Page 112 - Arabian Studies (I)

96 Arabian Studies l

Qatar peninsula and theTrucial coast. The poem then proceeds from
Shatt al-‘Arab, the mouth of the Tigris-Euphrates, across the Persian
coast to Kharj 1. via Bushihr, Ra’s al-Kahn (Cape Jabrin), Rawzaband
(Cape Naband), the islands of Lar (Shaikh Shu'aib), HindarabT, Qais,
Farur and Tunb to Ra’s al-Khaimah. It deals at some length with the
shoals around Ra’s al-Kahn, the channel between the islands and the
coast and then gives a rose of bearings from the islands of Farur and
Tunb. Bearings are given and occasional distances in terms of watches
(zdm) sailed but it is difficult to reconstruct any form of chart as
measurements of stellar altitude, so important in other Arab
navigational descriptions, are missing altogether. Pole star altitudes of
these places in normal Arab reckoning would all be over 12 isba1,
which was the limit for practical purposes and this is perhaps why
they are not given. There is no reason really why altitudes should not
be taken on some other star and converted to Pole Star altitudes —
this was often done - but not in this case.
References are given to the Arabian coast from prominent points
on the route. The first of these are from Ra’s al-Kahn to Bahrain,
Tarut and Qatar and this leaves the impression that the route from
the Euphrates to Bahrain was via Ra’s al-Kahn and that the Arab
coast of al-Hasa and Kuwait was avoided by the navigators. It is most
unlikely that this was so. Laffan (Ra’s Laffan, the north east cape of
Qatar) was due south of al-Kahn and Bahrain is described as SW from
there. Ra’s Rakan is the northernmost point of Qatar and this would
have to be rounded in order to sail from Laffan to Bahrain, so the
accuracy of all this is very much in doubt. To reach Bahrain from
al-Kahn the best route would be to sail due south to a point 40 miles
north of Ra’s Rakan - it may be visible from here — and then SW. to
Bahrain. The poem seems to have telescoped the directions some­
what. WSW. from the same point (actually from al-Kahn in the text)
brings one to TarutT - Tarut island off the harbour of al-Qatlf.
Al-QatTf is described in the text as being visible from TarutT. The next
reference to the Arab coast is the course from STraf to Bahrain,
which is given as SW. by W. The third course to Bahrain is from
Rawzaband (Ra’s Naband). This is given as W. by N. () which
is certainly wrong. WSW. would be better and the former could
easily be a scribal error, although neither word fits the metre of the
poem well and the whole line is suspect. I prefer to read WSW., for
the voyage is described as being made in a wind of two sails with the
prevailing north wind. This expression is used by the navigators to
represent a voyage with the wind abeam at 90° to the direction of
the boat, when the journey has to be made by constantly wearing
ship. The north wind (Shamal) in the Persian Gulf usually blows