Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/339

 Ibn Roste, Aʻlâḳ (De Goeje), p. 183, mentions only the halting places on the Pilgrim Route to al-Medîna which are referred to by Ibn ḪorḏbehḪordâḏbeh [sic] but says nothing about the coast route.

Ḳodâma (died 922), Ḫarâǧ (De Goeje), pp. 190 f., refers to both routes. On the road to al-Medîna he records the halting places given by Ibn Ḫordâḏbeh or al-Jaʻḳûbi. As the junction, however, he does not designate Madjan (al-Bedʻ) but inaccurately makes it Šaraf al-Baʻl. The conformation of the land does not allow the pilgrims to go from aš-Šerâf direct to al-Aṛarr and thus to avoid Madjan. From Madjan the Mecca road must have gone in a southerly direction to the coast. But neither Ḳodâma nor al-Muḳaddasi (Aḥsan [De Goeje], pp. 109 f.) refers to ʻAjnûna as a halting place, although it is impossible to suppose that the pilgrims or traders would have avoided it. Both of these writers, it is true, mention a halting place al-ʻAwnîd, not, however, before Ẓbe’, where al-Jaʻḳûbi places it, but beyond, where it actually lies. If we admit that the halting places of Madjan and ʻAjnûna are exactly indicated, we see that both Ḳodâma and al-Muḳaddasi insert the halting places of aṣ-Ṣala’ and an-Nabk between the latter and the halting place of Ẓbe’, which is likewise exactly indicated. But the distance from ʻAjnûna to Ẓbe’ does not admit of two halting places; it admits of one only, and that one somewhere about the present settlement of al-Mwêleḥ. The latter name meaning “little salty” is more recent in origin and was derived from the springs there containing somewhat salty water. Since the name of aṣ-Ṣala’ is still given to the coast to the north and islets west of al-Mwêleḥ, I locate the halting place of aṣ-Ṣala’ at al-Mwêleḥ. It is here located by the other Arabic writers, who define its position between ʻAjnûna and Ẓbe’. About fifty kilometers to the south of Ẓbe’, in Wâdi al-Aznam, are heaped the small ruins of the halting place al-ʻUwajnid, which was erroneously transcribed as al-ʻAwnîd by the copyists. The next halting place comes in the šeʻîb of Šaʻaf, where the halting place of an-Nabk was actually situated. Thus, in geographical order on the coast route to Mecca in our territory, lay the halting places of Madjan, ʻAjnûna, aṣ-Ṣala’, Ẓbe’, al-ʻWejned, and an-Nabk.

Ḥaǧǧi Ḫalfa, Ǧihân numa’ (Constantinople, 1145 A.H.), p. 541; Musawwadat ǧihân numa’ (Codex Vindobonensis 1282 [Mxt. 389]), fol. 179 v. f., writes that the Pilgrim Route from Egypt to Mecca passes through the halting place of Saṭḥ al-ʻAḳaba—i. e. a steep ascent (near Ajla). From there at a distance of one mile he says there is a walled-in spring with fresh water. At this halting place dwelt the Ḥwêṭât Arabs, who were engaged in cultivating the date palm. It is there that the first quarter of the Pilgrim Route terminates. The route then leads to two defiles containing fresh water and, ascending the stony slopes of Ẓahr Hemâr to Ǧurfejn, reaches Šaraf, which belongs to the Beni ʻAṭijje and where there is an abundance of fuel; the road then continues between two mountain ranges through the valley of al-Muṭallât, where the Beni Lâm dwell. The halting place of Moṛâra Šuʻejb is famous for its abundance of fresh water, its eṯel trees, and its muḳl and date palms. The following halting places of Ḳabr aṭ-Ṭawâši and ʻUjûn al-Ḳaṣab are in a richly irrigated valley, containing a growth of reeds, but very hot. Here many pilgrims die during the summer. On the shore stands a tomb set up by Abraham, which is reverenced by the pilgrims. Near the halting