'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎182] (197/1050)

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ANT-ANT
of Hofuf. It stands in a hollow and is surrounded by hills. The isolated position of
Anta'a and the one or two small villages which adjoins such as Ghhafa and Imlaijah
it is very remarkable.
Ant a'9. is surrounded by a mud wall, 12 feet high and 2 or 3 feet thick, which has
a small bastion and is pierced by 2 gates one on the north and the other on the south side
of the village. There are about 250 houses and the people are Hadhar or settled Arabs
belonging to various tribes, among them the'Ajman,'Awazim, Bani Khalid, Mutair,
Eashaidah and southern Shammar. There are 3 or 4 mosques and a small school; the
people are Sunnis. A few date groves, containing about 300 trees, adjoin the place
and wheat, barley, maize and lucerne are grown by irrigation from wells. The water is
the best in Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. -al-Miyah. Livestock include about 5 horses, 30 camels, 150 donkeys
and 120 cattle, besides sheep and goats. The bazaar consists of 10 shops, and artificers
such as blacksmiths, carpenters and tailors are to be found in the village ; wooden bowls
of a special pattern are made here. Some of the inhabitants take part in the pearl
fisheries of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. in the hot weather.
Anta'a is said to have come into existence after and in consequence of, the destruction of
Thaj in the same neighbourhood. The Amir, at present Muhammad-bin-Habib of the
Tuwalah subdivision of the Southern Shammar, is the political head of the whole
settled population of Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. -al Miyah. It is said that the people of Anta'a are now
rendering Zakat to the Shaikh of Kuwait, though admittedly resident outside his juris
diction, but it is not certain that they have discontinued the blackmail which they
used formerly to pay the 'Ajman and Bani Haji tribes to let them alone. The sur
rounding Bedouins are accustomed to warehouse their dates with the inhabitants of
Anta'a to whom they pay hire, and to withdraw them as required.
ANTAN (N ahr)—■
A creek which takes out of the old bed of the Euphrates at a point some two miles
below Madlnah and, trending south-west, loses itself in the marshes between the old
and new beds of that river.
'ANTAR—
A family of the Al Bu Jaiyash, one of the rural tribes of 'Iraq {q. v.)
ANTAR—
A desert tract in northern Arabia, lying immediately to the north and west of Bir
Malusi on the old Baghdad-Damascus postal route.— [Leachman).
'ANTAR— ( J abal)—
A conspicuous mounntain, 3,733 feet high, situated in latitude 26° 33' N., longitude
36° 27' E., and 23 miles due north of Al-Wajj, on the coast of Hejaz. From it rise two
small peaks by which is it easily recognisable irom the sea.
»ANTAR ( Sharm)—
A small cove in the Hejaz coast, situated nearly 4 miles southward of Sharm Dama-
ghah {vulg : Dumeigh). It has a good anchorage, but is inferior, as such, to the latte-
harbour.— {Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Pilot.)
ANTARIYAH (Al)^
A desert halting-place on the Bur] Salman plain in Hejaz, about 38 miles north by
west of Madain Salih.— {Doughty).
ANTUFASH (Island)—
An island in the southern end of the Red Sea (centre. Latitude 15 0 42 N., Longitude
42 0 25 E.) It consists of a sandy plain 6 miles long east and west, about 1J miles wide
at its centre, and 2| miles at its western end wherp it rises to between 50 and 60 feet
in height, the south-western point being of a brownish colour, cliffy, and about 20 feet
high. Antelopes are plentiful on Antufash Island, but no fresh water has been found.
There are occasionally two or three huts to be seen on the island, the huts being occu
pied by turtle fishermen. {Bed Sea and Gulf of Aden Pilot, 1909.)