A History of Agriculture in India v2.c53.2

v2.c53.2

ARABIA is a plateau, 610 to 1,524 metres (2,000 to 5,000 feet) high, with desert, rocks and oases. Much of the land is an arid waste, shingly in the north and sandy in the south. Its climate has been described as one of alternate frying and freezing. Sand-storms are common in summer, and a hot wind, called *simoom*, blows for many days at a stretch. In the desert are sand-dunes in all directions, and appear like sea-waves piled on each other, suddenly arrested and converted into reddish sand. Below the sand are vast oil-fields, over some of which pillars of fire hover by night. Among the sand-dunes at some places are the oases with groves of datepalms. Plodding through the sand are camels, led by hook-nosed, wiry men wearing flowing robes. In the cities are domed mosques with needle-like minarets from which the muezzin calls the faithful to the prayers. The houses have mud walls and flat roofs and are box-like. The women are veiled and are seldom seen by the outsiders. Some of them are beautiful, and it is their charm and beauty, their guiles and passion, which are celebrated in the *Arabian Nights*.