Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/112

 al-Ḥaša’ on the right and al-Ḥsej on the left. The šeʻîb of as-Sulṭânijje runs from al-Kalḫi. South of this šeʻîb and north of al-Eḥẓêri stands the small shrine al-Weli ʻAzzâm.

There was once a pregnant woman who was walking along the seashore, unable to find any water. Being very thirsty, she knelt down and begged Allâh to have mercy on her. At that very moment she gave birth to a male child. Being too weak to hold him in her arms, she laid him beside her on the ground, and behold, at the child’s feet a spring gushed forth. Allâh had saved mother and child. The spring, hence, is holy, and it is called ʻAzzâm. This story is probably an echo of the legend of Hagar and Ishmael in Genesis, 21:15.

Farther south the šeʻibân of Ǧennijje, al-Ṛurajje, and al-Klejb extend from the hills of an-Nâṭeš toward the sea. These šeʻibân start in the mountains of Ḳrejdât al-Arnab, al-Ašhab, and al-Mḥejmeẓ, south of Šrejf al-Maktale. At al-Ašhab rises the šeʻîb of Ṛalâl; at al-Mḥejmeẓ the šeʻibân of Umm Ḥaṣa and an-Nimrijje, in the latter of which is the spring of Ṯiṛeb. To the east of an-Nâṭeš the šeʻîb of an-Neḳwa joins al-Klejb, dividing an-Nâṭeš from aš-Šaḳḳa. The southern border of an-Nâṭeš is formed by the šeʻîb of an-Nḫejl. From it the mountains of al-Ḳorẓijje and as-Sîḳijje rise to the southeast, descending steeply to the sea near the copious well Bîr Marša’. The šeʻîb of the same name ends in the šeʻîb of Ḫarḫûra near al-Marša’. To the south of the latter the šeʻibân run in a southwesterly direction and end near Ṭajjebt Ism, where there is a small grove of date palms.

Ṭajjebt Ism is a small oasis belonging to the ʻAmarîn clan, which comprises only eleven families. Formerly this clan possessed the whole region between the valley of al-Abjaẓ and the sea, but the greater part of the families have migrated to the neighborhood of Wâdi Mûsa.

The large spring of al-Lâwi rises between Ṭajjebt Ism and Bîr Marša’, north of the šeʻîb of as-Swêḥel. It is situated at the foot of the Ǧehâmân, which we could also see both from Ab-aḏ-Ḏên and ʻElw as-Sirr.

East of ʻElw as-Sirr the ridge of al-Farwa forms the watershed between the šeʻibân running in a westerly direction and the deep valley of al-Abjaẓ extending southward. This valley starts near the shrine al-Weli Samʻûl, at the junction of three branches. The longest of these is aṣ-Ṣahab, which extends from the east, from the hills of aẓ-Ẓorf and the ridge of aẓ-Ẓahr. On the left it is joined by the šeʻibân of al-ʻAjenât, aẓ-Ẓell, aš-Šrejf, and al-Kiswe, and on the right by aš-Šuḳḳa, which comes from the cones of al-Malfi and Abu Rḥajjât. The northern branch, al-Wâset, begins under the name of al-Ḥṣajd, between Umm Burḳa’ and the rocks Ḥzejb al-Bîẓ and al-Muʻallaḳ. The šeʻibân which merge with it on the right are al-Hawi (in which is the spring of al-ʻAwǧijje), al-Bakra, Ammu Kaẓm, Ammu-t-Tîn, and Šeʻibân ar-Raẓijje; on the left it is joined by Umm Ǧaser (which comes from near the well of the same name on the northern foot of the ar-Rîlân rocks), by al-Mǧejfel (which rises between ar-Rîlân and al-Ḳaḥaze), and finally by al-Ḥrejǧ. The third branch, as-Sejâle, starts from the ridge of al-Farwa and divides Ḳlejb ar-Retâme from the Eḳṭân rocks. With the valley of al-Abjaẓ merge on the eastern side the following šeʻibân: al-Ḥarâḳîṣ, which begins among the rocks of Ṛurâb; Srejm and Ṯbêt, coming from the large mountain al-Maʻṭijje; al-Ḫbejt, bordering al-Mwêleḥ to the south; al-Mḥemm, which joins with