'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎925] (992/1050)

JAP—JAF
925
JA'FAR—»
See Dawasir Tribe ; 'Ammar sub-division of the A1 Hasan.
JA'FAR—
See 'Oman Sultanate; a tribe of which the faction is indeterminate or has no w
been ascertained.
JA'FAR—
See (Southern) Shammar ; 'Abdah division.
JAFAR (B AB-AL)-—
See Hasa Oasis.
JA'FARI—
See Farasan (Islands and Bank); bank, eastern side.
JAFFA—
A small village in Southern Yemen, situated about 5 miles westward of the town of
Dhamar, on the south side of the road usually followed between Sana'a and the Aden
Protectorate. Jaffa stands on the slopes of Jabal Ghariat Jaffa, a crater 8,856 feet high,
overlooking Dhamar from the west.
JAFIYAH—
See (Jau) Shamin.
JAFNAIN—
See ( Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. ) Risail.
JlFURAH—*
A great desert in Eastern Arabia ; it extends the whole way from the Hasa Oasis to the
confines of Trucial 5 Oman, and its eastern edge is nowhere very far inland from the coast
of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. . By some Arabs Jafurah is regarded as a projection in the direction
of Qatar of the Ruba'-al-Khali or Great Desert of Southern Arabia ; and those who view
the matter in this light say that Jafurah ends, and that the Ruba'-al-Khali proper begins,
in the region known as Ahqaf or the Sand Dunes.
Limits. —'Whether or not it be a part of the Ruba'-al-Khali, Jafurah is in itself
a remarkable and very extensive desert. In shape it is roughly triangular, with its apex
on the north almost touching a line drawn between Hofuf and 'Oqair Port, and its other
corners (to the south-west and south-east) adjoining the oasis of Jabrm and the southern
extremity of Sabakhat Matti respectively. Along its western side Jafurah is met in
succession from north to south by the tracts of Biyadh, Kharmah, Ghuwar, Na'alah,
Summan and Dahanah; on the east it is separated from the sea, in the same order, by
Barr-al-Qarah, Qatar, 'Aqal and Mijan ; on the south it is bounded by the Ruba'-al-
Khali. It may be added here that Jafurah encloses Jabrin upon the north and east, and
that, in the opinion of some, Barr-al-Qarah is a portion of Jafurah and not a separate
tract.
Physical characteristics and inhabitants. —Jafurah differs from the waterless Ruba'-al-
Khali only in possessing a few wells of very bitter water and a little scanty grazing ; its
surface consists of red and burning sand.
The 'Ajman venture into the northern extremity of Jafurah ; but the only tribe who
frequent it to any considerable extent are the hardy Al Morrah, and even they avoid
entering it unless in winter or in search of a refuge from more powerful enemies. The
Al Morrah are said to wear when in Jafurah a specially thick foot-gear made of camels'
hair; and, if popular rumour may be trusted, those of the tribe who spend most time
there are of an unusually swarthy complexion, while their camels are nearly jet black.
•Nearly the whole of the information contained in this article was supplied by Captain P. B. Prideaux
Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. in Bahrain, in whose Map of Jafurah, etc., the region in question is included.