Page 174 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 6 -10

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THE SULTANATE OF OML,
2G4

and one of the highest points on the NE. spur is Jebel Nakhl
(7,000 ft.).
There are no large towns in Western Hajar, and the small towns
and villages, with one or two minor exceptions, are on the seaward
side of the range. The principal ones are described in the following
paragraphs, approximately in their order from SE. to NW. :
1. Shareijah, the principal village of Jebel Akhdhar, built on
terraces on the face of a clifi at the head of Wadi Mi'aidin ; elevation
6,300 ft. The village looks down the valley, and the houses, about
200 in number, are solidly built of stone, though small and mean
in appearance ; they seem to overhang one another, the different
rows being connected only by flights of irregular steps. Just below
the village is a copious spring with circular reservoir. Cultivation
is carried out upon ledges, 10 or 12 ft. wide, for about 1,000 ft.
down the hill-side, and includes apricots, grapes, figs, pomegranates,
and grain. Half the inhabitants belong to the Beni Riyam and
half to the Beni ‘Umr, both attached to the Ghafiri faction and
Ibadhis by religion.
2. Seiq, the second largest village of Jebel Akhdhar, 1£ miles
W. of Shareijah. It is built under a scarp, 400 ft. high, and con­
tains 60 families of the Beni Riyam. Irrigation is carried on
by means of a small felej, and two crops of wheat and joivari are
reaped in the year ; the gardens contain vines on rude trellises,
plum-trees, and pomegranates.

Shareijah and Seiq lie on the landward side of the range. The
following villages of Western Hajar are all situated on the seaward
slope of the watershed.
3. Nakhl, a small town at the head of Wadi Ma'awal; elevation
1,100 ft.; population about 3,500. ■ Its site is enclosed on the
S. and E. by mountains, and to the W. lies an intricate country of
low hills and ravines ; sheltered from the hot winds of the interior,
and receiving the sea-breeze, it possesses an agreeable climate.
The settlement, consisting of eleven permanent quarters, is scat­
tered among date-groves, and occupies an area of about four square
. • • . miles; there is a bazaar of some 60 shops. The Sultan of Oman
maintains a Vali at Nakhl, with a garrison of 25 men. The town
possesses a watch-tower on a pinnacle of rock, some 200 ft. high,
and between it and a hill called Jebel Laban is a fort on high
ground. Nakhl is celebrated for its hot springs (highest tempera­
ture, 106° F.), of which the greater number rise in gardens at the
head of the valley. There is one water-mill for grinding flour.
4. ‘Awabi, a small town on the 1. bank of the Wadi Beni Kharus'-v.
within the hills, about 15 miles W. of Nakhl; elevation, 1,850 ft. ;