Page 528 - A Hand Book of Arabia Vol 2_Neat

ROUTE 61 : ADEN—SAN'A 267

miles. ■
total, stages.
(c) Western.
Dar el-Amir; see above, p. 265 (m. 7 of route).
Dir. W. by N. through open sandy country; good
going, but heavy in places.
9 m. Bir Maheit.
4 m. Darb, small thriving village near edge of
Wadi Kebir ; mud fort and 2 wells, good
water, but supply limited; forage plentiful.
Track now runs across cultivation.

4 m. Sharj, 2 wells, good water, but not
abundant.
1 m. Waht, large village on Wadi Kebir;
5 wells, good and plentiful water ; forage
abundant. Going soon becomes heavy.
24 m. Mahallah, good-sized village, £ m. from
edge of wadi. Forage abundant; 5 wells,
good and plentiful water. Thence road
becomes a bridle-path through fields.
3 m. Mukeibirah, hamlet surrounded by date-
palms ; 3 wells, good water.
LAHEJ (21 miles from Dar el-Amir).]

21 21 LAHEJ : see above, p. 266.
Dir. due N., through cultivation.
2 m. Cross Wadi es-Saghir ; easy going over stony
bed of wadi, which is dry except in flood-time.

1 m. Bir Am Seifi, camping-ground at edge of
desert; 1 well. [Road to Qa'tabah, viaDhala,
goes off N.; see Route No. 64, pp. 282 ff.]
Dir. NW., roughly parallel with bank of Wadi
es-Saghir, over firm open ground.
14 m. Wadi el-Khair, camping-ground on open
sandy space W. of road. Water from river
ample at all seasons, but in flood-time it runs
thick and should be filtered ; river bed here
200^400 yds. wide. Watering-place for men
NW. of camp, for animals SW.
Dir. NW.. over firm open ground for 1 m. to head of
Lahej delta ; then very heavy sand for about 2 m.,
afterwards ascending to firm ground through
cultivation.