Page 182 - The Tigris Expedition

To Dilmun, the Laud of Noah

permitted to bring two of my men on condition that their n ^
ity was approved: I was not permitted to bring the Russian exp
tion member. I asked to bring Norris, my cameraman from tnc us>a,
and Carlo, my photographer from Italy, and this was agree .
Major Smith, a husky police officer and former professional
British soldier of long service in the colonial army, was punctually
at the spot to receive us. His police launch was moored at a little pier
between modern plastic boats and old dhows, some complete
wrecks. The friendly Englishman apologised that he had to get us
up so early, but we had to reach Jidda island before the tide went
out.
No land was seen for the first quarter of an hour, until a most
beautiful little palm-clad island rose into sight with a single but
rather impressive house. Umm-al-Saban island, said the major.
There was a well on it, like those on Bahrain, and the whole island
belonged to Sheikh Hammad, the Emir’s son.
Then Jidda island appeared on the horizon. High cliffs. White like
Dover, with a single small house visible; the major’s. The water was
certainly shallow long before we docked at the end of a long, crude
stone pier. To the right of the landing area was the high land. To the
left were nothing but date palms and in front of them a number of
huge rocks that seemed to be the remainder of a bluff blasted away
by man.
I walked over to examine the surfaces of the fractures. This was
indeed the work of man. Old. But not old enough to date from
bronze age quarrying. On a well-sheltered overhang I detected an
Arab inscription cut into the rock face. I called Khalifa and he
translated: ‘In the month ofshah’ban the year 978 rocks are being cut
by the honourable Mahmud Sar Ali to renew the towers at Bahrain
fort. ’
Translated into the Christian calendar this would become ad
1556, thirty-five years after the Portuguese had conquered Bahrain.
This honourable Arab had apparently worked for the conquerors to
rebuild the Arab fort above the buried Dilmun city. Fortunately
neither he nor his commissioners had suspected that a whole city of
quarried stone lay under their own feet at the building site.
There was apparently nothing more of interest among the blasted
blocks, but Major Smith said he would show us something else.
And he did. I sincerely regretted that Bibby was not with us.
Walking inland with the major as our guide along a much trodden
trail, we were greeted by calm and polite prisoners. They appar­
ently walked about with no other guards than the sharks swimming
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