"ملف XXXVIII/٥ تقرير عن صور بقلم الرائد ج. ب. ميرفي.، المساعد الهندي، الوكيل السياسي، مسقط. ١٠-١٠-١٩٢٨". [و‎‎١‎٤] (٣٠٨/٣٨)

REPORT ON SUR.
I.- -Geographical Description of Sur.
1. Sur is a town of about 12,000 inhabitants situated in the province of
Jaalan in Oman, about 17 miles west of Has el Iladd and 94 miles south-east
of Unseat.
2. The shore at Sur is low and sandy, destitute both of trees and other
vegetation. The principal features of the' place are a creek with the town
standing on both sides of the entrance and a stony ridge called Eed, which
rises about 50 feet high from shingly flats and runs from north to south at
a distance of 2 miles behind the town. The creek is half a mile long,
150 yards wide and only three-quarters of a fathom deep at low water.
3. The town on the east of the creek is called Aiqa and is occupied by
the Bani Bu Ali tribe ; that on the west is called Muqrimatain and is
occupied by four sections of the Jenebeh tribe. The fighting strength of
these sections is stated to be as follows :—Arama, 2,000 ; Makhana, 800 ;
Ghialin, 600 ; Fuwaris, 150.
4. Adjoining the north-west end of the stony ridge are Sanaisalah,.
occupied by the Bani Sinan, and Shariah, containing 100 houses of the
Jenebeh (Arama).
5. On the plain at the back of the ridge, situated about 4 miles from the
sea, is Balad As Sur, a stone-built village in which the Walks residence is
situated, but in disrepair. There is also a fort named Jinah situated inside
Balad As Sur and occupied by the Bani Amr, askaris of the Walk Stated
to be the key to the command of Sur.
6. There are extensive date groves and cultivation of lucerne and about
250 houses of various tribes who supply Sur with vegetables and fodder.
7. Balad As Sur contains about 95 wells and the water supply of Sur is
obtained from there daily on donkeys. It was in order to keep the town in
check by commanding the water supply that this site was chosen as the
Walks residence.
During hostilities water is also obtained at night with some difficulty
from sweet wells to the south of the creek.
8. According to Lorimer’s Gazetteer (Vol. II, p. 1849), there were at
one time over 100 Indian traders at Sur, but these numbers gradually
dwindled down owing to the insecurity of the place. In 1923 there were 35,
at present there are only 20 British subjects in Sur. These British
merchants are living on sufferance, having to pay blackmail to the various
Sheikhs of the Jenebeh in order to avoid being looted. I understand that
since the kidnapping of a Bania in 1926, Mahomed Bin Naser, Amir of the
Bani Bu Ali, has not himself levied anything from the Banias, but that he is
suspected of instigating others to do so.
9. The climate of the place is stated to be very equable, and were it not
for the insecurity trade there would be in a very flourishing condition.*
10. Unlike Muscat, there are roads suitable for wheeled traffic in
Muqrimatain. The track between Muqrimatain and Balad As Sur would
require some labour on it near Sanaisalah before it could be used for
wheeled traffic.
10a. Sur is the port for the shipment of dates from Sharqiyah. Most
of these dates are of the Mibsali variety, which is preferred by natives of the
country to all other kinds and is much appreciated in India. The trade
is a large one, the Badiyah division of Sharqiyah alone containing some
158,000 palms.
10b. The carrier trade from Sharqiyah to Sur is in the hands of the
Hijriyin tribe, whilst the Jenebeh of Sur, who are a seafaring tribe
and own some 130 dhows, convey them thence to Bombay and other ports.
* The total number of Sur dhows is estimated at 150. Most of these belong to the
Jenebeh tribe. The Bani Bu. Ali own 8 or 10, and a few are owned by the Bani Sinan.