Page 238 - A Hand Book of Arabia Vol 2_Neat

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* 122 WESTERN ROUTES

Dist. kra. Alt.
Inter- Station.
Total. ft.
med.
(or Hcjazlyah) about 2 miles to
W., behind double row of low-
hills. Town all mud-built (500
houses) except Government o[lice
in old qaVah of usual Hajj-road
/ * type. ’ Poor bazaar, large gar­
dens (peaches, apricots, pome­
granates, figs, and a few shri­
velled palms). Gardens watered
by wells (5 metres deep on aver­
age) and by four springs, of
which the best lies above the
bridge by which the station-road
leaves the town. Main gardens,
E. and N. of houses, are bounded
by thin mud walls and towers
against Bedouin raids. Water
is town property, and each adult
male has the right to three hours
water per month for cultivation.
1,500 yards N. of Ma'an INIis-
rlyah is Ma'an esh-Shamlyah,
about 200 houses. It stands
higher, on a ridge along a water­
bearing valley. Very large gar­
dens, about 1 km. long in all.
also walled in. Very bitter feud
between the two villages.
Bade}' harvest in May. Most
of the corn-land is 3-4 hours
away on W. Small quantity o:
dates and vegetables obtainable
in the town. The villagers have
no flocks nor cattle. The placi
is a great centre for the Beelouii
tribes.
From Ma'an southward th
line runs over open rolling lime
stone desert, thickly strewn o
the surface with dark flint an
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