Coll 6/88 'Intelligence: Military Report on Arabia (C.B. 1892).' [‎28v] (61/133)

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The passage to the inner anchorage has recently been buoyed by the Saudi-Arab an
Mining Syndicate who have also built an 80-ft. high beacon, which is visible for 12 mile,,
on MISMARI reef some 10 miles to the south-east of the port There are no lights, however,
and the port cannot be approached with safety at night.
There is one quay about 100 yards long extending along the shore mth a small jetty
nroiecting about 30 ft. seawards. The depth alongside the quay is about 4 ft. The Banque
Mil ” have started the dredging of the existing channel for small craft between the inner road-
stead and the quay.
About l 1 miles north of the town the Saudi-Arabian Mining Syndicate have constructed
a ietty fboutTsOO yards long, from the western shore of MANGABA Bay to a position
oio oq'’cq" iq 39 0 09' 44" E. on the eastern side of the northern basm of the inner anchoragt .
Vessels of 12 ft. draught can now load at this jetty, which carries a decauville rai way, oiry
track and pipeline. At the seaward end of the jetty are a 15-ton and 5-ton crane.
There are no other harbour facilities except those mentioned above, all transport of
merchandise being done by manual labour.
The capacity of the port is estimated at from 300 to 500 d.w. tons per day.
(3) The Town
The town of TEDDA is a haphazard collection of tall and often massive buildings of
white-washed coral, separated by narrow tortuous streets and enclosed m a dilapidated coral-
built wall, 10 to 12 ft. high ; the majority of the houses are m a very bad state of repair,
borders the sea for about three-quarters-of-a-mile and extends inland on slightly rising ground
to a depth of about half-a-mile.
Population
The resident population of Jedda is about 15,000, but during the pilgrimage season,
i e during the first half of the Christian year there is an average additional floating population
of 10,000 pilgrims. The foreign community is about 50 all told, grouped m the nine foreign
missions—British, Dutch, Italian, French, Persian, Turkish, Egyptian, Iiaqi and Soviet
and in the few British, Dutch and Italian commercial concerns. It includes a number of
women. The resident foreign Asiatic and African colonies e.g the BntishMndian of some
400 souls and the British West African of some 500, are so closely meiged with the rest of the
population as to be indistinguishable from it.
Industries
There are no industries in Jedda The population lives on the pilgrims and the small
import trade
There are practically no exports.
The bulk of the town is residential.
Lighting
The present municipal system is by oil and petrol vapour lamps. All the leading houses
have their own private electric lighting sets.
Water
The main water supply is drawn from rain water cisterns dug outside the town, but the
water is brackish and impure. There are two Government-owned sea water condensers
erected in 1928, with a combined capacity of 200 tons a day. There are tank dhows oi
conveying distilled water to ships.
A pipe line conveying fresh water (well) from inland has been completed, but at present
•the water so brought is very Impure on arrival at Jedda.
Sanitation
This consists of a number of private cesspits under the houses and streets and one or
two main drains which are said to reach the sea.
The streets are kept tolerably clean.
Hospitals
There is one well-built but badly administered Government Hospital. Foreign missions
maintain their own dispensaries. There is a Dutch resident doctor.