Page 264 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 6 -10

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DISTRICTS 300

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In the N. of the tract are two broad saline depressions, Sabkhat
cs-Suinm and Sabkhah Salaliyilt, while a nitrous and marshy
depression, Sabkhah Shatar, lies close to the E. border of the Hasa
c
oasis, and is crossed by the route from ‘Oqair to Hofuf. The best
I watered regions are Dabr.i-si, S. of Qatlf, with 13 wells, and Hushum,

30 miles W. by S. of the same town, with 9 wells. There aro
t
i • a large number of Bedouin camping-grounds near wells in
/ Biyadh.
Only one place in the tract contains a settled population, the
village of Qasr Al S-ubeih, about 4 miles inland, opposite a point
half-way between Abu *Ali Island and the hill of Jubeil el-Bahri.
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This is a fortified enclosure, with G muzzle-loading guns, surrounded
by 350 date-stick huts. The fort was rebuilt in 1005 as a base of
operations against the Mutcir and Ahl Murrah by Sheikhs of the
I Iiad-lnld and Dhaheiral clans of the Al Subcih sub-tribe of the Beni
Khalid. The latter tribe is said to predominate in the K. half
of Biyadh, the ‘Ajrnan in the S. In 1910 some Al Bu ‘Ainein,
kin to the Beni Khalid, leaving Wakrah in El-Qatar, established
themselves at Qasr Al Subeih, and intrigued with the Turkish
Government.
iv. Wadi el-Miyah, a long valley or depressed tract, lying inland,
and extending S. from the hill of Na'airlyah on the Koweit border
for more than 100 miles. It has a dark brown soil, susceptible of
cultivation, and after heavy rain the ground in the N. is said to
k.* be flooded ; in spring grass is abundant. The principal route
between Koweit and Hofuf passes through the tract. The settled
population is concentrated in the three villages of NtcV, Sarrcir, and
Muleijah, and the temporary village of Kahafah, all in the northern
1 part. XfcT is about 50 miles inland from the foot of Musallamiyah

Bav, about 140 miles S. bv E. from Koweit, and 1G0 miles NKW.
from Hofuf. It contains about 250 houses, three or four mosques,
and ten shops kept by blacksmiths, carpenters, tailors, &c. ; it
is surrounded by a wall 12 feet high, with bastions and gates
on the N. and S. sides. It has good water, and wheat, barley, and
maize are grown by irrigation; live stock includes camels, donkeys,
cattle, sheep, and goats. The inhabitants arc Hadhar, or settled
Arabs of the 'Ajrnan, Hawazin, Beni Khalid, Muteir, Rasha’idah,
and S. Shammar ; the Emir is head of all the settled people of the
tract, .who are Sunni Mohammedans. Eta' is said to recognize the
authority of the Sheikh of Koweit, who, however, claims no alle­
giance. Samir, which is also walled, is 8 miles 8. of Nta:, and has
a mixed Arab population. The tract contains numerous ruined
sites, the most considerable of which is Thaj, 24 miles SE. by .8.
I

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