CHAPTER VIII.
Arrival at Aden—Arabia the Ancient Nursery of Commerce—How Aden became a British Possession—Description of the Peninsula, Town, Tanks, &c.—Departure from Aden—Perim—Sight the Comet—Crossing the Desert—Arrival in England.
On the 25th September, just one week after leaving the Seychelles, the “Granada” arrived at Aden, where we expected to meet with the steamer from Bombay on her way to Suez.
The “Simla,” the vessel expected from Bombay, had not arrived; and there being no hotel at Aden, the passengers were thrown upon the small village at Steamer Point, to find accommodation as best they could. This is a subject of continued complaint, and one great objection to the overland route, which the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company might easily obviate by erecting an hotel with reasonable charges, and keeping a steamer in the port of Aden until such time as the hotel is adapted for use. The accidents occurring in the Red Sea, and the frequent breaking down of the machinery of some of these vessels, will render a reserve vessel always necessary either at Suez or Aden; and, under existing circumstances, for the accommodation of passengers arriving at the latter place, and awaiting the irregular arrival of the company’s ships, Aden ought never to be without a reserve vessel.
For myself, I always make it a point to pay respect to my flag, and therefore paid my respects to the chief authority at Aden, Brigadier William Marcus Coghlan, Political Resident and Commandant of the forces at Aden.
The Brigadier was kind enough to give me a very hearty invitation to reside with him while at Aden; and Mrs. M’Leod and myself felt the benefit of the change from the “Granada,” in the harbour of Back Bay, to the Brigadier’s cool bungalow on Steamer Point.
Bunder Toowaï, or Aden Harbour, has at various periods of the world’s history commanded the commerce of the East; and, from the remotest antiquity, it has been an emporium for the great commercial nation of the age. It is not, therefore, surprising that at the present date the British flag should float triumphantly over the seaport of the Queen of Sheba.
On looking at a chart of the world we are at once struck with the position of Arabia, whose seaport Aden is.
It is almost insular, lying between Asia, Africa, and India. On two sides it is bounded by the ocean, on a third by the desert, and on the fourth side it was the point d’appui of the commerce established, by way of the Persian Gulf, between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.