Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/342

 they rode out of Ẓbe’ and after an hour passed by the grave of a virtuous merchant from northern Africa, whose name was Marzûḳ al-Kefâfi. He had fallen ill on his pilgrimage, had remained at Ẓbe’, where at his own expense he had ordered a well to be dug, and after a short while had died. About an hour after noon ʻAbdalṛani rested for a short time with his guides in the valley of al-Baḥara, and after sunset they encamped in the valley to the south of the stronghold of al-Azlam. At this, the sixteenth halting place on the Egyptian Pilgrim Route, about five Arabs were living. In the morning the pilgrims started off afresh, rested at noon in the mountain defile of ad-Duḫḫân near a fresh-water spring, and encamped for the night shortly before sunset by the river bed of aš-Šaʻaf.—

Ẓahr al-Ḥmâr must be identified with the spurs of aṭ-Ṭabaḳ and at-Tnejnîr, which extend southward as far as the šeʻîb of Umm Ǧurfejn. Ar-Riǧm is near the šeʻîb of al-Ḥṣâne. ʻEfâl is the name of the lower half of Wâdi al-Abjaẓ. The pilgrims’ night quarters were at Samra’ Tûmân. Al-Bedʻ is the present name of the ancient Madian, or Moṛâjer Šuʻejb. They crossed the šeʻîb of aṣ-Ṣwêr about forty kilometers southwest of al-Bedʻ and passed along the al-Mellâḥ road to the oasis of Šarma, which is identical with ʻUjûn al-Ḳaṣab. I locate al-ʻOḏejb in the vicinity of Umm Ǧejhîle. Al-Muḳâwel is situated somewhere on the northern border of Ḥmejra’ Ḳrajḳer on the Darb (road) al-Falak. Al-Ṛâl winds southward from Ḥmejra’ Ḳrajḳer. Šuḳḳ al-ʻAǧûz is the šeʻîb of aš-Šḳîḳ. The merchant Marzûḳ al-Kefâfi is forgotten. The people call his grave Ḳabr aṭ-Ṭwâši. Al-Baḥara extends about fifteen kilometers to the southeast of Ẓbe’.

The Syrian pilgrims’ highroad follows the old transport route of at-Tebûkijje, which is referred to by Ibn Isḥâḳ (aṭ-Ṭabari, Ta’rîḫ [ De Goeje ], Ser. 1, pp. 2078 f.). This is clear from Jâḳût, Muʻǧam (Wüstenfeld), Vol. p. 336; Vol. 2, p. 135, according to whom Muḥammed ibn Saʻdûn al-ʻAbdari relates that Abu ʻObejda marched from al-Medîna through the valleys of al-Ḳura’, al-Aḳraʻ, al-Ǧunejne, and Tebûk to Sorṛ, whereupon he entered Syria. Al-ʻAbdari copies the record drawn up by Abu Ḥuḏejfa Isḥâḳ ibn Bišr in his book about the conquest of Syria. The headquarters of Wâdi al-Ḳura’ were formed by the modern oasis of al-ʻEla’. Al-Aḳraʻ is situated to the north of al-ʻEla’, while al-Ǧunejne is identical with Ǧenâjen al-Ḳâẓi between al-Aḳraʻ and Tebûk. Sorṛ, which must be read in place of the erroneous Sorûʻ of the text, denotes the oasis and stronghold of Soṛar to the north of Tebûk.

After the conquest of Syria, many pilgrims and even caliphs and members of the ruling house of the Omayyads (Beni Umejja) journeyed every year along this road to the Holy Cities. Ibn al-Faḳîh, Buldân (De Goeje), p. 106, states concerning the Caliph al-Walîd, the son of ʻAbdal-