Travels Of Richard And John Lander Into The Interior Of Africa For The Discovery Of The Course And Termination Of The Niger By Robert Huish
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These Dates Grow In A Belt
Of Sand, At About Two Or Three Miles Distant From The Town, And Are
Of A Quality Far Superior To Any Produced In The North Of Africa.
Owing To Their Excellence, They Are Sold At A Very High Price At
Tripoli.
The adjoining country is entirely destitute of shrubs, or
any kind of food for camels, which are therefore sent
To graze about
five miles off; while in the town, all animals are fed on dates.
Sheep are brought here from Benioleed, and are, in consequence of
coming from such a distance, very dear. In the gardens about three
miles from the town, barley, maize, and gussob ohourra are
cultivated, as well as a few onions, turnips, and peppers. The number
of flies here are immense, and all the people carry little flappers,
made of bunches of wild bulls' hair tied to a short stick, in order
to keep those pests at a distance. The dates all being deposited in
store-houses in the town, may account in some degree for the
multitude of these insects, which in a few minutes fill every dish or
bowl containing any liquid.
The costume is here the same as that of the Bedouins, consisting
generally of a shirt and barracan, a red cap, and sandals. A few,
whose circumstances allow of it, dress in the costume of Tripoli. The
neat appearance of the men in general is very striking, compared with
that of the Arabs about the coast.
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