No. 662.
Mr. Beardsley to Mr. Fish.
Cairo, July 17, 1875. (Received August 17.)
Sir: I have the honor to inform you that a special envoy from Constantinople arrived at Alexandria on the 5th instant, the bearer of a firman from His Majesty the Sultan to the Khedive, ceding to the latter the port of Zeilah, on the Red Sea.
Zeilah is the last foothold of Turkey in Africa, and its possession by Egypt is consequently of some political as well as commercial importance, as the entire African coast of the Red Sea is now under Egyptian jurisdiction. It is situated in the Gulf of Aden, in latitude 11½° north, and on that part of the coast called Adel, in the country of the Somaulis. The Somaulis are the descendents of a mixed race of Arabs and Negroes. They are divided into many tribes. Those of the interior are nomads and pastoral, while those along the coast have fixed places of residence and are given to commercial pursuits. The name of Adel is often given to the entire coast of Africa from Abyssinia to the Cape of Guardafin; but the country of Adel, properly speaking, is only a mountainous region bordering Abyssinia.
Zeilah is nearly opposite Aden and is a port of some importance, being the only port on that part of the coast. It has some trade with the [Page 1350] Arabian ports, and is an outlet for an extensive region in the interior. The town is built on a low, sandy point, called Ras Hamar, and consists of a mosque, twelve or fifteen stone houses, and several hundred huts, the whole inclosed within a mud wall, which is in a ruinous state. The population is said to be about five thousand souls. Its chief importance lies in the fact of its being considered the port of Hamar, a large walled city, the capital of the province of that name, which is distant eight days’ journey by camel to the southwest.
Large vessels, however, cannot approach within a mile of the town, as the anchorage is shallow. The principal articles of export are ivory, myrrh, ostrich feathers, and gum arabic.
The firman transferring the sovereignty of Zeilah from the Sultan to the Khedive was officially read at the palace of Easel-Tin, at Alexandria, on the 7th instant, in presence of the Khedive, his ministers and the high functionaries of the government.
The envoy, Khalil Pasha, the bearer of the firman, is believed to have conveyed to the Khedive a pressing invitation from the Sultan to visit Constantinople. His Highness’s solicitude in regard to the rise of the Nile—which is now rising rapidly—will probably prevent his acceptance of the Sultan’s invitation this summer. He returned to Cairo on the 10th instant, where he now is.
The additional tribute paid for the acquisition of Zeilah is £15,000.
I am, &c.,