Page 210 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 6 -10

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282 INDEPENDENT OMAN

being carried up in considerable quantities from the coast ; the
flesh of goats and camels is also eaten. Milk is abundant, and
a hard cream-cheese is made. The women wear a black veil and
high-heeled shoes ; they spin, weave, make felt, and tend the goats
and cattle. There are no special industries, and much of the labour
is done by slaves. Many fruits are grown in addition to dates, and
there is considerable cereal cultivation ; abundant water for irriga­
tion is obtained by felej from the hills, sometimes several miles
distant. Beyond the oasis the plain is covered with grass and
shrubs, on which the Bedouins pasture their herds of sheep and
•• camels.
Though Bireimi is independent, the influence of the Sheikh of
Abu Dhabi (see p. 337) is strong and increasing ; a regular tribute
is paid him by the Dhawahir tribe, who have made the Bireimi oasis
their head-quarters.

2. Mahadhah

A plain lying some 15 to 20 miles to the NE. of the Bireimi Oasis.
It is said to be surrounded by hills on the E. and S. sides, but the
country is lower on the W. and N. It is the head-quarters of the
Beni Ka'ab tribe, Ghafiri in politics and Sunnis by religion. It
contains only one village, Mahadhah, consisting of about 220 houses
of sun-dried brick and stone. These are scattered in unwalled
groups among date-groves, which cover an area two or three miles
in diameter ; irrigation is by felej. The place maintains relations
chiefly with Bireimi Oasis, Sharjah, and Dibai.
The principalities of Trucial Oman are described in the following
chapter on the Gulf Coast; see pp. 333 fi.

3. The Kuria Muria Islands (British Possession)

A group of five islands, 25 miles off the south-east coast of Oman,
*.*. :• • ••• between Ras Sharbatat and Ras Nus, to the NE. of Dhofar.
They are of granite, and form a chain running for 50 miles due E.
and W. ; they stand upon a granite ledge with very deep water
immediately outside. Dming the NE. monsoon they are exposed
to winds from all points of the compass.
Hallanlyah, the largest and central island of the group, is the only
one at present inhabited. It is 7i miles long from E. to W., and
miles broad from N. to S.; one of the hills in its centre rises to
a height of 1,503 ft. Water is abundant but slightly brackish. The
few inhabitants are reported to speak a dialect akin to that of