd, First Edition, 1930. Binding: New Cloth Hardcover Binding, 22x15cm. Pages: 364 Illustrations: 32 Photo Illustrations. жжж    Please see book CONDITION at end    жжж

---

Ameen al-Rihani  (1876-1940)

He was born in the village of al-Furaykah, Lebanon in 1876. He emigrated with his uncle to New York City to join his father in 1888, in 1922 Rihani traveled throughout Arabia, he wrote and published six books in English and Arabic related to his three trips to Arabia, between 1924 and 1932. He passed away at age 64 on September 13, 1940 in his hometown in Lebanon.

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

 

***   An Important Work on Arabia & the Gulf   ***

Rihani Travels in the
Hijaz, Asir, Kuwait, Bahrain
& Aden & the Protectorates

---

From The Book ....

'Aun ur-Rafiq was a descendant of the Prophet with Wahhaby tendencies. He could see no use in tombs, the tombs of walis (saints) especially, to which the widow and the barren wife and the half-naked half-witted Bedu repaired for divine assistance. The Tomb of a wali is called a maqam, a shrine with a dome, of which there is a multitude in Al-Hijaz, and on which the facetious 'Aun pronounced judgment. Let the widow and the barren wife go to the right man, said he, and let the half-witted Bedu go to the Kaaba. Invoke Allah alone : the walis are dead and cannot help. Every domed shrine was therefore doomed ; and many of them were destroyed. The people groaned and moaned and appealed in vain. .....

KUWAIT is now a walled city, thanks to the Ikhwan. For after the battle of Jahrah, the inhabitants, to protect themselves against the attacks of the fierce brothhood of Najd, all volunteered to build the wall, which is about five miles and runs in a circular direction with its two ends on the Gulf. Its height is not more than ten feet, its thickness, from three to five ; it has three gates, several turrets, and a circular running path for firing ; and it was built in two months by the people of Kuwait themselves, every one contributing in money, in labour, or in both. .....

Sheikh Abdullah ruled Bahrain twenty-two years, during which time he was mostly engaged in making wars and repressing rebellions. He was succeeded by the son of his nephew, the victorious Sheikh Muhammad, who was the cause of splitting the Khalifah house into two branches, the Aal Abdullah and the Aal Silman.
    Sheikh Muhammad ibn Khalifah Aal Silman was in war a lion and in politics a chameleon. He changed his colour at will to suit his surroundings. He was also a man of visions and an interpreter of dreams. But in this latter capacity he was not able to help himself. It was the chameleon in him, however, that surprised, entertained, and turned to profit the Governments of three nations. ...

---

Sheikh Ahmad Aljaber Aal Sabah
Ruler of Kuwait

Contents ...

PART I
WITH KING HUSEIN IN THE HIJAZ

AL-HIJAZ

Chapters

1. South of Suez

2. Urban Arabs and Bedu

3. A Lesson in Zoology and Healing

4. A Disciple in Nomadism and Wisdom

5. Circulating Boons

6. On the Road to Mecca

7. The Dance

8. Originality in Reform

9. The Old and the New

10. The Horns of Diplomacy

11. Between Constantinople and Mecca

12. Between Mecca and  Downing Street

13. Pan-Arabia

 

PART II
 WITH THE IDRISI IN ASIR

The Country of the Sid, Or What the Idrisi Rules of Asir

Chapters

1. Hudaidah

2. Weeds of Faith and other Sorry Things

3. The Sufism of Ibn Idris

4. The Idrisis in Asir

5. Along the Tihamah Coast

6. Jaizan

7. Concerning the Heat and the Daily Lamb

8. The Daily Gossip  

9. Ancient Types and Customs

10. We Return in the 樽owtah     

11. The Slave-Trade

 

PART III
AAL SABAH, THE SHEIKHS OF KUWAIT

Chapters

1. Kuwait

2. Aal Sabah and the English

 

PART IV
AAL KHALIFAH, THE SHEIKHS OF BAHRAIN

Chapters

1. Bahrain

2. A Chain of Surprises

3. The Cradle of Civilization

4. In the Shadow of the Sail

5. Bahrain in History

6. A Century of Wars

7. The English and Peace

 

PART V
ADEN AND THE PROTECTORATES

Chapters

1. The Trinity of Aden

2. In the Crater

3. The Saint Who Made a Pilgrimage to His Own Shrine

4. Lahaj in the World War        

5. Civilization at Lahaj   

6. The Protectorates

 

*** A LIST OF THE MONTHLY STIPENDS AND THE FIGHTING POWER OF EACH PROTECTORATE

 

---

Sheikh Hamad Ibn 選sa Aal Khalifah, Ruler of Bahrain, and His Son

---

List of Illustrations ...

1. Ex-King Husein and the Map of Arabia

2. The Arab Flag

3. Ameer Zeid, Fourth Son of Ex-King Husein

4. The Author, in Hijaz Dress

5. On a Pilgrim Ship

6. Setting Up a New Condenser at Jeddah

7. Sultan Ahmad Fadhl, and a Sherifian Soldier of Hijaz

8. A Fishmonger in Jeddah

9. Makallah

10. A Tannery in Asir, and a Piece of Sacred Carpet

11. Soldiers of Asir in Front of a Straw Hut

12. Sheikh Ahmad Aljaber Aal Sabah

13. Ancient Ruins, Bahrain

14. A House in Manamah, Bahrain

15. Sheikh Abdullah Ibn 選sa Aal Khalifah and His  Son, Sheikh Muhammad

16. Sheikh Hamad Ibn 選sa Aal Khalifah, Ruler of Bahrain, and His Son

17. Launching a Jalboot, Bahrain

18. Whale, Caught at Aden, at Low Tide

19. The Main Street of Tawahi, Aden

20. Another View of the Main Street of Tawahi

21. The Tanks, Aden

22. The Pass to Aden Camp

23. The Viaduct Outside of Aden

24. The Camel Hitched to the Water Wagon, Aden

25. The Miracle Performers at the Fete of Rashem Bahr, Sheikh Othman, and School Children, Lahaj

26. The Mosque of Hashem Bahr at Sheikh Othman

27. The Regular Army of Lahaj in Front of the Palace

28. A Camel Race at Sheikh Othman

29. Sultan Abd Ul-Karim Fadhl, Sultan of Lahaj

30. A Dervish Dancing at the Fete of Hashem Barr,  and the Lahaj Military Band

31. The Market  Place, Lahaj

32. Sultan Abd置l-Karim Fadhl

---

The Mosque of Hashem Bahr at Sheikh Othman

The Author, in Hijaz Dress

A House in Manamah, Bahrain

Ameer Zeid, Fourth Son of Ex-King Husein
 

The Regular Army of Lahaj in Front of the Palace

Setting Up a New Condenser at Jiddah

Sultan Abd置l-Karim Fadhl

The Main Street of Tawahi, Aden

Sultan Abd Ul-Karim Fadhl, Sultan of Lahaj

Launching a Jalboot, Bahrain

A Fishmonger in Jeddah

Whale, Caught at Aden, at Low Tide

The Tanks, Aden

---

Condition ...

New cloth binding with new end-papers, otherwise book complete and internally in very good condition for such scarce work.

To find more antiquities, please visit my other auctions, click on