Book 16
4.18
Then follows a stony beach, which is succeeded by a rugged coast,Thamud, formerly occupied by the ancient Thamudeni. not easily navigated by vessels, extending about 1000 stadia. It has few harbours and anchorages, for a rugged and lofty mountain stretches parallel to it; then the parts at its base, extending into the sea, form rocks under water, which, during the blowing of the Etesian winds and the storms of that period, present dangers, when no assistance can be afforded to vessels.
4.18
Next is a bay in which are some scattered islands,Shaur and Iobab? and continuous with the bay, are three very lofty moundsGibel Seik, Gibel el Hawene, and Gibel Hester. of black sand. After these is CharmothasThe harbour of Charmothas seems to be the ancient Iambo, the Iambia of Ptolemy, which now, from the accumulation of soil, is more than a day’s journey into the interior of the country. It is in a fertile territory. The Arabs call it Iambo el Nakel, or Iambo of Palm Trees, to distinguish it from the new Iambo situated on an arid soil on the seacoast. Al Charm, in Arabic, signifies a fissure or opening in the mountains. It seems as if the Greeks had formed the name Charmothas from this word, mistaking the epithet given to the narrow entrance of the harbour of Iambo for the name of the town itself. Gossellin. a harbour, about 100 stadia in circumference, with a narrow entrance very dangerous for all kinds of vessels. A river empties itself into it. In the middle is a well-wooded island, adapted for cultivation.
