Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/66

 them to the west rises the white, mutilated cone of az-Zaʻtar, flanking the rocky plain to the north. On the west the plain is bordered by a brown mountain range intersected with numerous deep šeʻibân. The parts of this range situated west of az-Zaʻtar are known as ʻArḳûb al-Mšejṭi, Rwejs ad-Dukkâne, aš-Šunnârijje, and Kṯejb aẓ-Ẓabʻi; while farther to the south are Uḥejmer, az-Ziblijje, Umm al-ʻAẓâm, Šejḳer, Msâwer, Ḏnêb, Trejbîn, Ṭabaḳât Kalḫa, aṣ-Ṣôr, az-Zarnûḳ, al-Mlêḥ, aẓ-Ẓarba, al-Ḥeǧfe, Abu Sjejle, al-Ḥmejra, Ummu Nḫejle, and al-Mdajfen, separated from Râmân by the defile Ḫarm al-Merṣed.

At 2.38 P. M. we started off toward the north through fields sown with barley and wheat. After three o’clock we entered the valley of al-Bijâra, where lie the prin of al-ʻAnejzi and the ruins of the large settlement of an-Naṣâra. At 3.46 we were at the spring of Abu Ḳrejẓât, and at four o’clock we were standing by the ruins of the Roman encampment at al-Ḳarana (temperature: 21° C). I wished to make a sketch plan of this stronghold, which I had visited as far back as 1898, but this was not possible. Some of the Ḥwêṭât, while cultivating the neighboring fields, had set up folds for their sheep and goats among the ruins and had removed the walls, which had been still preserved in 1898. They were encamped about six hundred meters east of al-Ḳarana, near the springs of al-Mǧawǧa and Ab-ad-Dûd, and immediately came up behind us. As the negro Mḥammad was not well acquainted with this region, I wanted one of these Ḥwêṭât to act as our guide, and Ismaʻîn brought me a man about forty years of age who declared that he knew all the hills, springs, and ruins from there to Wâdi Mûsa. Wishing to make sure of his knowledge, I asked him to point out on the ground the directions north and south and to indicate the position of the šeʻîb of aẓ-Ẓerîb, through which the rain water flows from al-Ḳarana to the norheast. The poor fellow could not distinguish north from south; he described everything situated to the north or south of us as being between sunset and sunrise. When I declared that he could not go with us because he did not know the directions, he asked me to take him nevertheless and endeavored to make an exact drawing of the šeʻîb of aẓ-Ẓerîb for me. Five times he set about the work, and five times he arrived at a different result, being quite unable to indicate in the sand the winding course of this valley although he could see it in front of him. Finally one of his kinsmen who was with him told him to go home, saying that