Page 36 - Arab Navigation in the Indian Ocean (before portuguese)_Neat

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440 ARAB NAVIGATION
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is mentioned several times. The Rub< al-Khali Jli-I gj is mentioned
once by Ibn Majid. Mahra #*11 are a people politically dominant in
Soqotra according to Ibn Majid. They are the people of Sulaiman
al-Mahri and nowadays reside on the coast between Masila and
Fartak and inland behind the Zafar region.
Beginning from the southern entrance to the Red Sea, Bab al-
Mandab, and working eastwards along the coast ESE for a zam
and then E by S the first place we encounter is al-'Ara SjUl (once
in the plural si^UI in the Leningrad texts). This is the southernmost
point of the Arabian Peninsula half-way between the Red Sea
entrance and Aden, placed at 4J° P.S. by the Minhaj. The name
occurs in Portuguese charts and has remained to the present day.
To the east of al-‘Ara is a large lagoon used by native boats as a
harbour now known as Khor Umeira and mentioned once by Ibn
Majid as al-'Umaira L^JI. Beyond this appears Darzina ojjb
mentioned several times by Ibn Majid and once by Sulaiman. It
appears to be a cape across the bay from Aden and may be Ras
Kaan or Ras ‘Imran. The former is perhaps the most likely as it
appears to be mountainous. It occurs in early Portuguese charts
west of Aden.82 The city and harbour of Aden jo*- appears next and
requires no description. I have already mentioned that it was the
most important place on the coast. Its latitude was 5° P.S. in all
the texts and it was E by N of al-‘Ara and WSW of Fartak according
to the 'Umda. However Aden consists of two separate peninsulas of
volcanic hills now known as Aden and Little Aden. The main peak
of Aden itself is Jebel Shamsan which is mentioned by
.. name by both Portuguese and the Arab navigators. Similarly men­
tioned by the navigators is Jebel Ihsan uL^-t a conspicuous double
peak on Little Aden. Beyond Aden the ‘Umda gives Ghubbat Abyan
0^1 v- at 5i° P.S. This is the bay opposite the wadi plain still called
by this name (Portuguese abiam). The Minhaj on the other hand
places Ahwar jyA at 5J° P.S.: this is some distance east of Abyan
and slightly north in latitude. It still appears on modern maps as a
village (aerodrome) and wadi. Ibn Majid also mentions it and it
occurs in the masafa tables 30 zam due west of Sha‘b Soqotra.
Between Ahwar and Abyan is the now deserted village of Maqdtin
mentioned once by Ibn Majid.
Jabal al-Khairi ^jd-l given by the ‘Umda at 5-J0 P.S. is un­
I identified but may be a corrupt reading. The Minhaj gives al-'Ain
8* A selection of early Portuguese maps and charts can be found in Kammerer:
La Mcr Rouge, tome III, 3e ptie. Plates (a) cxlix, (b) clxiv, (c) clxx, (d) clxxiv,
(e) clxxx give most of the places mentioned. Darzina occurs in a, b and e,
Abiam in d but with different spellings elsewhere, Canacani(m) in all. i
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Till- TOPOGRAPHY OF THE NAVIGATIONAL TEXTS 441
i>J' at this latitude and this is a well-known bay east of Bir (AIi
having two villages called ‘Ain Ba Ma‘bad and ‘Ain al-Juwairi on
the shore. Khairi may be a corruption of this latter name for
or may be a corruption of* the word Hamra or Humairi the
mountain behind the eastern end of the Gulf y or ^y). Qutami
gives ^ at 48° 54'N, 14° 1 l'E but this latitude seems too
close to Barum.83 The islands opposite Hu$n al-Ghurab and between t
Bir ‘Ali and Ra*s al-Kalb ((Portuguese ya canacani) occur only if
once in the Fawa'id as Jaza’ir al-Qana lUJI J\y). Qana (Cana) was (1;
if
the old South Arabian port mentioned in the Periplus and by
Ptolemy. Apart from this one reference this great port of antiquity i ■
and its neighbourhood are completely ignored by the navigators. i
At 5J° P.S. the Minhaj places Barum fjj, still important as one of
the few safe anchorages during the SW monsoon. At this latitude
the ‘Umda places Mukalla (*^C and ^Tl), today the important port i
of this region. Ibn Majid does not mention this place in the Faua'id
but it occurs in some of his poems. East of Mukalla comes al-Shihr I
the Portuguese Xaher or Xael, this was by far the most im­ I
portant port on the coast after Aden, but now only a very inferior
place. Ra's Sharma a cape and a bay still bearing this name t
some distance east of Shihr is placed by the Minhaj at 6° P.S. It is I
also 125 zam due west of Azadiyu in India. No other text mentions
it and the ‘Umda gives J-*- Mt. Marzuban at this latitude, a
name that cannot be found anywhere else. Further east was the ii
fairly important port of Hairij gty at 6£° P.S. This name completely ;
disappeared from the maps, but according to Serjeant is still re­
membered as being on the west side of the W. Masila mouth,84
perhaps where the Sharkhat ruins are located on the Internat. 1:1m i
map. Al-Mishqas too was in this area and has since dis­ -i
appeared, although Horsburgh mentions Misenaat now Musaina‘a il
with considerable ruins 32 miles from Saihut. From the texts it i!
would appear to be another port between Hairij and Fartak but
Serjeant applies the name to the whole region east of Shihr past the
mouth of the Wadi Masila.85 It is most likely that it represents the
port of Qishn never mentioned by the navigators, but found in !i
Serjeant’s texts and on Portuguese charts. Ra's Fartak dky is
the prominent cape which has always played a great part in Indian
Ocean navigation and in the politics of the south coast of Arabia.
In the first instance it is the place where ships leave the coast in
83 Dali/ al-Mukhtar, p. 54. • iv
84 Portuguese, p. 54, note 5.
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85 Portuguese, p. 101, note 5. Horsburgh: vol. 2, p. 367. Musaina'a is in
Qutami, p. 53. ‘ •I-
Ff ii
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