'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. II' [‎1126] (175/688)

MAH-MAH
A place in 'Iraq on the right bank of the Shatt-al-'Arab, 4 miles above Basrah.
The Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company have docks and workshops at this
place, where they have been established for many years. One of the river steamers of
the Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company was lately reconstructed here
but as a rule the Kut-al-Farangi yard is only used for small repairs, and the heavy work
of the Company is carried out at their Baghdad premises. There are two cemeteries
one belonging to the Company and the other to the Anglican community of Basrah •
and a native village and some brick kilns also exist. Some of the Arab inhabitants
emigrated in 1914 to Persia to avoid conscription by the Turks for military service.
On the south side of the place is an insignificant creek which does not run very far
inland : on the north side is a channel by which water from KhamMyah on the Euphrates
is said to reach the Shatt-al-'Arab. The frontage of Kut-al-Farangi on the Shatt-al-
'Arab seems to have been reclaimed at no very distant time and it is now again threaten
ed by the encroachments of the river.
Magil is the terminus of the Basrah-Nasiriyah railway and possesses several berths
for ocean steamers, as well as numerous wharves with cranes.
Shaikh Hajji 'Ali 'Aziz, of Magil, states that, before the British occupation, he saw a
black stone in the creek on which the nam© of this suburb of Basrah was inscribed as
Ma'akil. {Murphy.)
MAHABIB—
One of the Bani Shatair families of the Shihuh tribe {q. v.) of the 'Oman Promontory,
M AH A BIN AH—
A section of the Daru' tribe {q. v.) of the 'Oman Sultanate.
MAHADDAH—
A section of the Hajriyln tribe {q. v.) of the 'Oman Sultanate.
MAHADHAH—
A plain in the heart of the 'Oman Promontory, the headquarters of the Bani Ka'ah
tribe ^together with Jau it forms the greater part of Independent 'Oman.
Fosition extent, and physical features. —Mahadhah is probably situated 15 to 20 miles
north-east of the Baraimi Oasis, but its exact position is uncertain. Its level is said to
be somewhat higher than that of Baraimi, and its extent is described as about 6 miles
in any direction. According to native accounts it is surrounded by hills, which are high
upon the east and south sides and low upon the west and north ; its soil is of clay mixed
with stones, the western portion of the plain being less stony than the eastern ; and its
fnlT^f 6 We ? tWa s ' throu g h openings in the hills, to the sandy desert that lies
inland from the west coast of Trucial 'Oman.
onW 0f M . ahddhah ^ surrounding country.—The plain of Mahadhah contains
number nf ilS 6 ' t n ^ d ^ahadhah, which is described in the table below ; but a
i" 1 '?. othe . r P 0 ^ of inter '' st to «»
Name.
Position.
Nature.
Remarks.
Hayul ( Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. -al-)..
Probably to the east
of Mahadhah at a
considerable dist-
a n ce . W a d i
Khadhra starts from
the same Najd but
goes westwards.
A valley contaning,
with Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Qahfi,
100 houses of set
tled Bani Ka'ab of
the Miyadilah sec
tion.
The drainage of this
valley goes north
east by Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Qahfi
to Batinah.
N