Page 266 - A Hand book of Arabia Vol 1 (iii) Ch 6 -10

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310 HASA

of Nta‘, formerly inhabited by Beni Khalid, and said to have been
destroyed by Wahabi and ‘Ajman attacks.
v. The following are less important tracts :
Rada if, between Wadi cl-Miyah and the Sabkhat el-Mutaya, has
a firm dark soil, treeless, but with grazing of grass and plants, and
numerous wells. Jau Shaviln, directly S. of Rada’if, is a sandy
plain with scrub and grass. Habl, S. of Wadi cl-Miyah, is a desert
tract about 70 miles inland WSW. from Qatlf town, with a soil of dark-
••• coloured sand, in which mounds alternate with low valleys bearing
markh trees, scrub, and grass, and. a large saline depression in the
*.% • centre called Khbr, containing wells of poor water ; in the N. part
are the Beni Khalid, in the S. the ‘Ajman. Taff, SW. of Habl,
consists of low-lying rocky ground. Wadi Faruq is a long valley-
30 miles W. of the Hasa oasis, and immediately E. of Summan,
said to extend for about 100 miles with a varying width usually of
more than a mile, and in parts to consist of a labyrinth of sand-hills;
it is occupied in autumn by the ‘Ajman, and raided at times by the
Ahl Hurrah and Manaslr. Na‘alah, a narrow stony tract, and
Ghuwdr lie between Wadi Faruq and the Hasa oasis, S. of which
is Kharmah, with a red sandy soil and little water, but containing
depressions in which the ‘Ajman and Ahl Hurrah pasture their
Hocks. The well of 'Aweisah in this tract is a halting-place on the
S. route from Hasa to Nejd (see Route No. 11). NW. of the Hasa
oasis are Jau es-Saeaddn, a low tract covered with a thin layer of
sand, Badd el-Asis, a sanely plain interspersed with undulating rocky-
ground, and Jauf, a sandy- depression with numerous wells, mounds,
and hollows, in which grow- markh trees, scrub, and grass. Barr edh-
Dhahrdn and Barr el-'Oqair are coastal tracts between Qatlf and Ras
es-Sufeirah. Both are rich in wells ; the latter has-date plantations
of the Beni Hajar, and contains the port of ‘Oqair (see p. 30S).
In addition to the above tracts, three islands belong to Hasa.
Musallamiyah, in the bay of the same name, 5 miles E. of Ras el-
Bidya‘, has on the E. side a village of 400 houses with two forts and
several wells, inhabited by Beni Khalid of the ‘Ama’ir sub-tribe,
under a sheikh, and occupied with pearl-fishing. Jinnah is a smaller
island of pearl-fishers, S. of Husallamlyah. Abu (Ali, SW. of Ras
el-Bidya‘, is an uninhabited island, extending 12 miles E. to W.,
surrounded by pearl banks, and with an anchorage on the S. side.
Zakhnunlyah, also uninhabited, lies about 10 miles ESE. of ‘Oqair
port, and is separated from the mainland by a channel two miles
wide. It is about four miles long, barren, and without good water ;
upon it is a ruined fort built about 45 years ago by the Sheikh of
Bahrein. The flag of the present sheikh was hoisted in 1911 : the

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