'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎835] (890/1050)

M?
HINDI YAH
835
Name.
Position.
Ja'arah
On the right
about 1 mile
Abu Sikhair.
bank,
below
Nature.
R emarks.
the Shamiyah Qad-
ha.
A prosperous village,
the property of the
Darat-as-Saniyah ;
it has about 1,500
inhabitants, some
of whom are Balu-
chis under the pro
tection of Persia.
Like Abu Sikhair
this village lies in
the Qadha of Sha
miyah.
mediately above
Abu Sikhair; this
useful public work
also belongs to the
Department of the
Civil List.
Ja'arah has three
mosques and about
100 shops.
About 15 miles below Kufah the Hindlyah enters the Bahr-an-Najaf, which is
described below and in the article on Najaf Town.
Banks and country adjoining the Hindlyah proper. —The country on both sides of the
Hmdiyah from its head down to Tawairij appears to be generally firm and dry; but
as has been indicated above, there is considerable flooding due to unskilful management
ot canals between the lower part of this reach and the town of Karbala. The rest of
this r e g ion is becoming gradually less and less moist, and rice is being supplanted here
as the staple crop by other cereals which require less water.
Between Tawairij and Kifl the country to the west of the Hindiyah is flat and some
what sandy, but it is well cultivated and is liable to inundation in floods ; the camel-
thorn grows throughout it in profusion. The corresponding stretch on the east side of
the Hmdiyah consists of impassable and almost continuous swamps.
Below Kifl as far as the Bahr-an-Najaf lands between the right bank of the Hindiyah
and the Shamiyah Desert appear to be stable and firm, and as far as Kufah they are well
cultivated ; but their present character below Kufah and that of the whole country on
the left bank below Kifl are not well ascertained.
The right bank of the Hindiyah appears to be fairly well consolidated throughout
and it is possible for caravans to travel parallel to it at no great distance from the stream ;
. ^ ^tween Tawairij and Kifl the route runs as a rule at some three or four miles
m and, chiefly (it is understood) because the canals which have to be crossed are unbridged
near their heads: between Kifl and Kufah the road appears to follow the actual right
^ . s ^ a ^ e COmmun ications upon the left bank has not been recently investi-
rr-a » ^ seems clear that for the greater part of the way between Tawairij and
Imik ' 16 n0 P ossibilit y travelling by land in the neighbourhood of the
The Bahr-an-Najaf.—In order to reconduct the waters of the Hindiyah into the
Jbuphrates, we may now follow their course across the so-called Sea of Najaf, which
a ^ 15 miles below Kufah, to Shinaflyah—a distance of about 21 miles.
e a r, even when it contains most water, is shallow ; and it is reported to be steadily
si tmg up: as a lake it now exists from January to May only, and during the other
mon s of the year the greater part of it disappears leaving merely a stream or channel
wate r, owing to the gypsiferous character of the region in which the lake is situated.
5p2