Page 277 - Travels in Arabis (Vol I)

238 TRAVELS IN OMAN. [CH.

Beldan Beni Chab, from the name of the
tribe who occupy them. They are in num­

ber about one thousand five hundred, and
though Wahhabis, are remarkable for the

protection which is afforded by them to all
who flee there, be their crimes or their faith

what they may.
Bearing south from this small district

stands the town of Bireimah, similar in its
extent and general features to Bedi’ah: it

possesses several hamlets, and is watered by
as many streams. There is a fort here,

mounting a few small guns, belonging to the
Ghafari tribe, who profess the Wahhabi

tenets, and refuse to acknowledge the au­
thority of the Imam. The usual number of
inhabitants is estimated at two thousand, but,

owing to the late influx of the Wahhabis,

there were at this season nearly treble that
number collected within its precincts. The
inhabitants bear the character of being

equally wild, and averse to the visits of

strangers with those of Obri. Although the
heat of the summer season is very great,
the climate of Bireimah is considered far