Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/271

 TAJURAH — OBOK — ASSAB. 209

36 miles from Bab-el-Mandeb, north of a long littoral indentation. Numerous islets scattered at the entrance of the harbour shut out the sea, excepting to the north-east, and are continued by reefs which the sand, mud, seaweed and coral are gradually causing to encroach on the bay, so that these islands must sooner or later become a peninsula of the mainland. The well-protected port, situated on

the beach of Bouïa, about half a mile south of Assab, affords anchorage to the largest vessels within 500 feet of the coast. The territory of Assab is a shifting dune or hard rock nearly destitute of vegetation. Near the neighbouring village of Margahleh are a few pools of water fringed with verdure; here and there the Afar huts are shaded by some clumps of palms, while along the intermittent streams the brushwood is matted together by a network of creeping plants. The