The Northern Ḥeǧâz/Chapter 7
CHAPTER VII
TEBÛK TO WÂDI AL-ǦIZEL BY WAY OF ṚWÂFA
DEPARTURE FROM TEBÛK
On Wednesday, June 22, 1910, I had all our baggage deposited under the trees and gave orders for the tents to be struck and rolled up. ʻAbdarraḥmân Effendi sent two assistants who were to move our effects to the quarantine. The mudîr and Sâlem were glad that I was remaining for a long time at Tebûk and that they would be able to go on fleecing me comfortably. While my companions were busy arranging our baggage, aided by the guide Sbejḥ I sketched all the roads with which he was familiar.
At one o’clock the shepherd Muṭalleḳ drove up the camels upon which our baggage was to be transported to the quarantine. I then sent Ǧwâd for the gendarme Ḫalîl, to whom I handed two telegrams, one to the Minister of the Interior at Constantinople and the other to the Commander of the Gendarmerie at Damascus, informing both of them that I was just leaving Tebûk for Medâjen Ṣâleḥ, accompanied by the gendarme Ḫalîl. Ǧwâd read them to Ḫalîl and went with him to hand them in at the Telegraph Office. I instructed Ḫalîl to join us before two o’clock, as we were leaving at two. If he should be late or if he refused to accompany me, then let him tremble before his Commander at Damascus! The unfortunate Ḫalîl was so astonished at these proceedings that he trembled from head to foot. After a while Ǧwâd returned and announced that Ḫalîl had handed in the two telegrams and had gone to the mudîr to ask for his advice. The mudîr was asleep, just as everybody else was at Tebûk during the heat of noon. When Ḫalîl disturbed him from his slumbers and brought him such an unpleasant piece of news, the angry mudîr told him to go to the devil. Ḫalîl departed, taking his arms and his saddle sack, and came to me.
At two o’clock we left Tebûk. Except for two guards from the quarantine and one small boy, nobody took any notice of us. All the rest of the inhabitants of Tebûk were asleep. We made our way towards the southwest, because Sâlem and Daʻsân had recommended to me the road leading around the gardens of ar-Râjes to the šeʻîb of al-Ḳena’ as the best, and Sbejḥ had sent a message by one of the guards, whom he knew at Tebûk, that we should spend the night either at ar-Râjes or at Ǧerṯûma. I had expected for a certainty that both the mudîr and Sâlem would send gendarmes after us to hinder our journey, so we had to outwit them. At 2.52 therefore, we turned off directly to the west into a rocky area where our tracks could not be discovered. Towards the south we saw the gardens of ar-Râjes, which belong to the chief Ḥarb eben ʻAṭijje, and to the south of them the well of Ǧerṯûma. Both ar-Râjes and Ǧerṯûma are situated by the šeʻîb of ʻArejḳên, which is connected with Ẓabʻân and Abu Nšejfe; the latter is known in its upper part as Abu ʻAǧejǧât and terminates by the salt marsh of al-Mamlaḥ. To the west of ar-Râjes extends the šeʻîb of al-Muʻejṣi, which runs from the southern slope of the black rock of al-Ṛmejjem, winding along the western foot of the elevation of Tebûk and likewise coming to an end at al-Mamlaḥ.
We rode cautiously, continually watching for hiding places behind the dark sandstone rocks of Ammu ʻWejḳîle, and at four o’clock we crossed the broad šeʻîb of al-Baḳḳâr.
This šeʻîb begins in the south at Mount Nûf and extends among the hills of Waʻâl, Ḫalâwi, ʻAṣejfîr, al-ʻAjrên, and ʻAšêra on the east, and among al-Ḫambara, ad-Dwejmež,, Ǧedîrt aṣ-Ṣefi, al-Ḥṣejra, Ḥlej al-Ḥmêdi, Zhejlîl, al-Mizwâr, Ḥamra’-š-Šwârbi, al-Muʻezz, al-Bṛejṯ, and Berḳa-s-Smejḥân on the west. In the upper part it is called Dejjer, and in the elevation of al-Ḫambara it is known as Dellem; from the well Bîr al-Ḳena’ it keeps the name al-Ḳena’ as far as the hills of Umm Ḫrejmân, whence it is called al-Baḳḳâr. On the west it is joined by the šeʻibân of al-Baḫît; Hulful; al-Wdej; al-Ḳejṣûm; al-Ǧrejs, which extends between al-Muʻezz on the west and Umm Ḫanǧûr on the east; and finally by Umm Ṭibb. On the east there merge with al-Baḳḳâr the šeʻibân Ammu Rẓej; Ammu Nṣejb—winding between Ṭrejf al-Bûm, Mšejš al-ʻAbd and Ḳlejb Mardûd; and, farther on: al-Ḥawij; Umm Ǧerîd; al-ʻAṣfûra; ar-Rḳejḳ (or ar-Rḳejjeḳ); and al-Medra’, the last-named descending from the mountains of ʻAšêra and al-ʻAjrên.
From 4.30 to 7.03 P. M. the camels grazed on the arṭa and ṛaẓa in a small, deep hollow (temperature: 38° C). The gendarme Ḫalîl collected fuel, boiled coffee, and promised that he would help us in everything, if only I would declare before witnesses that he was not responsible either for me or my property and that I would protect him against the mudîr in Tebûk and the Commander in Damascus. Šerîf laughed at the guide Sbejḥ, because he could not satisfy his hunger. According to what Šerîf said, he had received more than one and one-half roṭol (three and one-half kilograms) of rice, and he was still complaining that his stomach was half-empty.
Fig. 66—Al-Medârîǧ. After supper we proceeded through the uplands of al-Medârîǧ (Fig. 66) and at 7.20 crossed numerous paths leading to the well of ad-Dimež.
A violent, cold, west wind arose and drove the sand into our eyes. After nine o’clock we searched in the šeʻîb of al-ʻWejned for a place with abundant pasture for the camels, but in vain. The šeʻîb and also the surrounding district were entirely parched. Sbejḥ declared that there had been no rains in these regions for years. At 9.50 we encamped behind a low, isolated knoll.
AL-ʻWEJNED TO AS-SEJJER
On Thursday, June 23, 1910, we all complained of the cold. Having left the camping place at 4.26 A. M., we went on foot in the šeʻîb of al-ʻWejned to warm ourselves. On the right we had the two violet-colored tabular hills of al-Ḫuḳûḳ, between which projected a high peak. There were no signs of vegetation, everything being quite bare and parched. To the east of the šeʻîb there rise the numerous low hills of Berḳa-s-Smejḥân, half-covered with sand, and to the south extends the high, table ridge of Umm Ḫrejmân. North of the latter rises the three-peaked mountain of Umm Ḫanǧûr, in front of which is the high cone of al-Bṛejṯ. To the south of these mountains and to the west of the well of al-Ḳena’ extends the long ridge of aṯ-Ṯmejjem, terminating in a steep slope. At 5.25 we saw in front of us the black sides of the table-shaped hill of al-Muʻezz (temperature at 5.00 A. M.: 21° C).
The configuration of the whole region is uniform: table-shaped hills with precipitous sides; deep, broad šeʻibân; and extensive plains, upon which are situated low knolls, cones, and peaks. The šeʻibân contain much sand in which the ṛaẓa and ʻâḏer grow. Here and there isolated ratam bushes and ṭalḥ trees are found. The guide explained that the ṭalḥ trees are very useful. If the bark is cut, fragrant resin, called ṣamaṛ, gushes out. This resin in a hardened form is collected and sold at Ẓbe’ and al-Weǧh for from one to one and a half meǧîdijjât ($ 0.90 to $ 1.35) the roṭol (2.56 kilograms), according to the demand. In 1909 the Egyptian traders at Ẓbe’ paid as much as one English pound for one roṭol. Resin is also collected from the sejâl, but this is not as fragrant and does not fetch as high price.
At 5.38 we saw the hills of Rdejhat al-Ḥamẓ and behind them the rocks of Ḥamra’-š-Šwârbi. At six o’clock the guide pointed out to me a couple of dark cones between which (bên ha-s-samrawên, between both of these blackish cones) begins the šeʻîb of Umm Ṭibb, which joins al-Ḳena’.
Our camel driver Muṭalleḳ explained that there were no greater rogues than the fellow tribesmen of our guide Sbejḥ. They have no regard either for hospitality, protection, countenance (waǧh), or shelter. Sbejḥ grew very angry and threatened to strike Muṭalleḳ and indeed to kill him if he spoke about the Beni ʻAṭijje in such a manner. Muṭalleḳ hailed from the oasis of Tejma but had been living at Tebûk for several years. In the spring he went to Maʻân to earn money. Returning from Maʻân he met with the chiefs Ḥamed and Aḥmed eben Ḏerʻ, who had been driven out from the oasis of alǦowf. Going on foot from camp to camp, they had reached the camp of the Ǧmêʻânijjîn clan, belonging to the Beni Aṭijje, near the railway station of al-Mdawwara. They gave a greeting, their greeting was returned, and yet they were surrounded by some shepherds and completely robbed. Their good clothes were taken from them and old ones thrown at them in return. They fled to the chief, Maṭlaḳ eben Rbejjeʻ, asking him for his protection and the recovery of their stolen property. But Maṭlaḳ declared that he did not know the culprits, that he must first search for them; and yet they were pointed out to him sitting in front of his tent. Sbejḥ declared that this was not true, that Muṭalleḳ was lying, and that if he thought that he had been badly treated he should go to Tejma, bring out his kinsmen thence, and let them punish the rapacious Beni ʻAṭijje. The inhabitants of the oasis of Tejma had, in the last few years, been robbed several times both by the Beni ʻAṭijje and by the Âjde and Fuḳara’, belonging to the Weld ʻAli, and even by several clans of the Šammar. The gendarme Ḫalîl said that he had been at Tejma for three months. Many houses there had been ruined, many gardens laid waste, and many warriors had perished. When Zâmel eben Subhân marched into Tejma, he had all the ad-herents of the Turkish Government, nine in all, beheaded in front of the gendarmes.
At 7.06 we rode between the mountains of al-Muʻezz and Rdejhat al-Ḥamẓ. To the east rose the dome of Ḫanǧûr, to the south Ḥamra’-š-Šwârbi, with which elevation the huge mountain of al-Mizwâr is connected. In these mountains there are many ibexes and beasts of prey, especially nimr (leopard) and fahad (a leopard-like cat, smaller than a nimr). In the sand we perceived the fresh tracks of a nimr and of a gazelle, which it had dragged into a ṭalḥ thicket and devoured there. Only a few fragments of the legs remained. The nimr, it seems, is larger than the fahad and so strong that it can drag away a young camel; it therefore often attacks camels. Before the railway was built the antelopes are said to have come into the region of Ḥesma, but now they are afraid of the railway line and remain to the east.
At 7.20 we had on our left the šeʻîb of Zhejlîl, which comes from the mountain of the same name, the peak of which projects far above the table-land. At 7.30 we at last found some fresh arṭa shrubs, a proof that we had already emerged from the region in which there had been no rain for four years. Our camels grazed until 9.08. Not far from us there was an ancient burial place. The graves had been built above the earth, each one consisting of large stones bordered by a circular wall of small stones (Fig. 67). At 9.16 we left the šeʻîb of al-Ḫaraze on the south and reached the black crags of Ammu Rtejmât, among which the šeʻîb of al-ʻWejned is transformed into an impassable ravine.
Fig. 67—Ancient grave near šeʻîb of Zhejlîl. This šeʻîb descends from the west from the northern extremity of the ridge of Berḳa ʻÎd and, after joining the šeʻîb of al-Ḫaraze, winds round the northern spur of the volcanic territory, first in a northerly and later in a northeasterly direction. On the right it is joined by the šeʻibân of Dbejsuwât and al-Ḥṣejra—the latter being formed by the branches of aṣ-Ṣefi and Salîl—and also by al-Ḳrejweṭ. Branching off to the west, we slowly penetrated the black rocks on the north side of the šeʻîb. In front of us we had the black cone of al-ʻAbd, from which the šeʻîb of Selîm descends; on the left beneath us was the ravine of al-ʻWejned, the bed of which is covered with pink sand, from which the green ratam shrubs stand out conspicuously. At 9.55 we crossed Wdej ʻAmri. In the rocks on the right and left sides of it a ghost, ṛôla, is said to have its abode. The ghost resembles a large eagle but sighs and weeps like a human being.
At ten o’clock we mounted to the elevation, and from 10.08 to 11.55 we rested in a shallow hollow, where we found pasturage for our camels (temperature: 34° C). At the eastern border of the hollow there was a rain well, mšâš, but without water. On the boulders could be seen numerous carvings of gazelles, camels, and horses, cut out to no great depth; but there were no inscriptions. To the northwest, behind the knolls of Ammu Frûẓ, appeared the hill of al-Ḫamîs and east of it the ridge of aš-Škâʻa, with al-Mhejbel and az-Zôr still farther north. On the south, to our left, extended a black plain with the dark gaps which marked the šeʻibân of al-Ḳrejweṭ, al-Ḥṣêra, and aṣ-Ṣefi.
At 1.30 we crossed the šeʻîb of Abu Ṣôr, which descends from Nedrat as-Sbâʻ and joins al-ʻWejned. At two o’clock we entered the splendid rocky šeʻîb of Umm Buṭum with high steep sides, through which we again reached al-ʻWejned (Fig. 68). The latter šeʻîb is scarcely ten meters broad; its bed is covered with sand to a considerable depth and is bordered by precipitous rocks.
Fig. 68—The šeʻîb of al-ʻWejned. On the rocks are carved various tribal signs, numerous primitive drawings, and also a few brief inscriptions. We remained among the rocks from 2.30 to 2.46. Not far away there was a rain well, but it had dried up.
From 3.05 to 3.40 we halted by the rain well of ar-Radhe, which contained water, so that we were able to fill one water bag. Thence we continued our journey across smooth rocks, which rose like a staircase and were so steep that we had to lead our camels. At 4.15 we climbed an elevation and saw extended before us the curious rock formations so typical of the uplands of Ḥesma (temperature: 35° C).
At 4.45 we dismounted by the cluster of rocks called Dbejsuwât, on the eastern spur of which there is a sand drift more than two meters deep and covered with arṭa and ṛaẓa, so that our camels were able to eat their fill. I ordered Muṭalleḳ to drive the animals from our encampment to a place where the arṭa grew most abundantly and to guard them carefully, because the proximity of water is always dangerous. Though shaken by an ague I had to climb with Tûmân and the guide to a knoll and from there draw a sketch map of the region. We were just setting about our work when we saw the keeper of our camels driving them back to the fire. I shouted and beckoned to him, Sbejḥ and Tûmân did the same, but Muṭalleḳ did not want to see and, when he saw, did not want to understand. There was nothing for it but for me to climb down and drive Muṭalleḳ and the camels with him back to the pasturage.
Having eaten our supper, we set out again at 7.10 (temperature: 30.8° C). The smoke from our fire was visible a long way off and might have attracted the attention of robbers, who would attack us in the night. Accordingly we had to seek another place in which to camp. Moreover, to the north of the hills of al-Mkejmen we perceived some herds of camels, and Sbejḥ declared that they belonged to the kindred of Rawâẓîn who formed part of the Sbût clan, the chief of which was Daʻsân eben Rbejjeʻ. He had threatened that he would not allow me to cross his territory without his permission, and therefore I wanted to get out of his territory as quickly as possible, or at least to obtain some Arab to protect us. Sbejḥ praised Daʻsân and declared that among all the Beni ʻAṭijje there was nobody so noble, rich, and bountiful as he. He owned two large herds of camels and was called the father of the poor, abu-ẓ-ẓuʻafa’.
We rode through the sandy plain of Ab-al-Ḳeṭîn, covered with an abundant growth of grass and perennials, and at 8.45 halted not far from the šeʻîb of as-Sejjer. To the southwest of us some shepherds with large herds of camels were spending the night. As the night was quite clear and the region safe, our camels could graze freely, and not until after midnight did we drive them up to our encampment and make them kneel down. Sbejḥ’s camel still went on grazing.
AS-SEJJER TO ḪARM AL-FAḤAM
On Friday, June 24, 1910, immediately after midnight, I sent the guide Sbejḥ to the shepherds to find out whether Daʻsân had already returned or not. At the same time he was to find for us a guide acquainted with the volcanic territory al-Ḥarra as well as with the coast regions belonging to the Ḥwêṭât at-Tihama. If he did not find such a guide among the shepherds and Daʻsân had not yet returned, then he was to go down to Daʻsân’s camp. I waited a long time for Sbejḥ and finally at 4.55 A. M. we started without him (temperature: 19.5° C). ʻArfeǧ and eṯmân, together with some isolated arṭa and ratam, grew on the plain. Having crossed the šeʻîb of Obejjeẓ aṭ-Ṭarîḳ at 5.40, we rode round the hill of al-Mkejmen and ascended a rise from which we obtained a fine view to the south and west. On the pale yellow plain are innumerable white, pink, and blood-red knolls, cones, peaks, and obelisks, and in front of them, nearer to us, could be seen about fifty black tents. On the western horizon there rose the huge battlements of the rugged mountain range of Râẓi, steeped in violet vapors; to the southwest we saw the rocky slopes of al-Ḫnejfse, composed of black and red strata, and between the two there towered up above the vapors the high, dark peak of Ḥarb and the majestic Debbâṛ, reaching to the clouds.
From 6.55 to 7.20 we remained in the šeʻîb of Zwejbt aṣ-Ṣḳûr by the rocks of Ašhab, where we were overtaken by Sbejḥ. The chief Daʻsân had not yet returned, but they were expecting him every moment. In the encampment Sbejḥ had found a man hailing from the Beli tribe, who was willing to act as our guide. Having arrived at an agreement with him, I asked him to bring up his camel and to proceed with us at once. He promised to do so but asked us to wait for him a short while, as his camel was in the pasture. In the meantime Daʻsân’s uncle came up to us and invited me to remain in the camp as his guest. I thanked him for his invitation but regretted that I could not accept it, because our camels were thirsty and we were anxious to water them at the well of ar-Rawjân. He offered to water our camels at the well, mšâš, of Abu Nmâr and said that in the meanwhile we could rest in his tent. He at once began to question us about our journey, warning both us and our new guide against the dangers by which we were threatened. He asked whether I had spoken with the chief Daʻsân and why we were coming that way, since we were neither buying nor selling anything. Knowing the disastrous consequences of such conversations, I beckoned to Sbejḥ, went with him to my saddle to put something in order there, telling him in the meanwhile to ask the new guide to make haste and to say that we would wait for him by the rocks of al-Ḳwejmi. Thereupon I swung myself into the saddle and, saluting all those present, rode off to the south. My companions were glad to get away from the camp of the Rawâẓîn, for they were afraid that they might make us prisoners, rob us, and send us back to Tebûk.
To the southeast of Ašhab rise the two low, white knolls of aṯ-Ṯwêrên, to the south of them the cone of ar-Rḫejmi, and to the west of the latter the isolated knoll al-Batra. Al-Batra is said to have shifted to its present position from the east and to have brought flints with it, for only upon it and upon about fifty tiny hills situated to the north of it can flints be found. There are none anywhere else in the uplands of Ḥesma. The small, low hills with the flints are called the “baggage of Batra,” Ḥellet al-Batra. To the north-west of al-Batra stands a solitary ṭalḥ tree, and near it is the mšâš of Beni ʻOḳba. Another well of the same name is situated on the southern border of the plain of az-Zâwije southwest of the hill Ǧlejf as-Semen. The plain of az-Zâwije extends from al-Mkejmen as far as the foot of the granite mountains of ar-Rawjân and al-Meljân and is bordered to the east by the volcanic wall of Ǧedîrt aṣ-Ṣefi with its south-western spur al-Leḥjâne. The chain of granite mountains dividing the coast, known as at-Tihama, from the uplands of Ḥesma forms a ridge, which, with the eastern spurs, is five to ten kilometers broad and is known as aš-Šefa’. The inhabitants of the Tihama coast give the name of al-Ǧeles (the rocky plain) to the eastern uplands, because they are composed of rocky plains.
At 8.54 we crossed the river bed of al-Ḫambara, in which there grows a great deal of ṭalḥ. To the west of us Sbejḥ pointed out in a channel the rain well, mšâš, of al-Mašḳaḥ. By the gap through which the šeʻîb of al-Mašḳaḥ finds its way to the west, on the north side, is the spring of as-Sidd and, on the south, that of aš-Šiḳri. Around the latter the road leads to the pass Naḳb al-Malḥaǧe. This is a deep notch between high, rocky walls, black below and red above, from which a lower group of sandstone hills runs to the east.
From 9.16 to 11.24 we waited for the new guide in a sheltered place among the rocks of al-Ḳwejmi. While we were drawing a map of the surrounding district we were joined by two shepherds, who told us that smallpox had broken out in the encampment of the Ḥwêṭât at the head of the šeʻîb of Tmarr and that therefore all the Beni ʻAṭijje encamped in the šeʻîb of al-Ḫambara were fleeing to the north. This was bad news, because we wanted to proceed along the northern foot of the Tmarr mountain range to the southeast. The new guide failed to turn up; either Daʻsân had returned or Daʻsân’s uncle had frightened him. Our guide Sbejḥ also wanted to leave us. Previously he had feared the Ḥwêṭât and the Beli; now he feared still more that he might catch the smallpox. His camel had remained in Daʻsân’s camp, and the new guide was to have brought it to him. He asked me for his wages, because he said that he did not intend to lose his life. It took me a long time before I could persuade him to remain with us until we found another guide.
Having left al-Ḳwejmi, we proceeded through the plain of az-Zâwije farther to the south. At twelve o’clock we had on our right the pink-tinted elevation of aṭ-Ṭḫi and at 12.20 on our left the yellowish hill of al-Asejher with, near by in the shallow šeʻîb of al-Ḳwêra, the hollow Ṛadîr abu ʻAẓejne and farther east Ṛadîr Abejṯer. On the east the plain is enclosed by the steep slopes of sandstone hills about sixty meters high, upon which lies a horizontal stratum of lava. The šeʻîb of al-Ḫambara proceeds from a deep, broad gap, the sides of which are as upright as if they had been artificially made with a T square. To the south we saw the blackened and rugged elevation of aṣ-Ṣwejwîn. We rode through the numerous shallow, dry watercourses of as-Saʻejdât, which run in a northeasterly direction. Footpaths lead through them to the gap of al-Ḫrejta.
At 1.55 P. M. we approached the rugged crags in which lies the rain well Mšâš al-Ǧdejjed. With our loaded rifles in our hands we scrutinized the crags to the right and left, for we feared that there might be robbers about. At 2.35 we went down to a well where we remained until 4.55. This well is situated in the bed of the rocky ravine nearly one hundred meters deep. The well itself, which was about three meters deep and half dried-up, contained only a little water. Ḫalîl climbed up to the southern slope to keep watch while Šerîf went down to the well and collected water with a dish into a canvas bucket. Muṭalleḳ drew out the filled bucket and poured out water for the camels, which had to drink two at a time. Rifʻat and Tûmân drove away the rest of the thirsty animals, which were thronging round the well. Going down with Sbejḥ through the šeʻîb to look for more wells, we found a few half-covered in and likewise containing water, but it was not possible to lead the camels to them because the channel was littered with huge rugged boulders, among which it was very difficult to push forward. We also wished to fill at least one bag with water. Sbejḥ crawled to the well and with a bowl poured water into the bag, which I held suspended by a rope. We had filled the skin about half-way, when above us we heard a voice and a dull report, and a bullet struck the rock a few centimeters above my head. To this very day I feel ashamed to think that for a moment I was frightened. Pulling myself together, I held the rope with the water bag in my left hand, while with my right I drew out my Mannlicher pistol and fired it in the direction of the smoke. At that moment Sbejḥ crawled from the well, took his rifle, and shouted:
“If you are ʻAṭâwne or Ḥwêṭât, show yourselves, but otherwise disappear, or we will shoot you all.”
Somewhere about the middle of the left-hand slope we perceived two rifle barrels aimed at us. We did not see our assailants, who were hidden in a rocky crevice. In reply to Sbejḥ’s challenge, a voice was heard: “Who are you?” Sbejḥ gave a suitable reply; whereupon two men appeared and scrambled down to us in a zigzag. They belonged to the Ḥwêṭât at-Tihama and were guarding the approach to the various wells, because they said within the šeʻibân of as-Saʻejdât there had appeared a band of robbers whom they wished to frighten away by preventing them from getting at the water.
Having filled the water bag we returned to our companions, who were awaiting our arrival in a state of alarm. They had heard the three shots, Tûmân had recognized the sound of my pistol, and they had not known whether to hasten to our assistance or to guard our baggage and the camels. The baggage had been loaded up and Muṭalleḳ said that the camels had drunk all the water they wanted. But Rifʻat’s camel began greedily licking the water bag which we had brought, showing that it was thirsty. As I supposed that only that camel had not drunk enough, I ordered water to be given it from the bag, but all the rest of the camels pressed forward, likewise wishing to drink. At my command the baggage was again unloaded from the animals, and we once more doled out water among them (Fig. 69). As they were tired and had rarely been able to graze to their satisfaction, I decided that they should at least not suffer thirst (temperature: 36° C).
Fig. 69—At the rain well Mšâš al-Ǧdejjed.
From al-Ǧdejjed we wished to proceed to the ruins of Ṛwâfa. Sbejḥ declared that we should find no water there, but one of the two men who had attacked us assured us that the rain water well there contained water that year, but that it flowed slowly. I should have liked to take one of the Ḥwêṭât with me as a guide, but they would not accompany us, their excuse being that they were afraid of the bands of raiders and that they could not leave their post. Having returned to the plain, we branched off to the east-southeast. There was a complete absence of pasturage, for all the plains were dry. It was not until after six o’clock in the evening that we perceived near the western border of the narrow defile Ḫarm al-Faḥam a fair-sized group of half-green ʻarfeǧ. We remained there from six o’clock to 8.20 (temperature: 31.5° C) and at 9.04 encamped on the eastern edge of the plain of al-Faḥam, to the southeast of the rock Ǧlejf as-Semen. Throughout the night we kept watch, as we were afraid that there might be robbers about, but we saw nobody.
ḪARM AL-FAḤAM TO THE ŠEʻÎB OF RETÂME; ṚWÂFA
Starting at 4.28 A. M. on Saturday, June 25, 1910, we rode through the narrow passage Ẓjejḳat al-Fahade, which is enclosed on the north by the dark slope of aẓ-Ẓhejr and on the south by the sides of the mutilated cone of Ammu Rḳejbe. After a while we perceived to the north the deep gap of Ṛwêl al-Arâneb and to the southeast the dark range of Umm Râtje. At 5.05 we found some fresh ʻarfeǧ, upon which our camels grazed until 5.28. The passage Ẓjejḳat al-Fahade is more than five hundred meters broad and is shut in on the north and south by steep, red slopes, upon which there is a layer of scattered lava about thirty meters thick. At 6.44 we observed on the right the flat table hill of as-Shejme, south of it the al-Mesâbe range, and at some distance to the northeast the long, high ridge of al-Ḥenw, with the huge cone of al-Mšaḳḳar beyond. At 7.20 we changed our course somewhat more to the southeast and after about ten minutes reached the spacious basin of Zenḳulla. The soil of this basin was covered with a growth of green shrubs from which the steep rocks rose up on all sides, red below, white in the middle, and black above. To the west were the red rocks of al-Mesâbe, north of them the black crags of ar-Rḫa, and still farther north the ridge of al-Ḥenw; to the east rose Abu Ḳrûn (which is connected with the granite mountain range of Tmarr), with the huge dome of al-Ḥâṭeb to the south-west, and to the south the spur of ad-Dwejme. On the western flank of the mountain range thus formed is the pass Naḳb an-Neṭḳi. To the east of Abu Ḳrûn appeared the oblong ridge of as-Sarâwîl, and behind it rose the isolated knolls of Nûf and Nuwejfât; then to the north of the latter the huge elevation of Amm Waʻâl. The western part of al-Ḥenw is known as al-Mšaḳḳar. Its northwestern spurs, called Leḥjâne, are separated by the šeʻîb of al-Ḥenw from the hills of Hbejrât, which are clustered together to the west of ar-Rḫa.
On the southwestern slope of the basin of Zenḳulla we saw a wall more than four meters high and behind it the ruins of an old building. These are the remains of the sanctuary of Ṛwâfa, by which we dismounted at 7.35 A. M. (Figs. 70, 71, 72). In front of the wall there is a caved-in well, behind the wall a large burial place on the old building site, and about five hundred meters farther to the southwest, at the foot of the rocks of al-Mesâbe, a rain water well, mšâš, near which stood eight camels. A larger well, known as al-Lâwi, is situated about five kilometers to the southwest of Ṛwâfa. I ordered Šerîf, Sbejḥ, and Muṭalleḳ to lead our camels away immediately to the well and to give them plenty to drink there. Ḫalîl was to guard our baggage while I examined the ruins. I found it difficult to sketch their plan. Nothing was left except the above-mentioned wall; the rest of the foundation walls had been covered up by large stones, which we could not remove in order to draw a sketch plan. On the building site among some stones I discovered one stone with a Greek inscription and another with a Nabataean inscription. Among the building material I perceived a stone more than two meters long, which I regarded as an architrave. Surmising that there might be some inscriptions upon it, with the help of Tûmân I scraped away some of the smaller stones with which it was covered and endeavored to insert my hand beneath it. From under the stone a snake ran out; after thrusting my stick underneath to make sure that no more snakes were concealed there, I rummaged beneath its lower portion and by my sense of touch traced the cuttings of separate letters. When our comrades had come back from the well, we turned the stone over. On it was carved a long Nabataean and Greek inscription of which I prepared two molds.
The spelling of the name of this building is uncertain. I recorded Ṛwâfa and Rwâfa; my companions, speaking the vernacular, said that it is generally known as Rwâfa, but the old natives call the ruins Ṛwâfa. According to the bilingual inscription, the sanctuary was built by the Thamudenoi tribe at the beginning of the second half of the second century of our era.
We should have liked to have remained at least two days by these ruins and, with the help of the Ḥwêṭât camping not far away, to have cleared the débris, examined the separate stones, and drawn an accurate plan. Among the stones there are certainly many others with inscriptions, and possibly more records are buried beneath the building material. We were 
Fig. 70—Ruins of Ṛwâfa from the east. unable, however, to remain there. From the well a Ḥwêṭi came to us and rebuked us for damaging property not our own. When I asked him to stay with us he said that he was about to leave immediately with his camels, because the district round the Ṛwâfa was infected with smallpox.
Fig. 71—Ruins of Ṛwâfa from the northeast. Near the hill of Abu Ḳrûn, he said, there was a deserted tent with two men who had been taken ill with smallpox; his own health and that of his children was much more valuable to him than the wages which I offered him. My native companions were also afraid of infection and urged me to finish the work as quickly as possible and to leave Ṛwâfa. Moreover, they supposed that the chief Daʻsân might have returned and that he would take measures against us. The gendarme Ḫalîl then reminded me that the mudîr and Sâlem, the representative of chief Ḥarb, would certainly incite the ʻAṭâwne against us. There was nothing left for me but to get away from Ṛwâfa.
We wanted to proceed due southeast across the eastern flank of the Tmarr mountain range, but the Ḥwêṭi warned us against this region, which, he said, was infected with smallpox. He also informed me that the journey was extremely difficult and that our weary camels would perish after a few days. I had not intended to change the direction. I wished to make my way due southeast, but the guide Sbejḥ declared that he was unacquainted with this territory, and, as the Ḥwêṭi would not accompany us,
Fig. 72—Ṛwâfa and environs. I could not venture to enter the volcanic and almost impassable region without a guide. Then too, the journey would have been useless, because I should have been unable to note down the names of the places which I saw. Sbejḥ was willing to accompany us as far as the “great ruins” of al-Ḳena’, where he said we could certainly find the ʻAṭâwne, from whom we could then select a guide who would accompany us farther to the south. At these “great ruins,” he said, there are gardens, aqueducts, and ruined houses; the Ḥwêṭi confirmed this, and I had heard the same thing from Sâlem at Tebûk. I agreed that Sbejḥ should guide us to al-Ḳena’, although this was a great detour from our original direction and we should thus arrive in the vicinity of Tebûk, exposing ourselves to the danger of being overtaken by the gendarmes of the mudîr.
At 11.23 we left the ruins of Ṛwâfa and proceeded in a northerly direction (temperature: 34.5° C).
Fig. 73—Bîr (well of) al-Maḏkûr. I was extremely sorry at being compelled to leave this important place without having thoroughly investigated it. I made up my mind that, as soon as ever I could, I would go to Ṛwâfa for a week’s sojourn and carry out excavations there. At 12.50 P. M. we reached the foot of the al-Ḥenw ridge, where we saw clusters of ṭalḥ trees with green shoots, upon which our camels fed with enjoyment. We remained there until 1.10 (temperature: 36.2° C). Then we ascended the ridge, leading the camels by the rein, and on reaching the top climbed down again along a steep path into the šeʻîb of Lebîd, bordered on the west by the high, rocky slope of Leḥjâne and on the east by the still higher slope of Dejṯân. At three o’clock we halted by the well of al-Maḏkûr (Fig. 73), situated in the šeʻîb just mentioned (temperature: 36.8° C), where we found two women watering a large flock of black goats. One of the women was the sister of the chief Ḥarb eben ʻAṭijje, to whose kindred the camp situated to the north of the šeʻîb belonged. Ḫalîl and Sbejḥ asked her to send us a guide from her camp, who could overtake us either at the crossing of ad-Dwejmež or the next morning by the water of al-Ḳena’. We could not enter her camp because it was pitched in an almost inaccessible rocky ravine. The woman inquired about her brother and his camp and promised that she would fulfil our wish. At 3.16 we left the šeʻîb of Lebîd to the east of the pool Ṛadîr Abejṯer, crossed an elevation from which there was a wide view westward, and at 3.42 descended again into the šeʻîb of ar-Retâme, where we remained by some blossoming ṭalḥ trees from 3.55 to 6.20. The camels did not find much pasture, for there was no vegetation in the šeʻîb except the ṭalḥ trees and a few yellowish rimṯ bushes. The river bed was gray, the rocky walls white below, black above, and overhead hovered an ash-colored veil of air which blazed with the glowing heat. I trembled with ague, Rifʻat complained that he had a severe headache, Tûmân’s eyes were inflamed, red and swollen, the guide Sbejḥ asked for his wages and announced that he would leave us immediately; two of the camels had their backs lacerated and bleeding; all were tired and hungry, and we had to press on.
Following a path about thirty centimeters broad which wound among the sharp lava stones, we reached a narrow, rocky defile, from which there seemed to be no way out. We could not go back, nor was it possible to branch off to one side; we had to move forward, for Sbejḥ declared that his defile led to the crossing of ad-Dwejmež. I led the way forward with my camel. In places we laid lava stones one upon another in order to form steps upon which our camels could mount. After an hour’s wearisome march we reached the summit. It proved to be an endless plain covered with black lava, from which projected only slightly to the left the elevation of al-Ḥarḳa and to the right the elevation of Dbejjeb. We again found the small path about thirty centimeters wide, trodden by the camels among the sharp lava stones. From this path it was impossible to move aside either to the right or to the left. At 7.35 P. M. we found a bare surface measuring about fifteen meters in diameter, from which the lava had been removed, and here we encamped at a height of 1451 meters (temperature: 28° C). Not knowing whether the ʻAṭâwne were pursuing us or not, we kept guard over our property during the night.
RETÂME TO AR-RḲEJḲ
On Sunday, June 26, 1910, we were on the march as early as 4.25 A. M. The pathway led in a direction which was inconvenient for us because we were obliged to move due east across the sharp lava. The march was very difficult and painful for our camels. The poor animals had to pick their way forward through fragments of lava, cautiously stepping between them. After only a quarter of an hour, all the camels were bleeding from the hocks and joints of their feet, but the guide Sbejḥ assured me that it did them no harm. It would be a bad thing, he said, when the soles of their hoofs began to bleed.
At 5.15 we observed to the southeast two isolated knolls, the highest peaks of Mounts Nûf and Nuwejfât. From them there proceeds to the northwest the deep rift of the šeʻîb of Abu-l-Ḳawâṣîm, the lower part of which is known as Retâme. To the west we could see on the Sinai peninsula not only the mountains of the southern part of the peninsula but also the plain extending to the north of these mountains. Nearer to us towered the steep peaks of Ḥarb and Debbâṛ, and to the south we had a view of the greater part of the at-Tihama shore. We were traveling at a height of about 1460 meters. Around extended a lack, lifeless, slightly undulating plain that stretched beyond the limits of our vision. The deep, narrow ravines seemed to be blacker than the plain itself.
Before seven o’clock we came to the difficult descent into the ravine of al-Ḳena’ and at 7.33 we had reached the channel below. The ravine gradually grew wider, and at 7.40 on our right we saw a clump of ḥamâṭ (wild fig trees) and a few fine fig trees, by which we halted at 7.54 (temperature: 28.5° C). These trees are situated about a third of the way down the eastern slope and give shade to a copious spring which fills a pool of no great size about fifty meters distant, to which the water is conveyed by a trench. Near by were to be seen the remains of foundation walls, piles of unhewn stone, and the level sites of old gardens, a proof that a village had once been situated here. By the spring a number of women were watering some long-haired sheep, and five men were attending to about twenty camels. As the sister of Ḥarb had not sent us a guide, I should have liked to have hired a guide from among the men present, but they all excused themselves, saying that their camp was a long way to the northeast and that they were on the point of moving northwards for fear of the smallpox, which had broken out in the upper part of the šeʻîb of al-Ḳena’. They told us that we should find an Arab camp by the fountain of al-Ḥadara, situated to the south of al-Ḳena’ in the šeʻîb of the same name. I asked Sbejḥ to accompany us that far and not to leave us until we had another guide.
At 8.25 we left the spring and proceeded in a north-easterly direction. On our left we observed a herd of camels going down to drink. It was curious to watch how these animals found their way downwards over the steep rocky wall. About half-way down the slope projected a narrow, horizontal rib, in front of which the camels came to a standstill; the leading animal groped about in front of this rib, crawled over it cautiously, but returned and waited until all the rest of the beasts had climbed down; only then did it follow.
At 8.40 we branched off eastward by the šeʻîb of al-Hulful, crossed the broad šeʻîb of Dellem, which is connected with the shorter ravines of Dejjer and al-Baḫît. At 9.10 we rode through the ravine of Ammu Rẓej, which merges with aṯ-Ṯwejmer; at 9.50 we left al-Ḳena’, turning almost due north, and after crossing the low ridge of Ṭrejf al-Bûm we made our way into the šeʻîb of Ammu Nṣejb, where we remained from 10.20 to 12.10 P. M. (temperature: 36° C). The camels grazed on fresh šaʻrân and rimṯ. The sun was scorching, the rocks and sand so hot that it was painful to touch them with the bare hand or foot. The camels, having drunk their fill at al-Ḳena’, were craving for pasture, but there was none in the šeʻîb of Ammu Nṣejb. I climbed up the slope and in a rather small hollow discovered a fairly extensive space with a growth of fresh šaʻrân, but our camels were so tired that they could not get up the steep declivity. After several vain attempts one camel after the other knelt down in order at least to rest, if it could not satisfy its hunger. Nevertheless, we had to urge the tired and hungry animals to a further march.
We rode through a šeʻîb toward the south-southeast until we reached the cleft of aš-Šelûl, which contains a tiny spring. From there we turned eastward at one o’clock. We had lost the path. From 2.10 to three o’clock the camels grazed on a strip of fresh eṯmân, which we found in a ravine of no great size. I had sent Sbejḥ to look for the path, but he had not returned. Finally we found him on the height, reposing under a crag, cursing the day on which he had allowed himself to be hired as our guide, complaining of his weariness, and consigning us, together with our wages, to the nethermost hell. Ḫalîl and especially Šerîf grew so angry that they threatened to beat him, but this I would not permit. Sbejḥ was unwilling to go any farther with us. He wanted to get back. I should have dismissed him without further ado, but this was not possible until we had secured another member of the Beni ʻAṭijje tribe as guide, and hence also as protector, for otherwise they would certainly have robbed and possibly even killed us. I sat down by the side of Sbejḥ, gave him medicine which refreshed him somewhat, and asked him not to leave us and at least to show us the direction in which we could reach the spring of al-Ḥadara. At last he got up and led the way through a plain covered with lava to the northwestern slope of the elevation of al-Ḫalâwi. There he lay down again and asked us to pay no heed to him, but to go our way. We were standing on a horizontal ridge somewhere in the middle of the slope. On our left there rose a steep rock, on the right yawned a ravine about one hundred and fifty meters deep; ahead of us appeared a semicircular rocky rift. Ḫalîl and Šerîf looked for the path, but in vain. Leading our camels into the rift, we searched about to see whether we could descend by its right-hand slope, which formed a narrow, precipitous spur. Up this spur we could lead the camels in zigzags part of the way, but this was possible only here and there. In places we had to form steps by means of the stones and elsewhere to roll the stones away. Having reached the top, we found in front of us still another ravine, where we discovered a path leading to the rocky plain, in which it was lost once more. I scrambled out on to the summit no great distance away and inspected the region. Southward I looked over red, high, billowing crags amongst which the šeʻîb wound. East and west the view was shut off by heights. Somewhere about the middle of the southern slope of the eastern height, I perceived a shining strip, a path, to which we directed our footsteps. Sbejḥ came on behind us, continually complaining. After six o’clock we saw on the northwest the Ḳlejb Mardûd, on the east the ridge of ʻAṣejfîr, and we then caught sight of the deep basin of ar-Rḳejḳ. The slope now became somewhat more steep and we went down in zigzags along the path. We were very glad when to one side we saw a number of goats and on the southeastern edge of the basin three small tents. At 6.30 we were in the basin and at 6.35 we encamped about five hundred meters north of the tents (temperature: 32.2° C).
Ḫalîl immediately entered the largest tent and after a while returned with a lame man about forty years of age, who was willing to act as our guide. Ḫalîl apologized for having brought us a lame guide (Fig. 74), but he said that this was the only adult male in the tents. All the rest of the men and youths were away on a raid. The new guide explained that while he was still a lad a large stone had fallen on his right foot and had crushed it. Since then he could only walk with a crutch and lived on the generosity of others. “My property consists of a two-year old camel, ḳaʻajjed, ten small goats, and four little girls.” The tent in which he lived did not belong to him but to the chief, his relative, who was not there. Sbejḥ recovered as soon as he had obtained his wages, and was quite satisfied because he had obtained more than he had expected. The night was peaceful and we were able to rest.
BASIN OF AR-RḲEJḲ TO AZ-ZUṚBA
On Monday, June 27, 1910, we left our encampment at five o’clock in the morning (temperature: 24° C), proceeding through the šeʻîb in a southerly direction. On the surrounding rocks Ṯamûd inscriptions could be seen here and there. My camel went lame in its left forefoot and about every two minutes limped so much that it sank down on its knees. Jumping down from the saddle, I examined its foot and in the sole found a sharp stone about the size of a hazel-nut. I extracted the stone and stopped up the wound with cotton wool, which, however, immediately fell out. Sand penetrated into the wound, and whenever the animal stepped on a sharp stone it nearly sank down to its knees, but nevertheless I had to move forward.
Having left the river bed we proceeded after six o’clock along the side of the ridge of al-Ṛmejjem, which runs in a southerly direction. On the surrounding boulders Ṯamûd inscriptions could likewise be seen. The path was covered with coarse gravel, and my camel could make no headway.
Fig. 74—Our guide at ar-Rḳejḳ. The guide advised us to bind up the left foot with a piece of skin. Accordingly, from a skin water bucket, known as maṭṭâra or zemzemijje, we cut out a piece of skin the size of a camel’s hoof, which we tied firmly above its ankles, but the animal had not gone ten paces before this artificial sole fell off. We then unsaddled the camel, made it kneel down, tied up its legs, rolled it over, and sewed the skin on to its sole. It was a laborious task which took until eight o’clock but proved successful. The skin kept on the whole day, the camel did not stumble, and the wound closed up somewhat.
At 8.10 we entered the šeʻîb of al-Ḥadara, which extends to the northeast, merges with the šeʻîb of as-Sdêr, and forms the šeʻîb of al-Eṯel,
Fig. 75—Umm Leben. terminating in al-Meḥteṭeb, northeast of Tebûk. At 8.40 on our left we perceived the high, black wall of Umm Leben (Fig. 75) and at 10.20 reached the well of al-Ḥadara. This well is about two meters deep and always contains water. The dry watercourse is covered with fluvial deposits and débris of rocks, and there were no plants in it. At 9.46 we turned northeast through a gap between the ridge of al-Mawʻada and Umm Leben to the wells of an-Nwêbʻe, where we remained from 10.20 to 12.50 P. M. These wells are situated in a deep šeʻîb enclosed by bare rocks. There are eight wells still active, varying in depth from three to four meters and filled with clear, fresh water to a depth of six-tenths of a meter. Unfortunately there were no pastures in the vicinity. On leaving the wells we rode for five minutes through a šeʻîb in which, about two kilometers farther to the northeast, there is the smaller well of al-Ferri. We climbed the right-hand slope of the šeʻîb to the east and from the top at 1.24 perceived the dark rocks of Sawda’ Ḥamde and farther to the northeast the red hills of ad-Daḫâḫîr. At two o’clock we proceeded along the height Šrejf ab-al-Bîẓ, from which we had an unobstructed view of the mutilated cone of al-Watar to the southeast and of a large clump of ṭalḥ trees near the water of al-Bedʻ.
The character of the landscape gradually altered. The black lava receded in places, and red elevations began to appear, with isolated brownish cones and cupolas upon them. But the region was bare and parched, because there had been no rain for four years. Through the šeʻîb of Abu Nmâr we reached the broad and deep šeʻîb of al-Baṣîri, where we entered an ancient road running north and south. On all the more conspicuous points to the right and left of the road there were small circular towers about two meters high and from two to ten meters in diameter. Most of these towers were built of stones without mortar, and some were quite empty inside. Our guide told us that they are landmarks for the wayfarer, pointing out the way in the midst of these craggy hills. They are probably the ancient ârâm (stone landmarks). At 3.30 there hovered before us the oblong mountain of az-Zuṛba, in front of which glistened the broad plain of al-Bedîʻ, surrounded by red hills. We moved forward between the low elevations of al-Manâḫer. At four o’clock we descended into the šeʻîb of al-Bedîʻ where we remained by a palm grove from 4.40 to 4.53 (temperature: 39.2° C). The palm trees belonged to the chief ʻAlejjân eben Ṣadfân, of the clan of the Saʻejdânijjîn, who encamps there when the dates ripen. Northeast of the palm trees there were ten wells, each about three meters deep, artificially walled in or hewn from the rock. They always contain water and could be used to irrigate a large palm grove.
After filling one water bag, we rode to the southeast past numerous goat folds. Entering a small šeʻîb we ascended its left-hand slope, where we found a large burial place. The tombs were not raised up but were level even with the ground and surrounded by a low, circular wall measuring about one hundred and eighty centimeters in diameter (Figs. 76, 77, 78). In the middle there are stone slabs; in each case two are inserted in the ground and a third laid across them, or else all three or even four are propped up against one another. The stone wall of some tombs is semicircular,
Fig. 76 and in front of some there is a hollow bordered with stones and measuring about forty centimeters in diameter. The Arabs place small green ratam twigs upon the slabs and pour water into the hollow, this being their manner of honoring the dead.
Fig. 77
Not far beyond the burial place, in a šeʻîb enclosed on all sides, at the foot of the north side of az-Zuṛba (Fig. 79) we found a fairly good pasture, where, consequently, we encamped at 5.10. In the evening we ascertained the latitude (temperature: 30.2° C).
AZ-ZUṚBA TO ABU ṢAWRA
On Tuesday, June 28, 1910, we left our camping place at 4.30 A.M. (temperature: 16.5° C) and at five o’clock mounted a height from which we had a delightful view to the south.
Fig. 78
Fig. 76, 77, 78—Graves at al-Bedîʻ The region is only slightly undulating and is covered with yellowish ratam and coffee-colored šîḥ which appeared to I have a dark-blue veil over it. In the background hovered the isolated broken cone of al-Watar, from which what seemed to be small clouds of smoke were being carried eastward by the wind. In front of al-Watar towered the cone of al-Lâja, and to the north of both of these mountains lay the brilliant uplands of Ǧdejdîlât, an-Naʻâme, an-Nimrijjât, and an-Naʻâjem. The first rays of the rising sun caressed the hills and the shrubs. At 5.26 we passed by another ancient burial place similar to the one described above. On three slabs could be seen numerous carved tribal tokens. From 5.50 to seven o’clock we stopped to draw a sketch map of the surrounding district. Thence the road led us through the basalt rocks of al-Ḳṭejjât, the highest of which towered above the neighboring country to a height of one hundred and fifty meters with perfectly vertical sides.
Fig. 79—Mount az-Zuṛba. At 7.26 we had the well of al-Ḳṭejje on our left; then we crossed various small ravines and at 9.30 reached the valley of ar-Rumaẓa, which forms the border between the Beni ʻAṭijje and the Beli. From 10.15 to 11.55 we rested on the western slope of the black basalt mountain of al-Lâja (Figs. 80, 81). It was an unpleasant halt, for the sun blazed, the barrels of our rifles were so hot that we did not venture to touch them with our bare hands, and the camels were tired and hungry, having found no pasture.
At 12.30 P. M. we had the head of the deep šeʻîb of ar-Retâme on our left, to the south the beginning of the basalt rocks of ad-Dêreʻ, and to the east the table mountain of al-Watar, which is visible from Tebûk. Al-Watar is composed of five strata placed horizontally one on the other. Upon the fourth stratum from below, which has the appearance of being artificially cut out on the slopes, lies the fifth like a flat hat. At 1.35 we entered the eastern upland of an-Naʻâjem. This consists of numerous low, flat, black knolls separated by deep ravines, to the north of which rose the red groups of the an-Nimrijjât hills. On the right and left of the road could be seen piles of tiny stones in addition to the small, round towers which we have already mentioned. The guide explained that the clefts near by were inhabited by an evil female spirit, who, he said, was fond of enticing lonely travelers 
Fig. 80
Fig. 81
Fig. 80—Mount al-Lâja from the east
Fig. 81—From base of Mount al-Lâja looking south. from the road and then destroying them. Wishing to overcome her temptations, the travelers pick up the small stones, place them on the boulders and think of their relatives, who would mourn for them if they knew that they had gone astray and perished of hunger.
On our right we had the black cone of Ab-aḏ-Ḏahab, covered here and there with a growth of yellow moss (temperature: 35° C).
From 2.48 to 3.15 the camels grazed in the šeʻîb of Semʻ which proceeds from the huge mountain of Šejbân, towering up to the southwest. In the northern part of Šejbân are the wells of Ǧhajjer and al-Ǧeba’. At 3.32 we crossed the šeʻîb of al-ʻAṯâne, more than four hundred meters broad and containing a growth of šîḥ, baʻejṯrân, ḳejṣûm, and ratam. To the northeast, not far from our road, al-ʻAṯâne is joined by the šeʻîb of Zrâb.[1]
The country now becomes rolling; the šeʻibân are broad, the slopes less abrupt but more stony. At 4.08 we turned to the south toward Mount Šejbân with its innumerable clusters of knolls and mutilated cones. In front of us towered the black spur of ad-Dâra. At 4.46 we were near the water of al-Embâṭe, where we found a large herd of camels being driven by armed men to Mount Šejbân. The camels belonged to the Ḫuẓara’ clan of the Beni ʻAṭijje. The men in charge of them said that al-Âjde were preparing a warlike expedition against them. An ʻAṭîwi, or member of the Beni ʻAṭijje, who had served among the Âjde as a shepherd, having heard about this raid, had escaped and warned his kinsmen of the danger by which they were threatened. The Ḫuẓara’ and al-Masâbḥe had then occupied the crossings at al-Lwij, Laʻabân, and al-Ḳnêʻer, leading from the southeast into their territory, and had sent herds of camels to Mount Šejbân to hide them there. The flocks of goats had remained near the tents which they had erected in hidden ravines.
We were rather exhausted before we found one of these small encampments of the Ḫuẓara’ in the narrow, stony šeʻîb of Abu Ṣawra, where we halted at 5.58 (temperature: 29° C).
Abu Ṣawra is the head of Wâdi al-Aḫẓar (or al-Ḫaẓar), which stretches in a north-northeasterly direction, then swings off to the northwest by the railway station of al-Aḫẓar, and terminates in al-Meḥteṭeb. On the left al-Aḫẓar is joined by the šeʻibân of an-Naʻâme, ad-Delw, and ad-Daʻêǧ, which descend from the cone of Ḫirḳ; farther on by ad-Daʻûǧ and al-ʻOmejdên, which [rise among the rocks of Mejsûra; then by Abu Ṭarfa’, between which and the lower course of al-ʻOmejdên stands the cone al-Ḳnêʻer; then follow the šeʻibân of Sḳêʻijje, Abu Ḥalfa, Ḏi Tîn, al-Wužerijjet al-Bêẓa’, at-Tûlijje, al-Ǧeleb, Ummu Ḳwe’, al-Ḫaẓra, ad-Drêḳa, al-Muṣṭabṛa, al-Worob, and Ummu Rkêbe. The valley is joined on the right by the šeʻibân of ar-Râšde, with al-Laʻabân; and by al-Fḥejl, as-Samake, al-Wužerijjet as-Samra’, al-Ḥmejda, Šômân, al-Meḫtebi, Ammu Rtejmât, as-Sûḳ, Erdêht ʻAneze, Ammu Kanâtel, Umm Ṣafa’, al-Bêẓa, and Umm Tîna.
In the ten tents of the camp near which we halted there was only one man and he was mad, maǧnûn. Having heard of another encampment about a kilometer farther on to the northeast, I sent Ḫalîl there to bring us a new guide, because our lame one was no longer familiar with the country. In this second camp there were five men, all of whom came to us with Ḫalîl. I took as guide a young man who answered all my questions accurately. In the night I again suffered with ague.
THE ŠEʻÎB OF ABU ṢAWRA TO RIǦM AL-FÂSED
On Wednesday, June 29, 1910, we started off at 4.10 A. M. (temperature: 15° C) while it was still dark. The guide was to catch up with us. The šeʻîb of Abu Ṣawra is narrow, and we had to go round the camp, frequently knocking against the ropes of the tents and thus disturbing all the dogs, who pursued us a long way. After about twenty minutes the new guide overtook us. The mad old man likewise joined us and kept on shouting that Allâh might make the road smooth for us. Having left the šeʻîb of Abu Ṣawra at 5.30 by way of a rocky ridge, we reached the broad šeʻîb of al-Bêẓa, here covered with a growth of reeds. Here and there could be seen small pools of dark brown water which gave off a very unpleasant smell. At six o’clock we halted on the southwestern slope of these pools, where our camels drank and we took in a supply of water (Fig. 82). From all sides camel riders were coming up to the wells, fully armed to repel the expected attack of the Âjde. The water near al-Bêẓa is sufficient to irrigate large gardens or fields. That the whole surrounding district was once cultivated is proved by the remains of old garden walls and piles of stones on the gentle slopes where vines once grew. These piles of stones are particularly numerous on the southeastern slope of ad-Dâra, which runs northeast and southwest. Behind ad-Dâra rises the southern peak of Mount Šejbân, known as aš-Širṯ, from near which, to the south, flow the copious springs of al-Lowza and ad-Difla.
Fig. 82—The šeʻîb of al-Bêẓa. South of ad-Dâra extends the low ridge of Abu Ḳarnejn, upon which are two peaks, and to the southeast of Abu Ḳarnejn appears the broad elevation of al-Muḫteleṣ.
Upon leaving the water of al-Bêẓa at 6.23 we rode in a southerly direction through a plain covered with coarse gravel. Our guide told us that he had been on his way to al-Kerak for grain and he complained that the railway causes very high prices throughout the country. Before the railway was built the grain at al-Kerak and al-Belḳa’ was much cheaper. Now a camel load (one hundred and fifty kilograms) of barley costs five meǧîdijjât (about $4.50) at Kerak, and a load of rice at al-Weǧh costs fourteen meǧîdijjât and a half (about $13.05). The rice is bought by the chiefs alone and they give it only to specially honored guests. The rest of the Beni ʻAṭijje are glad if they can sometimes bake a single loaf. If the semḥ thrives, they mix the flour made from it with barley flour. The guide mentioned with delight that in that year the great areas between Ṭubejž and Ḥesma were covered with semḥ, so that every family would have a few bags of semḥ seed. From 7.30 to 7.50 our camels grazed. On the southwest appeared the cones of Abu Šnân.[2]
At eight o’clock we came upon fourteen small piles of stones, which had been set up as a memorial to the fact that upon this place the chief Ṭwêleʻ al-Ḫoẓri saved fourteen starving warriors. The latter had gone on a raid but had been surrounded and overpowered and were obliged to give up their arms, camels, and all their supplies, including even their clothing, and then had to return home on foot. For eight days they lived on various herbs, but on the ninth they became so weak that they could go no farther. For two nights and one day they remained in the same place, listening to the wild animals howling around them at night and in the daytime watching the birds of prey wheeling over them. Thus they awaited death. At last Allâh had pity on them and sent the chief Ṭwêleʻ, who saved them.
At 8.20, to the east, we perceived the extinct volcanic cone of Ḥebrân and nearer to us the broad ravine of Ǧemûm, which joins with the šeʻîb of ar-Râšde, which in turn merges into the valley of al-Aḫẓar. On the broad elevation of Umm Birḳa, where we found good pasturage, we remained from 9.05 to 10.50 (temperature: 39° C). Having unloaded the baggage I proceeded with the guide and Tûmân to a cone not far away, whence we drew a sketch of the surrounding district. The ascent was difficult because we had to cross fragments of lava, continually avoiding large basalt boulders.
The table mountain of Umm Birḳa, covered with basalt, is situated on the watershed of the valleys of Ǧizel and al-Aḫẓar. On the southeast Umm Birḳa is connected with Mount aṣ-Ṣbâḫ, from which ar-Riǧm extends eastward. Still farther to the east rise the volcanic cones of Dabba, Mlejsa, Ḥebrân, as-Shâm, Neẓûḥ, Abu Marâdîf, and as-Sbâwi. South of the latter appear the cones of ar-Rḥajje, with the pyramid of Nâjef and the volcanoes of Ferdân and Rîʻ still farther south; southeast of Ferdân and Rîʻ is the table mountain of Ḫaẓma with the spring ʻAjn Lâla on its western slope, and south of Lâla the hill of aṭ-Ṭlâḥ, with, to the northwest,
Fig. 83—The šeʻîb of an-Nežîb. the volcano of ʻOmejrîs and the broad ridge of Semne.[3] Upon Semne is situated the cupola of ʻAčba.
To the south of Semne extends the black volcanic upland of ʻAtḳa, with which are connected the ridges of Ḳṭêʻat Ḏijâbe, al-Mšaḳḳar, and Swejd an-Niswân. Looking westward we saw the upland of as-Sowṭ, covered with lava, and to the southwest aẓ-Ẓelfe, from which the passes Naḳb Ebʻejd and Naḳb aẓ-Ẓarba lead to at-Tihama.
Proceeding through the šeʻîb of an-Nežîb (Fig. 83) to the southeast, at 11.32 we crossed several beaten tracks leading to the well of al-Mšejjîd. The region becomes gradually more mountainous. At 12.35 we had on our right the high hillocks of aẓ-Ẓelfe, on our left the broad eminence of aṣ-Ṣbâḫ with the well Bîr Rẓêḥân at its southwestern foot. At 1.45 we perceived before us the high, red wall Ḳaṭʻat al-ʻEǧejbi, behind it the broad gap formed by the šeʻîb of an-Nežîb, and on the southern horizon the lofty mountains of al-Wited and al-Ǧawla. The šeʻîb of an-Nežîb, which contains numerous ṭalḥ trees, is stony and is enclosed by high rocky walls. Leading our camels, we descended into the dry watercourse at a point where it is joined by the šeʻîb of al-Mšejjîd, which descends from the northwest. From 3.10 to 5.15 the camels grazed by the rain water wells Ṯemâjel an-Nežîb (temperature: 34.8° C) (Fig. 84). At 5.30 we reached the šeʻîb of aṭ-Ṭwejrijje, which contains six wells each about two meters deep, with good water (Fig. 85) and known as Bjêrât Dabbârât. At six o’clock we had in front of us the broad ridge of ʻAtḳa, enclosing on the southeast the low elevations Matent al-Merw and Matent al-Fle’, said to have been the camping place of the Beni Helâl on their march from south to north. At seven we saw on the right a high pile of stones, Riǧm al-Fâsed, and behind it the rocky slope of Ḳaṭʻat al-ʻEǧejbi, with Ḳṭêʻat Ḏijâbe to the south. On the southern foot of Ḳaṭʻat al-ʻEǧejbi is the spring of al-ʻAḳejrbe at the head of the šeʻîb of al-Ḫallâṣ, which merges into the broad šeʻîb of al-Farrâʻ. At 7.25 we encamped. The night was warm and quite peaceful.
RIǦM AL-FÂSED TO WÂDI AL-ǦIZEL; ATTACKED BY THE BELI
On Thursday, June 30, 1910, we started off at 4.17 A. M. To the east yawned the gap made by the deep šeʻîb of al-Ḥžejb, with low, red crags in front and high, rocky walls behind. Before us in the šeʻîb of an-Nežîb we saw innumerable red crags enclosed by steep, basalt slopes. At 5.10 we had on our left the šeʻîb of as-Snânijje, on the right Rafwân, and farther to the left Ammu-l-Ǧejš. The šeʻîb of an-Nežîb grows steadily narrower, and the dry channel winds between the isolated knolls and cones of Ḳṭêʻat Ḏijâbe, which recall the formations of the region of Ḥesma. At 7.15 on our right we saw the red mountain of Ḫašm Limme, with, to the south, the blood-red isolated cupolas of al-Beẓîʻ; between the two runs the broad valley of al-Farrâʻa. This valley begins near Naḳb aẓ-Ẓarba and extends eastward; it is joined on the north by the šeʻibân of al-Ḫallâṣ, Râtje, and al-Ṛâjbe, the last-named being connected with aṣ-Ṣulba; and on the south by ʻOnejbeč, Ḥawra, Eržên, aṭ-Ṭwejje, and al-Ždejje. At its junction with an-Nežîb it forms the valley of al-Ǧizel.
To the west appeared the peaks of Nuṛejjer and Naṛar in the mountain range of aṣ-Ṣâneʻ; to the southeast of them Abu Ṭîne, al-Wited, the three peaks of Mount Ǧawla, and a butte situated on the ridge of al-Maḥâẓa, with, still farther to the southeast, the furrowed mountain of al-ʻEšš, Ammu Rumejs with its broad saddles, and the pointed as-Saʻad.
At 7.25 we reached the summit of the slope of al-Msejlke, where we remained until 9.20 in order to draw a sketch map 
Fig. 84
Fig. 85Fig. 84—Ṯemâjel (rain wells of) an-Nežîb.
Fig. 85—The šeʻîb of aṭ-Ṭwejrijje. of the surrounding neighborhood (temperature: 34° C). At 9.50, at the place where the šeʻibân of al-Mṛallân and al-Ṛoṣon approach the šeʻîb of an-Nežîb, we entered a low-lying country through which the šeʻîb of al-Farrâʻa makes its way.
The united šeʻibân of al-Farrâʻa and an-Nežîb, as has already been stated, form Wâdi al-Ǧizel. The bed of the latter is in places as much as one kilometer broad, covered with coarse gravel, but nevertheless showing vegetation. At 11.30 we crossed the šeʻîb of Ṛubaṯa, which comes from the east, and at 12.05 had on our right the šeʻîb of Ẓrejs, which forms a fairly broad plain covered with sand drifts.
In the plain of Ẓrejs we saw the first shepherd of the Beli tribe. He rode up to us at a gallop on his camel and brandished his rifle. Our guide rode off towards him, not wanting him to meet us, for the guide was afraid that if the shepherd discovered we were foreigners he might incite his friends to rob and even kill us. We were in the territory of the Beli and we had no Belâwi as a guide and protector. The clans of al-Mwâhîb, as-Sḥama’, and al-Frêʻât, encamping in the valley of al-Ǧizel and the volcanic regions of ar-Rḥa’ and al-ʻAwêreẓ, are notorious for their rapacity and treachery. Our guide told us that they respect neither the right of hospitality nor the right of refuge but are continually waging war among themselves and obey nobody, not even the head chief Slîmân eben Refâde, who dwells at al-Weǧh. Our plan was to endeavor unobserved to reach the tent of some family or other and, entering the tent, to win over the owner as a guide to the nearest camp. Our guide, an ʻAṭîwi, thought that we should not succeed in doing so and that we should only be attacked by the Beli; but trusting in Allâh we wished at least to make the attempt.
Having learnt from the guide that the Beli were encamped due south, we branched off southward at 12.10 P. M. from the valley of al-Ǧizel by the šeʻîb of al-Mlêḥa. We proceeded through a gray, parched plain covered in places with fine, black lava gravel. At 1.05 we caught the first sight of the extinct volcano al-ʻEnâz, far away on the eastern horizon. Soon afterwards, at the šeʻîb of al-Ǧiden, we found the fresh tracks of camels coming from the southeast. Following them we I went up the slope of Mount as-Saʻad, rode through a narrow defile, and at a distance of scarcely fifty meters in front of us perceived about twenty small tents. Before the surprised occupants were aware of it, I ordered my companions to urge their camels to kneel down in front of the largest tent, the one which was nearest to us. I greeted its owner, he returned my greeting, and I was able to enter his tent. If he had not returned my greeting, not even his tent would have protected us. Seating myself in the tent, I saw about a meter in front of me a wooden dish filled with water. I could easily have reached it and drunk from it, but I wanted the owner, who was silently sitting beside me, to give me a fresh proof that he was well-disposed toward me. I therefore asked: “Wilt thou not give water to the thirsty?” The owner handed me the dish without saying a word, and I drank from it. He still held his peace, and the assembled men watched us in an inquisitive and hostile manner. Wishing to win them over, I again asked: “Hast thou no pots for boiling coffee?” “By Allâh, I have,” said the owner joyfully, and the others regarded us more pleasantly. They brought the pots, kindled a small fire, Šerîf gave them coffee beans, and a kinsman of the owner set about preparing the coffee. In the meanwhile I questioned the owner about various matters, and he replied briefly. A young man then entered the tent, looked at the gendarme Ḫalîl, and exclaimed: “This is that dog of a Government servant who knocked me about at al-Muʻaẓẓam.” Ḫalîl vowed that it was not true and that neither by day or night had he seen the station of al-Muʻaẓẓam, and he asked his accuser to produce eyewitnesses. But those present were more inclined to believe the young man, and the danger which threatened us was increasing. The owner then poured about twenty drops of freshly boiled coffee for me into his coffee cup, and his kinsman poured out some for the rest. The quarrel between the young man and Ḫalîl ceased for a while. Having drunk the coffee, I pointed to my tongue, saying: “Behold, thy salt is resting on my tongue”; that is to say: “I have become thy guest and ask thee to treat me as is demanded by the rights of hospitality.” He asked me what I wanted of him. I demanded that he should accompany me to al-Ḥeǧr, as the Bedouins call Medâjen Ṣâleḥ.
“The journey to al-Ḥeǧr takes more than three days and a third. It leads through territory belonging to clans with whom we are at war, and I cannot accompany thee as far as al-Ḥeǧr,” he said.
“Then accompany me to the nearest clan, and Allâh will provide for the rest,” I replied.
Wishing to win him over, I promised him a fitting reward and went to my camel. I paid the old guide his wages and dismissed him.
At 3.15 we departed with the new guide, leading our camels. Scarcely had we reached the valley when a war cry resounded behind us. Turning round, I perceived a crowd of savage forms, men and women, running after us with rifles, spears, and bludgeons. On the right there was a smaller encampment, and from this also various people were hurrying against us. After a while we were surrounded. The men and women flung themselves on us like wild beasts.
“You Christians! accursed Christians! we must slay you,” they shouted, striking us with the butts of their rifles and attacking our camels with sticks and spears, so that some of the beasts ran away. What followed cannot easily be described, and, even if I were to attempt it, such a description would seem improbable to many and would not do justice to the danger in which we were. They dragged us off to the smaller camp; Rifʻat and Tûmân they condemned to death as Christians and threatened to kill them at once. The rest of us were to suffer a similar fate, because the rapacious Beli wished to remove all witnesses of their crime. Surrounded by a pack of infuriated men and women, abused, ridiculed, and even beaten, we did not close an eye all night.
On Friday, July 1, 1910, early in the morning, a large troop of the Sḥama’ clan arrived at our camp and, after an agitated and wordy warfare, compelled our tormentors to deliver us up and dragged us off to their camp, which was pitched by the spring of Abu Râka in the valley of al-Ǧizel. Our sufferings continued, but we were helped by the fact that at the very beginning I had cried out that I was traveling to Slîmân eben Refâde, the head chief of all the Beli, that I was journeying therefore before his countenance and under his protection, and that I called upon each one of those present to report to him how the Beli were infringing his protection. Toward noon there rode into the camp at Abu Râka a negro serving under Slîmân eben Refâde; he threatened, if they would not release us, to tell his master how his name had been reviled by our tormentors. The negro took our part because I had gained his favor by a considerable gift. Negotiations went on for a very long time before we won our case. Our photographic appliances were knocked about, the plants were crushed, and my notebook with various inscriptions disappeared. Finally, at six o’clock in the evening, we were able to leave the camp of the Sḥama’, who gave us a young man as a guide. He was to accompany us to the nearest camp of the Beli on the road to al-Ḥeǧr.
The ancient tribe of the Beli[4] encamps to the south of the Ḥwêṭât at-Tihama. To the east its territory extends as far as the railway station of Dâr al-Ḥamra’. Its chief clans are:
| al-Maʻâḳle ar-Rmûṯ al-Fawâẓle az-Zabbâle as-Sḥama’ |
al-Wâbṣe al-Mwâhîb al-Hrûf al-Waḥše al-ʻArâdât |
The family of the great chief Eben Refâde is a scion of the clan of al-Maʻâḳle and dwells at the harbor of al-Weǧh. The oases of Bada’ and Šaṛab belong to the clan of the Wâbṣe.
WÂDI AL-ǦIZEL
At 6.30 P. M. we left the valley of al-Ǧizel.[5]
- ↑ Jâḳût, Muʻǧam (Wüstenfeld), Vol. 3, p. 614, mentions ʻEṯâl as a defile and valley in the land of the Ǧuḏâm.—Our ʻAṯâne (n interchanged with l) is a valley and a defile, as a road leads through it from the west to the valley of al-Ǧizel and to the plains near Tebûk, traversing a nearly impassable volcanic region which formerly belonged to the Ǧuḏâm.
- ↑ Ibn Hišâm, Sîra (Wüstenfeld), Vol. 1, p. 975, relates that Diḥja ibn Ḫalîfa of the Kalb tribe was sent by the Prophet Mohammed to the Byzantine Emperor. On his return he was attacked in the valley of Šinâr by al-Hunajd ibn ʻÛṣ of the Ẓulajʻ clan of the Ǧuḏâm tribe and robbed of the gifts and various wares which he was bringing from the Emperor.Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 325, calls the valley in which Diḥja ibn Ḫalîfa was attacked Šinân and locates it in Syria. At the command of the Prophet, Zejd ibn Ḥâreṯa undertook a punitive expedition against the Ǧuḏâm, who had attacked Diḥja.—The valley of Šinâr or Šinân may be identical with one of the šeʻibân surrounding Mount Abu Šnân. From Syria a road led by way of Ajla to al-Medîna around this mountain through the valley of al-Ǧizel. Jâḳût’s statement that Šinân is situated in Syria is not accurate and is due either to the fact that Diḥja of the Kalb tribe hailed from Syria or that under the Moslems a part of the northern Ḥeǧâz was for several centuries politically administered from the town of Ṣoṛar at the southern end of the Dead Sea. Mount Abu Šnân is situated in the former territory of the Ǧuḏâm, which extended as far as latitude 27° 20’ N., thus tallying with the statement of Ibn Hišâm that the valley of Šinâr belonged to the Ǧuḏâm tribe.
- ↑ Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 3, p. 146, gives the name of Sumna to the water near the valley of al-Ḳura’ between al-Medîna and Syria.—As the vicinity of the Semne ridge contains several sources, we might identify one of them as the water of Sumna mentioned by Jâḳût, all the more so because the valley of al-Ǧizel is connected with the valley of al-Ḳura’, and the road from al-Medîna to Syria leads across the foot of the western spur of as-Semne.
- ↑ See Musil, Arabia Petraea, Vol. 3, pp. 50f.
- ↑ Al-Hamdâni, Ṣifa (Müller), p. 170, says that the territory of the Beli contains the places Haǧašân, al-Ǧazl, as-Suḳja’, ar-Ruḥba. Maʻden Farân, as well as the settlements of Šaṛb and Bada’ between the oasis of Tejma and al-Medîna. On the coast the station of Nabk forms the frontier between the Beli and the Ǧuḏâm.—According to these particulars, an-Nabk, situated in the valley of aš-Šaʻaf, was the first halting place in the Beli territory on the Pilgrim Route from Egypt to al-Medîna. The settlement of Šaṛb belonged to the Beli tribe, as did also a part of the plain of ar-Raḥaba and the whole of the valley of al-Ǧizel, which I identify with the ancient al-Ǧazl. In the time of al-Hamdâni the valley of ad-Dâma would then have formed the actual frontier between the Ǧuḏâm, who guarded the halting places of al-ʻWejned, and the Beli, who protected Nabk. This frontier still exists between the Beli and the Ḥwêṭât at-Tihama, and, just as in the time of al-Hamdâni, the valley of al-Ǧizel as well as Šaṛb, Bada’, and Suḳja’, belong to the Beli. Ar-Ruḥba, or ar-Raḥaba, in the upper part of Wâdi ad-Dâma belongs to both.Ibn Ḥabîb (al-Bekri, Muʻǧam [Wüstenfeld], p. 789; Jâḳût, Muʻǧam [Wüstenfeld], Vol. 4, pp. 702 f.) locates the place Majâser, which is mentioned by the poet Kuṯejjer, between ar-Ruḥba and Suḳja’-l-Ǧazl, not far from the valley of al-Ḳura’.This Suḳja’-l-Ǧazl must be distinguished from the settlement of as-Suḳja’ situated near al-Ǧuḥfa, to the southwest of al-Medîna. It was in Suḳja’-l-Ǧazl, according to Jâḳût, that the singer Ṭwejs died, but according to Abu-l-Faraǧ (Aṛâni [Bûlâḳ, 1285 A. H.], Vol. 2, p. 172), he died under Caliph al-Walîd ibn ʻAbdalmalek at as-Swejda, two night halts from al-Medîna on the road to Syria.—As the valley of al-Ǧizel joins the valley of al-Ḳura’, the settlement of Suḳja’-l-Ǧazl can be included among the settlements in the latter. It seems, moreover, that Suḳja’-l-Ǧazl is identical with Suḳja Jazîd, referred to by al-Muḳaddassi, Aḥsan (De Goeje), p. 84.
- ↑ Jâḳût, op. cit., Vol. 2, p. 784, calls Reṣâfat al-Ḥeǧâz a spring which, according to Abu ʻAbdallâh al-Ǧumaḥi, is located not far from an-Neǧâl.—The šeʻibân of ar-Ruṣafa and Ǧajle merge into the valley of al-Ǧizel. By the šeʻîb of ar-Ruṣafa are the ruins of Balâṭa. As this name also recalls Reṣâfa (the paved place), we may identify it with Reṣâfat al-Ḥeǧâz.