3-021-403 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Abyssinian Expedition: Berbereh, on the coast of Africa, opposite Aden, 1868. Engraving of a sketch by Ernest Kinder, of H.M.S. Argus, '...that ship having been sent thither to superintend the shipment of camels...Berbereh is situated...on the other side of the Sea of Bab-el-Mandeb, or Gulf of Aden, as it is sometimes called, which lies outside the entrance to the Red Sea. This part of Africa...is inhabited by the Soomali tribes...The town consists of nothing more than one stone tower, inhabited at present by Hassan Ali, the camel contractor for the expedition; and a number of huts constructed of mats, which can be erected in about ten minutes. Berbereh is the depot for the trade of the Soomali tribes, who bring camels, sheep, oxen, grain, skins, and ostrich feathers, which they barter for longcloth, dates, and other commodities...The place is deserted about five months in the year, when the natives return to the interior...A large caravan arrived here the other day...I believe the fair closes as soon as the caravans have finished their trade, and then Berbereh is nothing more than a square tower, inhabited by an old man and his family, who are paid by the different tribes for looking after the place'. From "Illustrated London News", 1868.