Page:The Northern Ḥeǧâz (1926).djvu/92

 Ṛurâba; on the west by aṣ-Ṣfejḥe; and on the northwest by Abu Ḳrûn and Abu ʻUrûḳ. Through the plain of al-Ḳrejn there winds the watercourse of the same name. The spring of an-Nḳejra lies between the rocks of an-Nḳejra and az-Zerânîḳ on the eastern portion of the plain, while toward the western end the spring of al-Esâwed rises at the foot of Abu Ḳrûn. The šeʻîb of al-Ḳrejn joins the šeʻîb of al-Mabrak, which extends from the rocks of ʻAlaḳân, aṭ-Ṭafḥa, and Ammu Kedâde that lie to the southeast. To the west of ʻAlaḳân, on the right-hand side of al-Mabrak rises the mountain of al-Ṛoṣon; on the left-hand side, al-Emejṛer and Umm Burḳa; Ammu Ḥamâṭa farther to the west is on the right-hand side, and aẓ-Ẓrejf on the left. At the head of the šeʻîb of al-Mabrak—to the southwest of ʻAlaḳân—is the spring of al-ʻElli; to the west of al-Emejṛer is the spring of aṭ-Ṭarfa’, while northwest of aṭ-Ṭarfa’ are al-Wuǧîde and al-Maʻajjenât, the latter on the west slope of Ammu Ḥamâṭa.

I collected some plants during the descent, so that I returned about a quarter of an hour later than my companions. Having described the plants and put them away, I made ready for departure, without refreshing myself with even a cup of coffee: my hungry companions had consumed everything available.

We turned back northward through the defile of ʻElw al-Jitâma, as I wanted to journey through Wâdi al-Jitm to the settlement of al-ʻAḳaba. Before us, to the northwest, rose the dark mountains of Sarbûṭ al-Amṛar with their vertical ribs, on which stand steep-walled, red, natural strongholds. The vertical ribs are of granite and the strongholds of limestone and sandstone. The individual mountains are divided by broad notches, the walls of which are black while the ridges of the mountains are red, and in the rays of the sun these two colors spread around them a thin veil, woven of the most various shades of color. This veil appeared to be in perpetual motion, which was irritating to the eyes. I was obliged to bind up my sore right eye and use only the left.

At 1.10 we had on our left the šeʻîb of Ammu Nṣâl, in which rises near a sidr tree the spring of Ḥawâra. The ʻImrân believe that this tree is the abode of a spirit—hal-welijje hâḏi mamlûka (this holy tree is possessed by a spirit). At 2.10 on the right among the black granite rocks we perceived the broad gap of Meḳreḥ al-Ǧemal and came to the šeʻîb of al-ʻEmêdijje, through which a road leads to the spring of Abu Ḥbejle. From 2.40 to 5.13 we rested at the foot of Mount al-Mkasseb (Fig. 25). The baggage was unloaded and the camels were led to the spring of Taten, which comes up from the northern slope of al-Ḳnejne. The air was filled with thick