"بعثة لإجراء عملية مسح لنهري دجلة والفرات، تم تنفيذها بأمر من الحكومة البريطانية، في السنوات ١٨٣٥، ١٨٣٦، ١٨٣٧؛ تسبقها إشعارات جغرافية وتاريخية للمناطق الواقعة بين نهري النيل والسند. في أربعة مجلّدات. مع أربع عشرة خريطة ورسمًا، ومزينة بثلاث عشرة لوحة، بالإضافة للعديد من الرسومات بالحفر على الخشب. المجلّد الأول." [‎٦‎٠‎٩] (٩٠٥/٧٠٢)

CHAP. XXIII.]
TAi'F.
609
southward from hence to the coffee plantations is intersected
at certain distances by similar valleys, 1 such as Wadi Antago
and Wadi N'omar; 2 but mountainous ground and sandy
valleys prevail for a distance of three hours and a-half, viz.,
from Wadi Moram to Taif, which occupies part of Wadi-el-
Alibas, the garden of Mekkah. Tai'f is in the centre of a Description of
sandy plain, about four hours' march in circumference; this Taif '
is overgrown with shrubs, and encompassed by the low moun
tains called Jebel Ghazoare.^ The town is an irregular square
of about two miles in circumference, surrounded by a wall
with towers and a ditch. It has, in addition, a castle occu
pying a rocky elevated site at the western side, and forming
part of the wall. 4 The houses are mostly small but well
built with stone, and have their sitting-rooms on the upper
floor. 5 The streets are broader than is usual in the East, and
in front of the castle a large open square serves for a market. 6
Taif is supplied by a copious well within, and another without
the walls, and is celebrated all over Arabia for its fine air and
beautiful gardens, 7 the nearest of which are three quarters of
an hour to the S.W.: the others are at the foot of the moun
tains, and they produce abundance of roses, fine grapes, figs,
quinces, and the other fruits of Jebel Kora. 8
Four hours south-eastward of Tai'f, is Wadi Lye, watered Wadi Lye.
by a rivulet, and containing many houses with fine gardens
on the borders of the stream. After traversing the moun
tains for two hours, from Lye there is a descent into the great
plain stretching eastward, on which, at about 12 hours from
Taif, stands the small town of Kolakh, built on the most
frequented road from Nedjd to Zohran, and the sea-ports of
Yemen. 9 At the distance of 18 hours from Kolakh, along
the plain on the eastern side of the great range, is Wadi
Sobeyh, the first district in Nedjd, and beyond its north-
1 Burckhardt 's Travels in Arabia, vol. II., p. 12 , 7.
8 Arabic Geo. MS., translated by A. Sprenger, M.D.
3 Burckhardt's Travels in Arabia, vol. I., p. 153.
4 Ibid. 5 Ibid., p. 154. 6 Ibid.
7 Arabic Geo. MS., translated by A. Sprenger, M.D.
8 Compare Edrisi, tome V., p. 142, ed. Jaubert, with Burckhardt's Travels
in Arabia, vol. I., p. 153-155. 9 Ibid., vol. II., p. 382.
VOL. I. 4 I