Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/173

 with a yellow disk. Between Abu Ṭbejḳ and Berḳa ʻÎd the rocky plain is covered with coarse gravel, débris, and boulders, between which the camels could advance only with very great caution (Fig. 60).

Ismaʻîn and Mḥammad wished to leave me at Tebûk and were already looking forward with pleasure to the reward which they would receive for services rendered. The nearer we approached to Tebûk, the more obliging and dutiful did they become, and Ismaʻîn even composed a poem in which he celebrated our journey and extolled my gratitude and lavishness. But his poem did not meet with the approval of Mḥammad, who corrected various verses, replaced several words by more beautiful ones, and reproached Ismaʻîn with not knowing the poetical language and using expressions which no poet would employ. Ismaʻîn was annoyed at this and referred to the legend about the Beni Helâl, from which he knew several poems by heart and in which the same words occurred. Mḥammad laughed, because, as he was unable to read, he had never read the tales and poems about the Beni Helâl. He said Ismaʻîn composed bad poems and that no Bedouin would express himself in such a way, though Ismaʻîn imitated the speech of the Bedouins.

At nine o’clock, to the east we perceived the broad notch of al-Fûha (Fig. 61), which runs from west to east through the ridge of Umm Ǧalâd. The isolated rocks, so distinctively characteristic of Ḥesma, had vanished; and in their place appeared rugged elevations and plateaus between which there were neither gullies nor valleys but only level stretches of varying size, partly covered with sand, so that the water was lost in them. The plateaus are mostly flat, only here and there overlooked by dark, isolated knolls.

At 9.55, on our right by the spur of Nedrat as-Sbâʻ, we found a winding path running through a growth of yellowish grass and luxuriant shrubs, amongst which we remained until 12.13. The sweltering heat was unbearable, the air was filled with fine sand, and the sun could not be seen. At one o’clock to the east we saw the knoll of Ḫalâḫel, to the north the dome of Ammu Frûẓ, and beyond it Mšejš al-Ḫamîs. Behind every shrub there glistened from west to east a sand drift, which fell away abruptly towards the east, showing that westerly winds prevail. At 2.50 we entered the broad notch of al-Fûha bordered by high, steep walls (temperature: 35° C). At three