Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/177

 After six o’clock, having crossed the šeʻîb of al-ʻWejned, we perceived a dark strip in front of us: the palm gardens of Tebûk. At 6.40 we rode through the broad šeʻîb of al-Baḳḳâr and to the south observed the garden of ar-Râjes, which belongs to the chief, Ḥarb eben ʻAṭijje. Southeast of it appeared a small grove near which is situated the copious well of Ǧerṯûma. Beyond the šeʻîb of al-Muʻejṣi, which we crossed at 7.10, the ground rises toward the east and forms a broad elevation about thirty meters high upon which the oasis of Tebûk is situated. To the south of it projects the isolated crag of al-Ḥṣejb. North of the oasis could be seen the station building with a windmill which pumps water from the well at the railway station. At eight o’clock we reached the northern extremity of the oasis where we induced our camels to kneel down by some eṯel trees.

My companions remained in the shadow of the trees while Ismaʻîn and I went to the station to look for Ǧwâd, the clerk. Gwâd had transported our supplies from the settlement of Maʻân to the oasis of Tebûk where he was to deposit them in the house of Mr. Sarikakis, a trader who rented stores and inns at all the larger stations of the Pilgrim Road from Damascus to al-ʻEla’. We discovered Ǧwâd in a spacious hut of unburnt brick, with a single apartment used by Mr. Sarikakis as an inn, a shop, a storehouse, and a dwelling. We returned with Ǧwâd to our friends, deposited the baggage under the etl trees where we pitched our tents, unsaddled the camels, and sent them with a hired shepherd to pasture. We then went off to the hut of Mr. Sarikakis in order to inspect our supplies and to provide ourselves with what was necessary. The baskets and bags containing our supplies lay in a narrow yard behind the hut. They had been gnawed by mice, and much of the food had gone mouldy. The ground and the air contained much moisture which penetrated particularly into the dried vegetables and sugar.

In the afternoon I went with Ismaʻîn to the mudîr, or representative of the Turkish Government. He lived in the first story of a little, tumble-down fortress and was sitting on a tattered carpet, upon which I likewise sat down. The mudîr was by no means pleased at my visit. He returned my