Page 156 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 6 -10

I
(
DISTRICTS 255

of a spur, which runs from the range of Eastern Hajar to the sea
between the town of Muscat and Wadi Sema’il. In spite of its
name it is no true valley, and the drainage of the plain finds its
wav to the sea by various outlets. It contains a string of villages,
extending for about 14 miles from NE. to SW. ; they arc little
more. than hamlets of huts, each with its own date-grove. The
Wadi Boshar is celebrated for its hot springs, the one most fre­
quented for medical baths being that at the village of Ghallcth.
The coast of the Muscat district is rugged and bold, the hills to
the E. of Wadi ‘Adai coming right down to the sea ; they are of
limestone rock, except in the neighbourhood of the town of Muscat,
where they are of volcanic origin. Five miles SE. of Muscat there
is an anchorage, known as Bandar Jissah, formed by a precipitous
island which lies E. and W. across the entrance of a bay a mile in
length and breadth ; the main entrance is to the E. of the island,
2S0 yards broad with a depth of seven fathoms. The harbour is
sheltered except from the NE., and would afford anchorage in six
to seven fathoms for a fair number of vessels ; the site is naturally
adapted for fortification. On the mainland is Qaicasim, a village
of GO houses with a date-grove at the mouth of a valley; the an­
chorage can be reached by a coast-track which runs from Muscat
as far as Qantab.
There is no town of importance in the district with the exception
of the capital and its suburb Matrah, from which the land routes
start. The most important of these is that which taps the Wadi
Sema’il near Fanjah, the principal highway between the coast and
the interior of Oman (see p. 259). The following is a description of
Muscat and Matrah :
1. Muscat, the capital of the Oman Sultanate and the residence
of the Sultan. Inland the town is cut off from the interior by rugged
and almost inaccessible hills, formed by an outcrop of igneous rock
which extends for 10 miles along the coast to a depth inland of
3 miles. The greater part of this volcanic basin is drained by the
Wadi el-Iveblr, and the town of Muscat is built at the point where
the valley reaches the sea ; it lies on the Bay of Muscat, the eastern­
most of five large contiguous coves or indentations.
The ba}' is three-quarters of a mile deep and half a mile wide,
and is open to the NNW. Its W. side is formed by a rocky pro­
montory (435 feet high) terminating seawards in Ras Kalbiih ; on
its E. side is Muscat Island (1,300 yds. long and 350 ft. high), ending
seawards in Ras Muscat. Between Muscat Island and the mainland
is a rocky islet (100 ft. high), with a narrow and shallow channel
on each side of it. On the W. side of the bay a small sheltered cove,