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[Page 73]
White or grey tint. The public buildings near the water's edge have long imposing colonnades and piazzas, cobbled squares. The hills rise to a height of 1200 feet almost from the wharves, so that quite a big portion of the town is situated on the hill side.
Vegetation is singularly absent. On the crest of many of the hills are lookout and wireless stations, while a fortified position is visible once you enter the harbor. In the bay lay the first armoured merchantman I have seen. These boats are most formidable looking ships, with their 4.7's, maxims and torpedo tubes. They are well manned and like a warship are painted that drab gray.
We soon had the regular flotilla of small Arab craft around us.
In the Australian Tommy they found a soft mark for their cheap goods, I am afraid. The way they manoeuvre their light boats, jigging all the time and keeping up an incessant chatter, was very entertaining.
They sold hoards of postcards, cigars, cigarettes, Turkish delight, mats, silk handkerchiefs and many other things. I managed to beat one chap down from 6/s. to 2/s. for 50 cigars. I have since lost some of my best friends through those cigars.
While we were anchored in Aden we saw a party of about 500 Ghurkas with a camel train of ammunition passing through the town to reinforce a body of defeated English garrison, about 20 miles from the town. A few days before a body of 5000 Turks made an attack on a small observation station 20 miles from Aden. This they took with no difficulty. The garrison, some 500 in number, we sent out to meet them and they too were defeated, and lost 50 men, several guns, and all their accoutrement. A proper licking. The result of the Ghurkas' expedition I have not heard; perhaps you have not heard of this little episode? Our chaps would have given anything to have got off for a cut at the enemy, but had to content themselves with thinking what they would have done.
At 2 am on the 7th we drew out of the bay and passing through Bob-el-Mandeb entered the Red Sea. It was as smooth as a plate of glass and as hot as blazes. We soon ran into a slight warm breeze – I think they call it the sirocco – which carried quite a quantity of dust and hordes of great red locusts. These are like our