de to Mokha, then only a fishing village. Mokha is situated close
to the sea, in a large dry sandy plain, which affords neither fruits
nor water, except what is brackish and unwholesome, and those who are
forced to drink it have long worms bred in their legs and feet, which
are very troublesome and dangerous. The town is supplied with very
good and wholesome water from _Musa_, a town at the distance of twenty
miles; but it is so dear, being brought by land carriage; that it
costs as much as small beer does in England. Mokha is large, and makes
a fine appearance from the sea, the buildings being lofty, but they
look much better without than within. The markets are well supplied
with provisions, such as beef, mutton, goats, kid, lamb, and camels
flesh, antelopes, poultry, guinea-fowls, partridges, and pigeons. The
sea affords a variety of fish, but not well tasted, owing probably
to the nature of their food. It is also furnished all the year with
excellent fruits, as grapes, peaches, apricots, and quinces, of which
they make great quantities of marmalade, both for their own use and
exportation. Yet there is neither tree nor shrub to be seen near the
town, except a few date-trees, and they seldom have above two or three
showers of rain in a year, sometimes no rain for two or three years.
Among the mountains, however, about twenty miles inland, seldom a
morning passes without a moderate shower, which makes the vallies very
fertile in such corn and fruits as suit the soil and climate. They
have plenty of wheat and barley, but no rice.

Since Mokha has been made a free port, it has become a place of great
trade. Besides the Dutch factory, it has one belonging to the English
East-India Company. Trade is also carried on here by English free
merchants, by Portuguese, Banians, and Moors; also by vessels
from Basora, Persia, and Muskat. The country itself produces few
commodities, except coffee and some drugs, as myrrh, olibanum or
frankincense from _Cossin_, Soccotrine aloes from Soccotora, liquid
storax, white and yellow arsenic, some gum-arabic, mummy, and balm
of gilead, these two last being brought down the Red Sea. The coffee
trade brings a continual supply of gold and silver from Europe,
particularly Spanish money, German crowns, and other European silver
coins, with chequins and German and Hungarian gold ducats, and
_ebramies_ and _magrabees_ of Turkey. It is a settled point here,
though other goods may be bought and sold