Page 186 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 6 -10

270 THE SULTANATE OF OMAf

right bank of the wadi, was destroyed in the tribal wars about 1875 ;
it°now consists of only two houses, garrisoned and used as forts by
the Beni Kclbfrn and Ya'aqib trills.
12. ‘Ibri, a large town in the Wadi Suneisal, the capital of Dhii-
hirah, standing on a low hill known as Harbarah ; elevation 1,180 ft.; ,
population about 5,000, of whom about 3,500 belong to the Ya'aqlb '
ti-ibe, and a proportion of the remainder to the Beni Kelban. The
town is enclosed, except on the S. side, by hills rising some 300 or
400 ft. above the plain at a short distance from it. It is divided
into sixteen quarters, the bazaar and the poorer quarters form­
ing a compact block surrounding a small fort with tower. The
bazaar, consisting of about 70 or 80 shops, is dirty, is the largest
• .•
and most frequented in Dhahirah ; here all supplies such as are
required by the Bedouins can be obtained, and here, too, booty
collected during raids used to be disposed of to the highest bidder.
The great mosque, said to be the largest Ibadhi mosque in Oman,
is a plain and undecorated structure. The houses of the wealthier
inhabitants are scattered in the sea of date-groves surrounding the
town, which, with the exception of those of Wadi Sema’il (see .
pp. 259 ff.), are probably the most extensive in Oman.
‘Ibri is famous for its fruit : in addition to dates, limes, mangoes,
peaches, apricots, quinces, figs, bananas, oranges, pomegranates,
pomaloes, almonds, plums, guavas, citrons, melons, and others are
grown and largely exported. Abundant water is brought from the
adjacent hills by two large conduits, which suffice to irrigate the
whole of the oasis with its rich orchards and cornfields. At ‘Ibri,
as at Adam (see below, p. 275), the Arabs of the eastern desert sell
large numbers of the young camels which they have reared, and
these are distributed from ‘Ibri to other parts of Oman.
13. Saleif, a village on both banks of the Wadi el-‘Ain, near its
junction with the Wadi Saneisal, is only two miles ESE. of ‘Ibri,
of which it is practically a suburb. It consists of some 350 houses,
150 belonging to the Manadharah and Suwawifah tribes. There is
a small fort on the E. bank of the wadi overlooking an aqueduct ;
dates and lucerne are grown.
14. Bat, a village of about 180 houses, in the Wadi Sharsah, which
joins the Wadi Saneisal from the E. between Beit el-‘Ainein and
Darlz. The inhabitants belong to the Maqabll tribe, Ghafiri in
politics. Water from wells.
15. Wahrah, a village in the Wadi Sharsah below Bat. It consists
of about 100 houses of the Miyayihah tribe, who are engaged in
cultivation.

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