"دليل الجزيرة العربية المجلد II" [‎١‎٣‎١‎٣] (٦٨٨/٣٦٢)

MtjSA
1313
Shaikh's uncle by way of royalty ; his Persian work-people (men, women and children)
sometimes number 100 souls ; and the amount of oxide removed annually is said to average
40,000 bags. The island of Bu Musa belongs to the Shaikh of Shajrah, who frequently
visits it in the hot weather. The Shaikhs of Sharjah have been under the protection of
Great Britain for over a century. This ruler is solemnly pledged not to enter into any
agreement with, nor to alienate any of his territory to, any other power. He also owns
the islands known as the two Tambs, close to which the Persian Gulf cable passes.
There are several herds of wild gazelle on the island.
MtJSA ( K hor)—
A remarkable inlet of the sea which leaves the Persian Gulf at its northern extremity,
to the east of the Shatt-al-'Arab, and afiords access to Buziyeh and Ma'shur, the ports
respectively of the Fallahiyeh and Jarrahi Districts of Southern 'Arabistan.
Course and main features. —The channel of Khor Musa begins in the open sea at a
distance from terra, fir ma, and the position of the entrance may be taken as approximately
29° 55' north and 49° 3' east, or about 30 miles east of the bar of the Shatt-al-' Arab.
For the first 31 miles within the entrance Khor Musa is nearly straight and runs approxi
mately north -north-westwards ; in the course of the next 5 miles the channel gradually
bends round to eastwards ; and for the remaining 7 miles, to a point where it divides into
branches running to Buziyeh and Ma'shur, its direction is slightly to the north of each.
The total length of the main Khor is thus over 40 miles.
Near the entrance the banks of the channel are not visible on either side, being covered
even at low water ; but on the east side, from 5 miles within the entrance up to 23 miles,
there are patches of sand and mud which dry at low water ; and on the opposite side, from
14 miles and upwards, banks of mud with rocky patches are exposed at half tide. At
11 miles within the entrance a low swampy island to the right, called Uairah, is passed
at about 6 miles distance ; 3 miles to the north-east of this island is Bunneh, another island,
3^ miles long, narrow and distinguished by a ruin. A channel passing between Dairah
and Bunneh is said to be called Khor Wastah. Beyond Dairah, Khor Musa is tem
porarily divided into two channels by Qassar-bin-Siswan, a rocky shoal a mile in length;
and at 23 miles from the entrance Qabr-an-Nakhuda, another low islet, lies upon the
starboard beam at 3 or 4 miles distance. Immediately after passing Qabr-an-Nakhuda,
a ridge of dry sand a mile or more in length appears above the mud on the western bank
of the Khor ; and at 29 miles from the entrance there is a small sandy islet on the east
bank, opposite which Khor Musa throws off to westwards a branch named Khor Qana-
qeh.
The banks of Khor Musa above Khor Qanaqeh are still low ; on the western or northern
side they are of mud with small patches of rock and are covered at high tide ; on the
other side they are of mud and are submerged at high water springs.
Khor Qatmqeh branch. —Khor Qanaqeh runs inland, westwards and slightly northwards
for a distance of about 25 miles to the ruins of Qubban where it forks ; this is the distance
as measured in a direct line, but by the windings of the creek it is somewhat over 50
miles. From Qubban one branch, named Khor Abu Khadhair, runs north and is lost in
the marshes adjoining the Fallahiyeh-Marid canal; the other, known as Khuwairln, goes
south-eastwards and meets, or almost meets, a creek called Silaik or Silaich which is said
to leave the coast at a point between the mouth of the Bahmanshlr and the entrance of
Khor Musa. The level of Khor Qanaqeh as far as Qubban and of its branches beyond
Qubban is affected by the sea tides.
It is interesting to observe that the head of Khor Qanaqeh at Qubban is connected
by a hollow, now dry, with the Karun river at Marid ; and it is easy to imagine that, as
the inhabitants of the tract assert, the Karun or a part of it at one time flowed to Qubban
and thence to the sea either by the Khuwairin and the Silaik creek or by Khor
Qanaqeh and Khor Musa. The water in the upper part of Khor Qanaqeh is
nearly fresh; at flood it is drinkable in the upper third, and at obb in the upper half of
the creek. The banks of Khor Qanaqeh at 7 miles from its mouth and upwards are
' 4 to 6 foot high, firm, and covered with coarse grass ; but nearer to the main Khor they
are liable to be overflowed 7 at spring tide. The west bank of the Khuwairln near
Qubban is of hard mud. In the season of most water, e.g., in May, the whole country
to the north of Qubban is a swamp.
C52(#)GSB , 8f