Tues 17. [17 January 1905] Spent the morning shopping for the most
part. Lunched with the Drummond Hays. A number of horses came
up for me to see and finally Mr D.H. and I went down to the Khan el
Dervish together. Went first to the Ottoman Bank where we were
received by a charming party, an Emir of the Lebanon, one of the
Shahab who took us to the director. We sat with the Amir behind the
bank counter drinking coffee while my money was brought. At the
Khan saw a likely horse which I had sent down to the hotel. Shopped
cartridges with the Kavass Selim and at 5 tried the horse. Rode out
along the sea, a delicious evening, the weather much better. Felt
rested and refreshed. At dinner sat opposite a brisk little man who
turned out to be the intelligent little doctor I met at L¸ticke's [i.e.
L¸tticke] 5 years ago. We talked much of travel and of the Hajj
railway which is now at Ma'an. He said I was quite right in thinking the
Khedivial captain wrong about the success of the rail. During all the
time of its construction the Bedouin had not dared to come near it.
The Hajj now goes by rail to Ma'an and assembles there. Ibn Rashid
is still at Hail. It will prove very difficult to take as it has a very warlike
population of 30,000. He says Ibn Sabbah is immensely rich with an
income of 5000000 frcs from pearl fishing. The sheikh of
Muhammarah is richer still. His wife, a very beautiful woman, made
the Hajj the other day with a large retinue and everything she wore
was covered with immense pearls, down to her shoes. He says Ibn
Sabbah is very shrewd. He calls the population of Arabia 5000000,
including Kowweit [Kuwait] and the coast. The Baghdad Shammar
have joined Kowweit against Ibn Rashid. He is 35, very enterprising
and very brave. He lets no foreigner into Nejd [Najd], absolutely
impossible to enter, but if you cd get in you wd never get out. Ibn
{Sabbah} Sa'oud is 30. There are 7 battalions disembarking at
Akkabah ['Aqaba] which are to be sent to help him. The war will
never end. He thinks there is a much bigger population scattered
over the oases of the desert than people suspect. He says Dr Moritz
wrote all Oppenheim's book! Ibn Rashid can put 50,000 armed men
in the field, 10,000 mounted on horses, the others on camels, but most
of them marduf. 4 men go to a camel, 2 mounted and 2 on foot and
they change about. Ibn Sa'oud has from 10 to 12000 armed men, but
with Ibn Sabbah's men he can well outnumber Ibn Rashid. My friend's
name is Dr Haidar; he comes of a good Metawaleh family of
Baalbek.