Page 352 - A Hand Book of Arabia Vol 2_Neat

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178 WESTERN ROUTES

miles.
total. Htagos.
the E. hy a wall of rock, at the base of which
are 3 wells, guarded by a burj, falling into ruin.
Dir. S. by E. out of the depression.
4 m. Rugged ground is entered and traversed f<.r
several miles.

11.1 m. Thetrackenters a wide plain thicklycovercd with
thorny trees, which in places obstruct the wav.
7 J- m. A high ridge is crossed.
178 24 El-Birkah, a large ruined cistern of hewn stone, built by
the Caliph Harun er-Eashld; see above, p. 174
(m. 238 of Route A).
Dir. E., over thickly-wooded and undulating ground ;
a network of paths runs through the brushwood,
and it is easy to lose the way.
15 m. The track ascends a hill and then descends
into a rock-girt ravine running NE. and
SW.; the sandy bottom of the ravine is
overgrowm with saline and other plants.
Dir. SW.
m. Leave the ravine and turn W.
201 23 Dharibcih (or Zaribah), an undulating plain, with a little
vegetation, among high granite hills ; water is
obtainable close to the surface by digging ; see
above, p. 174 (m. 287 of Route A).
Dir. SW.
3 m. A wadi is entered, which varies in width
from 150 ft. to f m. and descends sharply ;
the channel is of coarse sand, with here and
there masses of sheet rock and patches of
thin vegetation.
H ra. The track enters a ravine, or chasm, between
a stony buttress to the W. and a less abrupt
precipice to the E. ; it is described as ' a
perilous valley, impassable in rain’. Thorn
trees fill one side of the channel. Attacks
by Ateibah are frequent. The ravine be­
comes more precipitous as the route proceeds,
and the track is very difficult for camels,
especially after rain, when it becomes slippery -
19 m. The ravine becomes less precipitous and
opens out.
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