AL-ḤOMEJMA TO AL-ʻAḲABA
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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-Dâr. In 1898 the Military Commander began to construct a large barrack to the south
Fig. 29—Al-ʻAḳaba, 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 inscriptions on the stronghold, visited a number of the sick soldiers, conversed for more than an hour with the ḳâjmaḳâm, and looked about for a reliable guide. The chief, Sâlem eben Ǧâd, who had accompanied us to al-ʻAḳaba, had become so accustomed to our coffee that he did not feel inclined to leave us.
