Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/238

 of dense sandy clouds. Rifʻat and Tûmân complained that their eyes were hurting them and that they were physically worn out. Accordingly I decided that we would not go either to al-Ḥeǧr or to Dâr al-Ḥamra’ but turn direct to the station of al-Muʻaẓẓam. I hoped that somewhere to the north of this station I should find a camp of the Âjde or the Fuḳara’, where we could exchange our camels, and that after recuperating we could proceed either to the south or to the east. My companions were in full accord with this plan.

Mounting a high rock not far away, we drew a sketch map of the surrounding district.

At 11.10 we turned off to the north (temperature: 33.5° C). After a short time we observed far away on the horizon Mount al-Farwal and nearer to us Ḫašm Ḫibt aṯ-Ṯemâṯîl with the railway station of Ḫašm Ṣanaʻ. At first we rode through a bare plain covered with coarse gravel. After 12.45 we reached deep, narrow ravines, round which it became necessary to make a detour. The sides of the ravines are twenty to one hundred meters high and so steep that it is impossible to crawl along them. The beds are covered with