'Routes in Arabia' [‎259] (292/852)

259
Route No. 70— contd.
At mile 4, pass Bait-al-Falaj, a residence of the Sultan of
Masqat.
The track now traverses a stony plain, called Saih Harrual,
and runs roughly parallel to the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Bait-al-Falaj which it
crosses at mile 5.
A f / mile 5i- Ruwi; a ruined tower and 50 houses, some mud,
some palm huts ; water abundant from wells 50 feet deep ; it is
the market garden for Masqat; sugar, make, onions, lettuces,
radishes, brinjals, mangoes and tamarinds; 400 date palms.
The route now runs west-north-west, and at mile 61 turns into
the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. 'Adai, a winding gorge 4 m. in length, which cuts
through the hills, and leads from and drains the pi;in of Saih
Hatat, a basin in the hills behind Masqat in which there are
various villages aggregating 1,400 inhabitants, 50 camels, 100
donkeys, 50 cattle, and 200 sheep and goats. The bed of
the wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. is stony and a torrent rushes down it after heavy rains.
At mile 14, Al-Birain, a hamlet with two copious wells and a
lofty tower ; date palms, fruit trees, grain and lucerne are grown,
being watered from the wells by falajs. Altitude 420 feet.
2 AL-WASIT .. 26 m. South-west. The
route lies over the
40 m, plain, which is scattered
with stunted shrubs, till at m. 4 it enters Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Qahza.
The route asrends the wddi with a gentle gradient along a
good gravelly bed cut through coarse conglomerate. Near here
the outlet to the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. 'Amdah is passed on the eafet of the
route.
There is a path through this wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. to the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Tayin, which
is shorter and morq direct than by the Qahza Pass, but it is very
difficult, and at one place is no more than a foot broad with a
wall of rock on one side and a precipice on the other.
The route continues up the ravine, the gradient gradually
increasing. Above the route towers a lofty peak on each side,
that on the west being known as the Jabal Sail. At about mile 8
the most troublesome part of the ascent commences by a zig-zag
path so steep and insecure that camels can only be got along it
with the greatest difficulty. The top of the pass is reached at
about mile 13. Altitude 3,900 feet. At the southern side of the
watershed the route enters the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Mughairah; the descent
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