'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. II' [‎1245] (294/688)

MUB—MXJB
1215
There'arc only two gates in the town wall, one on the north and one on the south side;
the former called Darvvazat-al-'Itban, is in the 'Itban quarter ; while the latter, known
as Darwazat-al-'Anainah, is in the eastern end of the wall belonging to Ayum. The
houses of Mubarraz are mostly of stone and lime, but some are of unburnt bnck.
Inhabitants.— From the table in the preceding paragraph it will be f«een that the popula
tion of Mubarraz is about 8,500 souls ; of these about four-fifths are Sunnis» The people
are all settled Arabs and there are not many foreigners among them ; a few immigrants
from Najd are found, but none from Persia or even from Bahrain. , ,,
Resources, trade and industries.—The best drinking water is obtained from the Mar] an
spring. The interests of the town are largely agricultural, but it has a market which is
resorted to by Bedouins on account of the springs and grazing which enable them to
encamp near by ; the Bedouin trade however is smaller than at Hofuf. A Friday
fair is held in the Suq around the Qaisariyah ; the number of booths at this weekly
fair is said to reach 250. .
Administration. —Mubarraz is the head-quarters of a ^Nahiyah.
MUBARRAZ—
One of the quarters of Lailah {q. v.), in the Aflaj district of Xajd.
MUBARRAZ (H alat-al)—
An islet in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , lying 53 nautical miles westward of Abu Dhabi in Trucial
'Oman. It is low, narrow, and sandy, without vegetation, about half a mile in length,
and only 3 or 4 feet above high water. It lies on the south-eastern edge of the great
detached reef called Rak-al-Hajji. This reef has not been surveyed, but it is probably
about 8 or 9 miles in length and breadth, and there are one or two sandbanks on it, dry
at low water. The channel, Khor Bashubar, southward of this islet, between Rak-al-
Hajji and the Bazam reef, has 7 or 8 fathoms water and is about 1J miles wide.
MUBASILI—
A section of the Siyabiyln tribe {q. v.) of the 'Oman Sultanate.
MUBASILI (Bu)—
An alternative name for the hamlet of Rissah in Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Saijani (q.v.) in Eastern
Hajar 'Oman Sultanate.
MUBBIAT (Al)—
A ruined site in north-western Arabia, two hours' journey to the south-east of Al
'Ali. It lies in a plain with a loam and clay bottom and crusted with salt. The ruins
are of mud buildings, some being of mud and stone. There are a few acacia trees.
{Doughty, 1876-78.)
MUBHIL (W adi)—
One of the tributary valleys of Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. -ar-Rummah {q.v.).
MUBRAKAT-AN-NAQAH—
A remarkable gorge in Hejaz. It is a sharp and narrow descent, some 18 or 20 miles in
length, between sandstone cliffs, and opens out on to the plain of Madain Salih, or Al-
Hajr. The Hejaz railway and the Syrian Hajj road pass through this gorge. Its chief
feature is the quaint and fantastic forms into which the sandstone rocks have been
weathered. Out of the ribbed surface of rolling sand, which forms the floor of the gorge,
spring, in endless succession, tall towers and pinnacles, gigantic hummocks and needles,
and soaring monstrosities of warm-hued rock of every conceivable and inconceivable
shape, and only separated by narrow chasms and clefts.
At a point 578 miles by rail from Damascus is Al-Muzhim, which in the form of El-
Mezham is the name applied by the Arabs to the whole of this region ; the railway then
enters the gorge. Mubrakat-an-Naqah, or Mubrak-an-Naqah (pronounced ndga)
means the place where the cow-camel fell on her knees, this gorge being the scene of
the death of Nabi Salih's miraculous camel concerning which the legend is briefly as
follows.