'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III.' [‎6r] (16/982)

ATjARGTJH —Lat. Long. Elev.
A village on the east shore of Lake Niriz.— (Stotherd, 1893.)
ABAZAR— Lat. Long. Elev.
A village in the Zaidan plain on the right bank of the river Hindian. 1
mile west by north of ’Askari. It contains 80 houses of Kurwais, a
tribe from the Kuhgalu Lur country. 40 donkeys, 30 cattle and 200
sheep and goats are owned here, but no horses .—{ Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Gazetteer,
1908.)
ABBAD—
A spring in Kirman, about 46 J miles north-erst of Sa’id-abad, and 1
mile from the village of Takia. The water, although cold, bubbles up with
a considerable noise, as if it were hoilmg.-—{Sykes, May 1900.)
5 ABB AD AN (Island)—
(Also called JazIrat-ul-Khidhar from a shrine near its centre) is a large and
valuable island enclosed by the Karun on the north, by the 8hatt-al-’Arab
on the west,by the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. on the south, andbythe Babmanshir onthe
east. Its length is about 40 miles, and its width varies from about 1| miles
at the middle to 12 miles near its southern end. The centre is mostly
desert, but the margins of the rivers, as far inland as the creeks extend,
are cultivated and planted with dates : much land is now being reclaimed
in the Ma’amareh neighbourhood near the south end. A submarine pro
longation of the island into the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. forms the great reef of
Maraqqat ’Abbadan. The inhabitants are almost all Ka’b Arabs, belong
ing in the northern part to the Dris, and in the southern part to the
Nassar main division of that tribe. A considerable tract in the north
eastern corner is known by the name of Maharzi. Its limits are Shakhab*
ul-Haiak on the northern, and Huz ’Umar on the eastern shore of the
island, and Muhammareh town is opposite the centre of its northern
extremity. The shrine of Khidhar stands a little nearer to the north than
to the south end of the island, about 2 miles from the Shatt-al-’Arab and
1 mile from the Bahmanshir : it is largely visited by the Shi’ahs of the
surrounding districts. Muhammadan theologians are not agreed whether
this mysterious personage Khidhar is a prophet or not. Some of them
even deny his existence ; but there are, on the other hand, Sufi mystics
who affirm that they have seen him. He is believed to have existed in
the time of Abraham,, to have been a companion of Moses, and to be
still alive in consequence of having drunk of the water of life. Seme
Muhammadan commentators identify him with the prophet Elias, others
with Saint George of England : one even makes him a general in the army
of Alexander the Great.
The south coast of the island appears to be fairly firm and well-marked,
but there are no fixed villages on it. Total population is reported to be
about 24,000.
The two southern administrative divisions aie Maniuhi and Qasbat
Nassar. In each of the villages bearing these names there is a representative
of the Shaikh of MuLammareh. The part of the island north of Maniuhi
A 2