Page 92 - A Hand Book of Arabia Vol 2_Neat

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COMMUNICATIONS
48

As it is often advisable to avoid the range of this or that clan
of the Harb, who hold the country along at least two-thirds of
the preceding route, it follows that, between Medina and Rabugh,
the same line is not always followed. There are several alternative
tracks, of which the three most important are described schemati­

cally under Route No. 28 ; they all traverse more or less hilly
country. A fourth, the Ghair Route, described in the Indian
Government Road Book, is so obviously erroneous that it is not
included here.
Supplies. All the alternatives appear to be well supplied with
water, and fairly so with fodder and fuel. As to foodstuffs available,
there is little information ; but they are probably not obtainable
in any quantities, except perhaps at such settlements as Khalls and
Beder, which have small bazaars.
On or near the line of the Darb esh-Sharqi or inland track (Route
No. 29) runs the projected extension of the Hejaz Railway, whose
construction the Harb tribesmen, abetted by the Grand Sherif,
successfully frustrated. The Darb esh-Sharqi is a dangerous as
well as a difficult route and appears to be but seldom used
now for fear of the restless Harb and Ateibah tribes. From
Medina to Suweirqiyah the track follows the low beds of sandy
wadis ; from that point to Dharibah it crosses a succession of
basins or depressions (known as ghadir, pi. ghudran), in which
water stagnates, the basins being separated by ridges or flats of
basalt and greenstone averaging from 100 to 200 ft. in height.
Beyond Dharibah, the track enters a region of water-courses or
fiumaras, generally deep and narrow in character, tending W. and
•SW. The region traversed is intermittently volcanic and excep-
. tionally barren, but rich in primary formations such as basalt,
hornblende, greenstone, diorite, and pink and grey granites. Burton
says : ‘ The landward (eastern) faces of the hills are disposed at
a sloping angle, contrasting strongly with the perpendicularity of
their seaward slopes.’
Supplies. Foodstuffs are not obtainable en route, except perhaps
at the stages of Suweirqiyah and Sufeinah, which have small but
fairly well-supplied bazaars, and in Wadi Leimun and the stage
beyond ; at one or two other points also dates and grain are culti­
vated. Wells are few, and water (obtained mainlv^by digging) is
good when rain is fresh in the wadis, saltish in the plains, and bitter
in the nitrous basins and depressions. Forage and fuel are very
abundant in some stages of this route (the former only in spring);

m other stages they are entirely absent, as noted under the
route.