Allsop Diary

[Top Left] 1916 30 Days [Top Right] November

[Centre] 2 Thursday

a rugged mountain range runs along the coast a bit. This is all barren country & from the distance we could plainly see great stretches of sandy country as wild [Centre] 3 Friday & barren looking as it seems possible to find anywhere. These sandy tracks extend in some places right up the mountain sides. We saw a whale spouting in the distance and a few steamers [Centre] 4 Saturday passing us some miles off. Just about this spot the sea (Gulf of Aden) is infested with queer looking birds. Great numbers of them fly in long columns of [Centre] 5 Sunday - 20th after Trinity miles in length like a flock of sheep. Well we gradually

[Top Left] November [Top Roght] 11th Month 1916

6 Monday

left the African coast behind us and on the following morning Thursday the 2nd Dec. the Arabian coast came into sight in the shape of a faint outline of the mountains ranges, for it appears to be [Centre] 7 Tuesday - Cup Day very mountainous country. One very prominent height seemed to us as an island strait ahead but just before mid-day we steamed right up close to within what appeared [Centre] 8 Wednesday to be only a stones' throw from this very strange but interesting mountain which rises strait up from the sea. By the way we steamed up to it one could judge the importance

[Top Left] 1916 30 Days [Top Right] November

[Centre] 9 Thursday

of such a point. Our chaps were standing upon the life boats and anywhere that they could get a good view of what was going on. Flags were being run up on the signal station and also on our boatas we slowly steamed past, then behind us two more boats followed. They also signalled but one was evidentlt calling at Aden. [Centre] 11 Saturday alright. [ Small sketch of Mountains and Scenery ] Mount Aden, the prominent headland seems like an old volcano. at least that's what I would judge it to

[Top Left] November [Top Right] 11th. Month 1916

[Centre] 13 Monday

be. This, and all other mountains round anout are nothing but a huge mass of black rock. I couldn't see any trees. On the point there is only a light House & signal [Centre] 14 Tuesday station, while down to the right some distance back are three very high poles which are visible from miles away. These are used for wireless purposes. Behind Mount Aden, i.e. on the next peak there is one more [Centre] 15 Wednesday signal shaft whilst on another peak a little to the right is a big water tank. Round to the right, where the wireless station is the little town of Aden was fairly visible. Round to the left what

[Top Left] 1916 30 Days [Top Right] November

[Centre] 16 Thursday

interested me a great deal was a batch of quite new buildings. One seamed to be an enormous place while all round it were numbers of flat looking houses all big and newly built. [Centre] 17 Friday These buildings are built on the rocky surfacebut on a fairly flat positions. Of course as we only passed the point although close in we didn't get a [Centre] 18 Saturday very good opportunity of see what was on either the right or left hand side of the point. Just a little further backbehind the buildings I have [Centre] Sunday - 22nd after Trinity spoken of there is another signal station and we