ABSTRACT
The King had come back from his visit to Egypt, from his first absence abroad. The outbreak of joy among the people of Jedda was proof of their gratitude for the years of peace and prosperity he had brought them. I do not think that the fate of Palestine weighed very heavily with them but the rumour that the King had been successful in his talks with the great ones of the earth added to their feeling of security under his rule. The festivities lasted three days. There had again been dances accompanied by singing, hand-clapping and the beating of drums. Wahhabis had not interfered. Of course not! Where were they, those nearly-forgotten invaders of 1925? Some days later we read in the Umm al Qura that even the stern capital of Wahhabism had for once abandoned its principles and had been beside itself with joy when the greatest of the Sa‘uds returned in its midst after what had been deemed a dangerous expedition into the sinful world outside.
