Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/244

 construction of the line. To the west, above the low hills, projected the cone of al-Ḳdûd. The valley grew narrower and narrower, and at two o’clock we reached a defile enclosed on both sides by high lava crags. In the dry river bed was the large natural hollow of Luṣṣân. At 2.30 we crossed the šeʻîb of al-Fawâẓle and reached a broad basin covered with sand and a growth of ṭalḥ trees, where we rested from 2.38 to 5.03. To the west the šeʻîb is bordered by the dark walls of al-Ḳdûd; to the east by the rocks of Luṣṣân, upon which rests a stratum of lava. At 5.38 the embankment was again blocked up, and at 5.42 we saw that it was constructed only of sand and clay and that it dropped off, so that the sleepers projected freely on both sides. At six o’clock we reached the broad valley of Ǧenâjen al-Ḳâẓi, where an Italian railway workman is buried under a ṭalḥ tree. Ḫalîl drew my attention to the fact that the ṭalḥ, rimṯ, and ʻawseg growing in Ǧenâjen al-Ḳâẓi have much larger leaves and needles than those growing elsewhere. He said that they are not ṭalḥ, rimṯ, and ʻawseǧ but in reality plum trees, almond trees, and orange trees; but I saw no difference between the shrubs here and those growing anywhere else.

On our right yawned the šeʻibân of Abu Ṣdêra and al-Mhejr. Near the šeʻîb of Abu Ṣdêra looms the huge dark hill Burḳa Ṣdêra, half-covered with whitish sand.

At 6.15 to the west of the embankment we saw a large stretch of low-lying land covered with yellow clay, a sign that the culverts were clogged up and that the rain water had formed a pool around the embankment. At 6.26 we passed by the embankment, here constructed only of clay and protected against storms by means of deep trenches. At 6.45 we crossed the elevation of Šrejf aṭ-Ṭaʻâm and rode into the valley of al-Maʻw. Before 8.30 we saw in front of us the light of the station of al-Ḫamîs, situated opposite the šeʻîb of al-Ḥamaṣ. The soldiers guarding the various stations of the Ḥeǧâz railway are afraid of the Bedouins, and they im-