Page 181 - Records of Bahrain (1) (i)_Neat

The second Gulf Survey, 1857-1860 171

42 MEMOIR ON BAIlllEYN.

•fort, was found to be S; b'S° 02' 30', E.* distant 5,902 yards. The
'natives call this fort by several names,—Jcllaliat al Feringi, Jcllaliat
.Jibblcca, and Jcllaliat al Bahreyn, being the site of the ancient town,
•.when Manama was only a fishing village. There is no record of the
age of this fort, but it is very ancient and extensive, and there arc
characters in relief on the outside of some of the Bastions. On inspec­
tion, however, we found that these were of late date, probably stones
originally belonging to some other building, used to repair the iort, as
the characters appeared to be Arabic. In the centre of the fort, is a
deep and well-built well, with only a little brackish water at the bottom,
and the natives say that there is, or was, at one time, an underground
communication between the fort and Gasscyr (light-house rock). This
rock bears evident signs of once having been the site of some building,
but the water is very shoal in its vicinity, nor could I trace anything to
justify the appellation of the Portuguese Harbour.
Close to the eastward of the fort is the village of Karbabad, and be­
tween this and Manama, arc the villages of Sennabis and Naim.
The configuration of the island to the southward, as exhibited in the
printed chart, I take to be a mere conjecture ; and I was told that any
vessel could sail round the island, where she would find in some places
as much as GO fins, water, and if so, by far the deepest portion of
the Gulf.
The armed pinnace of the Falkland, when stationed there, made
the circuit of the island as guard-boat, but no report was made of the
capacity of the channels.
Sheykh Ali Bin Khalifa told me lie would undertake to conduct the
Semiramis round the island, and, I believe, it was once contemplated
by her commander, although circumstances prevented it being carried
into effect.
The road from Manama to Jibbul Dukhan leads through rich date
plantations and gardens, in the direction of the Minarets, passing by
which, you cross a backwater more or less fordable according to time
of tide, and after proceeding about half a mile further through date
gardens you emerge upon an open space, at first consisting of tumuli or
mounds (probably the site of a large village or town), but gradually
subsiding to a level plain, in some places swampy, till you come to a
change in the character of the island. Ascending by a rocky path be­
tween steep cliffs '10 or 50 feet high, you now find yourself upon
elevated ground, barren, and so stony, that none but the horses of the