Page 1492 - Belgrave Diaries(N)_Neat

1489

1942

Fort, office.

Shaikhs came in but didnt stay long.

Busy morning, saw various people.

Motored to Budega after hearing the news & crossed in the launch to Al Khobar, took 2 1/2 hours, a
pleasant trip. Ohliger Oliger met me on the pier & took me first to see the Amir. I didnt take to him, a sulky
stupid looking fellow, he was in the Yemen after the war there & had the job of keeping down any rebellion,
which I think he would do effectively. Drove up to the camp on high ground a few miles from the coast. Al
Khabar itself is a poor place, just a few huts & small stone houses laid out along the shore & one bazaar

street with a few mean shops in it. Hedjazi soldiers, in shabby uniform, stood strangely at salute outside
the Amir's office. I stayed in an AC house next door to Ohliger, very nice & most luxurious bathroom.
Several people came in to dinner after which we sat & talked.

Friday 8th August

Started after breakfast with Ohliger & another pleasant American, who turned back later on. Motored
inland by desert road to Ras Tanura passing behind the gardens of Kalif along the sand dunes where have
reached the edge of the date groves & in places saw palm trees buried almost up to the branches, but still

producing. All along there were great big wells in the dunes with covered channels taking the water to the
gardens & many little oases in the desert with springs & cultivation. Saw rice growing for the first time.
Talked to various people who spoke & looked like Baharna. At every place, even distant groups of tents,
men & children ran out calling out for backsheesh & talking English - of sorts. Most irritating & much worse
than Bahrain in that way. It was hot & dry & I enjoyed it. At one place we found a huge area of broken
potsherds & bricks where in ancient times there must have been a big town. Here people had picked up a
lot of Chinese coins. I liked Ras Janura, a long sand spit with lovely white sand & brilliant blue sea & a few
AC houses which made it look just like some south coast place. Lunched with the head man there, excellent
& all sorts of cold drinks in tin jugs. Apart from an old Turkish building the only buildings were company's

places. & they were busy closing it all down. Then back along the coast to Katif, through magnificent date
gardens where all sorts of fruit trees grew & everywhere people boiling half ripe dates which are then dried
& exported to India, they say after this process they last for years. The gardens were wonderful, far better
than the best in Bahrain & trees evenly spaced in long lines. We passed some villages, one walled, & then