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WRIGHT THE NORTHERN HEGAZ A Topographical Itinerary BY ALOIS MUSIL Professor of Oriental Studies Charles University, Prague Published under the Patronage of the CZEGHEACADEMY “OFSSGIENCESSANDPARTES and of COAKDE Shs GRANE NEW YORK ere <6. THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY BROAD WA Yoh .156)] MeSTREERT. NEWS YORK IN key plsios Ax STATNI TISKARNA, PRAGUE, CZECHOSLOVAKIA TO THE CZECH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND ARTS Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/northerneztopogrOOmus! CoO ONSEN ee CHAPTER PAGE P-R ELVA © Hig eee Gan Meee ce NA Mal EE deciles SRA cia gh Oe iy tay, Bal TEM ALA NG geet 8 Cn ens. tine Bre ous Oo Satie eked PRED ee 1 Daniaschicg.co Va an cee eee bee neki eae eee ey ere: 1 PhesQ asics oLeyl a-an tare se hein tye Sane eine eum mG aa Mata 2 Lie LASANSTOSAL-HOME.) MAW petra oe 5 aioe gente a Beene ss, 6 nes tiweta te. Dribettawe ym etc kG. ek enereaen RUMMY Be og 22 6 PA WdeRADUELAIJCNN, mua bal Ne cteh Leia: 2 oe MR Ce ed if Departure from Ma‘aén........ PE Ee Oh PRD. 5 oe en eee 9 The Lowland of al-Gafar....... ee tet es Pe eo asie -OF 10 AOU ico eCOMASUISeODU cAI Ty An enema ie, sete er eee Ld. The Hwétat, the Beni Sahr, and the Turkish Government... 13 ApUshte|Matecomna Woes Cam perme eek te) eet he ee 14 At Alte enna. Gere renee a ence ete 44 WLC WaRL CONTE DACP Bae iy eas, Tran: tee chee WAS eee nd Se hat 45 Ale batraecos Dire Hada bam anew te cic, eatin sate eere ne tp newness 48 Dike odabe LO stoeahUinsnOlreelamimniads petra cme nn eee 51 Kuinceorenammadstocai-L OMe}]Ma eta ener es wegen 56 Liga B-HOMEIMAST ORA TI“ ATCA BAY gi ee sens ntact 62 Al-Lomejmaetomtlarmval-Merseds iene «Cee oak: beele wash) ah eas 62 Harnteal-Mersedutotal-Knenesl)] jeme mim ee nad, pon fea on 67 PVI-KnNenesiijerlOrai=W ALAK AL ye eA ate udp co Ney SeeIAR etek we: fal PALS Wala ant \aZ-/1 JC} Cua wcll? tag ein am. eee TR ches My a, Suc de 74 Az-Zjejke to the Rift Valley of al-"Araba at Rigm al-Fazh .. 78 Re Fea ge 2M NWA altel esi ieee W le Nay CN co AUPE Ne Le Wee ae we des 81 LVARAT AIGA BASDOSMAD LAIN wee Mi cia ec) ten Me mene Meee era + tn 88 PISA ADA SLOMLLAK teen ele Ate eect y eer LCSD it) see ienee 88 Hakisto se Wilnas-Sipy. cya g tytn. eee nee eae rrr MM” Tk cs 94 ‘Ehyias-Sirre to: these 10) of. al-Misma’ yee. en atic pce. 97 The Setb of al-Misma’ into Wadi al-Abjaz.. ............. 101 onthe huinssotenawriet... .orcuee areas Pabst os MR LES Se aS 105 Ate MACIAN 5 whee aie: Rakaly, Cate STRESS tee ace aT aii aay Ot pee LOO vi THE NORTHERN HEGAZ CHAPTER PAGE V MADIAN TO-THE OASIS*OF SARMA.) 73 9655.0) eee i VA Al-Malkatato*al=Hra DG aac 2 yecm ver tae onan een ee Salva! Atal-Hrajbe@t ie. % U2 niece ccs sete etter ae ee Was The Hwétat at-Tihama and the Turkish Government....... 12 Topography of Region between Sarma and Bada’.......... 132 To (Sarma wi Eee ee ae et ee ne a 137 VI THE OASIS OF SARMA TO TEBUK BY WAY OF AL- RARR 2 ein Se ee ae eg es ae) Ge ee 139 Sarma.to the Crest of the al-Geles Range. 73.2). 2 ee 139 TovansN & emcee ne pee een Sa te 147 An-Na.emi-to, Naka=Kemajeing, ver wee ect) ae ee 151 Nakay Kemajem: to®perka—-d-Dime7Zist ey ego ee 154 Berka’-d-Dimez to. Lebtikiee coca) eee a eee rae ee 159 Sojourn .at Tebtike fey yey, 2 ee ace nie ae oe ee eee 161 TepOk el Ae ee Sa ee en ee Saree mame ahec en Se 167 VII TEBUK TO WADI AL-GIZEL BY WAY OF RWAFA...... 1s Departuresfrom 2? Lebukvegy ee ee eee ity AIZW ejned ‘to S-Se] iris anne ee ee one tee Memes he 173 AS-Sejjersto Harnival-Waharnitige pee ere eee eee ee 178 Harm al-Faham to the Se%b of Retame; Rwafa............ 184 Retame-to’ ar-Rkejky aca et ere ne ce ee eee ino Basinvot.ar-Rkejk-to.az- Zubair ee 194 AZ-Zurpanto “A DUA SaAWTA: baat eee ieee te ee eae ae 198 The Se%b of Abu Sawra to Rice al- Fased Op Cattle) Age) eg ee 202 Rigm al-Fased to Wadi al-Gizel; Attacked by the Beli. ...206 WaAdinal Gizel ey amare | rela wate PE Ses EN EN 211 VIII RETURN FROM WADI AL-GIZEL TO TEBUK BY WAY OF AL-MU‘AZZAM....... ET OT ONS hee ee Jen A are 213 Through al-Gaw into Harrat Ae ‘Awérez ee a ha es Acety ees PAs Through Harrat al- “Awérez toather Railway see eee eee 219 The Se toeof al-Hakactoal-Hamic tree ee eee 224 Al-Hamis=to Hsem Birkin. ASAD nse res, hoe aeeteno: 229 HsemeBirk to lebuky 91. sate bo Up te Wena eae ee a 230 At Tebtk; the Beni Se eS ORR ee eee Mn! 234 Return tosMa anaes cs Se, Ai ae ane See gegen ce eee 237 APPENDIX ‘ L.MMASAN GA ND EMA ONG eet ee cer oe ae Mig ee Pe eeAD Metin ‘and+Ma on of the Bible: 7) 1.5.0)... Wye Salle Se NS 243 Arabic; Authorsson wa alee ae eee ee ee nee eee Tl THE: CAND? OR MUS mane ee .or Ri one teach eee bee “ene4e LOMAN 2 pe cree See oo Sata La eer ee RETR ct ee ae 249 suah; Na amas-and Biz... eee ee ee Vt Al Ill SEIR, AS-SERA’, AND THE NORTHERN FRONTIER OF THE HEGAZ. 25 aoe) pot O14 LR Ree eae . 252 pearcandsas-Seras. ieee hs, AW, ahs co, 2 ene _.1 252 CONTENTS vil APPENDIX PAGE ill IV XIII XIV SE‘IR, AS-SERA’, AND THE NORTHERN FRONTIER OF THE HEGAZ (continued) PneeNorthermauronticrnOl Lhe; Herazsemmen 9: jon en cee ee 255 FEA Faas VCALSRCT THiS op tee ack ot woe emer Suns ocean ater a 259 Eee SO. Ee 1A 1) ieee ere aan Ramee RR REE ee ST 262 AMSG oT OMU MOTO AMS MO TOP SO UPTURN io Ses ys tr oe Oe Poe Ee 267 PYLON yp vaLowvLOun besInale OF. bl Ol Cage nen ewan 267 Hromie vlounts sinalatonvie i mtream Zalrede ws arate cee 269 MOUNT IRAM AND THE ARABS OF THE BIBLE........ 213 Tole eAie AUN @A ND SPAR A Niece of an ennai 2 ae UN a 275 THE CITY OF MADIAN, THE MADIANITES, AND THE MOUNAING OF} GOD. oe. he eS Ray eer eT in Ra 278 LOM CLL Var O lig VLC AT Siete oie ee Orc ak Pee a et eR ine Bi 278 heebripe tote anigng 40 to i, eek nears oleae rare 282 ne pisses ©o fe Madian Siete a ca arene Bie ha erate Oe on. oe 285 The Madianite Clans of Biblical and Assyrian Records... ..287 Seba’*or (Saba; the Sabaeans 2. gi..3) qe 2. 2. ae Pe 288 Paya p DAV rata ace mice en, Sn sa ga eM Ac tae ene S:8 et) Badatitee eee ee ieee hee aes gee se Once te otal fas 290 Ha Liem Bees cinch csc, Rolie RRR eee ee poths Pika ale et ae 290 Tdibadifore At bere] boao. v2 co tere ereaane re ae en 291 SL CLTVitl Ch Deere aed 1 PE Ct A mah come eke EGR oak st, ria 291 ibadidigorsA picasa, 18 RRA, Se Cea eia FON ne eae ead Se fy only WIAYSIIN Glin Sates ee ee Rae a res fee sce a, Le, 292 Ocnerevi Adi an tem it DOS wears strane. can er eer near nee | 293 DedanszoreWajdan ee ee a oe ete. eg green a Wess, Nha e EO eatin 2 2938 NOLBROGWAGEC WIRY? «vec / gmt ha hed eC AE RS Oo te a tiWe! ORME ORIE Je, INOS SS Het Vee ee 296 hes OUrita itis Ole OCs ari mas oc a et te eee tend, 296 A TRELE.G ROG Ml ener eg eee gata ion eS ork Ok ete ltt 299 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ ACCORDING TO THE CLAS- LCA [aA Nae ATR GRA LEH © RS Rewer cc center teat tieur 302 The Coast and Islands of the Northern Hegaz.............802 Classical Authorities on the Northern Hegaz .............. 309 AGRO dC ROSE TOD ead Ope Wl AW ieee ait I ae Ue ga et era a See 313 ESB Uy Kee ee ee Oca ea ea To eh ta pot Panty ttl gehen 318 THE PILGRIM ROUTE FROM EGYPT . Sek MRM CRAIN id: OE oe Hi S21 eb ee elGiiMekO LDH RO Me tDANLA SG Us ne. .be eee ees 326 BIBETO GUAR EL Yc see ey ep wee ria ee Ree pt teers Ware: Niele ae hee 335 INDEX sea fees ee Por pings se 349 | _ a OMOAONMHEWN FH LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE Mapeon. Ma angand. en vil Onssaana eee ae, ieee 0 ies ern 3 iThesdolmensoted DUgeA CATeiive «2s. 14 oe See ee ee LG Eworaolmencasoutn OL Labtar Mini Wasa. wa unseen 6 cee cuban 31 TubejzcalvAtaretromeathe westcmian oc 8 aerate Memmi en lreanarie, We 32 Basoiassoriresse1 roms thersoutneastin.. 7) aie mie tee Pan ee 40 Pasdiaiufortress, interior. seit. eeu rns ct aheaeteenn nits Nt eee a 40 Rain: pooleote has ate eee? es ear ala earn a ae Al From al-Hdejb looking southeast, south, and southwest......... 42 Bijate Weisel eal=Batvauey wets. | ke vas kane RE mete ck a 46 Bijare(wellstot )s al-Batraderg osanesne Paes tie eR ee Pees, eae: 46 Plansor Roman, wWalcntowereal- ba tla eo nee cre er oe ee AT Ramsrote Ummeat.Telageus itl a) es a ennet te ears esi ale se le 49 Bron A jneburkat looking anorthies wrecpeea tee od ett ees okt! Bromsal-Helwat looking enortn yee en (reeset oar ee tensa) Seare ake We 57 Eromeal-Helwaelooking esOutiiven eae serie he peeneeinte eek id ogee i! From al-Homejma looking toward the range of Reet ewe vee 58 Eromeal-Homejmaslooking ssouth tyes. eee eee 8 ees oe ase 59 An “Alawi and our guide........... SIT AR bs en Sg 2 aees0) Ale Kwerd: cTOmMetnGs CAST. ait soli Aoinuenne. Monomaen state ela ty a a 63 Alekwerantrom, the fsoucneas tan wane ee ee Mee Ooi anes kn paves 63 Invtheshomanycamp,4l-Kwerdusaomnge wee. Sane emo eeue % fee oo aclyew 64 Harme(derilé on) sal-Mersed a. tiga etme ats oe tise onl eek aie 67 A ZEAE IKON > Mila etity ag 06 SICK y ome Bw er pes ia 8 Hes habe age” ane Cee a EO va PW sab ag th SA la bl cegncmrey “eee ipacs 9 Aer ON lela Coan HR iO eT Mo ee Meee ae Cen 75 Mouritealei kassebagsee ton inten pee tie Renee toners Re ee ste cae Soc Tad Krommnicm ai-haznslookin@enorthensts 5 selene era oe ATA Kap awe roms LN CANOLCH vsndein st ca ema cnr ee AP ie wih Sats age chahvenrice Pe 82 The stronghold of al-‘Akaba from the northeast..... ow tee. NOO AlaAKADa tne northeastern elOWenn (eye teenie at eter Rares Bisetbe velo tee Alle: ae Nee te et Re Ree Oe at eh ar, ceva a a 89 PAkabateAlia.swatcntower, Oledicbrejo: g.se ne yee a ey ee Sica ae, 90 PL ACeTrOMs. CN eRCAST cit nue thet ting RHO Pn icq Inne MAST Md occ aNeD. 92 OUTEO TT COSILOErE Opens tae cern anne neIAe Woe arn ie kN eh ce ee nd 98 Samm rae) UMADeLeOniretnean ren Wes tisthe site tne cakerna a iiss lc G. Penne 104 Hromeka edan shavers looking northeast. oom ke eee ee, 106 Prono cdanwnaper looking «southeast wan. es ih enn y ghee ae Sane 107 CO TEP UL CRA CRA DOC St, Ser veem GI ee Loh Aone etn 4d les 108 Map of the site of ancient Madian........ AS TOR is Pee been WE 110 Trimtheenecro polis Madians remote oF cor Seamed hates teen aol ine Ingiheonecropolisss Viatianteae see ne ne eek tee aN Mee eo, bc Lk]. Injthesnecropolis.-)ladian= 64.02 oeee A Teeth pit ool Orde see ile al FPN es TODDETSplIMaN net nase Deen ne Grote ete eae ee a ey Avsenulcher ss Madtan wera cu, Gah vce ee teune mee ee a ean Dee ee Be ae 113 Plansotaarsepulchera Viadialie sie. cu eee kt Be eee ees Ps, 114 Rlankotya. sepulchermMadian. 4.0 2Meiaw ce an ee ey tks hanes 114 x THE NORTHERN HEGAZ FIG PAGE AG: Plan ofa sepul cher mMadinnwee sree tek ai ce Ret ee ee Saris ATs Interior Of a sepulchermiyaniatieme ct we kits och a, ee ee Oe able 48. (Avsepulcher, (Madiangre a. ager aveeeee ce eM ow el 115 49‘ Avsepulcher;*Madtariie 2a eon taeeee iss mene tert ako We, Von apne se 116 50 "Around“theyspring ys evn Ky Ulisaeic ie an ery ee ee 167 65 The eastern extremity of the oasis of Tebtik from the north ...169 66° "AltEMedarig et ee a Le Pee ee ee ee 173 ov Ancient-grave near these 7b These two Wad‘a hills and their neighborhood recall the region of Mawdt‘, which Jakut (1224 A. D.), Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), Vol. 4, p. 678, and Abu-l-Farag al-Isfahani (Ardni [Balak, 1285 A. H.], Vol. 9, pp. 148—149) locate in the territory of the Beni Murra belonging to the tribe of Ratafan. It was there that the valiant warrior Hirm ibn Demdem al-Murri used to dwell. — The surrounding district of al-Wad‘a once belonged to the Beni Murra, the warrior’s kindred. In the poem quoted, the name was changed to Mawdit‘ for the sake of the preceding rhyme, hugi‘. 12 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ cially if they are passing over a plain where they need not avoid stones. At 9.52 we arrived at the Se%b of a8-Sidijje, in the hollow of which we encamped, now being north of the railway station of Bir aS-Sidijje (or Bir aS-Sedijje). On Friday, May 27, 1910, after a peaceful night, we set out at 4.15 A.M. in a southeasterly direction through a re- gion covered with coarse sand of a dark-gray, almost black, color and cut by numerous twisting sevbdan, broad but shallow. These watercourses are the only places in which annuals and perennials can thrive. But the valleys are not entirely covered with plants, and it is only in their lower portions that one can observe clumps of various kinds of vegetation. Here and there bushes and low talh® trees project above the brushwood. At 5.30 A.M. we crossed the Se%b of al-Makmi and im- mediately afterwards ‘ASaS abu Radir. To the east we spied a rider on a camel. Scarcely had the negro Salem caught sight of him when he called to one of the Bedouins who were accom- panying us. Whereupon they threw aside their outer garments, loaded their rifles, and started off in pursuit of the unknown rider. Seeking cover among the high slopes, they endeavoured to cut him off. The rider, observing us, came to a moment- ary standstill, but immediately afterwards disappeared not far from a high pile of stones heaped upon the hill above, which indicated the position of the well of al-Marmak. After a short interval we again caught sight of the man fleeing from Salem and his companion. When they caught up with him Salem flung him from his camel and rode up to us with the captured animal. It was 6.08 A. M. when he returned. After a while the plundered rider came running up to us and asked for his camel. He was a Sarari, or member of the tribe of Sararat, which occupies the inhospitable territory north of the oasis of Tejma. As the Sararat cannot obtain enough sustenance in their own territory, they associate with the tribes of the Hwetat, Beni Sahr, and especially with the Rwala, to whom they pay tribute. No one holds them in great esteem, and the Bedouins number them among the dishonorable Arab tribes. Salem, being the negro of a chief, only laughed at the Sarari and refused to return his camel to him. When I urged Salem not to torment the poor fellow any more, he declared that he would restore the camel to its owner but not until he reached the chief’s 6 Latin equivalents and brief characterizations of many Arabic botanical terms ap- pearing in the text are given in the index. MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 13 camp. He would ride there on it and would lend his own camel to his acquaintance, a settler from Ma‘an, who had been proceed- ing on foot. The Sarari made no objection to this arrangement, happy in the thought that he would not lose his animal. From 6.08 to 7.85 our camels grazed (temperature: 16.8° C). The negro Mhammad recounted to me how the chief ‘Awde abu Tajeh had plundered the Sararat early in May. During the rainy season he had been encamped with his clans at Tubejk al-Hamar and Tubejk al-‘Afar; that is, in the territory which belongs to the Sararat, with whom he was on the most friendly terms. When all the ponds of rain water dried up at the end of April, “‘Awde with his Hwetat proceeded northward into his own territory. The Sararat, who had been his friends hither- to, desired to go with him, but ‘Awde attacked one of their divisions, robbed it of all its herds, and proclaimed war on the whole tribe. When I remarked that I should not have ex- pected such conduct from ‘Awde, Mhammad replied: “The Sara- rat are our magazine, mahzan, which we empty whenever we please. If we want war, then we have war with them, if we want peace, then we force them to make peace.”’ At the time of my journey several clans of the Sararat had remained at at-Tubejk; others had made their way to the se%b of Hedreg and the depression of Sirhan, whence they were making in- roads into the territory of the Hwetat, robbing the latter of their flocks. THE HWETAT, THE BENI SAHR, AND THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT The majority of the Hwétat clans were encamped between Ma‘an and al-Bsejra—that is west of the railway — and only three clans with ‘Awde abu Tajeh were still grazing their herds south- east of Ma‘an. Even they were already on the march west- ward to the territory of the settlers who till the soil, where they desired to obtain grain necessary for themselves and their horses. Within the next fourteen to twenty days they wished to strike out toward the southwest and west of Ma‘an, so that after that time the region between Ma‘an and the depression of Sirhan would be stripped of all camps and would form the seat of war between the Hwetat and their enemies. The latter included the Beni Sahr as well as the Sararat. The Beni Sahr and the Hwétat have no strictly defined frontiers, and when 14 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ in the territory of the settlers both tribes often lay claim to the same settlements and exact payment from the same settlers. This proceeding generally results in skirmishes. The Turkish Government many times endeavored to reconcile the two tribes. At the time of the harvest, when they were both en- camped in the territory of the settlers, the governor would summon the chiefs and exhort them to make peace, threat- ening that he would not pay the money due to them for the protection of pilgrims until peace was concluded. Several chiefs of the Beni Sahr and the Hwétat would proceed to the mutasarref at al-Kerak and agree to everything that he demanded; whereupon the authorities at Damascus and Constantinople would be informed that peace had been con- cluded between the tribes encamped along the Pilgrim Route. But this peace concluded by the Government did not last long. The Bedouins would say: “We did not conclude peace of our own free will, but it was the Government who forced us to do so (ad-dowle aslahatna),’ and would continue merrily to steal the flocks. Then the Hwetat would send a message to the muta- sarref: “To please the Government we concluded peace with the Beni Sahr, but they are disturbing the peace (amm beni sahr klobow).” The chiefs of the Beni Sahr would directly contradict their enemies and lay all the blame on the Hwetat. As the Hwetat were waging war both with the Beni Sahr and with the Sararat and Sammar, who were encamped northeast, east, and southeast of Ma‘an, it was clear that I should not be able to use Chief ‘Awde’s camp as a start- ing point from which to explore the territory of as-Sawwan, which extends between al-Gafar and the depression of Sir- han. As our only guide would in that case have belonged to the Hwetat, we should have fallen a prey to one of the enemy marauding parties; in which case we might have lost not only all our equipment but our lives as well. Mhammad comforted me, saying: “Do not be afraid, Chief. If Allah is well disposed to thee, thou wilt not perish (elja hajjark allah RAT OURS Be! ABU RTEJMAT TO ‘AWDE’S CAMP At 8 A. M. we crossed the combined Se%b of Abu Rtej- mat and of Abu ‘Alejdijjat and ascended a slight elevation that divides this channel from that of the Abu ‘Amid val- MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 15 ley. At 8.28 we caught sight of a large troop of riders mount- ed on camels, proceeding from the north in a westerly di- rection. We at once forced our camels to their knees and watched the riders. But they were not visible from the ground, and it was impossible to keep our binoculars steady when we were in the saddle as the focus changed at the least movement of the camels. We therefore urged our mounts on, doing our utmost to reach the se%b of Abu ‘Amid as quickly as possible. There we should have a better chance of con- cealing ourselves from the strange riders who we feared might be a troop of the Sararat on the lookout for herds belonging to the Hwetat. We remained in Abu ‘Amtd until nine o’clock. The se%b begins under the name of al-MSas in the territory of al- Kdtr near the pilgrims’ station Kal‘a Fas06‘a, and it joins with the se%b of al-Makmi near the rain wells of al-Marmak, and lower down with aSs-Sidijje on the left and al-Math on the right. It forms the border of the al-Kbejda hills and ends at the wells Kulban al-Gafar. An old road runs along the right side of the lower part of this se%b, past the rain wells of al-Marmak to the wells Kulban al-Gafar and con- tinues northward between the se%b of “Ajrijje and that of Abu Tlejha.‘ At 9.20 A. M. we sighted a grove of talh trees on the north, with the rain wells of al-Marmak close by. These wells are about two meters deep and hold water for two to three years following a heavy rain. North of al-Marmak rise the tabular hillocks, al-Kbejda, which, enveloped by vapors, re- sembled a big isolated tent. We were now passing through the plain of a&-Subejée, which is covered with coarse, brown gravel, in which a good rain helps the plant semh to thrive. Semh, which grows thickly and has a short but very disjointed root topped with an umbel as wide as a human palm, never exceeds four centimeters in height. The small sprigs and leaves are yellowish green, soft, gelatinous; the blossoms, tiny and white. The Sararat, Beni Sahr, and the inhabitants of the oasis of al-Gowf gather the ripe semh into bags, and when these are filled they beat them 7 Abu Sama, Rawdatejn (Cairo, 1287-1288 A. H.), Vol. 2, p. 6, writes that as long as the Crusaders held sway at al-Kerak the journey from Syria to Egypt was made by way of Bosra, al-Azrak, al-Gafar, and Ajla. — Bosra is a well-known town in the southern Hawran; al-Azrak, a fortress at the northern end of the depression of Sirhan; Ajla, a harbor on the Red Sea, now known as al-‘Akaba. From its situation, the old al-Gafar must be identical with our al-Gafar. 16 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ with sticks and stones to separate the seed pods. Then, shak- ing the bags till the pods fall to the bottom, they remove the husks, throw the seeds into some rain pool, and wait pa- tiently for the moisture to open the pods, thereby causing the seed to drop out. Throwing away the now worthless pods, they pick out the seeds, which they dry and preserve for food. The seeds are eaten either roasted or boiled; they are also ground into flour for bread. At 10.49 we crossed the head of the se%b of al-Math, where talh trees grow plentifully. The terebinth and sidr, on the other hand, will not thrive southeast of Ma‘an. At 12.35 P. M. we rode across the water- course, Ammu Mil, which rises in the southwest from the long hill- side al-Cabd that stretches south- eastward. This hillside forms the watershed between the plains of al- TOD eT hese mentor Abe Gafar on the north and of as-Sabha “AgAarem. or Sabha Sorar on the south. From 1.10 to 2.35 we rested in the se%b of al-Gehdanijje, where our camels found good pasture in some of the low spots. These spots are called rowze by the Hwetat, while they give the name of hamdd to bare gray sur- faces (temperature: 30°C). At 3.28 we perceived on our left a dolmen about two meters high, known as Abu ‘Agarem, rising above a large artificial reservoir (Fig. 2). Before long we saw a number of tents to the east, two of which were supported by two main poles, whereas the remainder rested on one pole only. The small triangular tents are called hardbis, while the tent with two or more main poles is known as bejt. The negro Mhammad at once informed me that the tents must belong either to members of the Sararat or the Beni ‘Atijje, as the Hweétat have no hardbis tents. For sev- eral years the Beni ‘Atijje have lived at peace with the Hwetat, and their head chief Harb eben ‘Atijje was a faith- ful friend of “Awde abu Tajeh. Mhammad added that he be- lieved that we saw before us the camp of a Beni ‘Atijje clan. Nor was he wrong. On asking for news of Chief ‘Awde, we were informed that he was camping somewhere near MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 17 the seib of al-Mnawah, if he had not already proceeded farther on to the rain pond Habra Minwa’. Changing our direction somewhat to the east-northeast, we hurried over a bare, undulating plain covered with coarse eravel until we reached the se%b in question. At about five o’clock we perceived on a broad elevation a long row of black spots which vanished for a while in the brown atmospheric layer and then reappeared. Gradually these spots increased in size, remained more firmly in their places, and were trans- formed into a row of tents. It was the camp of ‘Awde abu Tajeh. Mhammad recognized the chief’s tent from afar and we made our way towards it. AT THE CAMP OF ‘AWDE ABU TAJEH Several men came out of their tents and stared at us inquisitively. The chief’s tent was open towards the east, so the men’s division was located in its southern portion as the men’s division is always to the right. Turning towards it, we rode round the long tent ropes and ordered our camels to kneel at about thirty paces south of the tent. “‘Awde, ac- companied by several younger chiefs, came towards me, em- braced and kissed me, and led me into his tent, where he assigned me to the place of honor north of the fire near the partition that divides the men’s and women’s quarters. I sat down on a small rug and rested my left arm on a pile of small cushions. ‘Awde sat at my right on a long carpet which was spread out alongside the back wall of the tent. My two companions, Tuman and Rif‘at, sat on the carpet with him. Our baggage was left outside, in care of the servant Serif. The tent was crowded with more than fifty persons who greeted me one by one. When the greetings were concluded, “Awde beckoned to a negro who was boiling coffee and tea over the fire, whereupon we were each served three times with several drops of black coffee and a cup of sweetened tea. Just then a rifle shot resounded behind the camp, caus- ing all the youths present to leap up, arms in hand, and rush out in the direction of the shot. After a while they re- turned, announcing that there was no trouble, the shot hav- ing been fired by a mischievous herdsman. I was surprised to see that each man had a cartridge belt slung around his body and that even when they were sitting in the tent they 18 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ all kept their rifles in their hands. The chief himself wore two cartridge belts which contained about a hundred and forty rounds of ammunition. Later I discovered that ‘Awde and his men were fearful that they would be attacked by a kindred clan with whom they had had some dispute on the pre- vious Wednesday. Returning from a raid, a relative of “Awde had stolen a camel from a Sarari, a protege of another rel- ative. The plundered Sarari hastened to his protector and asked him to have the lost animal restored. But all endeavors proved vain. It was impossible to recover the stolen camel. The protector then lodged a charge against his kinsmen with the judges of the Hwéetat tribe, and they decided that the camel was to be restored immediately to the Sarari. But “Awde’s kinsmen would not comply with the court’s decree. Thereupon ‘Awde called together his negroes and cousins, proceeded to the tent of his obstinate relative, and requested him to return the camel at once, as he would otherwise take it by force. The relative and his family began to abuse and threaten the chief and his companions: a shot was fired and one of those accompanying the chief fell dead to the ground. ‘Awde fired his rifle, inflicting a mortal wound on his re- lative’s son. Further fighting was prevented by the more prudent men, who surrounded both parties and urged them to make peace. One of ‘Awde’s negroes led the stolen camel away and returned it to the Sarari. As one man had been killed on either side, the score was even; but the relative from whom the camel had been taken declared that he would not endure such injustice and departed with his whole clan to the settlement of Ma‘an in order to seek help against ‘Awde. As ‘Awde did not know whether his offended relatives with other opponents would attack him, he commanded his men to equip themselves and set up a guard all around his camp. Only about fifty tents were left with him, but in case of danger he hoped to receive assistance from his friend, the chief Harb eben ‘Atijje, who was encamped not far off. Toward evening, when the camels had returned from the pasture, “Awde ordered a fat old she-camel (fdter) to be slaughtered in our honor. The evening meal was not ready until midnight. The boiled camel’s flesh was heaped up on a Shallow dish one meter in diameter and filled with rice. Four slaves brought the dish in and placed it before me. ‘Awde invited me, my European friends, and three other chiefs MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 19 to commence eating. A young slave poured a little water on the fingers of our right hands, we drew around the dish, sat down on our left heels, took up the rice with pieces of meat, and with three fingers of our right hands kneaded it into mouthfuls which we swallowed almost without chewing. Our native companions thrust into their mouths pieces of food larger than hens’ eggs and after about four minutes had eaten their fill and, holding their right hands over the dish, waited for us to satisfy our hunger. As soon as we had fin- ished, we all rose and went to our places. Rif‘at and Taman, my European companions, whispered to me that they were hungry. After us, ‘Awde invited the second row, then the third; and when the meat and rice were eaten up he had the dish filled for the fourth time, so that nothing remained of the whole camel save a mere heap of bones, which were gnawed at by some of the poor Sararat. After midnight we left the tent and went to our baggage, where we lay down to rest. RIDE TOWARD HABRA MINWA’ Early on Sunday morning, May 28, 1910, ‘Awde brought me two camels, and, shortly after, the other chiefs also ar- rived with camels, so that we were supplied with a sufficient number of animals for mounts and as baggage carriers. ‘Awde informed me that we should proceed in a northerly direction in order to approach the rain pond Habra Minwa’. The Hwetat struck their tents, loaded them on the camels, and waited for the chief. Almost all the other tents were already disposed of, but his still remained untouched. Though ‘Awde shouted abusive words at his slaves, no one listened to him, so he was finally reduced to pulling out the poles and rolling up the tent himself. He was then joined by his people, who packed up his supplies and tent; at 5.30 we moved off. There was no order on the march. Each one rode or drove his camel however and wherever he wished. ‘Awde was continually avoiding the pack camels, turning off first to the right and then to the left in order to keep clear of the throng. At first I rode with him, as I wished to discuss various mat- ters; but we had scarcely begun to talk before some ragged servant or herdsman would thrust his camel between us, fol- lowed by a second and a third rider, compelling us to ride 20 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ round them in order to rejoin each other. The same thing happened to the other chiefs who joined ‘Awde. FAWZAN ON THE HWETAT Seeing that it would be impossible during the march to talk to ‘Awde undisturbed, I joined a camel merchant named Fawzan as-Sabek, who was followed by his servants driving more than two hundred animals that he had purchased. This herd, as well as the servants, protected us from the trouble- some Hwetat. Fawzan, a man about forty years of age, had a good- natured, dark face, with expressive eyes, and he conducted himself very quietly and modestly. He had bought the camels on behalf of an acquaintance of mine, the rich camel-dealer Mhammad eben Bassam, by whom he had been warmly re- commended to me. When I expressed my surprise that the Hwetat observed no order either in camp or on the march, Fawzan said that the Hwetat were not genuine camel-breed- ers but that they belonged to the Ahl ad-Dire, who breed sheep and goats, and that, in fact, many of them were mere tillers of the soil. The Hwétat, he declared, had no head chief, so that any chief who was in charge of more than ten tents acted in complete independence, declared war, and concluded peace with whom he liked, regardless of the other clans and families. This independence was supported by the Turkish Government in the case of all the tribes encamped along the railway between Damascus and the Hegaz, as the authorities considered that it was easier to subjugate scat- tered tribes and mutually warring clans, than if they were subordinated to a single head chief. But this policy was not altogether correct; for if any move was set on foot against the Government, all the scattered clans would unite at once and rally round the chief who happened to be acting against the Government. If, on the other hand, the Government wished to obtain something from the tribes, desiring, for example, to count their herds so as to fix the amount of their taxes, or if it was searching for flocks stolen from the settlers, it had nobody to support and assist it in carrying out its in- tentions. There was no head tribal chief, and the numerous petty chiefs would take flight with their flocks, or join the chiefs of neighboring tribes who were under no obligation MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 21 to keep watch on them or to supply the Government with reports concerning them. Thus the Government never suc- ceeded in achieving what it set out to do. Of course, it would call upon this or that chief, enjoining him to collect taxes on his herds or to find out what had become of stolen flocks; but in such cases the chief generally would plead disobe- dience on the part of his subordinates, or would announce that they had left him and that he did not even know where they were encamped. These statements were true and could be corroborated by numerous witnesses. In the autumn, when these tribes used to penetrate more deeply into the desert, they would again rally round their chief and remain with him until the end of May or the beginning of June. Then they would return to the frontier of the cultivated territory under Government jurisdiction, separating and scattering again in order to evade the governmental demands. During this season they would rob and plunder in the villages sub- ordinated to the Government. The peasants who had been robbed often enough recognized the plunderer and reported him to the Government, which would then send his chief a written order that the culprit be produced immediately with his booty. But the chief, supported by witnesses, would as- sert that the culprit was not encamped with him and that he did not know where he was to be found. Meantime, the lawbreaker had packed up his tent and departed with his booty to join another chief, to whom he would give a share of the plunder remaining with him, safe in the knowledge that he would not be reported. Even when a whole tribe engaged in a raid on Government territory, the Government was unable to discover the culprits. In March, 1908, a band of the Hwetat attacked the large settlement of Salamja, situated southeast of Hama’, and made off with about twenty horses and a hundred and sixty camels. All these animals were branded with the mark of the inhab- itants of Salamja, yet the Government was unable to dis- cover a single one of them. The victims complained to the Government that they had been robbed by the Hwetat, who were under the control of the chiefs ‘Awde abu Tajeh and ‘Ar‘ar eben Gazi. The Government requested the two chiefs to restore the stolen animals and then sought to imprison them; but both ‘Ar‘ar and ‘Awde were able to prove that they had not taken part in the raid. ‘Ar‘ar had been detained 22 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ at the settlement of Ma‘an at that ‘particular time, and ‘Awde produced twenty witnesses, all of whom swore that the chief had not left his camp either in February or March, 1908. The kagymakam at Ma‘an therefore informed the authorities at Damascus that he could punish neither ‘Awde nor ‘Ar‘ar for what had been done by other chiefs who, moreover, were recognized by the Government as independent and not ac- countable to the two leaders accused. The inhabitants of Sal- amja sent four men into the environs of Ma‘an to find out which chiefs were looking after the animals stolen from them. The investigators reported five petty chiefs to the Govern- ment at Ma‘an, but the chiefs mentioned did not put in an appearance, preferring to proceed farther into the desert. In the summer of 1909 two men from Salamja were again stay- ing at Ma‘an and reiterated their complaints. In reply to a fresh summons by the kajymakam, the accused chiefs arrived with numerous witnesses, who all asserted that they had, indeed, had the stolen camels with them, but that these animals did not belong to them, being the property of stran- gers who were now encamped somewhere with the Beni ‘Atijje or with the Sararat. So the inhabitants of Salamja did not recover a single horse or a single camel. Yet I personally bought from Fawzan a young she-camel which bore the mark of the settlers at Salamja, and I was informed that in ‘Awde’s camp there were twenty-eight such camels and six horses. The Hwetat laughed not only at the foolish settlers of Sal- amja, but also at the unwise Government. If the Hwetat had had a single head chief and the Government had effectively supported him, he could have controlled the chiefs under him and thus preserved order. But he would, of course, have had to stand in awe of the Government, knowing that obedience would be forced from him if he did not fulfill its wishes voluntarily. EBEN SA‘UD AND EBEN RASID From the autumn of 1909 to March, 1910, Fawzan had been residing in the Neégd, in the territory of the Princes Eben Saud and Eben Rasid. He explained that during the last few years there had been very little rain in the region of Eben Sa‘ud, in consequence of which expeditions against Prince Sa‘ud eben RaSid had suffered. During the last rainy MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA : 23 season Prince ‘Abdal‘aziz eben Sa‘tid had been encamped within the area of al-Hasa. The minister, Zamel eben Sub- han, regent for Sa‘td eben RasSid who had not yet attained his majority, had concluded peace with Prince ‘Abdal‘aziz and had established his authority among the Sammar and among the inhabitants of the various settlements in their territory, especially in the town of Hajel. In the environs of this town and, in fact, in the whole territory belonging to the Sammar, there had been a great abundance of rain during the last two years, so that there had been a great increase in the prosperity of the Sammar; and many of the smaller tribes who owed their allegiance to Eben Sa‘id had joined the Sammar for the simple reason that they sought pastures for their flocks. Many of the orthodox Moslems are said to have regarded the lack of rain in the territory of Eben Sa‘td as a punishment sent from Allah because Eben Sa‘td’s followers had joined the unbelievers and slaughtered the faithful child- ren of Mohammed. Fawzan declared that ‘Abdal‘aziz eben Saad would not be content until he had driven out Eben Rasid and occupied all the latter’s territory, including the town of Hajel. This would be an act of revenge, as Mhammad eben RaSid had once expelled ‘Abdal‘aziz’s father, ‘Abdar- rahman, from his residence at ar-Rijad and had established his deputy, or ‘dmel, there. The deputies of Eben Rasid had resided at ar-Rijad until the year 1902. At the end of 1901, Prince ‘Abdal‘aziz rode out from the town of al-Kwejt, where he had been dwelling with his father, ‘Abdarrahman. Accompanied by an escort of ten, he found adherents among the ‘Agman tribe, which was encamped in al-Hasa, and with them advanced toward ar-Rijad, where his ancestors had formerly resided. The inhabitants of this town hated ‘Aglan, the representative of Eben RasSsid, and longed for the return of the old ruling family. ‘Abdal‘aziz pitched his camp at a point about two hours’ journey from the town and, when night fell, led his men on foot under cover of darkness to the gardens. There he was awaited by the citi- zens who were favorably disposed towards him. They led him from the gardens into the town and after midnight they at- tacked the citadel which was the residence of ‘Aglan, whom they slaughtered with his friends. After the fall of the town of ar-Rijad, nearly all the remaining settlements acknowl- edged ‘Abdal‘aziz as their ruler, and in a short time he was 24 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ joined also by the Mtejr tribe. In the spring of 1906 Eben Rasid undertook a great raid on this tribe, attacked several of its camps, and drove away a goodly number of its herds. But just at that time Prince Eben Sa‘td was resting with a large body of troops only about two hours’ journey from the encampments which had been attacked; and he set out in pursuit of ‘Abdal‘aziz eben Rasid, who had started home with the booty. Overtaking his quarry, the pursuer ordered a small band to attack the raider and then to flee. The ruse was successful. Eben RaSid, who began to pursue the attack- ing band, was waylaid by Eben Sa‘td, completely surrounded, and slaughtered with all his men. After their leader’s death domestic warfare arose between the members of Eben Rasid’s tribes, and Eben Sa‘id took advantage of this to establish and extend his authority. AT ‘AWDBP’S CAMP NEAR HABRA MINWA’ While Fawzan was telling me of these events we were proceeding along a slightly undulating plain covered with coarse sand of a dark gray color, where grass and perennials grew only upon a few patches of hollow ground. The grass was al- ready parched, but the perennials were luxuriantly green. The watercourses are very broad and shallow and in places they al- most disappear. At 8.10 A.M. we reached a large patch of low ground thickly covered with perennials; and from all sides the Hwetat raised a clamor, demanding that ‘Awde should encamp there. I was surprised at this, for the Rwala never would have dared to shout at Prince an-Nuri or to decide when and where he was to pitch his camp. In reply to the shouting, ‘Awde announced that he would encamp by the rain pond of Minwa’, so as to have water close at hand; but his Hwétat increased their din and, when he refused to come to a standstill, they urged their camels to kneel down, flung the tents to the ground, shouting to their chief that he could ride on as far as he liked, but that they would encamp there. At 8.20 ‘Awde also halted and the Hwétat made a new encampment. ‘Awde came up behind me, sat down at my side, and we began to discuss the best way for me to reach the oasis of Tejma. But after a short while we were surrounded by about a hundred men and boys, who one after another asked all kinds of questions, threw my baggage and equipment into disorder, MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 25 and annoyed me by their obtrusiveness, until they heard the noise of the mortar in which a negro was crushing roasted coffee grains. This sound, so dear to every nomad, freed me from their unwelcome attentions. Forming a long line, they made their way into the tent, and those who could find no room inside sat down near the entrance, glad of an oppor- tunity even to smell the fragrance of the coffee, although the slave did not pour out a drop for them. At noon ‘Awde invited me to proceed with him to a point about fifty paces from the tent and shouted orders that no- body was to come near us. Squatting down, we began to talk about my journey. In ‘Awde’s opinion it was not possible to visit either Bajer or al-Hawsa. There were wells of spring water at both of these places, which were consequently the most important centers of water supply between the depres- sions of Sirhan and al-Gafar. Raiding bands proceeding from west to east, or vice versa, visit these wells. During the rainy season, when all the rain ponds are full of water so that the nomads can obtain a supply anywhere and need not search for wells of spring water, it is possible to explore the envi- rons of Bajer and al-Hawsa without great danger. But in sum- mer, when the rain ponds are dried up and every marauder is anxious to reach these wells, it is extremely dangerous to remain in their vicinity. The danger is all the greater when the surrounding tribes are waging war against each other, because then the bands of raiders never pass by the wells. ‘Awde explained that near al-Hawsa there are long under- ground passages called al-Kelwa. The entrance is very narrow, but the passages increase in breadth, so that they can be trav- ersed comfortably. ‘Awde said that when he was there he had carried a taper and his companions had lighted small bundles of dry brushwood, this illumination enabling them to penetrate the crooked underground passages for quite a long distance. One of these passages, he informed me, is several hundred paces long and consists of numerous spacious galleries, in the walls of which there are small recesses similar to berths. In some places it seems as if the walls had been artificially hewn out, although elsewhere they are rugged and rough. More to the south of al-Kelwa ‘Awde had seen three ruined towers (burg).° 8 Jakat, Mu'gam (Wistenfeld), Vol. 2, pp. 179 and 361, states that Hawsa’ is situated between Wadi al-Kura’ and the settlement of Tebtik. The Prophet is said to have encamped 26 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ I learnt from ‘Awde that for the past four months a Turk- ish garrison consisting of seven gendarmes had been sta- tioned in the oasis of Tejma. Tejma had formerly belonged to the domain of Eben Rasid, whose representative had re- sided there and kept order not only in the settlement itself, but also in the surrounding district, since the Fukara’ and al-Ajde clans of the Weld ‘Ali tribe of this neighborhood had paid tribute to Eben RaSid. When Eben RaSid’s power was overthrown, the Fukara’ and al-Ajde drove out his represent- ative and harassed the settlers. The latter sent a petition to Damascus, asking the Turkish Government to protect them; which the Government was able to do as far as the Fukara’ and al- Ajde were concerned, because both these clans were in the habit of encamping by the railway and used to obtain supplies, clothing, and money from the Government, upon which they were thus dependent. Their territory is very unproductive and they cannot provide themselves with grain and clothing except from Syria, hence from regions that were entirely under the control of the Turkish régime. If the Government had barred their access to Syria they would have died of hunger. As a result of a decree from Constantinople seven gendarmes were sent to the oasis of Tejma and later a strong military garrison was to be transferred there. I was anxious to pro- ceed from ‘Awde’s camp direct to Tejma in order to explore the regions of Tubejz al-‘Afar and Tubejz al-Hamar, as well as the oasis of Tejma itself and especially the burial ground of Zel° al-Rnejm. I therefore asked ‘Awde whether I might find a reliable guide in his camp. ‘Awde replied that there was in the camp a Fezir, or member of the clan of the Fu- kara’, who was well acquainted with the whole region and who could guide me safely. But he drew my attention to the fact that between the territory of the Fukara’ and his camp extended the regions belonging to the Sararat and Beni “Atijje, there on his march to TebGk, and in consequence a mosque of the same name was erected at the upper end of the passage of al-Hawsa’, the Mesged du al- Gife standing at the lower end of it. Ibn Ishak (died 768 A. D.) calls this place Hawda’. In his deseription Jakut is certainly thinking of our al-Hawsa’, although his Wadi al- Kura’ is either the famous southern WAdi al- Kura’, in which the maoder n settlement of al-‘Ela’ is situated, or the northern WaAadi al-Kura’ with the settlement of Dimat al-Gandal. It i is note- worthy that not a single mosque is recorded on the Prophet’s journey to Damat al-Gandal. Whether Mohammed actually reached our al-Hawsa’ on his march to Tebak or to Dtimat al- Gandal, it is impossible to prove; but this Hawsa’ is situated on the important junction of the routes from Syria to al-Medina and from Egypt to Irak, and it is possible that the mosque was erected there and dedicated to the Prophet. The mosque of Du al-Gife is perhaps identical with the ruins near Morejrat al-Fater, where ends the valley which one traverses on the way to_the wells of al-Hawsa’. Near Morejrat al-Fater the se%baén of Umm Girfejn and Ammu Gifejn come together, and their names perhaps contain the primitive sound of the word Gife. MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 27 from whom I should have to take a guide as well. He added that he was expecting a visit from the chief Harb eben ‘Atijje with whom I could discuss the matter. ; In the afternoon I was informed by the servant Serif that some of the Hwetat were demanding payment for the camels which ‘Awde had sent to Ma‘an for us. Mhammad, ‘Awde’s negro, claimed that all these camels belonged to the chief, who had received various gifts from me in return for the animals. But it turned out that ‘Awde had sent only one of his own camels, while the five others belonged to different members of the Hwétat, who were now asking the sum of six megidijjat ($5.40) for each and in addition a special gift to every guide. Before I had dealt with this awkward business, Fawzan came and asked me whether I could not offer ‘Awde a pair of bin- oculars as a gift. I replied that I needed my good binoculars for myself and my companions. Fawzan excused himself for having come to me, saying that it was the chief’s command and that the latter would like either a pair of binoculars or firearms or some other gifts. Realizing that “Awde would like the binoculars, the firearms, and the other gifts as well, I an- nounced my extreme regret at being unable to give him any- thing, as I had brought with me only absolute necessities, having left the gifts, the extra firearms and binoculars, among my stores at Ma‘an, whence they would follow me to Tebdak. However, as I should be very pleased to comply with the chief’s wishes, I would ask him to send one of his slaves to me at Damascus, where, after returning from my journey, I would give him everything that remained. If he did not wish to send to Damascus, then I would forward the things he asked for to his friend and brother, Prince an-Nutri eben Saillan, who would certainly deliver them to him in the in- terior of the desert. Fawzan went away and ‘Awde did not put in an appearance. It was after four o’clock in the afternoon when four men came riding up on camels to the chief’s tent. They were the chief Harb eben ‘Atijje with his retinue. Harb was about forty-two years old. The expression of his face revealed sagac- ity, but at the same time it aroused repugnance. He was a blood relative of “‘Awde, his mother being a sister of ‘Awde’s father, and he had married ‘Awde’s daughter. Harb announced that by the well of al-MSejtijje, northeast of the railway station of al-Mdawwara, his men had perceived a troop of 28 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ about three hundred on camels proceeding to the north or somewhat to the northwest. It was certain that they were enemies, but it was not known to what tribe they belonged or against whom they were riding. Harb conjectured that they were the Sammar on their way to attack the Beni ‘Atijje, but ‘Awde declared that they were certainly the Beni Sahr, who had purposely eluded the Hwétat, with the intention of attacking them by surprise from the south. Both urged the men who were present to be cautious and alert. “‘Awde des- patched twelve horsemen to the south for the purpose of protecting the herds of camels from an unexpected attack. Harb immediately returned to his men to the west in order that they might repel the enemy, should an attempt be made on the flocks returning from the pasture. The impending danger induced the herdsmen to return with the camels from the pasture at an early hour, and the owners brought the animals to me, offering them for sale. All the camels were exceptionally fat. In the regions of at- Tubejk, where they had been grazing throughout the rainy season, there had been an abundance of rain during the past two years, in consequence of which they had thriven on luxu- riant brushwood and fresh grass. I was told that it is some- times necessary to bind the camels’ jaws to prevent excessive grazing, as otherwise the surplus fat would cause a breakage of their humps. If the camel fattens too much as a result of good pasturage, the hump increases by about half; the lower part, uniting it with the camel’s back, cannot bear the weight; the hump breaks and hangs down on either side, and the animal perishes. In the evening we ascertained our geographical latitude. On Sunday, May 29, 1910, many more camels were offered for sale to me. I selected seven animals whose ages were between four and six years and paid from fifty to sixty-five megidijjat ($45.00 to $58.50) apiece for them. Six of the camels were thorough-breds; the remaining one being a cross- breed, though very strong and yet of slender build. With a hot wire we immediately branded our mark on their left thighs—this being a half-moon between two vertical lines (helal w metrakén). One of the camels already had eight such branded marks, thus recording eight different owners before myself. The old marks (wstim) cannot be obliterated, MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 29 but it is easy to distinguish which mark is the latest, and that indicates the owner. DEPARTURE FROM ‘AWDE’S CAMP While the camels were being branded I had a talk with the Fezir whom ‘Awde had recommended to me as a guide. From his information, supplemented by that of others, I had drawn a sketch map, on the previous day, of the territory between al-Gafar and Tejma. I could see that he was well acquainted with the district, and I should have liked to secure his services as a guide; but he was unwilling to accompany me on account of the danger and therefore asked more than I could pay him. He wanted first a hundred and then fifty Turkish pounds ($450, $225) in gold, which were to be paid immediately, irrespective of whether we reached the oasis of Tejma or not. In addition I was to give him firearms and my own camel for the journey. It occurred to me that in case of attack he would not lose much if he left all his wages at home and took nothing of his own with him except his old garments. By fulfilling this demand, I should have placed myself entirely at the mercy of his caprice and should have been unable to obtain a cheaper leader later. I offered him one megidijje (90 cents) per day and his railway transportation from any southern station as far as Ma‘an, whence it would be easy for him to reach ‘Awde’s camp. The herdsman in charge of the camels, whom I also wished to engage, demanded two megidijjat per day, his usual pay being four megidij7at for a whole year. Both of them declared that they would accompany me only because they were fond of me, knowing as they did that they were threatened by certain death. ‘Awde sent for other guides, but they all demanded the same amount, their excuse being the danger which they would incur if they came with me. At last about twenty of them were sitting round me; one after another they described the horrors of thirst and the hostile bands that lay in wait during the summer season for travelers proceeding from the settlement of Ma‘an direct to the oasis of Tejma. The more they talked, the more certain and terrible became the danger of death, until finally they declared that not a single one of them would accompany me. My native companions grew alarmed at this talk, and the 30 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ gendarme Isma‘in whispered to me that he would rather return to Ma‘an than go with me to death: I should not forget that he had a young wife and three children and that it would be difficult for me to bear the responsibility before Allah if through my fault his children became orphans. Harb eben ‘Atijje now entered the camp again, sat down near my baggage, called my companion Gwad to him, and questioned him concerning me. He was probably annoyed at not having yet received the gifts he had demanded. I had already sent him word on Saturday that I should be glad to give him something as a keepsake but not until I was in his territory and in his tent. On account of this annoyance he wished to frighten me. He therefore asked Gwad to show him the orders which the Governor had sent him personally from Damascus. If we did not have such orders addressed specially to him, he would not permit me to enter his terri- tory. To this demand of his I replied that I had not yet spent any time in his territory and that he therefore had no right to demand such orders. Moreover, the Governor at Damascus would not allow any chief to demand that he send orders to each chief specially, in view of the fact that they were all fed and paid by him. Knowing, however, that Harb would work up feeling against me, I gave orders for the baggage to be loaded immediately upon the camels which had been purchased, and announced that I was returning to Ma‘an. I asked ‘Awde to permit his negro Mhammad to ac- company me. At 9.30 on the morning of Sunday, May 29, 1910, we left the camp without a guide and without a herdsman in charge of the camels. There were not many who took leave of us. They had expected abundant gifts and easy earnings, and they had been disappointed. I promised the negro Mham- mad, who was well acquainted with the region, an ample reward if he would tell me exactly the situations and names of various places and would remain with me as long as the gendarme Isma‘in. I promised the same thing to the latter, and I won them both over, because they realized that they could obtain more from me than had been given to the two chiefs and the other Hwetat who had tried to extort presents from me at the camp. The journey on the spirited camels was very troublesome. Our mounts took fright and dashed off at a trot or canter, MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 31 so that the gendarme Isma‘in wished to proceed on foot rather than risk falling from the saddle and breaking his neck. I soon tamed the most spirited of the animals by compelling each one to gallop along with me. After ten minutes they were out of breath and after a quarter of an hour all the camels went along quietly. From 11.32 A. M. to 1.25 P. M. we halted on an extensive stretch of lowland covered with brushwood and prepared our lunch. Not far from us stood two dolmens (Fig. 3), the southern one being 2.1 m. high and the northern one 1.65 m. high, 0.7 m. broad at the bottom and 0.5 m. at the top, with a thickness of about 0.85 m. To the north of the dolmens the soil had been artificially hollowed out, and rain water had collected there. Eastward the plain was en- closed by the steep walls of asS-Swehet, which the narrow plain Harm az-Zbej‘ani sepa- rates from Wad‘at al-Hamra and al-Kennasijje. At three o'clock we reached the east- : | ern spur of the flat ridge Hazm al-Cabd, the steep sides of which project as much as eighty meters above the plain. These consist of three yellowish strata with an occasional admixture of black stone upon which no grass or brushwood thrives. Cut in them, however, are some short, deep sevban covered with brushwood. At 3.56 the furrowed region of Tubejz al-“Afar became visible, called al-‘Afar (the white) because it contains numerous drifts of white sand. At 4.50 we halted near the southeastern spur of al-Cabd in the channel of a deep se%b, in which our fire could not be seen. The camels were able to graze around the baggage. Not knowing whether a hostile band was still hidden somewhere close by, we did not venture to make a fire on the bank, nor did we allow the camels to graze on the uplands, where they would have been visible from afar at sunset. Fic. 3—Two dolmens south of Habra Minwa’. 82 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ VIEW FROM AL-CABD Accompanied by Mhammad, Taman and I ascended al- Cabd, from which we could sketch the whole of the surround- ing country. The view to the north, east, and south was extremely impressive. Fic. 4—Tubejz al-‘Afar from the west. To the north we could survey the whole plain of al-Gafar, as well as the more southern slopes of the mountains of al-Hganagém and al- Ka‘ade, which form the watershed between the Dead Sea and the de- pression of al- Gafar. To the southeast of these heights the mountain ranges of ar-Rha’, Hmar as-Sawwan, Berk ad-Dtde, and Gal al-Hawsa divide the fertile depression of Sirhan from that of al- Gafar. On the western slope of this watershed there is a very abundant growth of ‘adder, for which reason the gullies uniting in the valleys of al-Rwejr and ‘Arfa are called Se‘iban al- “A drijjat. The steep slope Gal al- Hawsa separates the region of Tubejz al--Afar from Tubejz al-Hamar. Beneath it in the hollow of Fihat at-Tlejha are wells, Kulban al-Hawsa, from which the Se%ib of al-‘Enab extends in a northwesterly direction as far as al-Gafar. Along the right-hand slope of al-‘Enab and to the northwest of the wells stretches the table-shaped elevation of Umm Rukuba, while still farther to the northwest is the table-shaped elevation Kart al-‘Enab; and on the left-hand side among the hills of Radh as-Sumr is the water Mehir abu “Alda. ‘The defile of Harm abu ‘Alda SEEN these hills from the peer To the west of ‘nese heights, from south to north, extends the narrow plain of Harm ‘Alejjan, bordered on the south by the table-land of al- Kennasijje. Down the northeastern spur of these hills, under Kart al-Amrar, the rain water flows into the pond al-Fasasijjat. The watershed between the Se‘tb of al-Hawsa and the basin of Sorar on the southwest is formed by the hills of al-Guhfe, ar-Rise, an-Negili, al-Msérif, Sarmada, Twejjel az-Zibed, Umm Leben, az-Zejdanijje, and al- Rdawijje. North of Twejjel az-Zibed is the water Tméd Rabi‘a. All these uplands belong to the region of Tubejz al-‘Afar (Fig. 4), the western frontier of which is formed by the plains of Ammu Rgam and Fihat Hawmal, from which rain water fills the ponds Habari ‘Amrat. Westward from these plains rise the uplands of ‘Enaz, Durdas, at-Taje, Zel’ Hawmal, Sa‘ada’-l-Hamra’, al-‘Erak, and az-Zejdanijje. The plains of Harm al- Hemara and Harm al-MhaSSar separate the elevations az-Zejdanijje from Sa‘ada’-l-Barsa’ and al-Rdawijje, the last-named being connected with as-Swéhet. MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 33 Westward of these table-lands we could see beneath us an endless yellowish plain, from which rose countless cupolas, cones, peaks, and obelisks, isolated and in groups. As the highest of these elevations rose only a little higher than the point where we were standing, it was obvious that none was more than 980 meters high. The nearest to us was the mutilated pyramid of al-‘Ejsawi which towers up to the southeast; south- west of it rises the peak of al-Mzejjen; and west of the latter the five cones of at-Tamlat, southwest of which there extends from east to west a table-land overlooked by the hill of al-“-Awga’. South of al-Mzejjen and Sa‘ada’-l-Barsa’ rise the three high obelisks of Kalb al-Mgawwah, and south of them, westward of Sa‘ada’-l-Hamra’, the huge group of Klab al-Hejl and al-HeSSe.? Southeast of al-HeSSe the plain of Bwejb al-Hawi merges with the plain of Fihat Hawmal. At a considerable distance to the south, from a yellowish plain, there rose the dark ridge of Se‘ata partly concealing the peak of HiSst at-Towr, which lies north of the railway station of Dat al-Hagg and southeast of the station of Halat ‘Ammar. North of Se‘ata the peaks of Dbejdeb Selit were reflected from the glistening white salt marsh as-Sabha. At the southwestern edge of this marsh stand the old pilgrims’ station of Kal‘a Sorar!® and the new railway station of al- Mdawwara. i The Se%b of Fzér al-Razi, dividing at-Taje from Durdas and Sdejjed Razi, ends in the marshes of as-Sabha; and here also ends the se%b of al-Mkejhil, which originates at MSaS al-Cabd under the name al-Gebi’, as well as ar-Rwétje and ar-Ratje to the west of al-Mkejhil. On the right side of ar-Ratje, stretching from north to southeast, the plain is shut in by a row of hillocks, Berk ar-Rezaje, partly buried in sand. ® Ibn Ishak (died 768 A.D.) relates (Ibn HiSAam [died 834 A.D.], Sira [Wiistenfeld], p. 975; Jakat, Mu‘gam [Wiistenfeld], Vol. 2, p. 448) that Zejd ibn Hareta attacked the Beni Gudam near HuSejn, which, according to Ibn Hisam, is situated in the region of Hesma. — If we ventured to read HuSSejn, we could locate this spot in al-HeSSe, situated on the eastern border of Hesma not far from a supply of water at al-MSejtijje and thus suitable for a camping place. It is possible that Zejd returned through the region of Hesma to Tebutk ; but from the narratives of al-Wakedi and Ibn HiSAam it does not seem as if he penetrated into Hesma. 10 Jakuat, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 77, states that Sarr is the border between the Hegaz and Syria, that it lies between al-Murita and the settlement of Tebik, forming a station on the Syrian Pilgrim Route, and that it was there that the leaders of the armies fighting in Syria waited for the Caliph ‘Omar ibn al-Hattab. He also asserts that al-Medina is thirteen days’ march distant from the station of Sarr and that, according to Malek ibn Ans, Sarr is a settlement in Wadi Tebtk. Al-Murita should be located on the Pilgrim Route, north of Sorar, but it is utterly unknown. It seems to me that it has been erroneously transcribed from Ma‘an or confused with the station of the same name on the road from al-Kifa. The statement of Malek ibn Ans that Sarr is situated in the Wadi Tebtk is obviously incorrect, for the Arabic geographers nowhere refer to the Wadi Tebtk. The same place, Sorar, is also recorded by Jakit, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 86, in the form Sart’. He quotes a passage from a lost work by Abu Hudajfa on the conquest of Syria, in which it was stated that Abu “Obejda marched with the Moslems by way of Wadi al-Kura’, al-Gunejne, al-Akra‘, Tebik, and Sari‘, whereupon he advanced into Syria. — All these places here referred to are situated on the present Pilgrim Route, and from this it is clear that Sart‘ is a corruption of Sarr. The old name Sarr has been preserved by the natives in the form Sorar; but in the later literature of the pilgrimages it was replaced by the name Tubejlijjat or Tabilijjat. Mehmed Edib (1779 A.D.) writes (Mendzil [Constantinople, 1232 A.H.], p. 72) that the station of Tubejlijjat is fifteen hours distant from Zahr al-‘Akaba, that no water is to be had there, and that the stronghold and reservoir there were built by ‘Abdallah Pasha. According to him, on both sides of the stronghold rise stony slopes, and an endless desert stretches away from the mountains, undulating and from afar resembling an ocean of sand. The road to the station of Dat al-Hagg is stony except for a track on which one travels for about three hours. 34 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ Farther west extends another row of jagged brownish hillocks, which at the time we observed them were covered with bluish shadows cast by the setting sun. AL-CABD TO THE SE‘IB OF AL-KREN Having returned to our camels, we made them kneel down close to the hillside, tethering their front legs; and after supper we lay down around them, fearing lest the high spirit- ed animals should be frightened by some wild beast during the night and run away. On Monday, May 30, 1910, we were in the saddle as early as 4.15 A. M. (temperature: 8°C). Not wishing to ride around the spur of the ridge of al-Cabd, which extends far to the north, we laboriously ascended the steep slope (gdl) by winding paths and then, after a short time, crawled down into a low ground covered with luxuriant perennials. At six o’clock we reached the dome of Mhakhak al-Cabd and re- mained beneath it until 7.03. This dome, which rises above the southern slope of the table-land al-Cabd, affords a de- lightful view across the southern plains. It seemed as if the latter, lying several hundred meters below us, were plunged in bluish water from which arose a dark blue vapor enfold- ing still darker water with a thin veil. Above the dense haze there rose like islets countless horns, cones and truncated cones, blunt pyramids, obelisks, and other quaint shapes, fash- ioned by the action of rain, frost, and wind, which had gnawed at the layers of rock and carried away the softer ingredients to the east and southeast as far as the sandy desert an-Neftd. The rays of the rising sun were reflected from the separate peaks in a dense shower of golden sparks, while the sides turn- ed away from the sun were wrapped in a dark red shadow. From Mhakhak al-Cabd we turned toward the west, rid- ing above the slope itself until we descended through a deep gap to the foot of it. The descent was very difficult. The road led between huge broken boulders, amid which our cam- els, loaded as they were, could not pick their way; so we were obliged to unload the animals and carry the baggage our- selves. In places there were drifts of sand a meter in depth and so soft that the camels sank into it up to their knees. At 8.05 we arrived at the rain water well MSas al-Cabd, situated at the foot of the mountains in a small bay. The MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 35 well is between three and four meters deep and after a heavy rain is filled with water to a depth of one meter. If it does not rain copiously for two or three years the water dries up. In the immediate vicinity there is an abundant growth of ba‘étran. Having let the camels drink and after filling our goat- skin bags with water, we moved on at 8.40 and by numerous windings reached the summit, along which we proceeded in a west-southwesterly direction. From 9.32 to 11.05 we let the camels graze, while we drew a sketch of the southern region. At twelve o’clock we reached the very edge of the slope which falls steeply towards the south and saw beneath us on the plain of al-Mazlim large green expanses that re- minded us of our own fields of central Europe. They were densely covered with the plants known as semh. In the lower places the semh was dark green, while on the borders higher up, where the moisture had already evaporated, it was be- ginning to grow yellow and ripe. Bluish sandstone rocks en- closed the semh-covered plains. Farther to the south there extended olive-colored cones, horns, and ridges, with pink slopes, which seemed to throb in the burning and almost visible rays of the noonday sun. All the sides facing the north- west were covered with yellowish sand, while the eastern and northeastern sides had a dark brown gloss, and on some of them blood-red stripes could be distinguished. At two o’clock Mhammad pointed out to me, far in the south, the sharp, jagged peaks of al--Agat and, to the northwest of them, two cones and seven dome-shaped groups which formed Se‘ata. To the southwest of us and quite close by, there arose the three tabular hills of at-Tlejtwat, which at times disap- peared in the quivering haze and at other times assumed gigantic shapes which appeared to change their positions. The undulating upland of al-Cabd gradually merges into the plain of ar-Ratijje, inclining to the north toward the se%b of Ammu Mil but falling steeply toward the south. In places the stony soil is so eaten away by wind and rain that it ap- pears to have been artificially paved. In places, too, it 1s cov- ered with coarse gravel in which the only growing things are small groups of da‘a‘, a species of semh. In a few shal- low declivities there thrive mti, rite, mrar, and knéfde, which the Hwetat call ¢aff marjam. At 2.45 P. M. Mhammad showed me, to the south at the 36 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ foot of the slope, the rain water well M848 Gebi‘, by which ‘Awde abu Tajeh encamped in December, 1909, on his march to Tubejz al-‘Afar. From this camp he undertook a campaign against the Sirhan clan, whose flocks were then grazing on the southern foot of the Hawran, north of Kusejr ‘Amra. Passing through the Se%b of Hedreg, the Hwétat were observed by the Beni Sahr, who immediately pursued them on horses and camels and overtook them in five hours. A fight took place, in which the Beni Sahr succumbed to the superior power of the Hwétat. Between twenty and twenty-five of the combatants fell, among them Hajel eben Fajez, my good friend and brother, who in the years 1898, 1900, and 1901 accompanied me to the castle of ‘Amra. A treacherous bullet ended the life of this undaunted warrior, whose body was covered with scars of both rifle and sword wounds. Of his brothers, who were friends of mine, Bargas, Gerth, and Mhammad perished in the fight; the only one to die a natural death being Talal, who died in October, 1909, at Damascus, where he was negotiating with the Governor. In the above- mentioned fight north of al-Hedreg, the Hweétat captured seven mares, whose riders were thrust from the saddle (kalaje‘), and also sixty good riding camels. At 4.05 we perceived on our right hand some small thick- ets of talh trees growing in the gullies which join with the setb of Ammu Mil. At 4.19 we halted by one of these thickets (temperature: 31.5° C). The trees, which attained a diameter of eight-tenths of a meter, were luxuriantly green and dotted with hard circular buds. Their long thorns cov- ered all the surrounding ground, and we had to gather them up, aS otherwise they would have penetrated our skin bags. Our camels found abundant pasturage in the vicinity and we prepared the evening meal. As the smoke from our fire could have been seen from afar, we decided not to spend the night in the same place; so at 7.02 we proceeded farther to the west and at 8.30 encamped in one of the gullies of the sSe%b of al-Krén. THE SE‘IB OF AL-KREN TO RWEJSAT UMM RAZA On Tuesday, May 31, 1909, at 5.05 A. M. (temperature: 10.5° C) we entered the region of al-Kdtr. This consists of undulating plains furrowed to the north by broad, deep chan- MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 37 nels, and it contains no considerable peaks or elevations. Only to the northeast could be seen a knoll of no great height with a large pile of stones upon it. Beneath this knoll, in the Seib of al-Keder, lies the rain water well Msas abu ‘Amdd. To the northwest the region of al-Kdtr extends as far as the ruin of al-Mrejjera, which is also called Hirbet al-Kdtr.™ In the autumn of 1907 the clan of ‘Awde abu Tajeh was encamped at al-Kdtr. Their flocks, which were grazing in the Seiban of Abu ‘Alejdijjat, were attacked by the Sammar and driven away as booty. The Sammar also stole a herd of white she-camels (mardatir) belonging to ‘Awde. Now white she-camels are the pride of every clan, and they form the only herd from which not a single animal is sold. So it is customary to have them guarded by the best fighters; and if an enemy succeeds in stealing this herd the news spreads throughout the desert, all who hear it admire the alertness of the marauder and jeer at the careless clan which allowed its white herd to be driven away. At that time “Awde was paying a visit to an-Nuri eben Sa‘lan, who was encamped on the south- ern foot of the Hawran by al-Azrak. ‘Awde returned to his men on the day following the raid; as soon as he heard the sad and ignominious news that his white herd had been stolen from him, he at once proceeded with sixty men on camels in pursuit of the Sammar. He overtook them in the region of al-Htg, on the northwestern border of the Neftid near the well of Abu Tenijje. There are only two convenient roads leading from the basin in which the well is situated to the upland. During the night ‘Awde occupied both roads, sur- rounded the Sammar who were asleep, killed seven men, res- cued the stolen herd, and took thirty-two riding camels as plunder, with which he returned to his men. The latter, who were then encamped by the rain water well MSas ar-Ratijje, greeted him with hearty rejoicings. At 6.02 A. M. we crossed the main road leading from south to north, the road which is followed by the migrating tribes. At the station of al-Hazm it separates from the Pil- grim Route and passes by the watering places at al-Mratijje, 11 Al-Mas‘tdi (956 A.D.), Tanbih (De Goeje), p. 338, relates that in the year 716—717 the Abbasside, Muhammed ibn ‘Ali, dwelt, according to some in al-Homejma, according to others in Krar among the aS-Sera’ mountains in the territory of al-Belka’ in the adminis- trative area of Damascus. According to manuscript L (British Museum, Add. 23, 270), ibid., p. 338, note 8, the place Krar should be read as Kdar, which is identical with the present Keder or Kdar. It is situated among the aS-Sera’ mountains bordering on the environs of al-Homejma in the administrative area of Damascus. Al-Belka’ did not extend so far to the south. 38 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ al-‘Akejla, al-MSétijje, and al-Gafar. Thence it winds through the defile of an-Nkejb to the Kurtasijje range, passes by Twil as-Shak on the west, swings off to Radir al-Ginz, and at al- Hasa’ again unites with the highroad of al-Hagg, the Pil- erim Route. At the wells of al-Gafar this road is crossed by another road leading from the west from Petra (Wadi Musa) via Ma‘an, al-Gafar, al-Hawsa, and Majku* to Damat al-Gan- dalijje (al-Gowf).”” Westward from the former road the region of al-Kdtr becomes more and more rugged. The individual gullies are deeper and the slopes more precipitous. At 8.42 we perceived in one of the gullies a boulder 2 m. long, 1.6 m. high, and 1.1 m. thick, known as al-Madbah (place of sacrifice) because it is said that upon it goats and sheep have been sacrificed to the dead who are buried in the small cemetery to the south. Around al-Madbah, as well as in the other Sevbdan of the neighborhood, there is an abundant growth of ratam, iden al-hmar, Sth; also Zetdde in places and talh bushes. The hills separating the se7vbdn from each other are covered with coarse stones, which made it difficult for our camels to press forward. From 9.30 to eleven o’clock we remained in the se%b of al- Mutrammel, where the camels found only a scanty pasture (temperature: 29.8° C). The winter rains had filled the artificial reservoirs at the pilgrimage station of Fas0o‘a, and several clans of the Hwetat had encamped near by. Their flocks had been grazing in al-Kdtr, and in consequence all the grass and brushwood had been consumed. At 1.15 P. M. we crossed the railway line near the station of ‘Akabat al-Hegazijje (L150 ena) ton To the northeast we perceived a higher elevation, Twejjel al-Hagg, and to the west a tower-shaped pile of stones indicat- ing the site of the pilgrimage station of Fas0‘a, hidden in the basin of the se%b of al-MSas, which unites with Abu ‘Amdad 12 This is the transport route which Artemidorus (100 B.C.) states (Strabo, Geography, XVI, 4: 18) is used by the trade caravans of the inhabitants of Gerrha proceeding to Petra. 8 Jakuat, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), Vol. 2, p. 712, relates that Dat al-Mana4r is situated on the extreme southern border of Syria. It was there that Abu ‘Obejda (634 A.D.) pitched his camp on his expedition to Syria. — As we know from the report which is recorded by Abu Hudajfa (Jaktt, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 86), Abu ‘Obejda entered Syria north of Sorar; we must therefore expect to find Dat al-Manar between this settlement and the town of transport route from southwestern Arabia to Syria ascended the ridge of aS-Sera’ behind the station of Sorar, through the pass of Batn R&I, which is the most convenient for draft animals. Above this pass there certainly was erected a watchtower, illuminated on dark nights in order that the caravans might not wander from the right path and therefore called Dat al-Manar. Similar towers were built along the road from al-Kiafa to al-Medina, where they were also known as Manar. MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 39 farther to the northeast. At 12.40 P. M. we descended to the small ruined fortress of Fas0‘a, north of which are situated two artificial rain pools still partly filled with water (Figs. 5, 6, 7). We remained near this spot until 1.32. The camels were very thirsty, pressing forward to the edge of the parapet of the rain pools, and it was all we could do to drive them away and prevent them from falling into the water. Serif and Mhammad baled the water out of the pond with a canvas bucket, making the camels drink from this container. No sooner had the animals assuaged their thirst than they were running about in search of pasture. Accordingly, there was nothing for us to do but to replace the baggage quickly and move on, as there was not a single plant in the vicinity of the rain pools. Everything had been entirely eaten up. We proceeded to the west through the opening of the seiban of Abu ‘Alejdijjat, which join Abu Rtejmat and al- Makmi, At three o’clock we reached the se%b of al-Morara, near which the region of al-Kdar ends and the actual range of a’-Sera’ begins. The latter consists of a broad, flat ridge ascending towards the northwest, covered with coarse gravel in which the sa‘rdn grows abundantly. At 4.20 we halted on the southern foot of the cone of Rwejsat umm Raza, north- west of the pass Nakb al-Hdejb, which is traversed by a fairly convenient road to the southern lowlands (temperature: 30.5° C). Serif was to prepare our evening meal while Isma‘in guarded the camels. VIEW FROM KNOLL OF AL-HDEJB Taking Mhammad with us we proceeded to the knoll of al-Hdejb, which is of no great height and stands near a precip- itous slope, and from its summit we made a geographical sketch. VA see descriptions of travel. Mehmed Edib, Menézil (Constantinople, 1232 A. H.), p. 71, ealls it Zahr al-‘Akaba, as well as “Ibadan, while the pilgrims are said to have called it also Syrian ‘Akaba. It is thirteen hours distant from Ma‘an, without water, and situated in a valley. A military guard from Ma‘an escorts the pilgrims as far as this station along a flint-covered road. Just before al-“Akaba is reached the pilgrims dismount from their litters and proceed downhill on foot; the pasha — the leader of the pilgrims — sits beneath a parasol at al-“Akaba and inspects the pilgrims advancing before him. At this point the water bearers distribute sherbet. In the sandy and stony district round about, Othman Pasha (died 1753) caused a stronghold and a fountain to be built. The locality of Lis, like a village, is situated behind ‘Ibadan, to which it belongs. It is in these places that the chamberlain of the pasha who is in charge of the pilgrims’ caravan collects letters from the pilgrims on the return journey and conveys them speedily to Constantinople. Generally, however, this is done earlier, at the settlement of Tebaik. — The Lis referred to by Mehmed Edib perhaps designates the group VA ose AQ) THE NORTHERN HEGAZ EIGe Fig. 5—Faso‘a fortress from the southeast. Fic. 6—Fas0‘a fortress, interior. MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 41 To the east we could see the deep gap of Batn al-‘Akaba, through which the railway line winds to the stations of Batn R&l (1125 m.) and Wadi ar-Ratam (993 m.). To the south from as-Sera’ lead the passes Nakb as-Sen‘, al-Mumbatah, al-Ahmar, and al-Hdejb, from the last of which we were taking observations (1355 m.) (Fig.8). Not far to the west as-Sera’ bends northward at the spur Ras al-Msattara. At this spur begins the set%b of Raber, called al-Hafir in its central part. This Setb is joined on the right by the se7bdn of Umm Zareb, Umm Etle, Fic. 7—Rain pool of Fas0‘a. and Ammu Tlejha and comes to an end in the rain pond Naka‘ al- ‘Alejjin near Kal‘a Sorar, where also end the al-Mhejs and ar-Ratam val- leys, which are traversed by the railway line. Between the two latter valleys rise the isolated peaks of al-Harad, ‘Emmér, and al-Hatijje, while between al-Mhejs and al-Hafir, on a rocky plain, are situated the cone-shaped hills of ‘Ammar, Dbejban, and al-Kaws. West of Dbejban and the se%b of al-Hafir towers the isolated “Omejr, south of which is Ammu Sdad, split into two parts; and southwest of Ammu Sdad stands the mutilated obelisk of as-Skék. To the south of al-Hafir the Hozon (or al-Hozn) valley, which begins between the al-Abrak and al-Birde ranges, ends also at Naka‘ al-‘Alejjin. In its upper portion, on the right, al-Hozn is joined by Ammu Rkejbe, Umm Hasim, and al-Bahtijje, as well as by as-Samra, Abu Hsejje, and al-Mhas, all three of which proceed from the as-Sa‘ejd elevation. The latter is bordered to the south by the al-Losom valley, which starts in the as-Sardan plain and is joined on the right by the Seiban of ar-Ratama and Umm ‘Alda. Between the lower courses of al- Hozon and al-Losom lies the short gully Sidd al-Kah. The rain ponds Habari Sorar derive their water from the Sevbdn of as-Saladeh, Wudej A THE NORTHERN HEGAZ we 42 ‘ySOMYYNOS puev ‘YANos YsvoyyNos SuTyoo, qlepH-[e woi1y—e ‘D1 MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 43 Rakeb, Ab-al-Har, al-Hasra, and al-Halfa. The latter proceeds from the water Hsi ammu Sejfén in Ammu Kaff and is joined on the right by Umm Rati and Umm Sellale, between which rises the cone of Bnejzer. To the southeast of Habari Sorar ends Se‘ib at- Tebahher, which begins near Twejjel al-Magntin under the name of al-Mustahakna, and in which is situated the water of Hsejjet Stejje. The last Se%b, running in a north- easterly direction through the hills of Ndérat al-Fhal to the marshes of as-Sabha, is called al-Mu‘ajzeb. Near Dat al-Hags end the Seibdn of Hlejf Zeben, which runs from the hills of al-Abrak, and Umm Zarb, which is joined by al-Hind. The latter comes from the watershed of Nedra and from the fountain of al- Hind (Bir al-Hind), divides the hills of ‘Enejk on the south from those of ‘Id (Berka ‘Id) on the north, and borders on the south side of al- Hanaser. Near Berka ‘Id are the springs of al-Hlélit. The station of Dat al-Hagg lies in a basin into which the water flows from the surrounding valleys, hiding itself beneath alluvial de- posits and sand. In many places the water rises to the surface, so that it would be possible to plant the whole hollow with palms, which now grow here and there only. The pilgrimage station is a rectangular stone strong- hold with a large courtyard and a shallow well containing good clean water. 14 The plain of ad-Darejn, extending southward from Dat al-Hagg, is enclosed on the west by the hills of ad-Dhal, Berk at-Twéref, and al-Kidrijje. Into it merges the se%ib. of Dimne (near which are situated the wells Gebw al-Hamir, Biz, and Dimne), as well as the great WAdi az-Zejte, which, under the name of an-Ngejli, begins at Bir al-Msallam in the az-Zejte range. On the left this wddi is joined by Ammu Frit and Umm HaSab, which proceed from the al-Mhassa and al-Harik hills; on the right the following se“bdn merge with az-Zejte: al-Mrassa, which rises in the Far‘tn hills; at-Tamri, which conveys water from al-Mnejdir, ad-Darabig, and as-Sehem; Sdér, separating the al-Hrejmat hills from ‘Emart al-‘Agtz and al-HawAatel; and Rejlan, proceeding from the ruins al-Krajje. At the lower end of the last-named Se%b are the wells of al-‘Ejéne. To the north of our halting place, near the pass of al-Hdejb, the rain water flows through the se‘iban of al-Morara, Bajjaz, and al-Abjaz to the valley of as-Sidijje, which ends in the depression of al- Gafar. The dome-shaped hills of Rwejsat umm Raza separate aSs- Sidijje from the gullies of Sna° Zaher and Abu Kejstma, which combine to form the Seib of az-Zerib. The latter, after merging with ad-Dabbe, is called Ta- 144 Jakat, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), Vol. 2, p. 182, refers to a place called Dat Hag between al-Medina and Syria. According to Abu-l-Feda’ (died 1331 A.D.), Muhtasar (Adler), Vol. 5, p. 284, the Beni Lam, who were encamped in the Heg4z, gathered together near Dat al-Hagg in the year 1313 and attacked the merchants traveling out on camels to Tebak to meet the returning pilgrims. More than twenty merchants fell before they managed to beat off the Beni Lam and take about eighty riding-camels away from them. — The Beni Lam belonged to the tribe of Tajj. Today they encamp in southern Irak. Mehmed Edib, op. cit., p. 72, states that the station of Dat al-Hagg is also called Dar al-Hags, Hagar, and Bijar. He says it is fourteen hours distant from Cariman, as the station of Tubejlijjat was sometimes called. During the reign of Sultan Suleiman, according to Mehmed Edib, a stronghold and a reservoir were established there, the latter being filled from a well dug in the stronghold. An abundance of wild dates was to be found there, because date palms thrived in soil in which water could be obtained anywhere by digging ; the shallow wells at this station belonged to the Beni Selim tribe; the hill opposite was ealled Kubbet al-Hagar; all the gravel consisted of pebbles and flints. 44 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ berijja and is joined on the left by Abu Haltfa. Its lower course is known as al-Msawwal. We stood on the ridge of the as-Sera’ range where, after running from north to south, it turns off almost at a right angle to the east, thus forming for a distance of nearly one hundred kilometers the natural frontier between territory on the north which might be partially cultivated and rocky and sandy desert on the south; between present-day Syria and the Hegaz; between the Arabia Petraea and Arabia Felix of classical times; and between the mountain range of Se‘ir, or Edom and the territory of the Madianites of Biblical times. RWEJSAT UMM RAZA TO AL-BATRA Returning to our baggage, we came without warning upon Isma‘in sitting quietly by the fire drinking coffee. Five of the camels were not to be seen, but two of them were grazing on a hill about two kilometers away. When I reproached him for neglecting to guard the camels, which, in this undulating region, might easily be driven off by enemies moving through the numerous passes, he replied calmly: “If Allah has decreed that the camels are to be stolen from us, we cannot prevent it even if we guard them.” After the evening meal we proceeded farther to the west at 7.40 and at 8.47 encamped in the se%b of Sna‘° Zaher. The night was very warm and clear. On Wednesday, June 1, 1910, I roused my companions at three o’clock, untethered the camels so that they could graze, and lit a small fire over which I warmed the coffee. Mhammad and Isma‘in did not get up until the smell of the steaming beverage reached them. A small cup of coffee and a morsel of bread composed our breakfast. At 4.45 (temper- ature: 17° C) we set off on the march, at first to the west, but from five o’clock onwards due north, because as-Sera’ itself turns off almost at a right angle to the north near Ras al-Msattara (1455 m.). We proceeded over broad, low table-lands, and through shallow, broad valleys, all of which could have been cultivated. They were covered with an abun- dance of annuals and perennials. To the west these plateaus fall away steeply, without any transition, to a depth of about three hundred meters, while to the east the descent is gradual. At eight o’clock we reached a region where the table-lands MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 45 merge into an elevation cut by broad valleys and numerous narrow, deep, transverse gullies. Only the lower valleys might be transformed into fertile fields; but on the slopes of the gullies there is an abundance of grass and bushes, which affords copious pasture. There is a fair amount of water, as nearly every Se?%b contains a spring; so the whole region might be tilled and colonized. Before us rose the mighty dome-shaped peak of al-Batra, projecting somewhat to the east from the ridge of aS-Sera’ itself. We met five migrating families of the Beni ‘Atijje, as they call themselves, though the Hwétat and other tribes camping to the north of Ma‘an nearly always refer to them as Ma“‘aze or ‘Atawne. Each family had but one camel, upon which was loaded all its property: a tiny tent with a single main pole, torn blankets, a bag of semh, a small pouch of sour milk, and the smallest of the children. The other mem- bers of the family walked behind the camels, driving a small flock of goats with long, shiny, black hair. No flock contained more than fifteen animals. At 8.27 we arrived at the spring wells Bijar al-Batra (Figs. 9, 10). Of these about twenty are filled with stones, but eight have been preserved in good condition. They are nearly four meters deep, and the water in them is always clear and fresh but flows only gradually. Serif crept into a well and filled a canvas bucket which Isma‘in held attached to a rope. The camels did not want to drink, so we filled one of the bags and at 8.50 began to mount the winding paths to the peak of al-Batra. We were accompanied by a Hwéti who had joined us at the springs. At 9.15 we deposited our baggage by the ruined Roman watchtower (Fig. 11) and remained there until noon (temperature: 34.5°°C). The camels grazed while we drew a sketch map. VIEW FROM AL-BATRA From al-Batra a wide view is obtainable. To the south the prospect s enclosed by the high peaks and cones constituting the mountains of Ramm, al-Barra, al-Mazmar, and the mutilated pyramid of Umm ‘Asrin, with the huge and lofty ridge of Raman west of Umm ‘AS&Srin. In the more immediate foreground to the south, above a rocky plain, rise the solated remains of mountains of various partly disintegrated forms. From the plain the rain water flows through the Se‘%tb of Btajjehat to the Wadi al-Jitm. Btajjehat has three tributaries: from the south- east, al-Herim; from the northeast, an-Nasfe; and from the north, 46 THE NORTHERN HECGAZ Rig0 Figs. 9 and 10—Bijar (wells of) al-Batra. MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 47 at-Telage. Al-Herim rises between al-Barra, al-Abrak, and Gilf al- Mnejsir; near it and in the eastern part of the Ramm range are situ- ated the wells of al-‘Agelin, Abu Rmejle, as-Sbah, al-Kwejse, and al- Mrejra. An-Nasfe begins south of al-Msattara on the southern foot of the low table-shaped rocks of Dera’ umm Swade and Hazb as-Saferin Fic. 11—Plan of Roman watchtower, al-Batra. and joins al-Herim southwest of the brown, cone-shaped peaks of ‘Atra and ‘Emfd and south of the huge broken summit of al-Hsani. At-Telage proceeds from the ruins of the same name on the western edge of the asS-Sera’ range. It separates the rocks of al-Me‘zanijje from al-Gill; al-‘Emejjed from Hazb as-Saferin, near which flows the spring of al- Rorr; the peak of “‘Erka from Salaka; Abu Halktim from Hzejb ar-Ruhbi; al-Mharak and al-Hmejza from Hazbat ar-Ratama; and, joining with al-Herim west of al-Hsani between the cones of Ahejmer and Umm Hasa, forms Btajjehat. 48 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ To the northeast could be seen the railway station of Ma‘an, the depression of al-Gafar with Twil Shak to the north, and west of the latter the extinct volcanoes rising east of the settlement of Dana. There is no view from al-Batra to the west because the vast ridge of ak-Sera’ rises up to cut off the prospect in that direction.’ AL-BATRA TO BIR HADAB From al-Batra we proceeded to the west. The sevbdn are deep, the slopes rocky, but between them extends a level ele- vation upon which both annuals and perennials flourish. North of al-Batra there are numerous springs of water. At 12.30 P. M., in the se%b of al-Hufejjere, we found the remains of old Pamicnes and at 12.47 two old, but still active, wells of the same name. We then mounted the ridge of as- -Sera’, upon which we halted at 1.17 among the ruins of Umm Merete GHi ost s _ Umm at-Telage is the southernmost settlement on as- Sera’, there being hundreds of similar ruins to the north of it. The ridge of aS-Sera’, which is flat and covered with a broad layer of yellow clay, could easily be transformed into fertile fields. There is a magnificent view into the region of Hesma’, toward which as-Sera’ falls steeply over three hundred meters. Hesma’ begins to the northwest of Umm at-Telage and extends far to the south. It is a white, rocky plain, eroded by rain, wind, and sand, upon which are found the numberless scattered, brown remains of various firmer strata. On the northeast this plain is bordered by the steep wall of the as-Sera’ range; and on the west by a brown ridge which runs from north to south, falling off on the west towards the 15 Stephen of Byzantium (about 600 A. D.), Hthnica (Meineke), p. 237, calls Dusara a very high mountain in Arabia. According to him it is named after the god Dusare, who is worshipped by the Arabs and Dacharenoi tribes. Ibn Haldtin (died 1406 A.D.), Mukaddima (Quatremére), Vol. 1, pp. 110—111; idem, ‘Ibar (Balak, 1284 A.H.), Vol. 1, p. 52, writes that to the east from the shore of the Mediterranean Sea there rises a huge mountain called al-Lukkam. Beginning near the Sea of Kolzum, not far from the town of Ajla, it extends in a north-northeast direction, separat- ing Egypt from Syria. At its southern extremity, near Ajla, is the steep pass of al-“Akaba, through which the journey is made from Egypt to Mecca, and to the north of which Abraham is buried. The mountain range of al-Lukkam is bordered to the north from al-‘Akaba by the aS-Sera’ range, which first runs towards the east but then changes its direction. To the east of it is situated the settlement of al-Hegr, the territory of the Tamtd tribe, and the oases of Tejma and Dimat al-Gandal, which latter forms the remotest settlement of the Hegsaz. Between the aS-Sera’ range and the Sea of Kolzum extends the sandy desert of Tebuk. At a turning of the al-Lukkam range to the north is situated Damascus, separated by this mountain range from the towns of Sajda’ and Beirut. — Ibn Haldtin calls the western edge of the Syrian rift valley al-Lukkam. He sometimes refers to al-‘Akaba as a steep slope of this mountain range near the Gulf of al-“-Akaba and sometimes as the pilgrims’ station of al-‘Akaba (Ajla) from which the as- Sera’ range extends to the east. Ibn Haldtin is thinking of the ‘southernmost part of this range, which, project- ing far to the east, bends in a semicircle open towards the east and runs in a northeasterly direction. Al-Hegr does not lie to the east but to the south of aS-Sera’; likewise the territory of the Tamtd and the desert of Tebaik, which, according to Ibn Haldtn, extends as far as the Gulf of al-“Akaba of the Sea of Kolzum. It is interesting that he reckons the oasis of Diamat al-Gandal as still forming part of the Hegaz. MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 49 rift valley of al-‘Araba and the Red Sea. From Umm at-Telage to the southwest extend oblong groups of isolated rocks: Hzejbt as-Smé'e, al-Gill, Derw as-Sulba, and ar-Rokob. West of them the channel of Ammu Sawra twines like a white girdle, its head lying near the spring of Fawara, westward from the ruins of Star.16 Fic. 12—Ruins of Umm at-Telage. A small telegraph line has been installed along the left side of the Seib of Ammu Sawra, which runs down from the Star pass. This line passes the spring of az-Zerafa not far below the pass. Westward from the seib of Ammu Sawra can be seen innumerable white dome-shaped rocks of the groups Derw as-Saki, Harabt al-‘Abid, and al-Koff. Behind 16 Saladin marched through our pass of Star. Abu Sama, Rawdatejn (Barbier de Meynard), p. 217, relates that on May 11, 1182, Saladin set out from Egypt for Damascus by way of Sadr and Ajla and arrived there after five days. Learning that the unbelievers were concen- trating their army near al-Kerak in order to obstruct his path, he strengthened his two flanks and proceeded from the region of Hesma’ through the pass of Sitar to al-Karjatejn, making an incursion into the enemy’s country. Thereafter he marched with the main strength of his army along the very border of the al-Kerak territory to al-Hasa’, while his brother, Tag al-Mulak Bari, traveled with the noncombatants on his right flank. Within a week they had joined at al-Azrak. — It would seem that Saladin, when coming from Egypt, followed the ancient transport route by way of Sadr to Ajla. Traveling rapidly, he arrived at the latter harbor within five days. Thence he took the northeastern branch road to the main transport route by way of Ma‘an. From the account given it is clear that he reached the region of Hesma and the pass of Star. The branch road in question leads from al-‘Akaba through the Wadi al-Jitm to the northwestern corner of the Hesma’ region, whence it ascends through the Star pass across the aS-Sera’ range and then follows parallel to this range as far as the oasis of Ma‘an, which our report refers to as al-Karjatejn — two settlements — because it comprises two villages. From Ma‘an Saladin proceeded with his army along the main south to north transport route until he got as far as the station of al-Hasa’ at the head of the wddi bearing the same name. From there he moved in a northeasterly direction to the stronghold of al-Azrak, where he met his brother. i, Jakat, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), Vol. 3, p. 259, refers to the Sitar pass as lying to the east of the Egyptian Pilgrim Road and leading through the as-Sera’ range between the regions of al-Belka’ and al-Medina. It leads north into an extensive grassy district, located south of al-Kerak, over which loom the Farin mountains. 50 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ them to the west rises the white, mutilated cone of az-Za‘tar, flanking the rocky plain to the north. On the west the plain is bordered by a brown mountain range intersected with numerous deep Sseibdan. The parts of this range situated west of az-Za‘tar are known as ‘Arkib al-MSejti, Rwejs ad-Dukkane, aS-Sunnarijje, and Ktejb az-Zab‘i; while farther to the south are Uhejmer, az-Ziblijje, Umm al-‘Azam, Sejker, Msawer, Dnéb, Trejbin, Tabakat Kalha, as-Sor, az-Zarntk, al-Mléh, az-Zarba, al-Hegfe, Abu Sjejle, al-Hmejra, Ummu Nhejle, and al-Mdajfen, separated from Raman by the defile Harm al-Mersed. At 2.388 P. M. we started off toward the north through fields sown with barley and wheat. After three o’clock we entered the valley of al-Bijara, where lie the springs of al- ‘Anejzi and the ruins of the large settlement of an-Nasara. At 3.46 we were at the spring of Abu Krejzat, and at four o’clock we were standing by the ruins of the Roman encamp- ment at al-Karana (temperature: 21° C). I wished to make a sketch plan of this stronghold, which I had visited as far back as 1898," but this was not possible. Some of the Hwétat, while cultivating the neighboring fields, had set up folds for their sheep and goats among the ruins and had removed the walls, which had been still preserved in 1898. They were encamped about six hundred meters east of al-Karana, near the springs of al-Mgawga and Ab-ad-Dtd, and immediately came up behind us. As the negro Mhammad was not well acquainted with this region, I wanted one of these Hwétat to act as our guide, and Isma‘in brought me a man about forty years of age who declared that he knew all the hills, springs, and ruins from there to Wadi Musa. Wishing to make sure of his knowledge, I asked him to point out on the ground the directions north and south and, to indicate the position of the se%b of az-Zerib, through which the rain water flows from al-Karana to the northeast. The poor fellow could not distinguish north from south; he described everything situated to the north or south of us as being between sunset and sunrise. When I declared that he could not go with us because he did not know the directions, he asked me to take him nevertheless and endeavored to make an exact drawing of the se%b of az-Zerib for me. Five times he set about the work, and five times he arrived at a different result, being quite unable to indicate in the sand the winding course of this valley although he could see it in front of him. Finally one of his kinsmen who was with him told him to go home, saying that 17 See Musil, Arabia Petraea, Vol. 2, Part 2, pp. 229—230. MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 51 he could understand nothing and offering to accompany me himself. This man was able to indicate accurately both the directions and the names of the various localities. Having ascertained our geographical latitude, we started off on the march again at 7.55 P. M. Mhammad and Isma‘in urged this move, declaring that the Hwétat who were encamped near al-Karana were notorious robbers and that they might easily steal our things in the night. When I objected that we had one of their kinsmen with us as our companion (dw) in order to protect us against his tribesmen, Mhammad replied that in recent years the Hwetat had ceased to acknowledge the rights of the hdwi and that they would rob their own fathers. | The night was so dark that nothing could be seen at a distance of two meters, and the region was covered with coarse stones, so that we could not move forward. Therefore we halted at 8.18 not far from the spring Bir Hadab, from which the road leads westward to the region of Hesma through Srejf abu Ralajin over the pass of the same name. BIR HADAB TO THE RUINS OF HAMMAD On Thursday, June 2, 1910, we started off at 4.49 A. M. (temperature: 22° C). On our right lay the two wells of ‘Attd, each about fifteen meters deep; on the north we perceived the extensive ruins of Dak and to the east of them, in the valley of ‘Akejka, the springs of al-Ma‘ekel, near which ‘Akejka is joined by the se%b proceeding from the spring's of al-Mgawéa and al-‘Arejza. At five o’clock, at a point not far from Bijar al-Masri, we entered the broad valley of ‘Akejka, which contains numerous shallow springs with good, fresh water. At 5.20 we branched off to the west, near the springs of ‘“Akejka, in order to obtain a better view by mount- ing the ridge of as-Sera’. Both the valley of ‘Akejka and the ridge itself have been converted into fields of wheat and barley. The wheat was only just in flower but was plentiful and well developed. At 5.40 we had on our right hand the entrance to the se%b of al-Fwéri, in which an abundant spring gushes out near the ruins of the same name. From 5.47 to 7.05 we remained among the ruins of al-Gdejjed (tempera- ture: 24.2° C), for it is possible to obtain from that point a view not only of the Hesma territory but also of the north- 52 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ eastern part of the as-Sera’ range: The latter was entirely covered with dark green plants, which made it resemble an endless expanse of grainfields. The lowlands were still covered with dark blue shadows, from which the separate peaks rose like fabulous monsters. At 7.30 there was a slight shower, which, however, did not last long, and at 7.35 near a ruined watchtower we crossed the Darb as-Sultani or, as our guide called it, as-Sikke, the highroad. At the post and telegraph station of al-Kwéra, as-Sikke swings off to the northeast and runs alongside the telegraph line across the eastern slopes of the se%b of Ammu Sawyra, past the mutilated cones of al-Ma‘ejsi, al-Mesarik, al-Hle)jfi, and al-Morr to Derw as-Sulba, over which it gains the spur of Star. Winding around the western side of the latter, it reaches the ridge of aS-Sera’ near the ruins of Star. From there it continues in an almost northerly direction through the se%tb of Wahadan to the ruins of al-Fwele, Ab-al-Lesel, and Mrejjera, after which it trends to the northeast following the setib of ad-Dawawi as far as Ma‘an. The telegraph line is installed to the east of the road upon the slopes of Swémat and Ammu-l-Ksejr. At 8.09 we rode through the beginning of the Seib of al-Hajjat, which runs towards the ruins of aS-Sdejjid. The camels found the crossing quite difficult, as the ridge is cut by deep ravines with stony sides, and it was necessary to dismount and mount again, no easy task among the shifting stones. At 8.35, on the left arm of al-Geman and toward the northeast, we perceived the three huge, bare, dome-shaped peaks Nebat as-Swémrat situated on the spur of the aS-Sera’ range between the ruins of Ab-al-Lesel and Tasan. To the west our guide pointed out the spring of al-Kena’, from which an aqueduct leads down to the ruins of al-Homejma. A tortoise measuring about twenty-five centimeters in diameter crawled across our path. We wanted to catch it to make soup from it, but our native companions protected the animal, saying that it was poisonous. We knew, of course, that this was not true, but we did not take the tortoise, not wishing to provoke our people unnecessarily. At 9.28 we observed the small ruin of Ammu Dijab in a gully on our right. At 9.40, on the eastern foot of the huge mountain of al-Krajje‘e near the shallow well Bir Turki, we met four MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 53 riders. They were Terabin, who were encamped by the Medi- terranean Sea to the south of Gaza and were riding to the Saidijjin clan, whose encampment we had seen at 8.09 in the se%ib of al-Hajjat, in order to arrive at an agreement concerning the consequences of a crime. A fellow tribesman of theirs had killed a member of the Terabin and had fled to the Sa‘idijjin to save his life. He had offered blood money to the avengers of the murdered man; the offer was accepted, and the dead man’s relatives were now riding to meet him with his surety, for the purpose of collecting the stipulated amount. At 9.50 we entered the Roman highroad which leads from the ruins of al-Homejma along the aqueduct as far as the spring of al-Kena’ and along the southern slope of al-Krajje‘e to the ridge of aS-Sera’. On the elevation of at-Turra, to the left, there lay a great heap of stones, Ab-an-Nstr, the remains of a watchtower. At 10.09 the guide showed me the ruins of al-Baradijje to the east and, to the northeast of them in a steep rocky wall, the cave of Harabt ammu Sanajeh. From 10.24 to 12.20 the camels satisfied their hunger with ‘azam plants, while we drew a sketch map of the surrounding country (temperature: 27.5° C). From here on the journey was even more troublesome than before. The ravines became deeper and deeper, their sides more and more precipitous, so that we were obliged to lead the camels. If one of the animals began to gallop, it lost the articles hung from the saddle, or else its load slipped over to one side, and we had to collect the lost articles or put the load straight again. The Roman highroad branched off of our route in a north- northeasterly direction, leading south of the ruins of Tasan to those of Swémre and there turning off northward past al-Krén and Zor to the ruins of as-Sadaka. At 12.40 P. M. we descended into a deep basin in which there are numerous caves, Harab ad-Dukkan (temperature: 30.2° C). At one o’clock, having ‘Ajn az-Zwejde on our left hand, we made our way cautiously down to the large spring ‘Ajn Burka (Fig. 13), where we remained from 1.30 to 4.15. Below the spring a rectangular pool had been constructed from large hewn stones, into which the water flowed and from which it was distributed over the surrounding gardens. The pool, however, was entirely clogged up, and there remained nothing of the gardens save the small walls which were built to keep 54 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ the fertile soil from being washed away. The Meraj‘e clan, belonging to the Hwetat, was encamped north of the spring and close beside them stood several tents of the Kabala aise of the Sa‘idijjin tribe. ** Fic. 13—From ‘Ajn Burka looking north. Before long we were surrounded not only by the men but also by the women and children, who meddled with our things and asked inquisitively who we were, what we were selling and buying, and where we were going. Fearing that some of our camels might be driven away from us, we divided ourselves into two groups, one of which mounted guard over the camels and the other over the baggage. I did not wish to start off until I had found a reliable guide. We were anxious to proceed through the rocky territory of the Kabala clan to the ruins of al-Homejma, and we needed a Sa‘ idi not only to show us the road and tell us the names of the various places but also to protect us from his fellow-tribesmen and from the rapacious ‘Alawin, to whom al-Homejma belongs. After lengthy negotiations I hired a guide, and at 4.15 we were able to start off. Isma‘in and Mhammad heaped abuse 18 See Musil, Arabia Petraea, Vol. 3, p. 46. MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 55 on the Sa‘idijjin because they had not negotiated with us as with guests but had begged from us not only tobacco and coffee but also rice, flour, and other articles of food. As a result, we did not warm up any coffee while we were with them, and it was for this that the negro Mhammad in par- ticular had a great hankering. Wishing to refresh ourselves a little and to make a sketch of the surrounding district, we remained at the spring of al-Gwejbe from 4.32 to five o’clock. South of the spring, on the slope of aS-Sera’, are situated the ruins of al-Ghejjer.* To the north of al-Ghejjer, above the ruins of Delara, there rises a huge mountain, al-Hadab, behind which the hills of Krént az-Zejjat run from south to north, with, to the west of them, the broken dome of al-Hawla which separates the deep se%b of Abu Rarab from the mountains of Sebib and Ammu Rwejsat. The large mountain of M‘awwal al-‘Azab, which is almost table-shaped, merges to the south with Rwejs ad-Dukkane and aS-Sunnarijje. Between the two latter moun- tains a footpath leads through the al-‘Ekejrbe pass to Wadi Rarandel. To the west and south the se%b of al--Egane en- circles ‘Arkub al-MSejti and joins with al-Mwéleh. At 5.06 P. M. in a deep, rocky ravine on our left, we saw the spring of Abu Hsejje gushing out from under a steep wall of rock. The descent to this ravine was very troublesome. Two of the camels threw off their loads and ran away, and we had to carry the loads after them until we caught them. From the ravine we descended southwest of the spring and ruins of al-Ghejjer to the Se%b of al-Gmejl, through which we reached the broad valley of Abu Rarab, where we encamped at 6.55 at the foot of Rwejs ad-Dukkane (temperature: 29.5° C). Taking the guide with me, I proceeded to the ruins of Hammad (or Hamad), situated about three kilometers to the north and forming the remains of a large village on the right-hand side of the above-mentioned valley. Among the ruined houses which now serve as a graveyard, there is a small shrine, al-Weli Hammad, to which the Sa‘idijjin make pilgrimages. The guide said that there was a large stone with inscriptions near the shrine, which he wished me to see, but it turned out to be merely a large slab of rock covered with tribal ¢ 19 Al-Ja‘kdbi, T'a’rih (Houtsma), Vol. 2, p. 385, writes that the Omayyads dwelt in al- Guhajjer between al-Humajma and Adruh in the administrative region of Damascus. — In the text it is incorrectly printed al-HHJR. Our al-Ghejjer is situated on the road from al-Humajma to Adruh. 56 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ tokens (awsdm). The night was quite cold, as a moist west wind was blowing. RUINS OF HAMMAD TO AL-HOMEJMA On Friday, June 3, 1910, we led our camels in a south- erly direction from 4.42 A. M. to 5.28 (temperature: 12°C). As far as the well of at-Tarif the road was very try- ing, as it wound among large boulders and fragments of rock, which often completely filled the river bed. The well Bir at-Tarif, situated almost exactly on the watershed between the valleys of Abu Rarab and al-Jitm, is about three meters deep and four meters broad and contains pure fresh water. Eastward of it rise several piles of rock, the ruins of an old building, to the northeast of which can be seen the yawning black mouths of the Harab al-Bhejra caves. At 5.30 we rode through the broad hollow of al-Mesann, which on the left joins the Se%b of at-Tarif. A few meters farther to the south we saw the remains of a broad dam by which the se%tb had been transformed into a capacious rain pond. From the left-hand side of this pond the water passed through a narrow canal into gardens that were laid out in terraces. To the south we could see the Hesma territory, ly- ing at a great depth beneath us and swathed in a dense coy- ering of morning mists, from which projected only the highest peaks, cones, pyramids, obelisks, and numerous other forms which the isolated rocks assumed. The rays of the rising sun struck upon them so that it seemed as if their angular faces were burning. In the river bed of at-Tarif grow ratam shrubs and low Sth. On the slopes ‘Arktb al-MSejti, as well as on al-Mrejbet and az-Za‘tar, there are supporting walls of varying length, the remains of old gardens. At six o’clock we rode along the right-hand side of the river bed at the foot of the granite ridge of al-Mrejbet, as we wished to avoid the numerous short ra- vines running down from the soft limestone slopes of az-Za‘tar. These are twenty to thirty meters deep, scarcely three meters broad at the bottom, and their sides are formed of yellowish clay and soft white limestone. Suddenly the river bed leaves the foot of al-Mrejbet and cuts through the soft limestone in a gorge about fifty meters deep. At 6.48 A.M. we made our way into it near the spring of al-Helwa, which gushes out from the left-hand side and fills numerous pools (Figs. 14, 15). MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA HiGr15 Fig. 14—From al-Helwa looking north. Fria. 15—From al-Helwa looking south. 57 58 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ The Se%b of al-Helwa joins ar-Rekijje and comes to an end, under the name of a&-Sebibi, in the rift valley of al‘Araba near Mount az-Ziblijje. Our party remained at the well of al-Helwa from 6.48 to 10.45. Meanwhile, accompanied by the guide, TaOman and Fic. 16—From al-Homejma looking toward the range of as-Sera’. I clambered on to the southern peak of Mount az-Za‘tar, where we did some cartographical work. On our return we found that our companions were ready for departure. Having led the camels out upon the left-hand slope of al-Béza, we crept down the broken ridges of rock, picking our way among white boulders, until at last we came out upon a white, un- dulating plain at 11.06. We caught sight of a pile of old buildings to the west, on our right, and came upon the Roman highroad, here regularly paved for a distance of about two hundred meters. Near it there stood three broken pillars, possibly the remains of Roman mileposts. I could see no in- scription on them, as they were made of soft limestone which has been largely decomposed. At 11.31 we rode round the ruined bridge that spans the se%b of Ammu Ditde. This se%b forms a broad but shallow trough between white rocks, which gleamed so brilliantly in the sun’s rays that they seemed white-hot. The separate channels attain a depth as great as ten meters and are shut in by steep banks. The whole geological configuration resembles that of Wadi Musa especially in its northern area near al-Béda. After 11.42 we rode alongside the aqueduct, which is said to lead from the copious well of al-Kena’ and rises only a very little above the plain. The lower wall is 70 cm. broad, the trench being 15 cm. deep and MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 59 40 em. broad. South of the aqueduct there stretches a low- land which could be transformed into fields. The remains of old field and garden walls extend as far as the ruins of al- Homejma, which we reached at 12.42 P. M. (temperature: 20. 58GI. Fic. 17—From al-Homejma looking south. These ruins cover the eastern and southern foot of the elevation of Umm al-‘Azam as well as the surrounding lowland for several square kilometers; but not a single building has been preserved (Figs. 16, 17). The soft limestone of which they were constructed has collapsed, so that the isolated buildings are now reduced to whitish-yellow heaps of soft powdery lime. If these heaps were excavated, apartments would cer- tainly be found intact beneath the crumbling limestone, and in them possibly various monuments as well. There are nu- merous capacious artificial reservoirs for rain water that are not more than half covered. In every building were installed pyriform cisterns, where the ‘Alawin conceal chaff and corn. Inasmuch as some of the buildings are constructed in a style which resembles that of the ruined houses at Wadi Masa, it may be inferred with certainty that al-Homejma was also built by the Nabataeans, and for this reason I locate here the Nabataean city of Auara.”° *0 Al-Homejma obtained its name from the white color of the rocks and soil which prevail in its environs. In Aramaic and Arabic this white color is designated also by the word hawwdra, which the natives often interchange with Homejma, and I conjecture that these ruins were originally called Hawwara. According to Uranius, Arabica (Miiller, Fragmenta, Vol. 4), p. 523 (Stephen of Byzantium, Ethnica [Meineke], Vol. 1, p. 144) the Arabie city of Auara obtained its name from a prophecy which was communicated to the Nabataean king Obodas (about 93 B. C.) by his son Aretas. The latter was to seek a place which was white, or auara, as white is called in Syriac and Arabic. While occupied with this task, there appeared to him a white man ona white camel who thereafter suddenly disappeared. The searcher then perceived the 60 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ Having inspected the ruins, I proceeded to the hills of Umm al-‘Azam, as I supposed that I should certainly find a necropolis there, but my search was in vain. For two hours I scrambled from hill to hill, making my way through deep gaps, and in the Se%b of al-Hazar I found numerous stone quarries and artificially smooth- ed walls of rock, but I did not see a single rock tomb. My endeavors won me nothing but a brief inscription in Greek and Nabataean. As I was returning, I heard a shot. It was an alarm signal with which my native companions were recalling me. Running out from the rocks, I saw my companions and the camels surrounded by a crowd of the ‘Alawin (Fig. 18). The latter had been reaping barley southeast of al-Homejma and, hearing of our arrival, had rush- ed up to my baggage, where they were begging for food and presents from Serif and Fic. 18—An ‘Alawi and our guide. Mhammad. Mhammad despised them and had warned me a- gainst them even before we had encamped at al-Homejma, declaring that they were all rogues. “Those of them who are strong, steal; those who are weak, beg (kawwihom portion of a tree trunk rooted in a certain place. It was upon this spot that Obodas founded the city of Auara. — As this narrative does not contain the slightest reference to the sea and the harbor city of Leukekome (Auara in Syriac and Arabic), which was known before Obodas’ time, I would identify Uranius’ city of Auara with the city of Auara which Ptolemy, Geography, V,17: 5, places in Arabia Petraea and which, according to the Tabula Peutingeriana (Vienna, 1888), sheet 8, was situated on the highroad from Aila to Petra and is identical with our ruins of al-Homejma. Notitia Dignitatum (Seeck), Oriens, 34, Nos. 12 and 25, refers to a place Hauare or Hauanae in Palestine, which contained a garrison of mounted native bowmen. Assemanus, Bibliotheca Orientalis, Vol. 3, Part 2, fol. 593, notes, according to Nilus Doxopatrius (1143 A. D.), that in the sixth century of our era the bishopric of Avara be- longed to the metropolitanate of Bostra. Al-Ja‘ktbi, Ta’rih (Houtsma), Vol. 2, p. 347, relates that in the year 713—714 A. D. al-Walid I set out for the settlement of al-Humajma in the district of aS-Sera’, which was situated in the administrative region of Damascus. The mother of Salit ibn ‘Abdallah ibn ‘Abbas complained to him that ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdallah had killed her son and buried him in a garden in which he lived, and had built a little shop above his grave. Al-Walid punished him for it. ‘Ali settled down permanently in al-Humajma, and his children also remained there until Allah entrusted them with authority over the Moslems. Al-Mas‘idi, Tanbih (De Goeje), p. 838, records that in the year 716—717 A. D. the Alide pretender Abu-l-HasSem proceeded to the Caliph Sulejmfn ibn ‘Abdalmalek, from whom he departed with rich gifts to al-Medina. While on the road poison was administered to him. When it began to take effect, he hastened to the Abbasside Muhammed ibn ‘Ali — who, MA‘AN TO AL-HOMEJMA 61 nahhab, zaifhom sahhdd).” I was unwilling, and indeed un- able, to give them food, as we did not know when we should reach Tebtk, where we could obtain fresh supplies. When Mhammad, a servant of the chief ‘Awde abu Tajeh, to whom the “Alawin were in the habit of sending gifts, offended them by his words and gestures, they wanted to drive away our camels, declaring that they damaged their corn. Isma‘in, who was guarding the camels, was unable to keep them off and had fired a shot for help. Running up to the disputants I endeavored to pacify both sides and after a while succeeded. We should have liked to move on, but Rif‘at had not yet returned. When at last he came running back, he pointed to his half-torn clothing and explained that among the rocks to the west he had been attacked by shepherds and robbed of everything he had. Not until an older man came up to the shepherds and explained to them whence we came and that we had a soldier (‘askari) with us, did they restore a few things to him. according to some, was then living in al-Humajma but, according to others, at Kdar in the aS-Sera’ range, in the district al-Belka’ of the administrative area of Damascus — and renounced all claims to the Caliphate in favor of his son. — Following the manuscript L (London) of the Tanbih I identify the dwelling place of the Abbassides, or Beni ‘Abbas, mentioned in connection with al-Homejma, with the region of Kdtr situated east of al-Homejma, in the southern part of aS-Sera’ near the highroad leading to al-Medina. ‘ Al-Ja‘ktbi, Buldédn (De Goeje, 2nd edit.), p. 826, refers to al-Humajma as in the as- Sera’ range. Al-Bekri (died 1094 A.D.), Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), pp. 83, 284, states that al-Humajma is a place in Syria. When ‘Ali ibn ‘Abdallah ibn ‘Abbas emigrated to Syria, he settled in al- Humajma and built a strongly fortified house there. Jakat, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), Vol. 2, p. 342, mentions al-Humajma as a settlement in the aS-Sera’ region on the Syrian border, which belonged to the administrative area of ‘Amman. He states that the Abbasside dynasty dwelt there before they obtained possession of the government. AS-Sera’ was the name of the district in which the settlement al-Humajma lay. — The ruins, however, are not situated in the asS-Sera’ range but upon its border in the Hesma’ region. Abu-l-Feda’, Takwim (Reinaud and De Slane), pp. 228—229, asserts that in the neigh- borhood of the aS-Sera’ range there is a settlement, al-Humajma, from which the Abbassides departed in order to obtain possession of the Caliphate in Irak. The village of al-Humajma is situated a day’s distance from Sowbak. G ECA PT Reali AL-HOMEJMA TO AL-“AKABA AL-HOMEJMA TO HARM AL-MERSED At 4.25 P. M. we left al-Homejma and proceeded south- ward over the plain of Harhtra alongside the broad channel of as-Sih. The plain to the east of the channel was planted in places with crops of wheat and barley. Between the various fields there are small clumps of shrubbery formed of ratam, rimt, and thorny silla. On the west side rise the steep granite rocks of Sejker, cut by the se%tb of Rihan from Msawer and Dneb, on the northern side of which gushes forth the spring of Abu ‘Agarem. To the south of the Rihan se%b the peak of as-Sor rises above a flat-topped rocky upland and behind it the two prisms Tabakat Kalha. Toward 7.35 we caught the sounds of loud conversation and the melancholy strains of the rebaba (rebec or single- stringed viol), and before long we noticed the smell of brandy, for we were drawing near to the Post and Telegraph station of al-Kwéra, beside which we encamped at eight o’clock. We were surrounded by a number of men, who in correct and broken Arabic asked us who we were and where we were going. Isma‘in replied to their questions, whereupon they brought us fuel so that Serif could cook the supper. In the meantime we ascertained the latitude (temperature: 14.2° C). After supper we were obliged to take part in the conversation and hence could not retire to rest until after midnight. On Saturday, June 4, 1910, we remained at al-Kwéra until the afternoon. This ancient Roman stronghold has been newly populated. The telegraph line from Ma‘an to al-‘Akaba runs around it. In 1908 a house was begun west of the strong- hold for the use of the telegraph and postal official, but the building was not yet completed, as the ceiling and roof were wanting. In consequence, the official and his assistants lived under canvas in the courtyard of the old stronghold. About one-third of the stronghold was cleared of débris, and the small corner rooms were cleaned out and furnished for use as a Shelter in the rainy season (Figs. 19, 20, 21). The of- 62 AL-HOMEJMA TO AL--AKABA 63 PIG. 19 Fic. 20 Fic. 19—Al-Kwéra from the east. Fic. 20—Al-Kwéra from the southeast. 64 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ ficial received 470 piasters ($21.15) per month, from which he had to feed himself, his family residing at Ma‘an, and the horse which carried him on his tours of inspection of the telegraph poles. It was no wonder that he complained of suffering from hunger. All food supplies for al-Kweéra had to be conveyed from Ma‘an or al-‘Akaba, and they were dear. The official was assisted by three telegraph inspectors, who patrolled the line from Ab-al-Lesel on the northeast to the end of Wadi al-Jitm on the southwest. An ombdsi (corporal, non-commissioned officer) and six men of the regular army guarded the sta- tions and telegraph lines. Every day they brought water on an ass from the spring of al-AShab, which flows out about six kilo- meters to the west at the foot of the granite mountain of al-Hegfe. About one hundred meters south of the station there rises a low, red, sandy hill, bearing the remains of an old wall. More extensive ruins, perhaps those of a watchtower, are noticeable upon a _ table- Fic. 21—In the Roman camp, shaped hill northeast of the al-Kwéra. stronghold. This small table- shaped hill, which is called kwéra (diminutive of kdra, isolated table-shaped hill), gave the ruins of the stronghold their name.”' 21 The Roman highroad is clearly distinguishable near the station of al-Kwéra. The part of it which leads from Syria east of the Dead Sea to the harbor of Aila is defined as far as the station of Zadagatta (as-Sadaka). From Zadagatta to al-Homejma only the general direction can be determined. From al-Homejma to the lower end of the deep Wadi al-Jitm numerous mileposts have been preserved from the time of the Emperors Constantine and Constans, which establish the fact that the Roman military road was constructed through this wddi and did not branch off through any Se%b winding down to the rift valley of al- “Araba between al-Jitm and Zadagatta. The Tabula Peutingeriana (Vienna, 1888), sheet 10, shows a single highroad running from the harbor of Haila (Aila) to the north, which, at the mark indicating the station of Ad Dianam, divides into two branches: a western one proceeding toward Palestine and an eastern one to Zadagatta. It is questionable whether the Tabula Peutingeriana has accurately represented this division. The red line denoting a new branch road on this map frequently either joins the main road too far to one side or the other of the actual junction, and is thus assigned to the wrong station, or else forms a crossroad where there is none. It is possible that, in this case also, the red line of the Syrian road was placed too high and the station of Ad Dianam was thus turned into a junction point. In this respect it is very striking that Aila, where the tenth Legio Fretensis encamped, has no special symbol, while the entirely unknown station of Ad Dianam bears the symbol of a temple, although it is only the chief cities that are supplied with symbols on other parts AL-HOMEJMA TO AL-“AKABA 65 Early in the morning we sent a scout to procure us a good guide from the camp of the ‘Alawin situated near the defile Harm al-Mersed. Taman and Rif‘at, accompanied by a soldier, set out for the peak of al-Ml]éh, rising to the northwest, south of which there is a spring of the same name; whereas another spring called Abu Turrah flows to the northwest of al-MlJéh. Meanwhile I changed the photographic plates, sketched the surrounding district, recorded the names of the various hills and valleys, and gave out necessary medicines to the soldiers. Toward noon the scout returned with a guide. The chief of the ‘Alawin, Salem eben Hammad eben GAd, wished to accom- pany us and wanted to take with him his negro and another man, but I would not consent to this latter plan, fearing that these famished and unnecessary companions would be likely to deprive us of our small stock of supplies. At first Salem remonstrated. However, when Isma‘in told him that if he went by himself he would obtain the remuneration which would otherwise be divided among three, he ordered his two com- panions to go back to camp. In the afternoon Mhammad with two scouts led our camels to the spring of al-AShab, not returning until three o’clock. Rif‘at and Taman had been back for some time, and we had everything ready for our depar- ture. Having loaded the baggage on the camels, we started off at 3.08 for a lengthy march southward along the trade route. The level plain of al-Hmejza, over which we passed, is shut in on the west by the granite wall of the Abu Sjejle mountain, while on the east it gives place to numerous iso- lated, sandy hills of various shapes, among them Salaka, Abu Halktm, ar-Ruhbi, al-Mhartk, ar-Ratama, ‘Atra’, ‘Emdd, al- Hsani, and al-Ahejmer. At 4.02 we crossed the Se%b of Abu Sjejle, which starts at the well of the same name on of the map. The symbol indicating a temple at the station of Ad Dianam perhaps originated from the fact that Adian — the Semitic name of the station — was twisted into Ad Dianam by the designer and that either he or a copyist drew a symbol belonging properly to the military camp and harbor of Aila in such a way as to make it apply to the neighboring station of Ad Dianam, which it transformed into a temple. The red line of the Syrian high- road bends off to the south after its division from the Palestinian line. This bend tallies perfectly with the actual state of things. From the station of Zadagatta to the city of Aila, by way of Ad Dianam, is represented as 81,000 paces, or about 120 kilometers, while the actual length of the Roman road with all its turnings is not more than 64,000 paces, or 95 kilometers. If we exclude the 16,000 paces from Ad Dianam to Aila and reckon the distance direct, assuming that the roads diverged at Aila, we obtain 65,000 paces, which accords with the actual distance (approximately 64,000 paces). The positions of the two stations Hauarra and Praesidio can be determined accurately. At 20,000 paces from Zadagatta (the modern as-Sadaka) we reach the spring of al-Béza’ and the extensive ruins of the city of al-Homejma. Everything indicates that this city was built by the Nabataeans and thus antedates the Roman epoch. It controlled the most convenient and the shortest road leading from the south along the western foot of the as- Sera’ range to the city of Petra. The name Hauarra has the same signification as al-Béza’ or al-Homejma. From the northern part of the ruins of al-Homejma the Roman road runs 66 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ the border of the rocks of al-He&fe and Abu Sjejle. At 4.28 we arrived at the telegraph line. Twenty-four telegraph poles for an unknown reason had been set up in a southeasterly direction from al-Kwéra, and only the farther poles were directed to the southwest. At 4.53 we left the trade route and at 5.05 came upon the watercourse of Btajjehat, which joins Wadi al-Jitm. To the west there yawned the black se%b of al-Filk, which comes from the well of al-Ktejfe and sepa- rates Abu Sjejle from al-Hmejra. Both sides of the water- course of al-Btajjehat, as well as all the slopes inclining to the east, are covered with soft sand in which there is an abundant growth of raza. Among the green shrubs of raza a flock of sheep and goats were grazing, and our guide Salem dragged a fat ram to us. We entered the broad, sheer defile Harm al-Mersed, which rises to the south between the granite rocks of al-Mdajfen on the west and ‘Attd on the east. The western half of this defile was covered with a growth of raza shrubs (Fig. 22), beneath which we encamped at 6.08 P.M. Our camels munch- ed nothing but raza, which they had not tasted for many months, perhaps even for many years, as in the land of the Hwetat the raga is found only in isolated spots. The chief, Salem, killed the ram, skinned it, cut up the meat, hacked the bones, and Serif and Isma‘in stewed it in all the utensils which we had with us. They had plenty of fuel, because the stout, dry trunks and branches of the raza burned well and slowly. Salem baked the liver and lungs in the ashes. He wound up the intestines, buried them in the sand, divided a a distance ‘of twenty- -one kilometers to the Roman fort of al-Kwéra. This stronghold was built to the south of a low, isolated, table-shaped rock, generally called kara (diminutive kwéra), upon which are situated the ruins of the Nabataean fortress. The distance of twenty-one kilometers makes 14,000 paces, whereas the Tabula Peutingeriana gives it as 24,000 paces. It is well known, however, that the figures indicating distances on the Tabula Peutingeriana have been very unsatisfactorily preserved. We have, therefore, every reason to suppose that an in- accurate ‘‘xxiiii’” came from a correct ‘‘xiiii’’ — an easy error in Roman figures. Hence al-Kwéra would seem to be the Roman station of Praesidio. Beyond al-Kwéra the Roman road turns off from the cultivated lowland into the deep WAdi al-Jitm surrounded by granite mountains, passes through it southward to a point nearly due east of Aila, thereupon turns to the northwest, leaves the wddi about five kilometers north of Aila, and then turning again south arrives at Aila at a distance of forty-five kilometers from al-Kwéra. This distance should not be 21,000 paces, as given on the Tabula Peutingeriana, but 30,000. The Roman figure ‘xx’? is on the left and the figure ‘‘i” on the right of the red line; this figure ‘‘i,’”” however, is so short that it resembles the stroke of an ‘‘x’”’ rather than an ‘‘i.”’ On this road there actually is no place for the station of Ad Dianam, whereas on the Palestine road Ad Dianam would correspond to the Semitic Adian (Radjan), a town which was located 32 kilometers, or exactly 21,000 paces, north of Aila on the eastern border of al-‘Araba (see Musil, Arabia Petraca; Vo0la2. bartelsepee DL). The station of al-Kwéra is situated at the crossing of two important ancient transport routes. One ran from Madian in the south to ancient Petra in the north; the second led in a northeasterly direction from the harbor of Aila (the modern al-‘Akaba) by way of Nakb as-Star to Ma‘an. I hold the opinion that the Israelites followed the former road to Kade, near Petra, and, returning, branched off on the second road to Mount Se‘ir, Ma‘an, and farther on to Moab (see below, pp. 267—272). AL-HOMEJMA TO AL-‘AKABA 67 the fire above them, turned them twice, and then proceeded to feast on them. After supper he lit a small fire, placed a can of strong coffee near it, called for a handful of tobacco, sat down by the fire, and smoked and drank coffee until dawn. Fic. 22—Harm (defile of) al-Mersed. HARM AL-MERSED TO AL-KNENESIJJE On Sunday, June 5, 1910, we were in the saddle again at 5.08 (temperature: 15.2°C) and made our way southward through the defile of al-Mersed. To the west rise the rocks of al-Mdajfen and to the east those of ‘Atad. They both consist of vertical, black granite ribs, over which are layers of yellowish limestone, gnawed and consumed by the action of rain, wind, heat, and cold. Lying in the defile there are large pieces of limestone that have broken away. At 5.20, through the gap in al-Mdajfen, we caught sight of the sharp obelisks formed by the granite mountains of at-Till, to the southwest, northeast of which were the broad summits Rwésat al-Halde and to the south the huge pyramid of Baker. The reflected rays of the rising sun seemed to glance off all these peaks in showers. At 5.384 we crossed the path leading east- 68 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ ward to the water of al-Muhalleba. At 5.50 Salem pointed out on a granite slope to the left the spring of Sam‘al and to the right on another slope the well of Hawara, the water of which is said to be particularly fresh. Here the raza shrubs ceased; but in place of them the plain was covered with sth, gerad, ‘agram, danabnab, ba‘ejtran, nasi, keysum, harmal (known also as hargal), nates, wrdka, nikd, silla, and also, as an isolated growth, kalh. At 6.30 we saw to the left the broad gap of Mojet Raman and to the right the deep se%b of Abu Neda’. The Mojet Raman gap leads along the southern foot of Mount Raman to the plain of al-Krejnife, separating Raman from Mount Ramm with its countless sharp-pointed pyramids. At 7.10 we passed out of the defile and viewed to the southeast the high pyramids shining with a ruddy glow and the isolated, broken cones called as-Sarabit. The mighty Ramm, or Iram, revealed itself in all its beau- ty. The broad plain Hawr Ramm, which separates its south- eastern part, known as al-Barra, from the northwestern al- Mazmar and Umm ‘Asrin, makes it seem as if the mountain range of Iram had been split in two. The southeastern half is higher than the northwestern and has an almost level ridge, from which rise innumerable small, sharp-pointed pyra- mids, so that from a distance it resembles a huge, mysteri- ous fortress. In the northern part are the springs of al-Kwej- se, as-Sbah, al-Mrejra, Abu Rmejle, and al-‘Agelin. At eight o’clock we reached the watershed and halted below the hill Klejb al-Mersed, from which I drew a map of the surrounding district (temperature: 25° C). The eastern part of the Raman mountain is called Rarntik and borders on the plain of al-Krejnife, which extends between it and the Ramm group. To the southwest al-Krejnife is enclosed by Mount al-Kattar, south of which a rocky plain gradually rises to the southwest, the southern part of the plain being called al-Morar. To the east al-Morar extends as far as the ridge of al-Abrak, to the southeast as far as al-Birde, while to the south it merges into the plains of as-Sardan and Hawr Geris, north of the mighty ridge of az-Zahr which runs from north to south. To the east of the plain of al-Morar rise the rocks of Ammu Mktr and Umm Gasar, and to the north of these al-Mharrak and al-Hadad. To the west of Klejb al-Mersed stretches the long elevation of al-Mrejwez, separated by the se%b of al-Ma‘nan from the higher ar-Ratawa. While here, the camels grazed on the gerad and the high swdas, Similar to the kalh. At 10.45 A. M. we made our way still farther southward. AL-HOMEJMA TO AL-~“AKABA 69 Klejb al-Mersed and al-Barra form the southern border of the ‘Alawin, the tribe to which our guide Salem belonged. Also called Hweétat eben Gad,22 they number about fifty tents and comprise the following clans: Swelhin al-Farragin Makable as-Srurijjin al-Mahamid al-Menage‘e al-Bdul al-Kidman as-Skur al-“Awasa’ al-Hzerat as-Sallamat as-Sallamin al-Rajalin. The ‘Alawin paid no taxes but received from the Turkish Government an annual grant of five hundred English pounds. The Egyptian Mameluke sultans, and later the Turkish rulers, had formerly paid them this money in return for their pro- tection of the pilgrims journeying from Egypt by way of al- ‘Akaba to al-Medina and Mecca; but after the construction of the Suez Canal the Government discontinued the payments, as the pilgrims from Egypt no longer passed through the desert but took ship to Jidda or Raber. However, those who still journeyed through the desert continued to pay personally for their protection. In 1898 the tribes encamped southwest of Ma‘an began a revolt against the Turks and wished to transfer their allegiance to Egypt. In order to win them over, the Turkish Government consented to grant gifts of money in individual cases and recommenced the annual payment of five hundred English pounds to the ‘Alawin. Salem urged me to take a guide from among the ‘Imran, who would protect us from his predatory friends. It should be explained that each tribe regards the neighboring tribe as more thievish than itself. The defile of al-Mersed is enclosed to the south by the uplands of Shejb al-Araneb and Smejr as-Sebihi. Avoiding these uplands, we entered a capacious basin sloping towards the south, in which, near the well of Abu Sjejle, we per- ceived several camels belonging to the Samsan clan of the ‘Imran. After a while we were joined by an old man with a good-humored expression, whom Salem recommended to me as guide. This was Hammad, the chief of the Samsan. On his head he wore a black and threadbare kerchief, while his body was clothed only in a tattered black shirt, which he 22 See Musil, Arabia Petraea, Vol. 3, pp. 54—55. 70 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ carefully concealed under his new red and yellow cloak, receiv- ed a few days before as a gift from the new kajymakam at al--Akaba. No Bedouin would have bought a garment of such a color. When, however, the Sultan at Constantinople selected this garment for Hammad and sent it to him by his official, Hammad could not refuse the gift, for Mawlana-s-Sultan (Our Lord the Sultan) knew well what would be most fitting for the chief of the Samsan. Entering into conversation with him, I discovered that he was familiar with the art of giving di- rections and distances and that he had a wide knowledge of local place names. In consequence I hired him as a guide. As we were drawing near his camp, he seized my camel by the bridle and implored me to dismount at his tent as a guest sent by Allah. Not wishing to squander time unnecessarily, I extolled his lavishness and hospitality in high-flown words and asked him to excuse me on this occasion, adding that I would perhaps rest in his tent on my return. Inquiring about ruins, I discovered that there are no remains of old buildings in the territory of the ‘Imran, but was told that southeast of us there were the caves Morar “Antar, constructed in the same extensive and beautiful man- ner as those at Wadi Musa (Petra). After Hammad had giv- en me an exact description of these caves, we branched off to the east at 12.45 in order to inspect them. We rode through a Seib, broad in most places but made so narrow in spots by the encroachment of the sandstone hills that the water- course can scarcely penetrate it, and therefore called az-Zjejke (the gorge) (Fig. 23). The banks are steep walls and remind- ed me of Sik Wadi Misa. The rays of the sun were reflect- ed from the brown rocks, and the white sand which here and there formed extensive drifts was so dazzling that it was impossible to look at it. My right eye pained me; the lid was swollen, and the veins in the white of the eye were blood- shot. At 1.25 P. M., from a high rock, we perceived to the west on the right-hand side of Wadi Jitm al-‘Imran (or al- ‘Emran) the dark-tinted mountain of az-Zab‘i; the flat ridge of Lebenan les opposite, on the left side of the wddi. To the south of us rose the black, worn, granite rock of al-HeSim, near which there flows a scanty spring; while south of us towered the isolated summit of al-Mkasseb. Branching off to the southeast, at two o’clock we entered into a broad se%b that contained a number of small fields, and later we came AL-HOMEJMA TO AL-AKABA fab to the peak of al-Knénesijje, which shuts in the great plain of al-Morar on the northwest.”* AL-KNENESIJJE TO AL-WARAKA At 2.30 P.M. we rode alongside the dark red rocks of at-Tfejhwat with their precipitous sides, admiring the groups Fic. 23—Az-Zjejke. of cleft cones of Sardan and Nurra. The latter are prominent by reason of their peculiar olive color, and, as they extend to the northward separating the large, level plains of Hawr _ *3-'The plain of al-Morar is mentioned by Arabic authors as being in the territory of the Gudam tribe. u Al-Hamdani (died 945 A.D.), Sifa (Miller), p. 129, states that the Gudam tribe en- camped between Madjan, Tebak, and Adruh, one clan sojourning, however, in the vicinity of at-Tabarijje (Tiberias). The same author mentions (op. cit., pp. 130f.) that the territory of the Beli tribe borders on the territory of the Gudam on the shore near the station of an-Nabk and that the Gudam territory extends as far as “Ajnina’ and Tebtk in the desert, the aS-Sera’ range, Ma‘an, and thence back again to Ajla, and farther on to within sight of al-Marar, the place last mentioned being the encampment of the Lahm tribe, who are also the owners of a strip of country between the settlements of Tebik and Zorar. 2 Al-Bekri, Mu‘gam (Wistenfeld), p. 550, mentions the place al-Ma‘in as being in the Gudam territory. According to the poet Hassan ibn Tabet, the camping places of the Gudam are distributed between al-Ma‘in, ‘Awd, Razza, al-Marrit, al-Habt, al-Muna’, and Bejt Zum- mara’. The poet Malek ibn Harim mentions Mount ‘Urad together with al-Ma‘in. 72 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ Geris and Sardan, they are visible from a long way off. At three o’clock we had the white limestone hills of al-Haz‘ali to the east and the high dark gray cone of al-Kider to the southeast. At 3.20 we reached the plain Hawr Geris, where Hammad pointed out to me on the right the famous caves Morar ‘Antar. On the eastern side of the limestone mountain Tor ‘Antar were the mouths of three large, natural caves which served as a shelter for flocks of goats and sheep, No- where in these caves is there the slightest trace of any deco- ration or any other sign that human hands have touched them. Their resemblance to the burial caves at Wadi Musa was a product of Hammad’s lavish imagination. He was distressed to find that the caves did not please me, but he comforted me by saying that he would conduct me to the rock of “Ala- kan, where he would show me boulders containing gold dust. He declared that in the spring of that year an official, haddam, of the Viceroy of Egypt had searched for such boulders near ‘Alakan without being able to find them, but that he would certainly show them to me. I thanked him for his willingness, but declared that I would not go to ‘Alakan, as I could not go there alone, and, if I were to take my companions with me, Isma‘in and Mhammad would likewise see the boulders and later on would certainly make a raid upon the ‘Imran for the purpose of taking the boulders from them. Having turned to the southwest through the gap of Abu Hsejje, we halted at 4.08 beneath the rocky wall of al- Waraka (temperature: 28° C). To the northwest, near the Al-Bekri also states, op. cit. p. 190, that the places mentioned by Hassan ibn Tabet refer to the encampments of the Gudém and that they are situated in Syria (Hassan ibn Tabet, Diwan [Ttnis, 1281 A.H.], p. 28). ‘ Al-Bekri, op. cit., p. 524, refers to Marrtt as a region in the Gudam territory, which was presented to Husejn ibn MuSammet by the Prophet Mohammed, together with the fountains of Usejheb, al-Ma‘eze, al-Hawi, at-Tmad, and as-Sdéra in that area. — Madjan is the present oasis of al-Bed* about half-way up the waddi of al-Abjaz. Adruh is situated sixteen kilometers northwest of the town of Ma‘an. An-Nabk is a pilgrimage station on the shore of the Red Sea, which must be located in the se%b of Sa‘af, although the frontier between the Gudam and Beli was and is still formed by the wadi of Dama, nearly sixty kilometers northwest of Sa‘af. “Ajniina’ is located about fifty kilometers south- southeast of Madjan (al-Bed‘). Al-Marar — or, as it is called today, al-Morar — is a plateau to the south and southeast of the Ramm range, or the ancient Iram, rising to the east of the former city of Ajla and enclosing the northern corner of the Hesma’ district. According to al-Hamdani the Gudam tribe occupied Hesma’ as far as the harbor of Ajla and al-Morar, as well as the neighboring a8-Sera’ range as far as Ma‘an and the eastern table-land. The Lahm tribe had the territory to the north of al-Morar and to the west of the neighboring aS-Sera’ range as far as the Dead Sea, always supposing, of course, that the details given by al- Hamdani are accurate. It is certain that the Lahm territory did not extend as far as the settlement of Tebtik. No other writer mentions the Lahm in the vicinity of Tebaik, and no tribe would have permitted a foreign zone to be thrust as a wedge into their territory, thereby intercepting the road from water to water. Al-Ma‘in is a mountain overlooking the coastal plain about sixty kilometers north of the Dama wddi. Some accounts mention “Ard in place of ‘Awd, although it seems to me that the former name is correct, for “Arajed is the name of an important encampment north of Tebak, well known to the Arabie writers. The place named Razza is unknown to me in the territory of the Gudam tribe. It is, however, AL-HOMEJMA TO AL“AKABA 73 rocks Sarbtit Amrar, we perceived a woman with three asses, who hastily took to flight when she caught sight of us. Our guide Hammad wished to pursue her, in order to evade the taunts and reproaches which Isma‘in and Mhammad were heap- ing upon him for having extolled the caves of ‘Antar as re- sembling the caves at Wadi Musa and for declaring that he knew of a boulder near ‘Alakan baked in golden flour. It was with great difficulty that I soothed his feelings. I had realized that he was well acquainted with the whole territory of his tribe, and I knew that we should need him to protect us against the aggression of his fellow tribesmen. Accompanied by Hammad and Tuman, I went to the top of al-Waraka and drew a map of the surrounding territory. It took us over forty minutes to reach the summit, and it was a very difficult climb, as we had to scramble from boulder to boulder and from rib to rib. Scarcely had we set about our work than we heard a number of muffled shots below us, followed by shouts that sounded like bellowings. Running to the very edge of a wall of rock, I gazed down at our en- campment. The camels were grazing among the broken frag- ments of rock at the foot of al-Waraka. The baggage was lying about two hundred meters to the east of the animals. Isma‘in, Mhammad, Serif, and Salem were lying hidden in a semi- circle behind four boulders and were defending themselves against some thirty assailants. The attackers had come from the northwest, some on camels, the majority on foot. Among them and behind them came women and boys, armed with very probable that the name has not been accurately preserved and that its proper form was “Azza or something similar. There is an encampment “Azaza known to the modern nomads in the former territory of the Gudam tribe situated at the entrance to the al-Bdejje pass, through which the road from Tihama runs eastward across the rocky plateau of al-Geles. I locate al-Habt in the modern al-Hbejt, on the eastern side of the wddi of al-Abjaz. Al-Muna’ is unknown to me. Bejt Zummara’ may be identical with the modern range of Zunnara, for in the Arabic dialects m is often interchanged with n. More probably, however, Bejt Zummara’ has been preserved in the modern Abu Zummarin, which is the name of an important passage from the eastern plateau to the shore. The encampment of ‘Urad of the poet Malek ibn Harim can very reasonably be identified with ‘Ard and ‘Arajed, for the poets often adapted place names to their particular requirements. Al-Marrtit denotes the whole region, the position and extent of which we can determine if we find the wells of Usejheb, al-Ma‘eze, al-Hawi, at-Tmad, and as-Sdéra. Usejheb is the modern well and se%b of as-Sahab near al-Weli Sam‘al. The spring of al-Hawi flows out about ten kilometers north of as-Sahab. Al-Ma‘eze suggests al-Ma‘azi, twenty-five kilometers northwest of al-Hawi. I identify at-Tmad with the wells of al-Ma‘- ajjenat, ten kilometers south of al-Ma‘‘azi. Tmad is the general name of shallow wells in a river bed, and al-Ma‘ajjenat are of this description. About fifteen kilometers from them are the hills of as-Sedara, in which there are several wells west of al-Hawi, and it is there that I locate as-Sdéra. Near al-Ma‘azi rises the Se%b of al-Mratijje, the root of the name of which suggests the diminutive Marrtt. This, accordingly, denotes the zone between as-Sahab to the south and al-Mratijje about forty-five kilometers to the north. The Prophet granted in fief to Husejn ibn MuSammet the wells near the important transport route that passes from north to south through the western district of the Gudam territory, and Husejn was entitled to demand a remuneration from the trade caravans. 74 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ cudgels; all were shouting and cursing. Our guide Hammad, recognizing the assailants as his fellow tribesmen, shouted to them that he, their chief, was guiding and protecting us, and, when they paid no heed to his words, he pulled his splen- did mantle from his shoulders and, waving it in the air in his right hand, went leaping down towards them, jumping from boulder to boulder. As soon as the marauders perceived him they came to a standstill. Gradually the women went away, and at last the men also took their departure. After this incident we could complete our work. When, after sun- set, we returned, I thanked Hammad for his protection; but the negro Mhammad declared that we had not been saved by the chief but by the chief’s red and yellow cloak. Mhammad said that as soon as the assailants had caught sight of this garment — selected and sent to Hammad by the Sultan — they had been struck blind and had therefore been compelled to depart. So long as this cloak was with us, not a single thief among the ‘Imran would venture to steal anything from us. But Hammad had no such faith in the great power of his cloak, and he urged me to post a guard to watch over our camels and baggage throughout the night. The chief Salem offered to keep watch until morning, if I would fill his bag with tobacco and give him a can full of coffee to boil. I sat up with him nearly all night, as I was suffering from a severe pain in my right eye. AL-WARAKA TO AZ-ZJEJKE On Monday, June 6, 1910, at 4.40 A. M., we rode out from camp toward the southwest, through the se%ib of Sweébet (temperature: 14° C), and at 5.44 we crossed to the water- course of Sabet. This se?%b runs from southeast to northwest through the sloping basin Hawr Geris, from which protrude only a few low, rocky ribs. The largest of these is called al-Mekjal. The whole basin and surroundings of the sevb of Sabet were covered with a thick growth of grass and shrubs, a sign that there had been an abundance of rain during the last rainy season. Many snakes were crawling about among the vegetation, and we saw at least twenty of them. They were about thirty centimeters long, very thin, and their backs were covered with black scales. Hammad praised the “richness of the pasture that year (rif has-sene).”’ AL-HOMEJMA TO AL“AKABA 75 He explained that in the preceding year also there had been plenty of rain, but the young locusts had destroyed the grass and shrubs, so that the ‘Imran had been obliged to move on with their flocks to the region of al-Kdtr on the southern border of the aS-Sera’ range. We reached the watershed of the valleys of al-Jitm and al-Mabrak through the broad defile of ‘Elw al-Jitama, and from 7.30 to 11.42 our main party remained beneath the steep wall of Ammu Zktk (Fig. 24). Jumping down from our cam- els, Taman and I took up the instruments we needed and with Hammad made our way to the summit of Ammu Zkuk. The ascent was difficult and even dangerous in places. We crawled among the granite ribs, frequently passing round ver- tical walls of rock, and scram- bled between broken boulders, continually taking care not to set loose a stone that might roll down and wound or kill one of our companions coming up behind. After eighty min- utes we reached a rocky ridge at an elevation of 1387 meters. Thoroughly tired, and breathing with difficulty, we sank down upon a rock, but after a short time recovered and set about our task. To the east our view was shut off by the higher peaks of Ammu Zktk, and to the northwest it was barred by Abu ‘Urak; but in all other directions we could see for a great distance. To the northeast, behind the elevation of Ammu Drejra, from which the se%b of an-Na‘ami proceeds, there extends the plain Hawr Geris, separated by the group of Sardan and Nurra from the plain of as-Sardan, which slopes to the southeast. South of Nurra the mountains of Ammu Sahan and al-Mut- tala‘a are united with the broad ridge of az-Zahr, and still farther south they merge with the mountains of Nedra and az-Zejte, which form the watershed between the eastern lowlands and the Red Sea. Below Ammu Zktk to the south, the broad Se%b of al-Krejn extends from east to west — bordered on the east by the hills of al-Btéane, Ammu Lowze, and ‘Alakan; on the south by az-Zeranik, an-Nkejra, Abu Rekajes, and Fic. 24—Ammu Zkik. 76 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ Ruraba; on the west by as-Sfejhe; and on the northwest by Abu Krtn and Abu ‘Urtk. Through the plain of al-Krejn there winds the water- course of the same name. The spring of an-Nkejra lies between the rocks of an-Nkejra and az-Zeranik on the eastern portion of the plain, while toward the western end the spring of al-Esawed rises at the foot of Abu Krtin. The se%b of al-Krejn joins the se%b of al-Mabrak, which extends from the rocks of ‘Alakan, at-Tafha, and Ammu Kedade that lie to the southeast. To the west of ‘Alakan, on the right-hand side of al-Mabrak rises the mountain of al-Roson; on the left-hand side, al-Emejrer and Umm Burka; Ammu Hamata farther to the west is on the right-hand side, and az-Zrejf on the left. At the head of the Se%b of al-Mabrak — to the southwest of ‘Alakan — is the spring of al-‘Elli; to the west of al-Emejrer is the spring of at-Tarfa’, while northwest of at-Tarfa’ are al-Wugide and al-Ma‘ajjenat, the latter on the west slope of Ammu Hamata. I collected some plants during the descent, so that I re- turned about a quarter of an hour later than my companions. Having described the plants and put them away, I made ready for departure, without refreshing myself with even a cup of coffee: my hungry companions had consumed everything available. We turned back northward through the defile of ‘Elw al-Jitama, as} I wanted to journey through Wadi al-Jitm to the settlement of al-‘Akaba. Before us, to the northwest, rose the dark mountains of Sarbat al-Amrar with their vertical ribs, on which stand steep-walled, red, natural strongholds. The vertical ribs are of granite and the strongholds of limestone and sandstone. The individual mountains are divided by broad notches, the walls of which are black while the ridges of the mountains are red, and in the rays of the sun these two colors spread around them a thin veil, woven of the most various shades of color. This veil appeared to be in perpetual motion, which was irritating to the eyes. I was obliged to bind up my sore right eye and use only the left. At 1.10 we had on our left the setb of Ammu Nsal, in which rises near a sidr tree the spring of Hawara. The ‘Imran believe that this tree is the abode of a spirit—hal-welijje hadi mamlika (this holy tree is possessed by a spirit). At 2.10 on the right among the black granite rocks we perceived the broad gap of Mekreh al-Gemal and came to the se%b of al-“-Emédijje, through which a road leads to the spring of Abu Hbejle. From 2.40 to 5.13 we rested at the foot of Mount al-Mkasseb (Fig. 25). The baggage was unloaded and the camels were led to the spring of Taten, which comes up from the northern slope of al-Knejne. The air was filled with thick AL-HOMEJMA TO AL-AKABA 77 vapors, which formed broad layers and shut out the view (temperature: 37.2° C). They quivered in the hot rays of the sun and were continually changing their position. My left eye also began to hurt and I trembled with fever. Fic. 25—Mount al-Mkasseb. Toward five o’clock my companions brought back the camels, and at 5.18 we set off between the rocks of al-Kejttn, al-Halal, and al-Hmejra on the left and al-Mkasseb on the right. At six o’clock, on our right beneath the spring of as- Seri‘a, we observed a large encampment of the ‘Asban clan, who also belong to the ‘Imran. The chief, Kasem, ran up to us with about twenty men and entreated me and my com- panions to be his guests. Tormented by fever and by the pain in my eyes, which was so severe that I could scarcely hold myself in the saddle, I craved rest and peace. I prayed the chief to allow us to sit down in the shadow of his tent and beneath the protection of his countenance, saying that we should everywhere extol and proclaim his bountifulness. At 6.12 we settled down beneath a rock of no great size near 78 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ the setb of az-Zjejke, about one kilometer from the tents (temperature: 21° C). Mounting the rock with Taman and the guide, I noted the names of the surrounding mountains and then dragged myself to the baggage. Serif placed my saddle for me in the shadow of the rock, where I lay down. My right eye was swollen and blood-shot, I had excruciating internal pains, and was shaken by fever. Scarcely had I wrapped myself up in my mantle, covering my head also, when Kasem, the chief, came to pay me a visit, bringing me a bleating ram as a gift. Tying up the animal behind my head, he sat down beside me and inquired how I was prospering, how my parents were prospering, how my relatives were prospering, how the Sultan of Constantinople was prospering — not only the new Sultan, but also Abdul-Hamid, who had been deposed and who was, Kasem said, a great benefactor of the ‘Imran, because he selected better cloaks than the present Sultan — and so on. Many other men came with the chief, and they also sat down around me, fingering the softness of my cloak, judging its cost, and declaring that it was of better material than the cloak which the Sultan had sent from Constantinople to their chief. Observing the barrel of my three-chambered rifle lying beside me underneath my cloak, they asked how it worked. As my head was entirely covered, I did not move or pay any heed to the chief and the rest of the company. After about a quarter of an hour, the leader got up and went to our fire, where coffee was just being boiled, and the rest of them crowded after him. Only the ram remained tied up behind my head and kept on bleating. At last the animal succeeded in breaking loose and escaped from the camp. Scarcely had its escape been observed than the chief and his followers dashed off, caught the animal, and brought it back again; but this time they did not tie it up near my head but near the fire, where it continued bleating until morning. All night long, aS in a dream, I heard the voices of the men talking and the bleating of the ram. AZ-ZJEJKE TO THE RIFT VALLEY OF AL-“ARABA AT RIGM AL-FAZH Before dawn on Tuesday, June 7, 1910, Kasem, the chief, was again sitting by my side with his ram, which he now AL-HOMEJMA TO AL“AKABA 79 held by the horns with his left hand. He offered it to me as a gift, expecting, of course, a much more valuable gift from me. The evening before he had invited us to come to his tent as guests, but in the meanwhile he and his followers visited us, consumed all my companions’ supper, and drank four cans full of coffee. But he nevertheless continued to regard himself as my host and demanded a gift. My com- panions were very much annoyed with him, and Mhammad signaled to me that I should give him nothing. When Serif, at my hint, paid him three megidijjat, Kasem mounted his camel and rode away without a word of thanks: he had ex- pected a much greater gift. On the heels of the chief about fifteen other men came up and all begged for gifts. I was glad when we rode away at 4.58 P. M. The ‘Imran comprise the following clans: Samamse (or Samsan), 10 tents; at az-Zjejke. Dbtr, 25 tents; at Sabet. Rabiijjin, 20 tents; at the head of Sabet. al-Makable, 30 tents; between as-Sedara and Zeranik. al-F'zul, 20 tents; at Hakl. They form two groups: ar-Rwékbin and al-Kawasme. al-Hawamde, 35 tents; at ‘Elw as-Sirr. They include al-H1]élijjin. ‘Abadle, 20 tents; in Tihama from al-Hméza to ad- Dabr. al-“Asabne, 40 tents; from Sfejha to the west and south. The head chief of the ‘Imran is Salem eben Makbtal. He receives 250 Turkish gold pounds ($ 1125) annually from the Sultan. The territory of the ‘Imran from az-Zjejke in the north to ad-Dabr in the south is about sixty kilometers long by thirty-five kilometers broad. They have a clear and distinct pronunciation of k, k, and g; their zg is nearer to d; ta’ marbuta sounds nearly always like a. At 5.45 we rode through a grove of sejdl trees which covered not only the valley but also the northern foot of Mount az-Zab‘i. The wddi forms a basin open on the east but shut in on the west by the steep walls of Mount Lebenan. The latter are made of black, reddened, and blue strata, broken perpendicularly.”* 24 Abu Muhammed al-Aswad (Jakit, Mu‘gam [Wistenfeld], Vol. 4, p. 347) recalls a ride from the sandy desert of Ajla through the lowland of Lubna’ and through the volcanic region of al-“Aramat, which is covered in places with sandy drifts. He states that Lubna’ 80 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ At seven o’clock, on our left; we saw the se%tb of Umm ‘ESS, which is clogged with stones and sand, so that the river bed is over five meters deep. At 7.20 we arrived at the junction of the two valleys called Jitm, Malaka’ al-Ajtam (junction of the Jitms), one of which proceeds from the ruins of al-Homejma on the north, while the other, through which we rode, comes from the southeast. The small ruins of al-Kitara, situated on the spur between the two channels, are said to be inhabited by a spirit and consequently are avoided by both the ‘Alawin and the ‘Imran.” North of them is the spring of al-Harak. I should have been very glad to have halted and in- spected the ruins, but there was nowhere any trace of plants. Both wddis were completely dried up, and in the joint valley of al-Jitm only sejdls were growing in the stony soil. Our guide Salem said that in the lower part of Wadi al-Jitm there had been no rain during either that year or the previous one. The sun beat down upon the black rocks that enclose the wadi, the air did not stir, and in the deep ravine the sweltering heat was unbearable. The camels were as eager as their riders to escape from this closed furnace and needed no urging to hasten westward. At eight o’clock we had the rocks of Maksar al-Gerra on our left; four minutes later the seib of Umm Hamata was on our right, and at 8.10 we were thrusting our way among countless granite boulders that had been wrenched from the wall of ar-Resafa which enclosed the wadi on our right. At 8.44 we came upon the dam of al-Mesadd, which once ran across the full breadth of the wadi from southwest to northeast, transforming it into a large rain pool. Its southern portion has now been broken through and carried away. At 8.52 P. M. we saw many sejdl trees in the setb of Umm Lasam on our left; and at nine o’clock we rode out from Wadi al-Jitm and from the granite walls enclosing it. On the left of the river bed, beneath the rocky wall, lies the huge, smooth boulder Dims al-‘Okbijje, so named is situated in the territory of the Gudam. —TI locate the lowland of Lubna’ in the valley near Mount Lebenan, for Lubna’ is the feminine form of the masculine Lebenan. It belonged to the Gudam tribe, and an important road led through it from the harbor of Ajla to the southeast. The region of ‘Aramat would then be identical with the volcanic territory Harrat al-‘Awérez. *> Al-Hazimi, according to Jaktt, op. cit., Vol. 4, p. 317, mentions Mount Kawtar as lying between al-Medina and Syria. — This is perhaps the mountain which rises above the ruins of Kitara. The approximate indication of its position between al-Medina and Syria is customary with the Arabic geographers and implies that it is situated by the road — or at least not far from the road —_which leads from al-Medina to Syria. This road runs from Ajla by al-Kitara to the pass of Sitar, the position of which is defined by Jaktit, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 259, precisely as lying between al-Medina and Syria. AL-HOMEJMA TO AL-AKABA Sl after a young woman of the Beni ‘Okba tribe. She is said to have been a renowned beauty, who was married as a girl to the chief, a relative of hers. After having been married for two years she had not yet presented her husband with a boy or a girl. At Allah’s injunction, she came one day to Fic. 26—From Rigm al-Fazh looking northeast. look for fuel in Wadi al-Jitm. She was accompanied by an- other woman but lost sight of this companion. After shouting had failed to attract the attention of the missing woman, the chief’s wife leaped upon a huge boulder but missed her footing and slid down. Lo and behold! after due time, she gave birth to a strong, healthy boy. Since then the childless women of the neighboring tribes have made pilgrimages to the boulder of al-‘Okbijje, where they climb over its surface: if Allah wills it they obtain children and if Allah wills not they obtain no children. RIGM AL-FAZH TO AL-“AKABA At 9.15 A. M., to the east of Rigm al-Fazh, we perceived a few yellowish ramt bushes (Fig. 26), beside which we A THE NORTHERN HEGAZ » 6 82 ‘You 944 Wort VQPHV,-[V—LZ ‘DIA AL-HOMEJMA TO AL-AKABA 83 remained until 11.45. Our famished camels could find nothing except rimt. The rift valley of al-“Araba was completely parched, and, as there was nowhere the slightest trace of grass or green plants, the prevailing color was gray. The heat was so great that we found it difficult to breathe (temperature: 37.8° C). The air was full of yellowish layers; the sun could not be seen, but its hot rays warmed these layers and scorched the stones and sand. There was not the least breath of wind to bring cooler air to the heated soil upon which we lay. Our lunes struggled to gulp down as much air as possible, and we could not bear to turn our eyes upon the glowing atmosphere. My right eye was paining me so much that I did not venture even to move the muscles of it, not wishing to increase my agony. My fever had grown more severe again, and I could feel the blood throbbing in my temples. Mounting our camels at 11.45, we rose above the warmest atmospheric layer and could breathe somewhat more freely. After proceeding southward along the western foot of the Ummu Nsejle mountains, at twelve o’clock we crossed the Seib of Umm Gurfejn, through which we could see the black ridge of Mount ar-Rwéha. But we did not find any fresh green plants anywhere at the foot of the mountain; the needles had been preserved only on the rimt bushes and not on all of these, for many of them were completely bare, a sign that the roots had not found enough moisture to nourish the long, thin leaves, which resemble pine needles. At 12.47 we caught sight of the palm gardens of the oasis of al-“Akaba (Fig. 27). The tops of the palms seemed to be a dull black, while the sea behind them was a dirty yellow. At 1.06 we rode across the se%b of aS-Sellale and reached the wooden huts in which a hundred and fifty foot soldiers were quartered. Skirting the encampment and settlement on the western side, we urged our camels to kneel down by the well of Ajla (temperature 42.3° C). The well of Ajla is situated between the stronghold and the seashore, from which it is scarcely fifty paces distant. To the north and south extend the palm gardens. At the advice of Isma‘in, who was well acquainted with al-“Akaba, we carried our baggage into the nearest of the northern gardens, where we encamped. After a while, the owner of the garden came up to us with a watchman, and both gave 84 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ us a hearty welcome. Accompanied by Isma‘in, I proceeded to the kdjmakadm. The Government building — a low, dirty hut with two rooms and a single window — is situated north of the village. We did not find the kajmakam there, as he was paying a visit to the hut of the Military Commander farther to the north. In front of the latter’s hut the soldiers had planted several ratam bushes, which had grown abun- dantly as a result of careful watering. The kdj7makam, a man of about thirty-five, with an intel- ligent expression, was lying on a carpet and reading a Turkish newspaper. He spoke Arabic quite fluently, and this I immedi- ately remarked as unusual among the younger Turkish officials, especially since the change of Government. I first handed him a recommendation and a letter from his father-in-law at Damascus, and then a recommendation from Constantinople. He heartily bade me welcome and questioned me particularly about events in Constantinople and Syria. He informed me that he had reached al-‘Akaba from al-Medina by way of Ma‘an only a few days before and that he proposed to subject the region entirely to the Turkish Government from Morajer Su‘ejb in the south to the well ‘Ajn Rarandal in the north, from ‘Ajn Taba in the west to the mighty ridge of az-Zahr in the east. He was to be supported by one hundred and fifty foot soldiers and twenty-six men mounted on camels. The kajmakdadm complained that one hundred and thirty of his men were lying ill, suffering from fever and malaria and that his mounted men had only two camels, which were deteriorating from day to day as a result of insufficient food. The camel riders all came from al-Kasim, thus being ‘Akejl, whom the kajmakdm had hired in al-Medina. The Government had appoint- ed him the first kdj7makam in al-‘Akaba but had not supplied him with money, food, or even ammunition. In al-‘Akaba there were no medicines and no doctor. The soldiers who were seriously ill were transported on camels to Ma‘an and thence by railway to Damascus, a journey which required eight days, so that few of those who were dangerously ill reached Damascus alive. The garrison was relieved every six months. In 1909 many of the soldiers and the native inhabitants had died of cholera brought by pilgrims returning by way of al-“Akaba to Egypt and thence to northern Africa.”® *6 Abu-l-Feda’, Takwim (Reinaud and De Slane), pp. 86—87, states that in his time nothing was left of the former small town of Ajla except the stronghold on the Egyptian Pilgrim Route situated by the shore of the Kolzum Sea. There were no fields in the AL-HOMEJMA TO AL-“AKABA 85 The settlement of al-“Akaba has about thirty huts, inhab- ited by nineteen families who have emigrated from various countries and cities. The majority of the inhabitants are descendants of Egyptian soldiers and pilgrims who fell ill at al--Akaba, were cured, and married there. The huts are built of broken stone or unburnt brick. The only building of a higher type is the stronghold, which is constructed of square-hewn, black and white stones (Fig. 28). At each corner of the stronghold there is a round tower. A fine gateway in the center of the northern side leads into an extensive courtyard, along the walls of which there are stables, storehouses, and rooms for visitors and pilgrims. To the right and left of this gateway there are rosettes, and on the northeastern tower is a knight’s escutcheon (Fig. 29). On both walls of the broad passage formed by the gateway there are inscriptions announcing by whom and when the stronghold was restored. Today it again stands in need of restoration, for its north- ern and eastern walls are half in ruins. The inhabitants of al-“Akaba cultivate the date palm. They have excellent plantations to the south of the settlement, to the northwest near the ruins of ad-Dejr on the road to Egypt, and in the western part of al-‘Araba. They assured me that they have more than three thousand date palms. Under the palms they grow figs, pomegranates, sweet lemons, and various kinds of vegetables. The gardens do not provide them with a living, as they nearly all belong to the chiefs of neighboring tribes, for whom they are cultivated in return for a half or a third of the yield. The settlers seek a liveli- hood in trade, conveying and selling various goods which are brought by the coasting traders or sailors on ships from Egypt. In the Wadi al-‘Okfi the soil can be cultivated, and the harvests there are abundant when there has been plenty of rain and water has been flowing through the wddi for a considerable time. In this valley the inhabitants rent allot- ments from the Héwat, sowing the land with wheat and barley and living in tents beside their fields during the periods of sowing and of harvest. After the harvest they return to al-‘Akaba with the threshed corn. vicinity of this stronghold. In former times Ajla had a small fortress on the island [a small island (not shown on the map) situated near the western shore of the gulf and not explored by me]; but this also was abandoned, and the Egyptian governor resided in the above- mentioned stronghold. For records of the history of the harbor of Ajla, see Musil, Arabia Petraea, Vol. 2; Part 1, p. 305, note 16, A THE NORTHERN HEGAZ > 4h 86 ‘ysvoy.LOU VY} Woy Vqeyy,-[eB fo ploy.suo.4s af —8zZ ‘DIY AL-HOMEJMA TO AL-AKABA 87 Northwest of the ruins of Ajla we visited a grove of luxuriant date palms in which we found other remains of old buildings, called ad-Dejr or ad-Dar. In 1898 the Military Commander began to construct a large barrack to the south Fic. 29—Al-‘Akaba, the northeastern tower. of this palm grove, but the building was never completed and now resembles a ruin. After our return from ad-Dejr, I photographed the in- scriptions on the stronghold, visited a number of the sick soldiers, conversed for more than an hour with the kajmakdm, and looked about for a reliable guide. The chief, Salem eben Gad, who had accompanied us to al-‘Akaba, had become so accustomed to our coffee that he did not feel inclined to leave us. Gye ysl lee ABN AL-‘AKABA TO MADIAN The negro Mhammad, who was guarding our camels on the pasture, sent me word that there were neither annuals nor perennials in the neighborhood and urgently advised that we should quickly finish our work at al-“Akaba and continue our journey. I accordingly sent Serif to Mhammad, so that they might drive the camels on to the well of Ajla (Fig. 30) and let them drink there. But the animals did not wish to drink the fresh water from the well, preferring to go to the seashore where they very readily drank from the many springs which flowed there. At low tide the rocky shore was laid bare for a distance of about two hundred meters, uncovering nu- merous springs which gushed forth with great strength. AL-AKABA TO HAKL At 2.04 P. M. we left al-‘Akaba, making our way in a southerly direction between the gardens and the sea. At the southern extremity of the gardens, at 2.15, we fell in with a man riding on a camel in the direction of the oasis of Hakl. Joining us, he told me the names of the various places that were visible. On the eastern shore of the gulf there is a group of yellowish mountains from which run numerous deep and shallow seibdn. Many of these have watercourses as deep as twenty meters, hollowed out amid small stones mixed with clay; and there are also places where the sejdl trees grow. No green plants were visible anywhere. Immediately behind the gardens we crossed the se%b of Ammu Sidd, which rises at Hala’ Dahne; then we crossed al-Holozani, al-GowSijje, and at 2.28 ar-Rahbijje, which comes from the mountain of Abu Ruzuman, the rocky spur of which thrusts itself down to the sea. At low tide the spur is separated from the water by a strip about twenty meters broad, covered with many boulders and with soft sand into which our animals slipped up to their knees. At high tide the sea washes against the foot of the spur’s rocky wall, and in stormy weather the waves 88 AL-AKABA TO MADIAN 89 rise to a height of many meters, wearing away the rocks. At this point it is impossible to cross between the sea and the steep wall, so a bridle path about four meters broad has been cut across the spur about one hundred meters from the Fic. 830—By the well of Ajjla. sea, and a small watchtower (Fig. 31)—called al-Brejg— has been set up to prevent the Bedouins from occupying the rocks surrounding the saddle path and thus intercepting the pilgrims on their journey. This steep path, artificially cut out from the rock, was originally called ‘Akabat Ajla, and from it the present settlement and stronghold of al-“Akaba has received its name. At three o’clock we rode across the se%b of Umm Hajt; at 3.10 we had Rigm ad-Darak on our right; at 3.30 we cross- ed the se%b of Srejh, which comes from the northern slope of al-Halal and joins Umm Sidre on the left; and at about 3.45 we rode through the Se7wbdn of aS-Smejsijje, al-Mhaggar, and al-Jemanijje. Beyond the last-named the mountains recede toward the east, and between them and the sea there extends an undulating plain about two kilometers broad, on which the etmdn grows in some places. From 4.22 to 6.45 we halted 90 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ in the se%b of al-Arwah in order to let the camels graze a little, and here we made a fire from the long-thorned branch- es of the sejdal, this being the only wood we could find (tem- perature: 40.8° C). Fic. 831—‘Akabat Ajla, watchtower of al-Brejg. At 6.50 we rode across the Se%b of al-Hesani. The road leads along the seashore itself, beneath a brittle slope of white marl, about six meters high, through which the sev%b of al-Halal—which we crossed at 7.08—has worn away a deep channel. After 7.30 we proceeded across the marshy soil of al-Mamlah, which extends to the southeast as far as the low hills of Hekint ar-Rimt. Later we crossed the se%vb of al- Mratijje (formed by the union of al-Krejzi and an-Nwéb‘e) and beyond it al-Esawed.?”‘ “7 The poet an-Nabira, who was a member of the Dubjan tribe to which the land east of the region of Hesma’ belonged and who lived about 600 A. D., mentions (An-Nabira, Diwan [Derenbourg], p. 292; [Ahlwardt], p. 21; Jakidit, op. cit., Vol. 4, p. 797) the camping places between the fertile lowland of Nu‘mi and the valleys of al-Agawel and al-Asawed. — As he was well acquainted with the camping places of the northern Hegaz and mentions them often in his poems, we must locate these three spots in the northern Hegaz. Rowze Nu‘mi would then be identical with the fertile lowland by the well of an-Na‘emi; the valleys of al-Agawel with the broad lowlands near Mount Gawla; and the valley of al-Asawed, if this name is accurately given, we should locate in the vicinity of the well of al-Esawed. Az-ZamahSari (Jakut, op. cit., Vol. 1, p. 587) locates the lowland of an-Nu‘mi on the seashore, the Tihama, thus confusing it with the valley of al-Agawel. Burka Na‘mi is the name of a half-reddened, half-black cone above the well of the same name. AL“AKABA TO MADIAN 91 The night was extremely dark, for the stars were partially hidden by haze. On the right, the sea was phosphorescent and appeared to be illuminated by numerous lamps burning beneath the water. The fever was shaking me again, and I was glad when we settled down at 8.380 at a short distance from the road among the rimt bushes near the sevb of Sahjet al-Ma“azi. Fearing that some robber from al-‘Akaba might creep up behind us or that some traveler along the trade route might hear our voices and steal something from us, we kept guard over our encampment all night. On Thursday, June 8, 1910, we started off at 4.384 A. M. (temperature: 27.8° C). At 4.40 we rode through the Sahjet ad-Dirri and passed along the mar] slope of ad-Debbe. The sejal trees which grow there are low and stunted, and their trunks and tops bend eastward, a sure sign of prevailing westerly winds. At 5.08 we rode round two piles of stones, one covering the grave of a Bedouin, the other marking the place where his blood had been shed. He had been riding to Egypt with his nephew. At this place the nephew shot him and rode on to Egypt with his uncle’s horse and all his prop- erty. But the man who had been shot roused himself from his swoon long enough to tell of the villainous deed to a traveler, who, by the ordinance of Allah, was passing that way; after which he died. The traveler buried the man and announced to his son that he should avenge his father. By the sea we noticed numerous piles of shellfish. In the autumn the Arabs camping by the seashore collect these shell- fish, warm them over a fire, and when they are half-open eat the contents. At 5.20 we rode through the deep channel of al-Ktejf, hollowed out in the marl of ad-Debbe. On the left this se%b joins the se%tb of Ammu Hsi. On the shore itself, by the se%b of al-Ktejf, there stood three high palm trees. About one hundred and fifty paces to the south rises a salt spring, to the east of which extends a large burial place. At 5.34 we caught sight of the oasis of Hakl. Steep slopes thrust the road towards the sea, and in places broken rocks are piled up across it. The crossing below Ketib al- Mbassi is dangerous. A steep slope about forty meters high, completely covered with fine sand, rises sheer from the sea, and in this the road has been artificially cut. But the soft marl does not adequately resist the attacks of the waves; it Ya THE NORTHERN HEGAZ a2 sve oY Woiy [PeH—ze “DIA AL“AKABA TO MADIAN 93 breaks and crumbles so that nothing remains of the broad road but a narrow footpath, which in places is scarcely forty centimeters wide. During storms at sea, when the waves reach the footpath, the connection with the south is cut off. Ketib al-Mbassi is often beset with robbers, who le in wait for the rich trade cara- vans; but these hostile bands have suffered more than one defeat there. In the spring of 1907 the Hwetat at-Tihama — who owe allegiance to the head chief Abu Tkéka— made a raid against the ‘Imran who were encamping by the se%b of al- Ktejf. The latter, being fore- warned of the approaching danger, carried a great number of stones to the edge of the slope Ketib al-Mbassi and hid behind them. When the last man of the enemy passed along the footpath — about five hundred meters long — advancing from the south to its northern extremity, the ‘Imran began to roll large and small stones down on both ends of the path, in this way killing six of the enemy and compel- ling all the rest — over two Fic. 883—Our guide Farrag. hundred in all — to beg for mercy. At the southern end of this footpath is the spring of Hkejl, near which there are four groups of palm trees. At 6.12 we reached the outlying palm trees of the small oasis of Hakl. These trees form a narrow strip extending southward along the shore. Among and behind them rise numerous springs, the water of which, however, is either salt or brackish and causes violent fever. Hence the saying: ‘“Hakl is the ruin of reason, hakl salab min al-‘akl.” Only to the south of the se%b of al-Mabrak is there a spring with good fresh water. Near it are several huts built of palm leaves and therefore called ‘esse (nest, bower). To the north of 94 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ these huts, on the right-hand side’ of al-Mabrak and to the east of the date palms, there grows a group of dium palms CREE BPA Nee We remained in the se%b of al-Mabrak from 6.25 to 7.28. Four men and two women came up to us and very willingly described to me the vicinity of Hakl, asking if one of them eould accompany us as a guide. I selected a short, thickset man, named Farrag ar-Rwékbi (Fig. 33), to come with us to the nearest camp of the ‘Imran. While I was negotiating for the guide, Isma‘in shot twelve kata birds (a species of partridge), which were drinking from the fresh spring. Nowhere in this oasis are there any traces of old buildings, and, as there was absolutely no pasture in the vicinity for our camels, we could not remain in Hakl. HAKL TO ‘ELW AS-SIRR At 8.388 we went on to the left side of the se?%b and proceeded in a southeasterly direction across the undulating, bare, parched region of al-Hasa’, which gradually merges into the elevation of Sahab at-Tabak. At 9.20 we had the palm groves of al-Hmejza and al-‘Enabijje on our right hand, in a deep notch; and we rode into the se%b of al-Hmejza at the spot where it is joined by the Se%b of al--Emejk. At the head of the latter stands a small weli (shrine) of Sheikh Hmtd. The saint Hmutd is called the liberator of the pris- oners, fakkak al- mahadis. If an Arab who has been impris- oned by the Turkish Government appeals to him, he will set him free, even though he may be in chains. It is seldom that he assists a Turk or a Crkas (Circassian). At ten o’clock we descended into the Se%b of al-Gille, known as Umm Gurfejn in its middle part, where there was a settlement of liberated black slaves. Their chief was called Fazlallah. They live like the Arabs, breeding goats as well as a few sheep and camels. They comprise thirty-six families *8 I think that in Ptolemy, Geography, VI, 7: 27, Agkale is a corruption of the Arabic word Hakl. The location tallies. Al-Bekri, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), p. 26, writes that Hakl is situated on the shore of the oasis of Tejma in the territory of the Gudam tribe. According to Jakat, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), Vol. 2, p. 299, Hakl is a place sixteen miles from Ajla, in the direction of al-Medina. ‘Azza, the beloved of the poet Kutejjer, had a garden there. In agreement with Ibn al-Kalbi, JakGt makes Hakl the landing place of Tejma. — The distance between Ajla and the oasis of Hakl is thirty-five kilometers. It is doubtful whether this oasis was ever of any importance to Tejma. The landing place Zbe’ is situated 150 kilometers nearer Tejma than is Hakl. AL~“AKABA TO MADIAN 95 and obey Eben Makbul, the head chief of the ‘Imran. Many of them are the descendants of Egyptian soldiers who guard- ed the various halting places on the Pilgrim Route leading from Egypt by way of al-‘Akaba to al-Medina and Mecca. At 10.30 we came upon the plateau of al-Mrejra, where we remained from 10.47 to 1.15. The camels chewed at the hard woody portion of the etmdn. To the south of Umm Gurfejn rise the hills of al-Asmar, from which the Seibdn of ar-Ramti, at-Tawtahijje, Gedi* and al-‘Arajkén proceed toward the west. The se%b of asS-Srejh divides the hills of al-Asmar from the ridge of the same name. Toward the north rise the broken peaks of at-Tnejnir and east of them the huge cones of al-Hadab. My companions boiled the kata’ birds, but after two hours they were even harder than when they were put into the water. At 1.45 P. M. we had the se%b of Salab al-‘Arejf on our right; at 2.15 Umm MeSta was on our left; and at 2.45 Sejh al-Ksejr. These sewban come from the rocks of al-Kerin and al-“Awgijje. At the northern foot of al-Kerin is the well Bir Gedid, while the spring of ‘Arejga rises on the southern foot. The hills gradually grow into mountains. The se7vbdn become narrower and deeper. Except for the grayish-green sejdl trees, there was no vegetation. At 3.20 we saw on our right the Seib of al-Msejhet which comes from the spring of the same name; on our left was al-Hwéwira, separated by the ridge of as-Sedara from Sejh al-Ksejr; and at 4.388 Fegs al-Kalh was on our right, while on our left lay the se%b of Sejhig¢ near Mount al-Hawara. We reached the plain of ‘Elw as-Sirr, upon the northeastern portion of which are the three isolated dome-shaped peaks of Manazer aS-Serki. South of these ex- tends the ridge of al-Farwa with the broken cone of as- Silmi. Finding that this plain furnished pasture for our camels, we encamped at 5.31 P.M. beneath a high red rock, from which we obtained a view of the surrounding country (tem- perature: 32.5° C). To the west of ‘Elw as-Sirr extends the narrow ridge Srejf al-Maktale, west of which is Umm Rased and, still farther, al-Kalhi. From the eastern slope of al-Maktale rises the se%b of ad-Dabr, which runs in a north- westerly direction and is joined on the right by the se%ban of al-Hadab and at-Tmejmijje, on the left by Htejmijje and al-‘Ajn. Se‘ib ad-Dabr comes to an end beneath the hills of al-Hamza on the shore of the Red Sea. Southwest of Srejf al-Maktale and south of Umm Rased, rain water collects in the se%b of al-Ehzéri, the branches of which are al-Hrtt and 96 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ al-HaSa’ on the right and al-Hsej on the left. The se7b of as-Sultanijje runs from al-Kalhi. South of this se%b and north of al-Ehzéri stands the small shrine al-Weli “Azzam. There was once a pregnant woman who was walking along the seashore, unable to find any water. Being very thirsty, she knelt down and begged Allah to have mercy on her. At that very moment she gave birth to a male child. Being too weak to hold him in her arms, she laid him beside her on the ground, and behold, at the child’s feet a spring gushed forth. Allah had saved mother and child. The spring, hence, is holy, and it is called ‘Azzam. This story is probably an echo of the legend of Hagar and Ishmael in Genesis, 21:15. Farther south the Se‘ibdn of Gennijje, al-Rurajje, and al-Klejb extend from the hills of an-NateS toward the sea. These Se%bdn start in the mountains of Krejdat al-Arnab, al-Ashab, and al-Mhejmez, south of Srejf al-Maktale. At al-AShab rises the se%b of Ralal; at al-Mhejmez the se7iban of Umm Hasa and an-Nimrijje, in the latter of which is the spring of Tireb. To the east of an-NateS the se%b of an-Nekwa joins al-Klejb, dividing an-Nates from as-Sakka. The southern border of an-Nates is formed by the se%b of an-Nhejl. From it the mountains of al-Korzijje and as-Sikijje rise to the southeast, descending steeply to the sea near the copious well Bir Marsa’. The se%b of the same name ends in the Setb of Harhtra near al-MarSa’. To the south of the latter the Secban run in a southwesterly direction and end near Tajjebt Ism, where there is a small grove of date palms. Tajjebt Ism is a small oasis belonging to the “Amarin clan, which comprises only eleven families. Formerly this clan possessed the whole region between the valley of al-Abjaz and the sea, but the greater part of the families have migrated to the neighborhood of Wadi Misa. The large spring of al-Lawi rises between Tajjebt Ism and Bir Marsa’, north of the se%b of as-Swéhel. It is situated at the foot of the Gehaman, which we could also see both from Ab-ad-Dén and ‘Elw as-Sirr. East of ‘Elw as-Sirr the ridge of al-Farwa forms the watershed between the Sevbdn running in a westerly direction and the deep valley of al-Abjaz extending southward. This valley starts near the shrine al-Weli Sam‘tl, at the junction of three branches. The longest of these is as-Sahab, which extends from the east, from the hills of az-Zorf and the ridge of az- Zahr. On the left it is joined by the se7%bdn of al-“Ajenat, az-Zell, aS-Srejf, and al-Kiswe, and on the right by as-Sukka, which comes from the cones of al-Malfi and Abu Rhajjat. The northern branch, al-Wa4set, begins under the name of al-Hsajd, between Umm Burka’ and the rocks Hzejb al-Biz and al-Mu‘allak. The se%badn which merge with it on the right are al-Hawi (in which is the spring of al-'Aw®gijje), al-Bakra, Ammu Kazm, Ammu-t-Tin, and Se‘iban ar-Razijje; on the left it is joined by Umm Gaser (which comes from near the well of the same name on the northern foot of the ar-Rilan rocks), by al-Mgejfel (which rises between ar-Rilan and al-Kahaze), and finally by al-Hrejg. The third branch, as- Sejale, starts from the ridge of al-Farwa and divides Klejb ar-Retame from the Ektan rocks. With the valley of al-Abjaz merge on the eastern side the following seibdn: al-Harakis, which begins among the rocks of Rurab; Srejm and Tbét, coming from the large mountain al-Ma'tijje; al-Hbejt, bordering al-Mwéleh to the south; al-Mhemm, which joins with AL-“AKABA TO MADIAN of al-Hegijje; Sejh al-Ksejr; al-Metaha; as-Sdejr; al-"-Emejk; ‘Alegan, made by the junction of al-Mhatta and al-Rara; Amwas, formed by the combination of Fejhan, ar-Raha, and Emtan; and, finally, at the water of al-Bed* and ruins of Hawra, the se%b of an-Nmejr. On the right the valley al-Abjaz is joined by the shorter se‘ibdn of Sidd near the spring of al-Wugéra, by a&-Seraf, as-Se‘éd, at-Tleje, al-Hsane, MaSra’, Umm ‘E88, Harm al- ‘Aker, Asejher, az-Zerafa, al-Makje, and Ekdad. ‘ELW AS-SIRR TO THE SE‘IB OF AL-MISMA’ Having spent a peaceful night, we left our encampment at 4.34 A. M. on Friday, June 10, 1910. There were a number of isolated rocks scattered over the plain, among them, on our right, the small red rock of al-Hmejdijje, said to be in- habited by a spirit. At 5.20 we reached the rocks of as-Saraf and Umm Gidde, between which the Pilgrim Route of as- Sultanijje swings off, maintaining, however, its generally southeasterly direction from al-‘Akaba to the se%b of as- Seraf, through which it reaches the wddi of al-Abjaz where it trends southward.” Leaving the Pilgrim Route, we rode in a southerly di- rection along the foot of ad-Da‘&anijje. At six o’clock we met two riders on camels and three wayfarers traveling from west to east. Having greeted our guide, they stopped with him for about ten minutes, after which the riders went on east- ward, while the wayfarers joined us. Falling into conver- sation with them, I discovered that one had an admirable knowledge of the region, so I asked him to accompany us as a guide. He accepted my offer and told me that he was going to fetch his riding camel which his father was watering at the well of Bwara. At 6.24 A.M. we entered a gap about three hundred meters broad and rising to the south, which we followed until 7.20, when we halted. The baggage was unloaded, and Isma‘in and Serif, together with the old guide, drove the camels to the well of al-Bwara, which flows in a deep se%b. The new 29 AS-Seraf is the ancient pilgrims’ halting place, Saraf al-Ba‘l or Sarafe Beni “Atijje. Jakut, op. cit., Vol. 1, p. 675; Vol. 3, p. 278, mentions Saraf al-Ba‘l but does not know whether it is a place in Syria or a mountain on the Pilgrim Route from Syria. — Jakat was not familiar with the Pilgrim Route from Egypt. Al-Kazwini_ (died (1283"A._D.); “A gaib; (Cairo; 13821 A. HH.) Vole 15 p. 234, says that the mountain of Saraf al-Ba‘l rises on the Pilgrim Route leading from Syria to al-Medina. On it there is a large building for the statues of deities wrought so artistically in stone that it would have been exceedingly difficult to do the same work in wood. Everyone marvels at the height of the building, the size of the stones, and the length of the pillars. — The name Saraf al-Ba‘l is printed Sarak al-Ba‘l. The place now is full of isolated rocks curiously eaten away by sand and wind, rain, frost, and sun. 98 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ cuide returned with the animals, but without his own camel. His excuse was that his father had driven it away; but the real reason was that he did not wish to risk his camel’s being stolen. I asked him to draw for me in the sand a plan of the whole shore of al-Hmejza as far as ‘Ajntna, with the various seibdn and the mountains from which they run. From his statements and his plan I myself drew a sketch map. Twice I rubbed out his drawing and asked him to sketch the Seibdn again —on each occasion from a different side — and I thus found that he never contradicted himself. His statements as to direction and distance were accurate. He measured distance either in terms of camel rides or of marches on foot. At 8.50 we proceeded farther southward. At 9.20 we reached the elevation of Krejdat al-Arnab, and we remained beneath a high granite peak until 12.30. Originally we had intended to eat, but we had five hungry ‘Imran with us, and our stock of supplies was already running short. Consequently Mhammad urged me to complete our cartographical obser- vations rapidly and then continue our journey. Only the heaviest baggage was unloaded from the camels, the lighter articles being left on them. Accompanied by the new guide, Taman and I climbed to the top of the peak, from which we intended to sketch the surrounding district. At first we went up a slope of crumbling stone which shifted with every footstep. We then clambered from boulder to boulder until we reached a projection which we took to be the actual sum- mit, but we soon discovered that the latter was situated farther on towards the west. It consisted of vertical ribs between which we cautiously climbed upwards. The upper ends of these ribs rose up like a wooden fence and were so smooth that we had to crawl among them at full length. The summit was formed by a single boulder three meters long and two meters broad at the top. As I am subject to dizziness, I could not look downward into the precipitous chasm, more than one hundred and fifty meters deep. Having completed our work, we went down again, the descent prov- ing even more difficult and dangerous than the ascent. Be- fore we were safely down blood was drawn from our hands and feet. The camels were already loaded, so that we could continue our journey immediately. Our uninvited guests had waited a long time for our return, but not knowing where AL~“AKABA TO MADIAN ah and when we should prepare the midday meal they had finally departed. Passing through a narrow, rocky ravine we came at 12.50 P. M. to a se%b which contained an abundant growth of plants, and here we stayed until 2.30 P. M. Our guide was acquainted not only with the region lying between the right-hand side of the al-Abjaz valley and the sea but also with the territory situated to the east and northeast of al-Abjaz. From his various remarks I gathered that he was a chief of robbers and that he only occasionally visited his tent. He was willing to accompany us as far as al-Bed‘, where he had left with the Mesa‘id two stolen camels that he intended either to sell or to send to Egypt. Of all our camels, he liked best the one that Isma‘in was riding. He stroked it and patted it at every opportunity, which made Isma‘in afraid that the man would steal the animal during the night. At 2.59 we observed the mountain range of al-Mweéleh to the southeast. It consists of two horizontal strata, the lower one white, the upper one black. From this range proceeds the seib of the same name, which joins with al-Abjaz on the left-hand side. East-southeast of al-Mweleh rise two cones Ole abb, and southwest of these cones we could see the ridge of aS-Semrah with several high pyramids denoting the pass of al-Hegijje. On our left we had the head of the se%b of Seéd, which joins al-Abjaz opposite the se?%b of al-Mweleh. At 3.10 the guide showed me the spring of ‘Ejert al-KabS on the right, while on the left we saw the ravine of Hsij al-Benn with several black boulders, said to be possessed by spirits (mamlukat). At 3.20 we had the sev%b of al-Klejb on our right and at-Trejfi on our left. Through a gap in the left-hand rocky wall we perceived at 3.382 three palm trees above the fountain of Mojet al-Hsane. At 3.45 we rode around a large pile of stones heaped up upon the grave of al-Welijje Sa‘ide, or the holy woman Sa‘ide, who is said to help women in distress or illness. At 4.05 we observed the se%b of Medlig on the left, and south of it Mount az-Zrejbijje, with springs of the same name, from which proceed the seiban of ad-Dbaklijje and al-MeSall, which join with al-Hsane and end in Wadi al-Abjaz. We rode through the se%b of al-Hsane until 4.20, when we reached the red elevation of as-Snejd‘e and the shallow S26 ON Ai 100 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ and white strata of the al-Lowz mountain range, south of which, on the mountain of al-Makla, we saw the high, white, shining pyramid of Nsejlet al-‘Ajn, from which the large spring al-“Ajn flows to the southwest. From this spring there are roads leading to the passes Nakb al-Madsts and Nakb al-Makla; and southeast of the latter is the well of Mat‘ama with the holy tree of the same name. The pass of al-Makla divides the mountain range of al-Makla from the black mountain of ar-Raha. North of al-Lowz we saw a deep, dark gap —the se%b of al-Mhemm — and east of it a clear, white strip, which was the road to the pass of al-Hegijje, near which there is a well with good water. To the left of us rose the hills of al-Kattar, and on our right to the southwest the guide pointed out the spring of Riha at the foot of al-AShab. At 4.24 we crossed the se%b of an-Nwéb‘e, which starts on Mount al-Mhejmez from the spring of the same name. West of al-Mhejmez flows the spring of at-Tireb, and south- west that of SowSa. The region through which we passed was completely barren. There was no vegetation on the rugged, rock-strewn slopes; in the river beds there grew some scattered ratam and rimt, but no verdure was upon them. The guide drew my attention to the fact that we were approaching an area in which there had been no adequate rain for four years and that he therefore doubted whether we could find any pasture for our camels on this part of our journey. At five o’clock we reached a low elevation called ‘Arejf al-Ralajin, where the Arabs dig out meerschaum from which they cut their short pipes. Smokers from the whole of the northern half of the Heg&az are said to come here. Many of them carry away on their camels as much as two loads of the soft stone and sell it to their fellow tribesmen. Southwest of ‘Arejf al-Ralajin rises Mount Mrah, the vertical ribs of which surmount the ridge by almost four meters. In the broad se%tb of al-MaSra’ we found numerous traces of Arabs and their flocks, arg matktika (trodden ground), but no pasture for our camels. The guide pointed out to me Mojet Sowsa in a short se%b to the west and to the east the large, black mountain as-Sa‘al. At 5.25 we crossed a footpath leading to the spring of ‘Arejg&a, and at 5.35 we perceived the broad, gray ridge of al-Hbejt running in the direction of al-Abjaz. It was 6.15 before we found at the eastern bank of the Seib of al-Misma’ a few green rimt bushes, beside which we AL-“AKABA TO MADIAN 101 encamped (temperature: 30° C). The camels were hungry and tired and the road was stony, so that we could not leave this place after our evening meal. We therefore made a fire under a large boulder, but after cooking the supper we immediately extinguished it in order that its flame might not betray us. The camels knelt, one close beside the other; whereupon we fastened their two front legs together. Then we lay down in a circle around the animals, with the new guide between Isma‘in and Mhammad. He was not called upon to act as guard during the night. THE SETB OF AL-MISMA’ INTO WADI AL-ABJAZ On Saturday, June 11, 1910, we started off at 4.84 A. M. (temperature: 22° C) through the se%tb of al-Misma’ which forms the beginning of the se?%b of Asejher, in which, at five o’clock, our guide Sliman pointed out to me the water of al- Harada. He also showed me farther to the southeast on the left side of the wddi of al-Abjaz the deep gaps formed by the Seiban of an-Nzérat that join with as-Sdejr and al-“Emejk. South of them we could see the sev%ban of al-Mhatta and al-Rara extending to the se%b of ‘Alegan. At 5.20 we saw the narrow peak of Ab-ad-Dén to the southeast. We then came to the beginning of the se%b of Zerafa, which forms the western border of the territory belonging to the ‘Emérat, a clan of the Hwetat at-Tihama numbering about one hundred tents. On the south their territory extends as far as the oasis of al-Bed‘, on the north as far as al-Weli Sam‘ul, and on the east it reaches to the mountain of Semrah and al-Makla. South of this clan the Mesa‘id encamp, and to the north the ‘Imran. At 6.04 we rode between the rugged hills of al-“Ajdijje and the mountains of Abu Rijas, where the Se%b of al-Hkaf begins. After being joined on the right by the Se%bdn of asS-Sarma and Gehaman, which extend from the mountains of Ardad, al-Hkaf penetrates the hills of ar-Rafid and ends on the seashore near the oasis of Tajjebt Ism. Our guide explained that the territory between Hakl and Tajjebt Ism used to belong to the ‘Amarin clan. They had migrated to Egypt and to the neighborhood of Wadi Musa, so that only about ten families remained in the original territory and these few were now encamped with the ‘Imran. The latter are also accompanied on their nomadic wanderings by about 102 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ twenty families of the Fawajde clan of the tribe of Beni ‘Okba, which once ruled over the tribes of the Ma‘aze and the Hwetat at-Tihama and is said to have been descended from the Tamtd tribe that built rock dwellings at al-Hegr and Morajer Su‘ejb. Today the ruins of these dwellings, as well as the oasis of al-Bed‘, belong to the Beda‘in clan of the Mesaid tribe. The Mesa‘id are not akin either to the ‘Imran or to the Hwetat at-Tihama, and they form two equally numerous clans, the Beda‘in and Farahin together consist- ing of about one hundred and twenty tents. The Farahin sojourn for the most part between the se%b of al-Kijal and Ras Fartak (Cape Fartak), while the Beda‘In remain north of them between the oasis of al-Bed‘ and Makna on the Seashore. At 6.88 we rode through the se%b of al-Makje and approached the black mountain of al-HSérme. To the south- east we saw the mountain of Zihed, which resembles a kneeling camel. Its isolated peak rises above the entrance to the se%ib of al-Hrob. To the northwest rose the high obelisk of Ab-ad-Dén, separated from the lower one of Abu RijasS by the broad Seib of Farst ‘Edd. At 7.15 the broad se%?b of Frejst al- ‘Ekejl opened out on our right. The region through which we were passing was completely void of life. Nowhere did we see animals or birds, nowhere was there any green growth of vegetation. The ratam bushes were absolutely bare, as though dried up, and even the hardy acacia sej7dl, which defies the drought, had not a single leaf. My right eye was not yet well, and my left one also began to pain me. The fever returned. At eight o’clock we had the huge mountain of Lebtn on our left, and we admired the mountains of ar-Raha and al-Makla, covered with a delicate veil of haze. These mountains form the watershed of the Wadi al-Abjaz — and thus of the Red Sea — and the lowlands traversed by the railway to al-Me- dina. West of the saddle Nakb al-Makla yawned the deep ravine of Fejhan, through which a road leads from the valley of al-Abjaz to the well al-‘Ajn and farther on to the passes Nakb al-Madsts and Nakb al-Makla. At 8.30, on our right lay the small se%b of Hajjij, with the water of the Same name at its entrance; at 8.40 we saw the small se%b of ‘Ekejl, which comes from al-Klejhi and Trejf al-Bawwal. AL-“AKABA TO MADIAN 103 At 9.28 we entered the Wadi al-Abjaz at the point where it is joined on the left by the se%b of ‘Alegan. In the broad, white river bed of al-Abjaz we found an abundance of rimt bushes, but they too were completely dead. However, on the left-hand side in a small basin through which winds the channel of al-Abjaz — below this point known as al-‘Efar or al-‘Efal— we could see a darker clump of rimt bushes at the foot of a high, black peak. We turned aside towards them and remained beside them from 9.46 until 12.42. Rain water had been collecting for some time in this basin, so the roots of the rimt were still able to nourish the grayish-green leaves. Our camels grazed on the rimt for a few minutes and then proceeded to search for other plants, but, finding none, they knelt down one after the other and rested. To us this was a discouraging sign, for it showed us that the animals were already very tired (temperature: 37.5° C). Accompanied by the guide and Tuman, I climbed up to the black peak, beneath which we sat down. The ascent required more than half an hour and was dangerous in places, as we had to crawl on our stomachs up the smooth slope. We named this peak Samra’ Timan (Fig. 34), and the guide promised to see to it that the Bedouins should call it by the same name. Southwest of Samra’ Timan rise the dark brown peaks of Kdad, Esdeh, as-Sokk, and al-Latt, from which the se7wbdn of at-Temile, as- Sokk, al-Ksara, Abu Hlejfi, and Abu Dwejme reach to the sea. On the watershed to the southeast rises the black range of ar-Raha, on the western slopes of which are situated the cones of Umm Gadeb, Self, and al-Fers. In the southern part of ar-Raha, by the cone of al-Fers, flows the spring ‘Ajn Marra, near which rises the se%b of at-Tmejmijje, joining with Fejhan. Somewhere near the middle of this se%b is the spring of Kammah, from which the pass Nakb an-Nassas leads eastward. To the north of Kammah is Nakb al-Ahejmer. To the south of ar-Raha the watershed is formed by the brown and white streaked hills of al-Mu‘affara, the southern spur of which is called al-Rajme. Az-Zihed towers to the west of al-Rajme and to the north of az-Zihed stretch the narrow ridges of al-Hrejbe, al-Mnife, ad-Dbejbi, aS-Sedih, al-Kbejda, al Hemara, an-Nmejr, Laha, al-Rarak, and Mikwan al-Hagg, which slope toward the southwest. A little before noon a strong, south-southwesterly wind arose which, though it failed to moderate the intense heat, at least set the air in motion and thus facilitated our breathing. We felt the full strength of it as we were moving toward the south through the broad valley of al-Abjaz. This valley is covered with a layer of fine sand, from which isolated 104 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ clumps of vimt bushes emerge like small islands. It is bordered to the right and left by high, rocky walls, through which break numerous seibdn, large and small. After one o’clock the wadi became tapering and twined round the spur of Mikwan al- Hass, which extends towards al-Abjaz from the east. Egyptian Fic. 34—Samra’ Taman from the northwest. troops always occupied this spur when the pilgrimage caravans passed this way, for on several occasions the Arabs had attacked and robbed the pilgrims near here. Our guide Sliman related how his father Salem had taken part in such an attack. The Egyptian soldiers had built a wall of rough stones on the mountain spur, behind which they had set up two small cannons. Not seeing any hostile Bedouins anywhere about, they were looking at the approaching pilgrims, admir- AL-“AKABA TO MADIAN 105 ing the decorated camels carrying gifts from Egypt to Mecca and the splendid palanquins of the Egyptian ladies and gentle- men, and keeping no watch on the higher rocks to the east. But it was precisely in these rocks that the ‘Imran were concealed with the Beni ‘Atijje. Creeping down softly toward the soldiers, they flung themselves upon them with a great shout. Some they killed, others escaped. The Bedouins set light to fuses and fired at the pilgrims who were crowded together in the narrow valley beneath the spur, where they were completely unable to defend themselves. The victims were thoroughly plundered by the Bedouins. Sliman said that his father carried off two camels, upon which he loaded various garments, carpets, and food, and that in addition he made off with a small bag containing forty-eight gold coins. TO THE RUINS OF HAWRA’ At 1.50 P. M. we saw on our right the small Se%b of Ekdad, which comes from Trejf al-Bawwal, and to the southeast we could see the flat elevations of az-Zerw and al-Rarak, composed of red and white strata. At 2.22 we had the small setb of Amwas on our left hand, and on our right the short Setb of al-Krejbat. Sliman recited a poem which he had composed in my honor, but Mhammad and Isma‘in would not let him finish it, declaring that they had composed a better poem; whereupon they also said a few verses. But Sliman disposed of them, saying that their verses were not original, being a mere repetition of his idea. Toward three o’clock there was a change in the appearance of the country. The serried granite mountains disappeared, and on both sides and ahead of us we saw limestone hills and uplands, covered at the foot with a moderately deep layer of sand. The slopes of these hills and uplands were more gradual than those of the hills through which we had come, and the sevbdn were shallower and broader but with no vegetation. At three o’clock we could see to the south through a notch of no great depth the high, red ridge of an-Nmejr and above it higher brown mountains with the white strata of al-Mu‘affara. The valley of al-Abjaz gradually grows broader, and the channel on the western side runs along a high, yellow escarpment known as Safra’-l-Bed*. This escarpment 106 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ is composed of countless pillars nearly all of the same height, some of which are hollowed out and lie in the river bed. At 3.22 we had the Se%b of Emtan on our left, while on our right, above the escarpment, were the uplands of Sbejlat and Sikh. At 4.12 we reached the defile of Ka‘edan Raber at the Fic. 35—From Ka‘edan Raber looking northeast. point where the escarpment of Safra’-l-Bed* swings off some- what to the southeast (Figs. 35, 36). The channel of al-Abjaz penetrates through the bend thus formed, thereby cutting the defile. The river bed, scarcely twenty meters broad and covered with a growth of dark green tarfa trees, is bordered on the right and left by walls more than fifty meters high, formed of horizontal, yellow, red, and blue strata. The rays of the sun were reflected from the southeastern wall, and there quivered a rainbow spectrum around the separate strips of color. Seen from the south, the defile produces an even more overwhelming impression. The southern facade resembles a gigantic fortress with olive-blue foundations, violet walls, and a high, slender, yellow, rectangular tower sharply cut with battlements and numerous round loopholes. Behind this fortress, far on the northeastern horizon, rises the purple mountain range of Lowz AL“AKABA TO MADIAN 107 and to the south of it the half white and half black mountains of al-Makla and ar-Raha; while in front of the latter, nearer the valley, are the lower hills known as al-Hemara and al-Kbejda, the colors of which range from grayish-green to orange-yellow. In the river bed numerous half buried sejdl trunks were visible. Fic. 36—From Ka‘edaén Raber looking southeast. At 4.30 we reached a grove of dum palms and made our way across some ancient walls that stretched crosswise and lengthwise through the valley. These were the remains of gardens. Here the river bed is more than fifty meters broad and five meters deep and is completely covered with a growth of tarfa. From the south the fans of date palms beckoned to us, and at 4.55 we were near the palm gardens where here and there we could see huts built of palm leaves. Toward the east the gardens are shut off by a white marl slope about thirty meters high. On all sides there are springs of various sizes, the water of which flows together and forms a stream, beside which we halted at 5.20. Some men and women of the Beda‘in were watering goats and camels and filling their skin bags. The men scarcely replied to our greeting. But they inspected us 108 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ with covetous eyes, asked what our intentions were, and wished to conduct us immediately to their chief who was encamped a few kilometers to the south. Isma‘in and Sliman declared that we would remain at al-Bed‘ that day to let our hungry camels graze and to rest ourselves a little, so that we could not visit the chief until the morrow. When the men and women had departed, we were joined by a youth about sixteen years old (Fig. 37) in a tattered shirt, who invited us to enter his palm hut. Thank- ine him for his courtesy, I offered him our hospitality. We were in urgent need of a companion belonging to the rapacious Mesa‘id, who would protect us from his fellow tribesmen. Knowing that he could obtain from us his fill of bread — which, he asserted, he had not tasted for more than a year—the youth began to drive our camels together, urging us not to camp by the water, because if we stayed there we should be stung by enats during the night. I asked Fic. 37—Our guide at al-Bed’. him to lead us to the caves Morajer Su‘ejb (Fig. 38). At 5.40 we left the meadow, through which flows the stream al-‘Efar, mounted a slope about ten meters high, and proceeded to the ruins of Hawra. These ruins are nearly five-tenths of a kilometer long from southwest to northeast and about four hundred meters broad. Half a kilometer to the south there are similar ruins, composed of piles of old building material, long, white foundation walls, and a quantity of débris. Not a single building had been preserved. They were con- structed of soft limestone, which, though very easy to work with, could not resist the wind, sand, and rain. It has dis- integrated into fine dust, some of which still hes in small heaps, while the rest has been carried away by the wind. AL--AKABA TO MADIAN 109 There are about ten heaps of larger size and more varied composition, in which it might, perhaps, be possible to find something. Behind the ruins we branched off a little to the west into a small se?%b and found ourselves in front of monumental tombs hollowed out in the white limestone rock (Figs. 39, 40, 41). These tombs obviously recall Wadi Musa. We encamped by them at 5.56. Having made some examination of the surrounding neighborhood, we obtained our geographical lati- tude for the evening (temperature: 31.8° C). Our new guide brought up a lame old man driving a lean goat, which he offered to sell for the sum of four megidij7at ($3.60). Isma‘in and Mhammad handled the animal and then returned it to the old man with the suggestion that he let it graze until its bones were covered with at least as much flesh as one kata’ bird (see above, p. 94). I could not sleep at all during the night, as I was tormented by fever, and our new companion Salem kept up a continual shouting to warn any possible robbers that we were under his protection. Whenever Salem was quiet, our old guide, the robber Sliman (Fig. 42), shouted in an even louder voice that he would shoot anyone who interfered with us or our property. AT MADIAN On Sunday, June 12, 1910, I visited the necropolis of Mo- rajer Su‘ejb before sunrise. The tombs had been hollowed out of the soft limestone rocks. In front of each one the slope had been cut away to form a vertical wall, and through this wall had been cut a door that led into a large excavated room, on the floor and on walls of which were the individual eraves. Many of the entrances were adorned with crumbling decorations (Figs. 43—52). The necropolis is over one kilo- meter long and nearly two hundred meters broad, but not a single grave had been completely preserved. The soft lime- stone rock had crumbled and cluttered the rooms and the doorways. The best preserved graves are those in the western part, where the rock is somewhat harder; the northern and especially the southern parts have completely decayed. For more than two hours I crawled from tomb to tomb, search- ing for inscriptions, but I did not find a single one. They had been carved out in the soft limestone walls, which had 110 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ ANCIENT MADIAN METERS 0 500 1000 5 are Fic. 388—Map of the site of ancient Madian. AL-“AKABA TO MADIAN 111 (Diced ay) Fic. 40 EIG>AtL Fics. 39, 40, 41—In the necropolis, Madian. rhe THE NORTHERN HEGAZ crumbled and vanished. But the walls of several tombs had received a fairly thick coating of firm mortar, and in about five tombs I came upon insignificant traces of Nabataean inscriptions written in black upon this coating of roughcast. Even of these, however, not a single letter had been com- Fig. 42—The robber Sliman. pletely preserved. After a vain search I photographed several tombs and then went on with Taman and Salem to the ridge of al-Msalla, where we sketched the surrounding district. It was not easy to reach this ridge, as its sides had broken away at a height of about ten meters, so we were compelled to make a detour of more than two kilometers in order to ascend it from the north. On the ridge we found about fifty AL--AKABA TO MADIAN 115 circles marked out on a stone elevation. Salem said that those who wish to pray to Su‘ejb stand inside these circles. The lowland, in which the extensive ruins of Hawra and the oasis of al-Bed‘ are situated, is bordered on the east by the hills of al-Hards, al- “Ah 2 Z sr eee ee goem Fic. 43—A sepulcher, Madian. Y Kbejda, and a-Sedih; on the west by aS-Sikh, ‘Ag‘ige al-Ksara, and ‘Abdejn; and on the southwest by al-Hamra and at-Tlah. To the north of al-Msalla extends the white plain of al-Brejtem; and to the southwest, al-Hamza, in which is situated the well of the same name. The rain water flows from both these plains through the se%b of Makna to the grove of date palms bearing the same name situated on the shore. 114 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ Torey l ts om: W000 ay z ' Yj ] y Wy Wy Yy ti Y tl : y os ] Z, Y Y 2 7 Z] Q&Mé Y////. mee Y 7 JI Y Z A iT dl| I SCALE FOR ALL PLANS | i) ' 2 3 4 METERS z === —SSS=_= == =e Alig in q ou Ms Fic. 47—Interior of a sepulcher, Madian. The oasis of Makna belongs to the Fawajde clan. They dwell in twenty huts, ‘ardjes, of palm leaves and cultivate about fifty date palms and large vegetable gardens. Al-Fawajde are the remainder of the Beni ‘Okba tribe, various clans of which migrated during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, some to the territory of al-Kerak, some to Egypt.°? To the south-southwest of al-Hamra’ extend the limestone hills of Umm Kefa’, Umm Losof, and al-Mesadd, forming the watershed between 30 Ptolemy, Geography, VI, 7: 27, records in northern Arabia Felix a place Makna or Maina, which is certainly identical with our oasis. The name Maina recalls the se7%b of al-Ma‘ajjenat, in which the settlement of Makna is situated. During his residence at TebGk, Mohammed imposed annual taxes upon the Jews living in the settlement of Makna and gave them a charter (al-Wakedi, Mardzi [Wellhausen], p. 405; al-Beladori [died 892 A.D.], Futt&h [De Goeje], p. 60). These taxes — which consisted of a quarter of the yield of the sea fisheries, date palms, and weavers’ looms — were received by ‘Ubajd ibn Jasir ibn Numajr of the Sa‘dallah clan, as well as by a certain Gudami from Banu Wajel, who went to TebaGk and became a Moslem. Mohammed assigned a hundred grass plots to ‘Ubajd’s horse, and these plots still belonged to the Sa‘d and WaAjel clans at the time of al-Wakedi (died 823 A. D.). Later, ‘Ubajd put his horse in the care of a certain AL-AKABA TO MADIAN 115 Makna and the valley of al-Abjaz—the latter being known in its lower part as al-‘Efal. From these hills the setbdn of al-Mrejzel run to Makna, penetrating the table-land of al-Fhejtat, al-Harag, and al-Mab‘tk, in which rises the spring of al-Amrar; while the springs of “Ejane and al-Far- oaee Sb soe Atos Sead dale a ii . “sbiodsibitdiilisdddddiddiaididdiddddisiiddéddbiist 5 a Zs {i Ss hog 33 Za Sit cen Weep \ oy Bae ¢ - E je ete oa he Se ak by, SEN Y Rina ZA ig tees 34 ——_/ tee Zo 4 some U) 3 , Lt a Fae | Wy LEZ ff Uy EE WF NY ey Y= Cy 4 Ars ® CY a ae pa ee wg ‘ sae <<. Sipe = Wf Barret S LO EE: fF —— ——_ _ L-- % ae) Y) a Sie LLL YY SLES pp irri eahi ae ie, UL by 02 -/43- ~ nae as ) \\, ==, =A SS NN Fic. 48—A sepulcher, Madian. Jewess in the settlement of Makna, assigning to her sixty of the hundred grass plots. These plots were taken away from the heirs of the Jewess only toward the close of the rule of the Omayyads, but the heirs of ‘Ubajd did not obtain them. The charter was said to have been lost, and the one which was exhibited in the settlement of Makna at the end of the ninth century and which was intended for the Beni Hubejba and the inhabitants of Makna, was said to be an undoubted forgery. Ibn Hagar (died 1449 A. D.), Isédba (‘Abdalhaj), Vol. 2, p. 1070, does not believe the tale about ‘Ubajd’s horse. Jakuat, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), Vol. 4, p. 610, writes that Makna is situated not far from Ajla. 116 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ Fia. 51 Fia. 52 Fias. 49, 50, 51, 52—Sepulchers, Madian. ra‘i are in the se?%b of Makna. South of Makna the seibdn of Asmar and ar-RiSe run down to the sea. South of these se%bdn and south of the hills of al-Kebrit a white, rocky plain extends as far as the sea. In the southwest portion of this plain are cut the small coves, Serm Dabba and AL--AKABA TO MADIAN AN Serm Mugawwan; and to the southwest the plain forms two capes: Ras Fartak with the small shrine as-Sejh Hméd and Ras al-Kasba. To the east of Ras al-Kasba extend the se7bdn Wokob, as-Sbejti, al-Kmejle, an-Nahala, al-‘Asla—all three of which proceed from the pla- teau of an-Ndejra—as well as al-'ESS, Abu Zufra, and al-Kijal, rising on the southern slope of Matent as-Sujth. In the oasis of Kijal dwells the al-Farahin clan of the Mesa‘id tribe. This clan numbers about sixty families who live in tents or huts made of palm leaves. They cultivate date palms, pomegranates, and various vegetables.?! Al-‘Efal, or al- Efar, is joined on the right, to the south of al-Bed‘, by the broad valley of Umm HaSim, which extends from al-Hamra’ to the southeast between Umm Kefa’, al-Hbejrat, and at-Tlah on the west, and Twejjel Ged‘an on the east. Farther south al-“Efal is joined on the right by Rbejla, known in its western part as al-Msejr, which proceeds from ar-RisSe and penetrates Matent as-Sujth. From the east al- Efal is reach- ed by the sevbdn of al-Mhas, which begin under the name of al-Rarid near the ridge of aS-Sedih; by al-Marra umm Garda’, formed by the se‘iban of al-Homsi, al-Minkasi, Kdejdi, and al-Ktejbe, which come from the hills of ad-Dbejbi and al-Mnife; and still farther on by MSsas al-Hawa, al-Kus, and al-Hrob, the latter being joined by the Se‘ibdn of al-‘Esejle, ar-Raka, and al-Mrah, which begin in the mountain range of az-Zihed and al- Mrejfek. We had not yet finished our work when Serif, out of breath, shouted to us from below that the Mesa‘id had sur- rounded Mhammad and our camels and were about to steal the animals. Seizing our firearms we hastened with Isma‘in to Mhammad’s aid. Serif remained with the baggage. The attacking party numbered eight. From afar we heard them cursing the Government at Constantinople and the Sultan and threatening to kill Mhammad if he fired at them. The leader informed me that he would at once take me and all my effects to his chief, saying: “Order your companions to pack your things immediately and to come with us to our chief. Here in al-Bed‘ no Government issues orders, here he alone issues orders, and you must submit to his will.’ To this I replied: “I submit only to the will of Allah, by no means to the will of any of his creatures. There is no son of the Arabs in the whole of the Heg&az who could force me to do what I do not wish to do. Deliver a greeting to your chief from me and tell him that I shall not go to him, the chief of the Mesa‘id, but to the chief of the Hwetat at-Tihama, 31 The poet Kutejjer (died 723 A. D.) describes (Jakit, op. cit., Vol. 4, p. 26) the journey along the valleys of al-Budaj‘, the well of Una’, and the shore of Kijal. — Al-Budaj° (not an-Nusaj‘, as is given in the text) is identical with the region of al- Bezi‘; the well of Una’ (not Uba’) with the well of ‘Ajnina’; and Kijal (not Kibal) with the valley of al-Kijal to the northwest of ‘Ajntina’. 118 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ and I make known to all of you present that I am journeying before the countenance and under the protection of the chief Abu Tkéka, and he who harms me or my companions, or hinders us on our journey, let him fear the vengeance of the chief Abu Tkéka. You know that his sword is sharp and HiseariieicwmOno “We do not fear Abu Tkéka; he does not hold sway over us,” the Arab answered. ‘Nevertheless,’ I went on, ‘“‘you pay him annual tribute for his protection and send him gifts. If you do not fear him, then know that there are six of us, that each of our rifles has six charges, each of our revolvers ten, and Allah, who led us into your country, will not permit a single one of our shots to miss its aim.” Paying no heed to the robbers and their leader,-I caught hold of my camel, urged it to kneel down, jumped into the saddle, and turned towards our baggage. My companions drove the rest of the camels on before me. We did not even look behind us at our assailants. While we were packing up our baggage, Salem, our com- panion, told me that he could not accompany me to the chief Abu Tkéka, as one of his relatives had killed a subject of Abu Tkeka, who attended to a palm garden in the oasis of Sarma; but he added that he had found another guide for me. This proved to be a man of about sixty, who had a very marked squint. Mhammad spat when he first saw the new guide and called upon Allah to protect us from bad omens and from the misfortune which is brought by every person who squints. At eleven o’clock we rode off in a southeasterly direction past the ruins of Hawra, crossed the stream of al-‘Efal, and at 11.26 halted by the ruins of al-Malha (Figs. 53, 54). This was a pilgrimage station established after the sixteenth cen- tury. Northeast of al-Malha appear the ruins of an old build- ing — the watchtower al-Birg, with a well. After halting for twenty minutes, we turned off towards the south and at 11.55 came upon the large, quadrangular, ruined fortress of al-Malkata, situated at the southern edge of the oasis. Here the broad ramparts and deep trenches are still clearly visible, Surrounding great piles made up of ruins of old buildings that have fallen to decay. Some of the walls can be traced for a distance of one hundred paces. Only a strip of soft AL-“AKABA TO MADIAN EL Hirer. Fic. 53—Rain pool of al-MAlha. Fic. 54—From al-MAalha looking northwest. 120 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ limestone, about forty centimeters broad, forms the remains of each wall on the surface. Around the fortress there is an abundant growth of dum palms. In the oasis of al-Bed° we found four settlements. The most ancient one seemed to me to be al-Malkata; the next oldest, the settlement to the south of Hawra; and the most recent, al-Malha and al-Birg. Hawra is certainly of Nabataean origin. According to the Arabic and classical authors, this oasis is identical with ancient Madian, the Madjan of the Arabic authorities. Go APH Rey, MADIAN TO THE OASIS OF SARMA AL-MALKATA TO AL-HRAJBE Having left the ruins of al-Malkata, we reached the ancient Pilgrim Route at noon and proceeded along it toward the south-southeast. After a short while we met two riders on camels, subjects of the chief Abu Tkéka, who were carrying a message to the ‘Imran. They informed us that ‘Afnan, the son of the chief, was living at al-Hrajbe. The Mesa‘id, who until now had been watching us from a distance, dis- appeared as soon as they saw that we were talking to the riders. The Pilgrim Road leads across a stony, bare, and almost flats plain, al-Rarama, bordered on the east by the red peaks of asS-Sedih and ad-Dbejbi. At 1.30 P. M. we crossed the Se%b of al-Mhas, and at two o’clock al-Marra umm Garda. From 2.30 to 3.25 we halted by al-Ktejbe in order to make a sketch of the surrounding district. At 4.05 we crossed the broad channel of Msas al-Hawa and perceived on the left a deep gap through which the se%b of al-Kus proceeds from the mountain. We reached this se%b at 4.30 and at 5.48 came to the channel of ar-Raka, or Araka, in which grew a quan- tity of green plants of the same name, but these our camels refused to touch. The se?b of ar-Raka joins that of al-Hrob. We searched vainly in the undulating plain, with its broad and shallow valleys, for pasture for our camels, but nowhere could we find any green vegetation, for everything was com- pletely dried up. But at 6.15 we found extensive groves of low dum palms, from which the ‘ardd shrubs stood out here and there by reason of their yellow color. Branching off east- ward from the highroad, we encamped at 6.45 in the deep seib of al-Hrob, which was covered with a growth of ‘ardd shrubs (temperature: 33.8°C). Our camels could now graze. I was feeling far from well, as I was racked with fever and physically quite exhausted. Fearing the rapacious Mesa‘id, we kept guard all night over our baggage and camels. 121 122 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ On Monday, June 13, 1910, we started off at 4.47 A.M. (temperature: 26.8° C), leaving the Pilgrim Route that leads to the southeast and proceeding southward to al-Hrajbe. This region is full of lofty, oblong heights with steep, rocky slopes and broad, fertile valleys; but the latter were completely parched, as there had been no adequate rain for the last four years. There was an impressive view to the east, where the sun was just rising. A chain of high granite mountains, ex- tending toward the southeast to within about fifty kilometers of the shore, concealed the sun in such a way that isolated rays penetrated only through the deep mountain gaps. The eastern peaks and angles of the granite summits shone with a clear light, while the western parts lay swathed in a dark blue curtain. Two thirds of the whole range were almost in- visible, for dense vapors rested on them; only the upper third projected above the mists. I felt as if I were standing be- fore a great exhibition of ecclesiastical architecture, save that I was not confronted with small patterns or diagrams of the various styles but with temples of all possible shapes in their natural sizes or even of gigantic dimensions. There was perhaps no variety of Gothic which was not represented there. The roofs and towers glittered in the sun’s rays and around them could be seen Gothic churches with countless turrets and windows, unequaled in wealth of ornament even by the Milan cathedral. Magnificent domes were displayed in every possible variety of style, and among them the attention was held by a number of cupolas, reminiscent of baroque architecture in its prime. Nor were the simple and magnificent forms of the earliest basilicas missing. And all these towers, turrets, roofs, columns, pillars, and statues were as if festively illuminated, shining with the clearest luster, while the houses and churches below were hidden in a mysterious twilight. My eye fondly clung to this splendid picture, and my only desire was that the sun should rise quite gradually. But suddenly the pure orb leaped above the highest towers, and all those temples, houses, and basilicas disappeared, leaving only the bare parched rocks before us. How beautiful is mere illusion, how prosaic is reality! At 5.02 we rode through the broad se%b of al-Mrah, in which the luxuriant, dark green ‘asla grows. To the east of this valley rise the plateaus of as-Se‘ede and Radma, and above these plateaus project the isolated black cones and ridges of MADIAN TO THE OASIS OF SARMA 123 the granite mountains which form the above-mentioned chain on the water- shed between the Red Sea and the lowland near the Hegaz railway. Nam- ing them from the northwest, these mountains are al-Hejmri, al-‘Enejme, Dafdaf, Safwan, ar-Rawa, as-Sik, as- -Sati, and Kir. From al-Mu‘affara they approach the sea like an arch, so that between them and the moun- tains of az-Zihed and al-Rajme there lies a deep basin, from which the Fic. 55—The se%b of as-Swér. rain water flows to the oasis of ‘Ajnina. From the southern slope of the mountain of al-Mu‘affara runs the se%b of the same name; from Safwan comes the Se%b of ‘Azbe; from ar-Rawa and al-Haris, the seib of Rawa, near which rises the spring of al-Bsajjet; and from the plateau of Radma, the seiban of Umm Niran and Entés. At 5.42 we advanced through the broad ge%b of al-Gimm, which is covered with a growth of palm thickets and could be transformed into an extensive plantation of date palms. It forms the border of the region known as al-Hrajbe. At 6.16 we crossed the Se%b of as-Swér, which contains a growth of dum bushes. From 6.45 to seven o’clock we halted in this seib, for among the dum palms we discovered a number of ratam bushes which our camels devoured greedily (Fig. 55). To the west there rises the elevated ridge of Dabbet as-Swer. Proceeding on our journey, we rode through the hillock range of Berk al-Mhassab with its deep and narrow Sse“iban 124 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ and steep slopes, the eastern sides of which are covered with sand. All night long quite a strong northeast wind had been blowing. At sunrise the wind abated, but at 7.28 A. M. it began to blow from the southwest. At 8.40 we entered the se%b of al-Mhassab. In the sand drifts on both sides of this se%b there is a luxuriant growth of tonzob bushes, which in places form low trees. As soon as the south-southwesterly wind began to blow, the air was filled with innumerable horizontal veils of vapor, which rested nearly on the ground. The sun’s rays then penetrated and heated them, so that they became as a sweltering furnace. At 9.10 we again caught sight of the Red Sea through a gap in the Se%b of al-Mhassab. It was not red, but of a pale and even yellowish blue. The flat marshy shores merge into it without any sharp transition. Our guide Hsejn caught a large zabb lizard, which he tied up in his cloak, wishing to take it home as a delicacy. At 9.25 we passed from the hillock range to the flat shore, and proceeded to the southeast through a region covered with rimt shrubs and sejdl trees that make it resemble our orchards. But neither the vimt nor the sejdl was green; all the trees and shrubs were a pale yellow or a parched gray. Towards the northeast this coastal plain joins a green hillock range, behind and above which there rise the granite moun- tains. To the west, rising above the sea, were the pink rocks of the islands of Tiran, Senafir, Abu Suswa, Rajaman, Umm as-Sjele, Barkan, and al-Makstd. Close to the shore itself we observed numerous islets, among which a white sail was wending its way. At 9.42 we saw to the southeast the green palm groves in the oasis of “Ajntna, which belongs to the Dijabin and Zamahre clans of the Hwétat at-Tihama. It is situated at the foot of the red hillock range of Berk al-Mhassab at the point where the latter is penetrated by the Rawa se%b. Beneath the trees could be seen a number of white huts constructed of palm leaves.*? 82 Ptolemy, Geography, VI, 7: 2, notes, on the coast of northern Arabia Felix, the settlement of Onne, which is identical with al-Hrajbe, the former harbor of the settlement of Una’ (‘Ajn Una’, -Ajniina’). Marcianus of Heraclea (about 400 A.D.), Periplus (Miiller), p. 527, speaks of Onne, as an emporium of Arabia Felix. Al-Ja‘kabi, Buldén (De Goeje), p. 341, writes that in his time (about 891 A.D.) the settlement of ‘Ajnina’ was inhabited, that it had palm gardens, and that buried gold was being sought there. — As early as the end of the ninth century the covetous natives were destroying ancient tombs and buildings. MADIAN TO THE OASIS OF SARMA 125 The oasis of ‘Ajnina is famed for its good, fresh water, which once flowed through a walled aqueduct, now ruined in places, to the coast settlement of al-Hrajbe. We recognized this place from a number of palm trees standing on the shore itself. Behind the palms several stone huts have been built, but as they are of the same gray color as the shore they are indistinguishable from it. At ten o’clock we entered Wadi ‘Ajntina, two kilometers broad, which might easily be transformed into one great palm garden. On the southern side there rose a low elevation, upon which was situated a four-cornered building with the Turkish flag flying over it. This building, really no more than a spacious cottage, is the fortress of al-Hrajbe. West of the fortress, or rather of the barracks, there are a number of palms, and between them and the sea stand ten small trading huts built of marl. AT AL-HRAJBE At 10.28 A. M. our camels knelt down beneath the palms at al-Hrajbe (Fig. 56) (temperature: 35° C). As there was no pasture anywhere in the neighborhood, we tied their forelegs together, and instead of grazing they rested. Before long six traders approached us. They were young men with thick lips and broad, fleshy noses; and all of them were Al-Mukaddasi (985 A.D.), Ahsan (De Goeje, 2nd edit.), p. 54, assigns the settlements: of ‘Ajnina’, Wajla, Madjan, Tebak, Adruh, Moab, and Ma‘an to the administrative district of Sorar. Al-Bekri, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), p. 266, mentions the settlements of Hebra’ and “‘Ajntna’, situated between the Wadi al-Kura, and Syria, which Tamim ad-Darij obtained from the Prophet as a fief. Al-Kalbi thinks that these two settlements belonged to Syria. When Sulejman ibn ‘Abdalmalek (died 717 A. D.) journeyed there, he did not venture to spend the night in them, as he said, for fear of the Prophet. — Tamin ibn Aws ibn Harege ad-Darij was probably a Christian monk who passed over to Islam (see an-Nawawi [died 1278 A. D.], Tahdib [Wiistenfeld], pp. 178—179). The place Hebra’ is not mentioned by any other writer. Possibly it is a bad tran- scription for the settlement of Hawra’ situated near Madjan. According to al-Kalbi these two were the only fiefs bestowed by the Prophet in Syria, but al-Wakedi, Mardazi (Well- hausen’s transl.), p. 405, records that the Prophet bestowed also the settlement of Makna as a fief, and this is situated to the northwest of ‘Ajnina’. If Hebra’ and “Ajntina’ belonged to Syria, then Makna did also; and so there were then not two but three fiefs situated in Syria. Syria denotes the administrative district of Sorar. Al-Bekri places “Ajntna’ not in Syria but in the border territory. Jakit, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 758, decides that it is possible to write either ‘Ajn Una’ or ‘Ajnina’. According to him, Una’ is a valley on the shore between as-Sala’ and Madjan. As-Sukkari, the commentator on the Kitdéb al-lusis, writes that the settlement of ‘Ajntina’ is situated on the Egyptian Pilgrim Route. The poet al-Kutejjer refers to a journey from the valley of al-Budaj‘, by way of ‘Ajn Una’, to the slopes of Kibal. — As-Sala’ is identical with the modern al-Mwéleh and Madjan with the oasis of al-Bed‘; I locate the valley of al-Budaj© among the valleys of the region of al-Bezi‘; the place Kibaél must be read as Kijal, as the valley about twenty kilometers to the west of “Ajnina’ is called. Abu-l-Fada’il (died 1838 A. D.), Mardsid (Juynboll), Vol. 2, p. 294, records the form “Ajnuwunna’, which presupposes a name Unna’, recalling the Onne of Ptolemy. Jaktt, op. cit., Vol. 1, p. 367, also mentions the simple form Una’. It is a wddi near the shore of as-Sala’ and Madjan, through which the pilgrims passed. In it there is a spring which is called the spring of Una’, ‘Ajn Una’. 126 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ dressed in thin white shirts and fine white turbans. They were eager to know what we were buying or selling. Behind them came two other men: one dressed in trousers, one leg of which reached only to the knee, and in a vest, while the second was wearing trousers similar to our bathing drawers and a thick Fic. 56—Al-Hrajbe from the northwest. padded coat. They introduced themselves to me as gendarmes and requested that I should visit the commander of the garrison, under whose command were fifteen infantry soldiers of the line. The commander was sitting in a hut which had been built north of the barracks. He greeted me very agreeably and offered me his services and help even before I had shown him my recommendations. He complained of the ruinous climate and the dreadful solitude in al-Hrajbe. The head commander resided at Jidda and paid no attention to the separate garrisons distributed along the coast. Once a month a ship arrived at al-Hrajbe from the settlement of Zbe’ with rice or dura (a kind of millet, a variety of Andropogon sorghum); once every two or three months a ship from Suez put in with flour, rice, and particularly clothing, which were exchanged for char- coal, obtained by the neighboring Arabs from sejdl, tarfa, and, in the highlands, from raza. Except for these vessels, nobody came to al-Hrajbe for months at a time. If the garrison was relieved, it received food supplies for six to twelve months. When I mentioned that our flour was running short, the MADIAN TO THE OASIS OF SARMA 127 commander immediately offered me some of his own for sale. His flour was clear white, but half mixed with potato flour. The officer and the soldiers declared that they had enough to eat, but that they were suffering from various diseases, They were afraid of water, especially of sea water. Not a single one would bathe in the sea, and they washed only when it was absolutely necessary and then only in a super- ficial manner so as to carry out the command of their religion. They were firmly convinced that all the diseases which were rampant at al-Hrajbe came from the sea and that the deeper a man plunged into the sea water, the sooner he would catch them. They were afraid of water, but they drank distilled liquor, ‘arak, which was brought by the vessels from Suez. The officer’s family dwelt in a cottage of palm leaves built in an old cellar which had been somewhat cleaned out. The commander showed me a rectangular pool to the east of the barracks where the aqueduct from ‘Ajntina ends. Southwest of the pool had been laid out gardens of date palms, which, though not large, were carefully tended. They were the property of the chief, Abu Tkéka, and his son ‘Afnan was then inspecting the promised harvest for that year. AS soon as I left the commander, the chief’s son came to call upon me. He was about twenty years of age, puny and frail, with a dark-colored face like all the coast dwellers. On his head he wore a fine white kerchief fastened with a broad, bright-colored string. A thin white shirt, over which was a loose white cloak, covered his body, and he wore large sandals on his feet. The expression of his face was gentle, his eyes were large, and the edges of his eyelids were darkly tinted with kohl (collyrium, antimony powder). After the usual greetings I asked him to furnish me with a guide to Tebuk. He told me to visit the territory of his tribe and then to travel to Tebtk from Zbe’. I thanked him for his kind invitation and promised him that I would be sure to visit their territory, but not for about a fortnight. The scientific investigation of the territory of the Hwetat at- Tihama demanded at least twenty days, and our supplies were not sufficient for that length of time. When leaving Ma‘an, I had taken supplies for only fifteen to twenty days, for I had supposed that I should be able to survey the region lying east of the railway and within the allotted time reach Tebutk, to which place I had arranged that all my supplies 128 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ should be transported by railway. But the war between the Hwetat and Beni ‘Atijje on one side, and the Beni Sahr and Sararat on the other, had prevented me from traveling to the east of the railway. Consequently, I had proceeded west- ward to al-‘Akaba, and had already been on the road for eighteen days. The uninvited guests had partly helped us to diminish our supplies so that not even the additional flour which we purchased was adequate, and there was no other food to be had. In addition to that, I needed photographic plates and gifts for the head chief of the Hwétat at-Tihama and his relations; our camels were tired and hungry, and we learnt from ‘Afnan that in the whole territory of his tribe there was absolutely no pasturage; in fact, his father had sent his horses to Egypt and had entrusted his camels to the protection of Chief Abu Sama, who was encamped to the west of al-Hegr. It was therefore necessary for us to proceed to Tebtk to obtain the necessary supplies there and to give the camels a rest and good pasturage. I proposed that after a stay of about ten days at Tebtk we should return to the coast territory of the Hwetat at-Tihama, through which I intended to travel as far as al-We&h, where I could visit my old acquaintance Sliman eben Refade, the head chief of the Beli tribe. From al-Wegh we were to go to al-Hegr, to which place our supplies were likewise to be transported. When ‘Afnan heard that I intended to return to his territory, he promised that he would give me a guide who would conduct us as far as Tebtk and from Tebutk to Zbe’. When I asked him where I should find this guide, he an- swered that he was now sojourning in the oasis of Sarma and that he would send for him. I suggested that we should immediately set out for the oasis of Sarma, as our camels had no pasturage at al-Hrajbe. But neither ‘Afnan nor the commander, who meanwhile had joined us, wanted to let me leave al-Hrajbe at once, and it required a long time to obtain their consent. ‘Afnan declared that he would come with me and asked me to have the water bags filled. At al-Hrajbe there is plenty of water, for wherever a hole about four meters deep is dug water is found, but it is quite salt. For that reason drinking-water is brought from the oasis of ‘Ajntina. We filled one skin with salt water, while the officer had the other one filled for us with good water from ‘Ajntna, and when we left al-Hrajbe at 2.30 he accompanied us some distance. MADIAN TO THE OASIS OF SARMA 129 THE HWETAT AT-TIHAMA AND THE TURKISH GOVERNMENT ‘Afnan was riding on a very lean white camel, and his two negroes went on foot. His father, the head chief Abu Tkéka, generally resided in the settlement of Zbe’ where the muhdafez*® of the wali of the town of Jidda also dwelt. The tribe of the Hwétat at-Tihama** is composed of the following clans: al-“Emerat Selémijjin al-Gawahre al-Mesa‘id al-“Obejjat al-Kbézat ad-Dijabin al-Mawase al-Fahamin az-Zamahre al-MeSsahir al-Gerafin at-Tkeékat al-Kur‘an Until 3.40 we rode along the shore in an almost easterly direction and then turned southward. We met four men going to al-Hrajbe. They were farmers who tended ‘Afnan’s gardens at Sarma in return for a quarter of the net yield. They joined us. At 4.15 we rode into the broad, marshy lowland of Wadi Sarma. Here and there rise low, sandy drifts and cones, from which grow tonzob and rimt. Between them stand serried groups of sejdl trees. We saw, on the peninsula of Msajbet Sarma before us, a large ruined building and in front of it Ksér abu Tkéka, a large, roofless, four-cornered house with broken windows. Both buildings had been erected for the use of pilgrims by the chief Abu Tkéka, but as the number of pilgrims was growing smaller year by year, the houses were deserted and falling into decay. At 4.50 we encamped near a small hovel constructed of palm leaves, which also belongs to the family of Abu Tkéka, the members of which use it as a nocturnal lodging when they visit the oasis of Sarma. They are afraid of the oasis, because the ague is said to lurk there at night and to attack every stranger who ventures within its domain. The oasis itself appeared to us as a broad, dark strip lying towards the east-northeast. Sitting down with ‘Afnan about one hundred paces from the rest of the party, I asked him whether the inhabitants of the coast were satisfied with the Turkish Government. His reply was voluble: 33 Vernacular equivalent of kdjmakdam. 34 See Musil, Arabia Petraea, Vol. 3, pp. 48—49. 130 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ “May Allah curse the Turkish Government! What do we get from it? They give us nothing and oppress us wherever they can. In every harbor they have placed a toll collector, but they pay no heed to the harbor itself, or to the buildings which are necessary for the storing of goods. All along the shore they have placed regular garrisons who do not protect, but harass and exploit us. I am sorry for the soldiers who die here or who are killed by our arms. They are destroyed by the climate, to which they are not accustomed, and they are destroyed by us when they steal our goats, sheep, and cows. They are supposed to protect us against our enemies, but they do not venture even so much as a gunshot beyond their bar- racks and indeed scarcely dare even to thrust their heads out- side the doors. It is a good thing that they let us have their ammunition and even their firearms by trade or sale. And these poor wretches are the representatives of the Turkish Govern- ment in our country! It is no wonder that we hate and de- spise the Turkish Government as we do. It never occurs to us to pay any attention to what is happening in Constanti- nople, but we are all interested by what is happening in Egypt or among the English. The Turkish soldiers and ourselves have Turkish money, it is true, but we fix its value accord- ing to Egyptian or English money. Our traders maintain trading relations only with the Egyptians and the English. They read Egyptian newspapers and tell us about everything that they learn. The poor people go to Egypt to find work and profit, and when they return home a few months later they proclaim the splendor of Egypt. We all want our coast to become a possession of England, or at least of Egypt. When the Viceroy of Egypt, the Hediwi, made a pilgrimage to Mecca this year, we supposed that he would become our master. But we were mistaken. If we belonged to the Egyp- tians or the English, all the settlements on our coast would flourish. Our oases would be capable of feeding thousands of people. Thou visitedst al-Bed*, Musa; thou sawest al-‘Efal and thou wilt see Sarma, so thou wilt believe it when I tell thee that at al-Bed‘ and al-‘Efal and in the Se‘ibdn situated to the east thousands and thousands could find nourishment. The whole of this region could be planted with palms and transformed into a garden. And ‘Ajntna, the coast by al- Hrajbe, the whole of the wudijdn of Sarma, Terim, and as-Surr, the neighborhood of Zbe’ and other places could be inhabited MADIAN TO THE OASIS OF SARMA 131 by peasants, if the safety of our lives and property could be guaranteed. We are told about Paradise which we have not seen, but the whole of our coast could be made a single paradise and we could dwell in it.” “Who taught thee, ‘Afnan, to speak thus?” “My father, my uncles on my father’s side, and all with whom I meet. Betake thyself, O Musa, to al-Mwéleh or Zhe’ or Zahakan, and everywhere thou wilt hear the same thing that I, ‘Afnan, am telling thee.” We were disturbed in our conversation by three riders on camels arriving from the south. They were going on the Darb ar-Rakak road as far as the as-Sarma valley, where they had branched off to the oasis, and, having discovered that ‘Afnan was sojourning at al-Hrajbe, they had wished to go there to see him. But the slave, whom ‘Afnan had sent into the oasis for the sheep, had told them that ‘Afnan was to be found on the peninsula of al-Msajbe, and they had therefore journeyed to us. While ‘Afnan was discussing thing's with one of them, the other two drew in the sand for me a map of all the surrounding neighborhood from al-Geles to the sea, indicating the hills and mountains by means of small stones and cutting the courses of the various sevbdn. They were admirably acquainted with the whole region, espe- cially the elder, who, quite unabashed, declared that when he had been a young man he had been fond of going on maraud- ing expeditions and that he had spent months at a time in the ravines of the granite mountains which separate the coast valleys from the northern highlands. From his indi- cations we drew a map of the whole coast area and fixed the position of the mountains in sight, from Mount Ral in the south as far as Ornub in the east and az-Zihed in the north. Msajbet Sarma is actually the eastern extremity of a strip of dry land which formerly extended westward nearly as far as Ras al-Kasba. This strip was broken through by the sea in six places, and of it there remain six larger islets and several smaller ones. Between them and the northern mainland there is a bay about twenty kilometers broad and sixty-five kilometers long. During the reign of the Ptolemies these islets were explored, and detailed accounts of them and the coast have been preserved to us from the second century before Christ.*? 35 See below, pp. 302—308. 132 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ TOPOGRAPHY OF REGION BETWEEN SARMA AND BADA’ To the southeast of the peninsula of Msajbet Sarma rises the table- land of an-Nuhbar, and, to the south of the latter, Burka Krajkre, which passes eastward into al-Hamtim. Near Burka Krajkre the se%b of ar- Ratijje proceeds seawards, and farther on are Rowz al-“Abd; Terim; al-Wakzan; Swér, near the village of Sawra; Abu Seriha; al-Mrir abu HaSsim, separated by the elevation of as-Safra from al-Mrir abu Hajme; at-Twejjek; Umm Gejhile; al-Mestebek; az-Zawge, proceeding from the spring of Ammu Sjejle in the hills of al-Asajle; Smejr Gaber; al-Kamre; al-Fsér, which rises in al-Frejs; Abu Dijje; as-Surr; and al-Haggar, form- ing the northern border of the elevation of Lehjane, through which winds al-Mistah, which begins in the hills of al-Mawkre. Southeast of these, the jagged hillocks of as-Snejwijje, Twejjel al-Kibrit, al-Béza, and Hméra- l-Krajker approach near the shore. The separate river beds form deep seibdn with steep banks, They are: al-Harr, which terminates in the harbor of the same name; al-Kmajjes, which ends in the harbor Serm al-Hirke; al-Béza; al-Madsts, which, joining Abu Rarajer and al-Mradder, reaches the harbor of Gibbe; al-Manatt; al-Mu‘arras, which passes through the salt swamp as-Sabha; ad-Derre; and Abu Serira and al-Ral, which form the southern border of the hills of Hméra-l-Krajker. Farther to the southeast the undulating plain nearly reaches the sea, towards which it falls in a gradual slope. Through this plain pass the se‘ban of al- Mhassam, ‘Ejane, aS-Skik, al-Hasi, Zahakan, Zbe’, Sidre, and al-Kfafi, all of which come from the mountains of aS-Srejh and Abu Ris. Farther on are: as-Salmi, with the spring of al-Bedi’; al-Gawha; Abu Tiran; al-Bahara; ad-Dama; aS-Sbérem and al-Marr, penetrating the hillocks of an-Nusba; al-Aznam; Hrajmel; ad-Duhhan; ad-Dhéhin; Balaht; al-Marra; Krejdahha; and Sa‘af. The longest valleys are those of aS-Sarma, Terim, as-Surr, al-RAl, as-Salmi, al-Bahara, ad-Dama, and al-Aznam. They all rise in the mountain chain which extends over a distance of fifty to one hundred kilometers from the sea in a southeasterly direction, forming a contin- uation of the watershed between the valley of al-Abjaz and the low- land through which the Hegaz railway passes near the Pilgrim Route. The mountains of al-Mu‘affara, which have already been mentioned (see above, p. 123), also stretch toward the southeast, and the same direction is followed by al-Hejmri, al-‘Enejme, Dafdaf, ar-Rawa, as-Sik, Ornub, an-Na‘ejza, and ar-Rawjan. The mountains of al-Meljan and ad-Dwejme trend toward the east, while Tmarr — which is next to them — swing's off toward the northeast. Naf, Nwejfat, al-Ktejfe, an-Nawméan, al- Keraker, al-Muhteles, as-Sowt, and az-Zelfe again trend in a southeasterly direction. The continuous chain terminates to the south of az-Zelfe. Here separate mountains diverge somewhat to the southwest and form a lower watershed. Thus, the lower spur of az-Zarba runs from az-Zelfe to the southeast and is joined on the west by as-Sane‘, with the cones of Narar and Nurejjer; while to the southeast of as-Sane* are grouped: Abu Tine; Mwéreb; al-Wited; al-Wutejdat; al-Gowla; al-Mahaza; al-‘ESSs; Ammu Rumejs, with the pass of al-Knej; al-Klib; as-Sa‘ad; al-Libne; al-Hasif; Hamt at-Tjis; Sahbat at-Twejs; as-Sel‘; and Shejb al-Baim. MADIAN TO THE OASIS OF SARMA 135 WaAdi Sarma, the middle part of which is called al-Rarr and the upper part Umm Karadi, starts near the well of an-Na‘emi, between as-Sik and Ornub. Into it, on the right-hand side, run the Sse‘ibdn of: Umm HaSsim; ‘Ajn Kir; Bir az-Zerb; Abu Turban; al-Htan; ‘Ajn abu Hréra; “‘Anstrijje, rising near the ruins of al-Merw; Umm as-Sarabit; and al-Mellah. On the left it receives the se‘ibdn of: Abu Hamata; “Alas with al-Medaik; Ornub with al-Mathane, al-Hatijje, and Garagra; an- Nahala; Drejm; Abu Takar; al-HraSe; and Zehijje with Umm Hesim. Wadi Terim begins under the name of al-Hambara on the eastern uplands behind the chain of granite mountains to the north of the Tmarr range. At first it trends toward the west-northwest, but near the granite chain it swings off to the southwest and runs through the deep gap of al-Malhaga, between the mountains of Ornub and an-Na‘ejza, to the coast lowland, where it is called al-Kahala; it then waters the oasis of Terim, from which it receives its name, and comes to an end at the seashore near some ruins which bear the same name. In the uplands it is joined on the right by the seibdn of: Abu-l-Kawasim; Retaéme; and Zwejbt as-Sktr, the last-named being joined by the se“ibdan of Obejjez abu Zukra and Obejjez at-Tarik. Lower down on the right Wadi Terim is joined by: al-Agza‘, running from the well of the same name; al-Wejmijje, which rises on the western slope of Mount Razi near the well of Dkét; Harhtra, at the upper end of which flows the spring of az-Zab‘ijje; Ammu-d-Dtd, with the well of the same name; and Abu Dél, which extends from the hills of al-Mufa’. Wadi Terim is joined on the left by al-Kwéra, al- Fras, and at-Tawar, as well as by the long se%b of Sadr, which begins under the name of as-Swéwin at the foot of the mountains of ar-Rawjan and Hrejtat ammu Rgtm. On the right hand Sadr receives only the se7ban of ‘Azaza, through which a road leads to the pass Nakb al-Bdejje, and an-Namra; but on the left there merge into it: as-Safra, Ajlan, Umm Leben, al-Mrajfek, Nakwa, Turban, al-Wéwi, Umm Za‘za‘, Zunnara, Umm ‘Akab, an-Nahala, Umm Sijale, and Umm Rarejmin.*® Wadi as-Surr runs from the defile Nakb al-Hrejta, between the mountains of Hrejtat ammu Rgtim and al-Meljan, where the spring of al-Hama has its source. On the right it is joined by the se“wbdan of: al-KSabrijje, into which ad-Dara and al-Gidde merge; and by the se‘ibdn of ad-Dbejjeb, al-Ktajfe, al-Kwémra, Ammu Mzérikat, and Ammu Skaka; on the left by al-Meljan, Umm Harga (with Abu-t-Tanazeb), al-Makhial, al-Musab, and Abu Hawawit. é Wadi al-Ral rises on the northwestern slope of Mount as-Sar near the springs of al-Mléh and al-Bdejje and, running in a south- easterly direction, separates the high ridge of aS-Sar from the lower cone of al-Kwajem. After this wddi is joined by the se%~b of Umm Girma, which comes from Mount al-Ral, it swings off to the west. Wadi ad-Dama begins in the pass Nakb al-Keraker, between the mountains of aS-Sirt and al-Muhteles, near the springs of ad-Difla and al-Lowza. It extends through the plain of ar-Rahaba and is joined on the 36 Jakut, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), Vol. 1, p. 846; Vol. 2, p. 727; and al-Bekri, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), p. 196, assert that Ibn as-Sikkit places the valley of Tirjam close to Madjan. — As according to al-Bekri, loc. cit., the poet Kutejjer also was acquainted with the form Terim, we may infer that Ibn as-Sikkit identifies the oasis of Terim with the place called Tirjam situated not far from Madjan. Jakit, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 270, locates the place called Sarawa near Tirjam at Madjan. 134 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ left by the sewbdn of: al-Gbejl, in which there is a well of the same name; al-Bed‘, in which there are also a well and the ruins of al- Kantara; aS-Subejée; ad-Dijar; al-Malaka, united with Ammu Nsal; al-Bedi‘; Swak, coming from the ruins of the same name near the oasis that lies between the mountains of as-Sane* on the north and al-Hasim on the south; al-Handaki; al-Ktan; and the se%b in which are the wells of al-Mzéhfe and Abu Salama. On the right ad-Dama is joined by the Se‘ibdn of: Sagarat al-‘Arajes; az-Zarb; at-Tlejh; and the great Se%b of Tmarr, which begins between the mountain range of the same name and the mountains of Ntf, Nwejfat, and at-Twejme. On the right hand the seib of Tmarr receives the seibdn of: “Affan, near the Kart al-Hamra; and Salfiwa, which is joined by Farrase, as-Slejsel,?7 Ratje and Dahal, and by al-Ktejfe, which comes from Harm al-Bedarijje; while on the left hand the Tmarr se‘7b is joined by al-Mrejtbe, al-Hgejl, and an-Namra. Wadi al-Aznam rises among the mountains of Mwéreb, al-Wited, and al-Wutejdat; not far from the ruins of Sarab#° it is joined by the Seib of al-Etle and farther to the west by the se%b of Ziklab, both of which come from the southeast. Still farther to the southeast lie: Wadi al-Manabb, with the branches of Shejjer and ‘Anka, proceeding from the mountains of al-Mahaza; al- Knej and al-Medhem, rising between the mountains of Ammu Rumejs and al-Klib, near the defile of Nakb al-Knej; as well as Wadi as-Srim, 87 According to Ibn Ishak (768 A.D.) (Stra, as edit. by Ibn Hisam [Wiistenfeld], Vol. 1, pp. 984—985; al-Bekri, op. cit., p. 780) “Amr ibn al-‘As in 629—630 A.D. penetrated the territory of the Gudam as far as the well of Silsil, from which his expedition was then called razwat as-Saldsel (raid to as-Salasel).— Our Slejsel is a diminutive of Silsil, and the spring bearing the same name is on the western slope of this valley. Al-Mas‘tdi, Tanbih (De Goeje), p. 265, writes that Dat as-Salasel, from which the raid of ‘Amr ibn al-‘As in 629—680 is called, is situated ten days’ march from al-Medina to the north of the Wadi al-Kura’. — As al-Mas‘tdi fixes the distance between al-Medina and Tebak at twelve night halts (ibid., p. 270), the position of Slejsel tallies exactly with the distance of Dat as-Salasel, for our Slejsel is situated nearly ninety kilometers (i. e. two days’ march) to the south-southwest of Tebtik, and the road from al-Medina direct to Slejsel is not as trouble- some as that to Tebak. The Moslems proceeded along the old transport route from al-Medina to Palestine and Egypt through the territory of the Beli — with whom ‘Amr was related through his mother — wishing to surprise the camps of the Beni ‘Udra from the west. 38 At-Tabari (died 923 A. D.), Ta’rih (De Goeje), Ser. 1, p.395, explains that the descendants of the Patriarch Jacob dwelt below the Palestinian territory of Hesma’ in the coast region of aS-Sarab, where there are many caves. Jacob was a nomad and possessed camels and sheep. — The territory of Hesma’ is nowhere reckoned as geographically part of Palestine but always as part of the Hegaz. That at-Tabari calls it Palestinian must be explained by the political administration which incorporated the northern Hegaz as far as latitude 27° 40' N. — this comprising nearly the whole of the territory of Hesma’ — into the Syrian political area of Sorar. Al-Istahri (951 A.D.), Masdlik (De Goeje), p. 27, writes that the Beni Merwan gave the settlement of Sarab as a fief to az-Zuhri, an expositor of the oral tradition (see Ibn Sa‘d [died 845 A.D.], Tabakdt [Sachau], Vol. 2, Part 2, pp. 185—136) and that he was also brought up there. i Jaktt, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 302, locates Sarba’ in the territory of the ‘Udra tribe. Ibn as-Sikkit relates that the place contains a pulpit (mimbar) and a market, and that in the settlement of Bada’ there is likewise a pulpit. According to others, Sarba’ and Bada’ are situated between al-Medina and Ajla. The expositor az-Zuhri Muhammed ibn Sihab was brought up at Sarba’ in the Hegaz. Bada’ of the Patriarch Jacob is a day’s journey from Sarba’. — It is not certain whether in the thirteenth century the Beni ‘Udra were still en- camped to the west of al-Hegr. As early as the tenth century Sarba’, which is certainly identical with our Sarab, had become the property of the Beli tribe, to whom it still belongs. Az-Zuhri, the famous expositor of the law, died in_742 A.D. According to Haggi Halfa (died 1658 A. D.), Gihadn numa’ (Constantinople, 1145 A.H.), p. 525, Azlam (so written instead of Azlad) is a bare, salt territory, a day’s journey wide and surrounded with mountains. In it the senna plant flourishes. In the year 1504—1505 A. D. Sultan al-Malek al-ASraf Kansth al-Rawri caused the pilgrimage station, built by Sultan al-Malek an-Naser Muhammed ibn Kela’tin (1298—1308 A.D.), to be fortified and provided with a military garrison. MADIAN TO THE OASIS OF SARMA 135 the beginning of which forms the Se%b of az-Za‘ame, near which is the oasis of Bada’.*? Between the chain of granite mountains described above as steeply enclosing the coast region and the uplands to the east, there are nu- merous high hills, mountains, and elevations which give the region a distinctive charm. Thus, from the ar-Rawa range on the northern side of the Sarma valley there stretch westward the mountains of Kir, as- Sati, al-Abjaz, ad-Dubba, Ummu Rgtim, and Umm as-Sarabit. The watershed between a&-Sarma and Terim is formed by Mount Razi and the elevations of al-Hamtim, Kos al-Hnane, an-Nuhbar, and Burka Krajkre. Between al-Kahala and as-Sadr.the huge black cone of Harb rises to a height of 2134 meters. Mount Debbar, southeast of Harb, is higher, rising to an elevation of 2347 meters, and, with its spurs Hejstmi, Tor (or Towr) al-WuSem, Srejf al-Hatab, al- Gimm, al- Kalb, Ammu Gdejl, Zunnara, Rarrtr, and Wabri, forms the border between the valleys of Terim and as- -Surr. To the southeast of Hejsimi stretch the elevations of as-Sahhara and Kalha. Between the upper part of Wadi as-Surr and Wadi al-Ral extends the narrow but lofty ridge of as-Sar, which in its northwestern spur, Ras al-Ksejb, attains a height of 2000 meters. Between the eastern part of this spur and Mount Umm al-Frat cuts the defile Nakb abu Sa‘ar. To the southwest, from the ridge of a&-Sar, projects the elevation of al- Kwajem with the springs of al-Malha, al-Bdejje, Umm Casr, al-Lehjane, Abu Raka, and al-Hwét; to the west are the hills of al-Kumma, al-Mej- Seri, al-Mawkre, and Lehjane. The southwestern extremity of tie as-Sar ridge — known as Abu Sendder — is connected with the mountains of Ral and Ab-al-Bared, between which the pass Nakb Hwejd leads to the head of the se%b of Saliwa which separates the mountain of al-Ma‘in from as-Sahta. From Mount al-Ral to the southeast extend the hills of al-HawaAni, al-Me‘tedan, Rajdan, Ziklab, Rurab, and Talba, from which the ridge of Naz‘an proceeds in a southwesterly direction. The branches of the Tmarr Seib run eastward from Ab-al-Bared, between the ridges of as-Slejsel, 39 Ptolemy, Geography, VI, 7: 30, was acquainted with Badais to the south of Soaka, (Swak), which is certainly our Bada’. Stephen of Byzantium, Hthnica (Meineke), Vol. 1, p. 155, mentions the town of Badeos situated in Arabia Felix near the shore of the Red Sea. Al-Mukaddasi, Ahsan (De Goeje), p. 84, records that at his time Bada’ Ja‘kGb was inhabited and its environs were cultivated. Al-Bekri, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), p. 148, locates Bada’ between the road from Egypt and that from Syria to al-Medina. He quotes passages from the poet Kutejjer, who mentions Bada’ together with Sarab, and also from the poet Gumejl, who connects the valley of Bada’ with the region of Hesma’ and the oasis of Sarab. — All these particulars are accurate. Bada’ is situated to the east of the Egyptian, and to the west of the Syrian Pilgrim Route. From Bada’ a road leads in a northwesterly direction to the oasis of Sarab and then in a northerly direction to the region of Hesma’. Jakut, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), Vol. 3, pp. 463—464, says that Dabba is a settlement near the coast in the Tihama still belonging to Syria. Opposite, seventy miles from it, is situated another settlement known as Bada’, through which a stream flowed and which belonged to the Patriarch Jacob. From this settlement Jacob proceeded on a journey to Egypt to his son Joseph. — Dabba is the modern Zbe’ on the coast. At a distance of 130 kilometers, or over seventy miles, to the southwest of it is situated our Bada’, watered by a stream which swells into a wild torrent after abundant rains. Elsewhere (ibid., Vol. 1, p. 523) Jakat states that Bada’ is a valley on the coast near the town of Ajla, or an oasis in one of the valleys of the Beni ‘Udra territory, or that it is located in Wadi al-Kura’. — The two last details are inaccurate. Both the territory of the Beni ‘Udra and al-Kura’ lie to the east and southeast of Bada’. Al-Kazwini (died 1283 A.D.), Atdr (Wiistenfeld), Vol. 2, p. 104, likewise recalls the oasis of Bada’. 136 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ Sawd al-Lehfid, Kart al-Hamra, al-Mhajnek, Sdejjed, ar-Rwejt, al- Mrejtbe, al--Emdén, Nezaha, an-Namra, and Ummu Rmejt. To the south of al-Mhajnek stretches the plain of Burajrig, connected on the south with the defiles Hrejm al-‘Asira and Harm al-Bedarijje, from which the pass Nakb al-Merwa leads across the ridge of al-Me‘tedan to the springs of ‘Emtid and Umm ‘Amel and farther on to Zhe’. South of the upper part of the valley of ad-Dama rise: the hills of Abu Snan enclosing the plain of ar-Rahaba on the south; Zlt‘ al- Humr; al-Fgejme; as-Sane® with the cones of Narar and Nurejjer; still farther on: al-HaSim; az-Zuma’, and Abu Tine, separated from Mount Rajdan by the setb of al- Handaki; and to the south of as-Sane*, Mwéreb, al-Wutejdat, Shaba’ Gamra, al- Haza, Shejb al-Bim, and al- Gebalas On the seashore near Wadi as-Surr is the shrine of the Sheikh (aS-Sejh) ‘Abdallah, and to the east of it the spring of az-Zahltta, while still farther eastward are the oases of an-Ngér and an-Negel. South of the wddi, on the shore itself, is located the settlement of al- Mwéleh beside the ruins of Lehjane. Farther to the southeast are clustered the huts of the village of Zahakan on the bay of the same name, and about five kilometers still farther south is the large settlement of Zbe’ 49 with fine palm gardens. Beyond this village is the shrine Kabr at-Twasi, and near it the well Bir as-Sultani. The island of an-Na‘m4n lies to the south of Zbe’ and almost west of Wadi ad-Dama, which forms the old frontier between the territories of the Hwétat at-Tihama and the Beli, to whom the rest of the coast with the settlement of al-Wegh belongs.?! There are two old trade routes leading along the coast to the southeast; they branch off from each other north of the oasis of ‘Ajntna. The eastern one is called Darb ar-Rasifijje; and the western, Darb al- Mellah. The latter leads via the oases of Sarma, Terim, and an-Nér, makes a crooked detour around the rugged elevations of as-Snejwijje and al-Béza, under the name of Darb al-Falak, then passes the settle- 40 Aj-Mukaddasi, Ahsan (De Goeje), p. 58, records Dabba also among the settlements belonging to the Kurh area. Jakat, Mu‘gam (Wiistenfeld), Vol. 3, pp. 463—464, as we have already seen (see above, p. 135, note 39), says that Dabba is a settlement near the coast in the Tihama, still belonging to Syria. Opposite, seventy miles from it, is situated another settlement known as Bada’, through which a stream flowed and which belonged to the Patriarch Jacob. From this settle- ment Jacob proceeded on a journey to Egypt to his son Joseph. — Bada’ is an oasis on the Darb ar-Rakak road leading from Egypt to al-Medina. About 130 kilometers to the northwest of it, on the shore, is situated our settlement of Zbe’, which I identify with the Dabba of al-Mukaddasi and Jaktat. Al-Mukaddasi does not transcribe names accurately, and those who copied from him did not investigate the correctness of his lists. He mentions two places of the same name in the Hegaz and in the depression of Sirhan. Both are pronounced al-“Awnid by him, and Jakut follows his example, although the two places are actually called al-‘Wejned. He probably jotted down Daba’ and later transcribed it as Dabba’, while actually the name of this settlement was Zaba’, or, as it is now pronounced, Zba’ or Zhe’. This supposition is confirmed by al-Makrizi (died 1142 A.D.), Mawd‘iz (Wiet), Vol. 1, pp. 57—58, who says that to the east of the Kolzum Sea are situated the region of al-Hawra’, Dabba, and Nebk, the region of Madjan, and the region of Ajla. Some manuscripts have Tana’ and others Zaba’. The transcription Dabba, however, is certainly erroneous. It is obtained from Jakat and is due to an inaccurate etymology. The name of this settlement does not come from dabb, as Jaktt supposes, but from zaba@’ or daba’. Codex Vindobonensis has Kataja’, which suggests an original phrase fa Zaba@’ (and Zaba), that is our Zhe’. 41 Al-Makrizi, Mawd‘iz (Codex Vindobonensis), Vol. 1, fol. 36 v., writes that the island of an-Na‘man is situated not far from at-Tar and that it is inhabited by Arabs. — The landing place of at-Tar is located 260 kilometers to the northwest of the island of an-Na‘man. Al-Makrizi, Mawd‘iz (Wiet), Vol. 1, p. 62, also records that in the Kolzum Sea there are fifteen islands, of which four are inhabited, among them the island of an-Na‘man. MADIAN TO THE OASIS OF SARMA 137 ments of Zahakan and Zbe’, approaches the sea itself, crosses Wadi al-Aznam by the ruins of the halting place of al-“-Wejned, and again turns away from the marshy seashore.?? The eastern road, Darb ar-Rasifijje, seems to be the older. It crosses Wadi al-Rarr west of the spring of the same name; reaches Wadi Terim by way of the setb of Ammu-d-Did; leads along the western foot of the al-Gimm mountain range; passes round the ridge of as-Sar through a plain extending to the east of the upper part of the as-Surr wddi; then, under the name of Darb ar-Rakak, it crosses the elevations of Ab-al-Bared and al-Ma‘in; follows the se%b of Saltiwa’ past the point where the latter joins ad-Dama; runs through the se%7b of al-Handaki to the water and ruins of Sarab; and continues along the western slope of Shaba’ Gamra to the oasis and ruins of Bada’. From the coast it is possible to ascend the eastern uplands through numerous defiles. The road most often taken is the Darb al-Wabri, which runs from al-Mwéleh through the as-Surr valley and the pass Nakb al-Hrejta to the uplands, whence it leads by way of the well of al- Gdejjed to Radir abu ‘Azejne, Temilt ar-Radhe, and farther on to Tebtk. The settlement of al-Mwéleh serves as a harbor for Tebtk. TO SARMA I did not cease making my notes until it had grown completely dark and Taman called me to determine our lat- itude (temperature: 31.1°C). ‘Afnan was sitting beside me, smoking and groaning. Like myself, he had been tormented with recurrent ague and had no appetite. After supper, he got up, kissed my head, and thanked me for the kindness which I had shown him in accepting his hospitality. He went through the same ceremony with the rest of my friends, ex- cepting only the black Mhammad; him he did not kiss. On Tuesday, June 14, 1910, we set out at 4.29 A.M. for the oasis of Sarma (temperature: 25° C) across a flat plain which was covered with sejdl thickets. At 5.44 we reached the edge of the oasis where we were to wait for ‘Afnan. Our camels grazed around the water, while we, with the #2 Al-Mukaddasi, Ahsan (De Goeje), pp. 26, 84, was acquainted with two towns called an-Nabk and al-‘Awnid in the Heg&az, which he compares with the two halting places of the same name on the road through the desert to Tejma. He describes al-‘Awnid as the populated harbor of the town of Kurh, famous for its honey, and includes it among the main settlements (ummahat) of the Hegaz. — The reading al-‘Awnid is not accurate. The halting place of the same name, situated in the desert to the north of Tejma, is not called al-“Awnid, but al- “Wejned. Kurh is an older name for the modern oasis of al-‘Ela’. Al-Makrizi, Mawd‘izg (Codex Vindobonensis, Vol. 1, fols. 10 v., 36 v., 184 v., 316 v.; Wier, Vol. 1, p. 311), asserts that the vocalization should be al-‘Uwajnid and not al-“Awnid. Al-Idrisi (1154 A. D.), Nuzha (Rome, 1592), III, 5, likewise records al-‘Uwajnid as an anchorage where mariners take in a supply of water, situated opposite the island of an- Na‘man at a distance of ten miles. The nearest anchorage to the south is called at-Tanafijje. Jaktt, op. cit., Vol.:3, p. 748, allots al-“-Uwajnid to Egypt and says that it lies near Madjan and al-Hawra’. — This location is not very exact, for Madjan is nearly 200 kilo- meters away and al-Hawra’ more than 250 kilometers. 138 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ guide, made a sketch map of the surrounding district. About an hour later ‘Afnan rode up accompanied by six men and asked us to proceed farther eastward. After riding for ten minutes through a dense palm forest, we arrived at a large vegetable garden and halted in front of a palm-leaf hut. As there was no pasturage in the vicinity, we tied up our camels. At ‘Afnan’s request the farmers brought the animals a lapful of green dates, but our camels, which were not accustomed to this food, did not touch it, while ‘Afnan’s camels consumed the dates with great relish. CHAPTER VI THE OASIS OF SARMA TO TEBUK BY WAY OF AL-RARR SARMA TO THE CREST OF THE AL-GELES RANGE Not wishing to let our starved and weakened camels suffer unnecessary hunger any longer, I asked ‘Afnan to allow us to depart and to give me the guide he had promised. The latter asked me to pay him twenty English pounds in advance and declared that he would go with me no farther than the first camp of the Beni ‘Atijje, as at Tebtak and in its vicinity there dwelt families hostile to him. ‘Afnan called upon his people, one after another, to accompany me, but they all refused. In the midst of our difficulties there arrived at the oasis a Bedouin about twenty years old, who was seeking work and profit. Scarcely had he heard of our quandary than he seized the edge of my cloak and begged me to take him, saying that as a shepherd he knew the whole region of the Hwétat at-Tihama from al-Bed‘ in the north to Wadi ad-Dama in the south, that he was also acquainted with the shepherds of the Beni ‘Atijje and could therefore obtain one of them as a new guide for me. Having come to an agreement with him, I gave ‘Afnan the presents intended for him and his servants, and at 8.04 A. M. we left the oasis. Our road led through dense palm thickets, across small, marshy, shallow streams. The oasis of Sarma is scarcely four hundred meters broad and is bordered on the north and south by low, steep, rocky slopes. Date palms thrive there admirably and their fruit ripens quite early in the year. Many dates had already attained a bright brown color, and ‘Afnan brought me a handful of the half ripe fruit.” At 8.45 we reached a large, dry hollow with a few palms, close to the spot, to the north, where the combined gullies of al-Mak‘ade and al-‘Efrija come to an end. Toward the east 43 In the literature dealing with the pilgrims, the oasis of Sarma is called al-Kasab. Abu-l-Feda’, Muhtasar (Adler), Vol. 5, p. 334, made a pilgrimage with his master to Mecca in the year 1320 A. D., and he greeted the new moon of al-Muharram (Feb. 12) at the halting place of al-Kasab, about four days’ march from Ajla in the direction of Janba‘. 139 Bb THE NORTHERN HEGAZ 140 {SOM OY} WOAf Liey-[e Jo Ao][VA oy} UL SW[eg—)G¢ ‘DI THE OASIS OF SARMA TO TEBUK 141 the hollow becomes tapering and is called Wudej. It is reached from the south by the se%b of Zehijje, which runs through the rocky hills of Umm HaSsim. After 9.15 the guide gave the name of al-Rarr to the valley through which we were pro- ceeding. On both left and right we saw numerous springs and groups of date and dtim palms (Fig. 57). From 9.55 to 11.40 we rested in a marshy hollow filled with a growth of reeds, where our camels found pasturage. In places the rocky soil was so scorching hot that it was impossible to walk barefooted. Our rifle barrels were as hot as if they had been left in a fire. Towards noon a slight wind arose from the east and we were able to breathe more freely (temperature: 38.2° C). At twelve o’clock we had on our left the copious spring of al-HraSe, which irrigates several gardens and forms a stream more than three hundred meters long. In the gardens there were crops of onions, melons, and tobacco. At 12.25 we saw the se%b of Umm as-Sarabit on the left and crossed the old Pilgrim Road of ar-Rasifijje leading southward to the hills of Kos al-Hnane, where spirits abide. Date palms were still growing in parts of the valley, so that the oasis of Sarma could be extended a full twenty-five kilometers to the east. At one o’clock the se%b of Ummu R&tim was on our left and Abu Takar on our right. At 1.40 on the northern edge of the valley we perceived the well Bir al-Rarr, near which some Arabs were watering some sheep and about ten camels. The Hwetat at-Tihama breed few camels, because the beasts do not thrive on the coast and in the moist oases. Instead of camels they keep cows on the coast and sheep and goats in the mountains. Eastward from the well Bir al-Rarr the valley through which we were riding is called Umm Karadi. It is covered with fine gravel, in which the rimt and sejdl grow only sparsely, and it is joined from the north by the seitb of ‘Anstrijje, near the beginning of which is situated a pile of old, ruined buildings, called al-Merw. The slopes of the valley are steep and barren of vegetation. From the rugged uplands project isolated peaks and obelisks. To the east, without any gradation, there rise precipitously from the uplands the huge granite mountains belonging to the chain that separates the coast from the eastern highland. In front of them towers Mount ad-Dubba, the curious shapes of which attracted our attention (Fig. 58). The northern A THE NORTHERN HEGAZ og 142 {SOM OY} WOAT A MANE fe he quUNoW—8¢ ‘DIA THE OASIS OF SARMA TO TEBUK 143 peak resembles a tall man standing up and attired in a Roman toga; while on the right a young man appears to be leaning against him, and on the left there is a girl with dishevelled hair. The southern peak forms a group of six persons, all of whom are looking westward to the sea. South of this group yawns a narrow, deep gap, through which emerges the valley of al-Karadi. The camels grazed from 2.10 to 4.12 P. M. while we drew a map of the distant surroundings from a high cone to which we had climbed with great difficulty (temperature: 39.8° C). Passing on between the granite mountains of ad-Dubba and Arejka we proceeded through a bare and dismal valley. On the right and left were high smooth walls, and between them a river bed about one hundred meters broad, which in places contained deep deposits of gravel, with no trace of vegetation. At 5.20 the guide drew my attention to the spring of Abu Swer on the left. This rises north of the entrance of the setb of Drejm which comes in from the south. At 6.12 we reached the se%b of Turban, which, coming from Mount ad-Dubba, rises in a copious spring of the same name that waters an extensive grove of date palms. East of it we proceeded through another se%b covered in places with drifts of sand. At 6.55 we encamped (temperature: 37.2° C) beneath a high, isolated cone that stood in the midst of the valley. On its western and northern slopes were high drifts of sand in which we observed some bushes of luxuriant green arta, of which the camels are very fond. The inflammation in my right eye had disappeared, but the ague had not yet left me. The night was clear and comparatively cool. The granite giants rising to our right and left assumed bewitching shapes in the moonlight and seemed to stretch their huge limbs as if pre- paring for some weighty undertaking. From time to time slight but very agreeable sounds broke the clear calm of the silent night. I did not understand these sounds, although I listened intently. Mhammad said: “The moon is rousing these enchanted giants and trying to find out whether they are still alive and strong and is instructing them what they are to do. How good and sweet the moon is, O Musa, and how cruel and hot the sun!” On Wednesday, June 15, 1910, we started off at 4.54 A. M. (temperature: 31.6° C). On our right were a Se%b and the 144 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ water of Umm Nahale on the slope of Mount Arejka, which is conspicuous because of its ocher color. At the southern foot of the mountain are the springs of Dkét and az-Zab‘ijje, which belong to the al-Kahala basin. At 5.30 we saw the Setb of al--Aguz on the left and to the southeast the high walls of the granite mountain range of an-Na‘ejza, through which lead the defiles of al--Arajjek and al-Bdejje. In front of these mountains to the east of us rose the black moun- tain of al-Ruraba, along the southeastern foot of which extends the setb of al-Mathane, which joins the Se%b of Ornub. At 6.15, entering an extensive hollow covered with a dense growth of sejdl, we observed under the trees a few wretched tents belonging to the Hwéetat. From 6.30 to 7.34 we rested to the west of the se%b of al-Medaik, on the northern edge of the hollow near a deep gap which -contains the spring of az-Zrejb. Having unloaded our baggage, we led the camels to the water. After a while three women came up behind us driving three flocks of small goats, and behind them followed a young man with a flock of about ten sheep and two camels. I wished to hire him as a guide, but he could not leave his flock. Our previous guide was afraid that he might be seen by some of his enemies encamped on the uplands of Hesma, and he asked me therefore to let him return. According to ‘Afnan’s statements, we should find in the vicinity of the spring of az-Zrejb on the border of the Hwetat and the Beni ‘Atijje a camp of the latter, but both the women and the young man assured us that all the ‘Atawne had departed for the uplands of Hesma, where their flocks had abundant pasturage, while on the coast the flocks were perish- ing with hunger. At eight o’clock we rode round an ancient burial place. At 8.03 we observed on the left the se%b and spring of Kir, the source of which is high up on the steep slope of the granite mountains bearing the same name and is very difficult of access. Mount Kir is composed of a great quantity of granite ribs some of which project above its general level and from afar resemble black stalactites. At 9.40 we had the se%b of Umm HaSim on our left; at 9.50 the se%b of Abu Hamata and the spring of the same name were on our right. South of the latter seib begins the cleft of al-Meda‘ik, which joins the se%b of Ornub. Having passed the latter, we entered the narrow se%b of as-Sik, enclosed by high, rocky walls which seem to touch THE OASIS OF SARMA TO TEBUK 145 each other at the top. Here we vainly searched for pasturage for our camels. Only some isolated ratam and sih grew there and these plants were all dead. The walls enclosing this se%b are of black granite, which had absorbed the burning rays of the sun and was giving out an unbearable heat. As no Fic.59—The se%b of as-Sik. breath of air could penetrate the deep se%b, we felt as if we were passing through a fiery furnace. The road was very difficult, because the camels had to walk over piles of stones and sand which had drifted there. Our guide drew our attention to the fact that we were approaching even more difficult places and advised us to let our camels rest. We did so from 11.32 to one o’clock (temperature: 35° C). Finding no pasturage the animals kneeled down and gazed sadly at us (Fig. 59). After 1.30 we reached the water of as-Sik, which fills a narrow fissure in the rock whence it does not flow out, as much of it evaporates. Behind the water rises a rocky wall, about fifteen meters high, which completely shuts off the se%b on the east. Only a narrow and scarcely distinguishable little path leads up- wards through a rocky cleft. Our camels were afraid to attempt this path. Leading my animal, which was urged on by Rif‘at, 146 THE NORTHERN HEGAZ I endeavored to persuade it to enter the cleft. For a long time it refused and turned back, but at last it jumped on to the path and the rest of the camels followed, but only so long as they could see one another. As soon as the front camel disappeared around a bend the next animal stopped, and all the rest came to a halt behind it. We had to bring the leading camel back in order to persuade the others to continue the march. It was not only difficult but frequently even dangerous to turn round on the narrow and precipitous pathway. The baggage fell from the backs of two of the camels and slipped down on the tail of the third one, so that the beast knelt. The fallen baggage went rolling down the slope, and it was no-easy task to carry it up again and load it on the camel. Both men and animals found it almost impossible to breathe, and the sweat was pouring off.-us. At last we climbed on to a rocky wall and entered a narrow crevice known as az-Zjejke, through which we climbed comfort- ably after a few minutes. In two places the water had formed puddles, but they were full of leeches of various sizes, so that not even our camels could drink from them. Suddenly the crevice was barred by a steep wall over four hundred meters high, which prevented us from continuing our journey. Nowhere could we see a trace of any path. After afew minutes Mhammad discovered on the eastern slope, behind a clump of palms, a smooth strip leading steeply to a small spur. This was the path. The spur projected scarcely sixty meters above the crevice, but it took us more than an hour to mount it. The first third of the way consisted of high, steep, twisting steps. My camel jumped up to the first step, thence to the second; behind it came the camels of Rif‘at, Taman, and Isma‘in, and in a short time our mounts were all side by side on the spur, where we persuaded them to kneel down and tied up their feet. Not seeing the rest of my companions, I climbed downwards and saw two camels with baggage already standing on the steps, but the third was still in the cleft. Ordering Mhammad and Isma‘in to hold the two front camels, I hurried down into the ravine to persuade the stubborn animal to move forward. I led it away from the path until it could see the two camels higher up, then I drove it behind them and it actually jumped up to the first step. But at that moment a stone of no great size worked itself loose from the top of the slope, rolled down, and rebounded in front of the first THE OASIS OF SARMA TO TEBUK 147 camel carrying the baggage. At this the beast took fright, wheeled round and stampeded down to the crevice, dragging the two others with it. Isma‘tin’s camel broke its tether and likewise fled down from the spur. The frightened animals did not come to a halt in the ravine but fled back to the rocky wall on which we had climbed so laboriously through the gap, and did not stop until they reached the very edge of the precipice. My European companions, Rif‘at and Taman, held three camels fastened on the spur, while the natives uttered lamentations and curses, exclaiming that they would not move a finger. Paying no heed to them, I ran out on to the spur, unfastened my camel, and brought it down into the crevice again. The guide followed me. Having overtaken the fugitive animals, we chased them back to the path, where we let them rest for a few minutes. In the meanwhile, Tuman and Rif