Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/218

 railway station of al-Aḫẓar, and terminates in al-Meḥteṭeb. On the left al-Aḫẓar is joined by the šeʻibân of an-Naʻâme, ad-Delw, and ad-Daʻêǧ, which descend from the cone of Ḫirḳ; farther on by ad-Daʻûǧ and al-ʻOmejdên, which [rise among the rocks of Mejsûra; then by Abu Ṭarfa’, between which and the lower course of al-ʻOmejdên stands the cone al-Ḳnêʻer; then follow the šeʻibân of Sḳêʻijje, Abu Ḥalfa, Ḏi Tîn, al-Wužerijjet al-Bêẓa’, at-Tûlijje, al-Ǧeleb, Ummu Ḳwe’, al-Ḫaẓra, ad-Drêḳa, al-Muṣṭabṛa, al-Worob, and Ummu Rkêbe. The valley is joined on the right by the šeʻibân of ar-Râšde, with al-Laʻabân; and by al-Fḥejl, as-Samake, al-Wužerijjet as-Samra’, al-Ḥmejda, Šômân, al-Meḫtebi, Ammu Rtejmât, as-Sûḳ, Erdêht ʻAneze, Ammu Kanâtel, Umm Ṣafa’, al-Bêẓa, and Umm Tîna.

In the ten tents of the camp near which we halted there was only one man and he was mad, maǧnûn. Having heard of another encampment about a kilometer farther on to the northeast, I sent Ḫalîl there to bring us a new guide, because our lame one was no longer familiar with the country. In this second camp there were five men, all of whom came to us with Ḫalîl. I took as guide a young man who answered all my questions accurately. In the night I again suffered with ague.

On Wednesday, June 29, 1910, we started off at 4.10 A. M. (temperature: 15° C) while it was still dark. The guide was to catch up with us. The šeʻîb of Abu Ṣawra is narrow, and we had to go round the camp, frequently knocking against the ropes of the tents and thus disturbing all the dogs, who pursued us a long way. After about twenty minutes the new guide overtook us. The mad old man likewise joined us and kept on shouting that Allâh might make the road smooth for us. Having left the šeʻîb of Abu Ṣawra at 5.30 by way of a rocky ridge, we reached the broad šeʻîb of al-Bêẓa, here covered with a growth of reeds. Here and there could be seen small pools of dark brown water which gave off a very unpleasant smell. At six o’clock we halted on the southwestern slope of these pools, where our camels drank and we took in a supply of water (Fig. 82). From all sides camel riders were coming up to the wells, fully armed to repel the expected attack of the Âjde. The water near al-Bêẓa is sufficient to irrigate large gardens or fields. That the whole surrounding district was once cultivated is proved by the remains of old garden walls and piles of stones on the gentle slopes where vines once grew. These piles of stones are particularly numerous