Page:The King of Hedjaz and Arab Independence (1917).djvu/8

 have stood forth as the champions of national and individual liberty.

The province of Western Arabia to which the name of Hedjaz has been given extends along the Red Sea Coast from the Gulf of Akaba to the south of Taif. It is bounded on the north by Syria, on the east by the Nafud Desert, and by Nejd, and on the south by Asir. In length it is about 750 miles, and its greatest breadth from the Harra, east of Khaibar, to the coast is 200 miles. Barren and uninviting mostly in its northern part, yet with many very fertile and well-cultivated portions in the southern portion, sustaining a brave, hardy, and fearless population, the chief claim of Hedjaz to fame is that it contains the Holy Cities of Mecca and Medina, to which Moslem pilgrims come yearly from all parts of the world.

AlhoughAlthough [sic] it was once nominally under Turkish rule, the real power in Hedjaz was always vested in the Amir (or, as he is better known to us, the Grand Sherif) of Mecca, who is an Arab of the true race, descended from a princely family, which is held in high veneration by the Arabs, owing to its descent in the line of Hasan, son of the fourth Caliph, Ali, and who, also, is Hereditary Custodian of the Holv Cities of Mecca and Medina. After the construction of the Hedjaz railway, however, Turkish influence in Hedjaz increased to the extent that the Turks were able to inflict many hardships on the Arab population, and from the time of the outbreak of the present war there had been a great deal of very arbitrary