'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎689] (744/1050)

HAF—HAF
689
HAFAITAT—
The most important section of the Sharqiyln tribe {q. v.) of the 'Oman Promontory.
HAFAR—
An important halting place and group of wells in the Batin section of Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. -ar-Rummah
near the point where it leaves Dahanah and reaches Dibdibah. Hafar lies about 160
miles west-south-west of Kuwait Town, from which it is reached in from 3 to 5 stages.
The wells of Hafar are about 40 in number, but at the present time only 11 are " alive/'
that is to say, yield water. They are scattered in the bed of the Batin, which here forms
a circular plain about 3 miles in diameter, at intervals, of 100 yards to J- of a mile apart ;
each well is in the centre of a mound, about 10 feet high, which has been formed by the
spoil removed from it. The wells are lined with rough stone masonry and are about 6
feet across at the top ; their average depth is about 150 feet to water, but if left undis
turbed for a time the level rises by about 30 feet. The water they contain is almost
tepid, and m the chilly air of morning vapour can be seen rising from their mouths.
South by east from the wells, between them and the right bank of the Batin is a lone
low, sandy hill. ^
No firewood is available in the immediate vicinity and the only fuel at hand is camel
dung.
The Mutair, Dhafir, and various tribes of Kuwait territory make some use of these
wells, and they would be more frequented if they were of a less inconvenient depth
Hatar is one of the recognised stages on the direct route between Kuwait and Qasim
via the Batm, a route however which is not used by caravans and only occasionally by
despatch riders. Hafar marks approximately the frontier on this side between Kuwait
and Jabal Shammar ; according to Shakespear the position of the wells is about 28° 28'
North and 45° 50' East.
At Hafar two hollows join the Batin depression, one apparently coming from due
north and the other from the south ; the former is called Falaij-ash-Shamaliyah and leads
to a line of wells styled Atwal-adh-Dhadfir running northwards, of which the first is Dalai-
mTyah ; the other hollow, named Falaij-al-JanubTyah, conduct similarly to a line of
wells having a southerly direction and known as Atwal-al-Mutair, of which the first is
Safah in Summan ; the wells of each of these series are said to lie from 2 to 3 davs' march
apart. J
HAFAR (I sland).—•
See Farasan (Islands and Bank) ; islands.
HAFAR-AL-ATS—
pea7) ^ the KuWait P rinci P alit y with water at about two fathoms.—(^a^-
HAFARAH (T ribe)—
See 'Ataibah; Shiyabinah sub-seotions of the Barqah.
HAF AT—
A small fishing village on the Mahrah Coast, Southern Arabia, and about 44 miles east
ward from Szihat—{Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Pilot, 1909.)
HAF ASH—
by 01 on "•> s-'-Kyui.
HAFFAH—
See Rus-al-Jibal.
HAFlF—
See Dhafrah.
HAFlRAH—
See Bahrain (Island)springs.
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