Page 142 - A Hand Book of Arabia Vol 2_Neat

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ROUTE 3: NEJEF—HAUL 73

ROUTE 3

NEJEF—HA’IL

(Darb Zobeidah)

Authorities : Huber, 1881, supplemented by information supplied by Blunt, 1879,
Leachman, 1910, Persian Gulf Gazetteer, 1908, India Government Road
Book, and native information obtained by Carruthers.
Direction: S. by W. to Sha‘Ibah ; then W. by S. to Ha’iL
Distances: Crow-fly, 340 miles ; road, 403 miles.
Character and Supplies : see p. 26 f.

miles.
total, stages.
NEJEF (or Meshed ‘Ali), walled town of Turkish ‘Iraq,
in the desert 6 m. WSW. of Kufah ; its principal
building is the famous shrine, containing the
tomb of ‘Ali ; there are government offices,
barracks, bazaars, and 6 brick khans (outside the
walls to the NE.) ; pop. 30,000.

Dir. almost due S., sharply descending limestone cliff,
on which town stands, and crossing shallow de­
pression (22 miles by 8 miles) known as Bohr en-
Nejef, dry, except in flood season; ground
spongy and heavily impregnated with salt.
14 m. Road emerges from depression and runs
among sandhills with brushwood and pas­
turage.
6 m. Rehabah (or Qasr es-Seyyid), small village i
built around a castle in the midst of well- i
irrigated and cultivated land ; a fine spring
(‘Am es-Seyyid) near castle walls, but sul­
phurous.

32 32 Qasr er-Ruheimi, small village with one spring of bitter
water; plenty of camel-pasture. [If there is
water in the Bahr en-Nejef, route skirts edge
of depression, going first NW. and gradually
trending back to SE., passing Qal‘at Azeir at 26
miles (a good spring 1 mile from edge of lake)
and reaching Qasr er-Ruheimi at 57 miles from
Nejef ; sandy hillocks most of the way.]

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