'Handbook of Arabia. Vol II. 1917' [79] (83/542)
The record is made up of 1 volume (271 folios). It was created in 1917. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
ROUTE 3: NEJEF—HA'IL
79
11m. Road turns due W., and a road comes in 1.
from Boreidah.
Sha'ibah, 30 or more wells, salt and bitter water at
17-20 ft., situated in a bare open space.
Dir. slightly N. of W. over undulating ground and
skirting the southern edge of the main Nefud ;
occasional good pasturage and fuel.
12 m. Lughf en-Nefud (or El-Ghabiyah); a little to
the N., the edge of the Nefud stands up like
a wall about 125 ft. high.
Beq'a (or Baq'd), situated in an immense soft whitish
depression {sabkhah) running E. and W.; village
composed of two groups of houses—the eastern
Sehebi, the western Uweimi, each having a square
castle ; between the two, a little group of four
houses called Serqlyah, formerly known as El-
Hammdm or Mereiqib ; near by, an isolated pro
perty called Qaseifah, surrounded by fields.
Middle of basin is covered with thick bed of bitter
salt. Water abundant, but the only well giving
passable water (of a whitish-blue colour) is that
of Uweimi. The palms of Beq'a are very fine
and produce good dates ; wheat and barley are
cultivated.
Dir. WSW.; good going over fairly level sandstone
desert.
[Blunt went from Beq'a (which he calls ' Taibetism
i. e. Tayyibat Ism) to Sha'ibah in an almost direct
line, passing the well of Beyyud, at about 18 miles.]
Bir el-Khaserah, in a very shallow depression ; about
30 wells of fair water at 20 ft., but all silted
up, and water shallow and liable to fail.
Dir. SW. at first, leading into
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Ha'il, then gradu
ally trending WSW.
12 m. Wddi SJmqiq ; good pools of water after rain ;
much brushwood, and consequently good
fuel and camel-grazing both here and in
Sha'ib (or Wddi) Hd'il ; ravine country and
rough ground traversed for some distance.
Rock or hill of Sa'llkah, covered with inscrip
tions, and a prominent landmark, is passed.
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Arabia, Volume II, Routes (Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Department: May, 1917) and contains details on routes in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as information on transport and lines of communication arranged on a geographical basis. Chapters concerning meteorological information, hygiene and disease, and vocabularies have also been incorporated. The volume was prepared on behalf of the Admiralty and the War Office. The sources from which the routes have been compiled, together with notes on directions and distance, appear at the head of each chapter, while some sections have been compiled on the basis of native information. Authorities cited include: George August Wallin, William Gifford Palgrave, Carlo Claudio Camillo Guarmani, Lady Anne Blunt, Charles Huber, Julius Euting, Gerard Leachman, Gertrude Bell, Anders Christian Barclay Raunkiær, William Henry Irvine Shakespear, and John Gordon Lorimer.
The volume includes a note on confidentiality, title page, and a 'Note' on the compilation of the volume. There is a page of 'Contents' that includes the following sections:
- Chapter 1: Methods of Transport;
- Chapter 2: Communications, A. Northern Routes, B. Eastern Routes, C. Central Routes, D. Western Routes, E. South-Western Routes, F. Southern Routes, G. Souther-Eastern Routes;
- Chapter 3: Routes, A. Northern Routes, B. Eastern Routes, C. Central Routes, D. Western Routes, E. South-Western Routes, F. Southern Routes, G. Souther-Eastern Routes;
- Chapter 4: Meteorological Observations;
- Chapter 5: Hygiene and Disease;
- Chapter 6: Vocabularies;
- Appendix: Note on the System of Transliteration and Glossary of Topographical and Common Terms;
- Index;
- Plates.
There is also a 'List of Maps' and a 'Note on the Spelling of Proper Terms'.
There is one map contained in this volume: 'Map 5. Key Map of Routes'. In addition, there are nine plates by Douglas Carruthers, Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, Captain Gerard Leachman, and Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (271 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in chapters. There is a contents page, list of maps, alphabetical index, and list of plates.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the map which is inserted at the back of the volume, on number 271.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/E84/2
- Title
- 'Handbook of Arabia. Vol II. 1917'
- Pages
- front, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:534, ii-r:ii-v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence