Page:The journal of the Royal Geographic Society of London. Volume 34, 1864. (IA s572id13663720).pdf/322

112 should have otherwise made them, for fear lest a marked appearance of inquisitiveness should belie the character of a native travelling-physician.

The districts which I myself visited in person were—1st, the Desert, as it lies from Ma’ān to the Djowf; my route was, however, somewhat different from Mr. Wallin’s, and passed, for the most part, to the south of his. 2nd. The Djowf itself and its neighbourhood. 3rd. The route from thence to Djebel Shomer, following precisely Wallin’s track, and next the town of Hā’yel, with a considerable part of the adjoining province. 4th. The route thence to the town of Bereydah in the Kaseem, and a large portion of that province also, with some of its principal towns, such as ’Oneyzah and others. 5th. The route from Bereydah to Sedeyr, and nearly the whole of the latter district. 6th. The province of ’Aared with its actual capital Er-Riad, residence of the Wahhabee monarch, as well as the now ruined town of Derey’eeyah, &c. 7th. Part of the provinces of Yemamah and Aflaj. 8th. The route thence, leading northward of the Hareek district to the town of Hofhouf, in the province of Hasa. 9th. A good part of that province, as well as Kateef and its neighbourhood. 10th. The islands of Bahreyn. 11th. Katar and the pearl coast. 12th. The town of Sharja, and the adjoining promontory up to Ras Mesandom, and thence southward through the Batinah as far as Sohar. 13th. The part of’Oman adjoining Samaïl and Maskat, Seeb, &c. &c.

What information I may incidentally give on other points of the country not comprehended within these limits, is principally the result of question and answer between myself, the inhabitants, and the Bedouins. I ought, indeed, to except the sea-coast of the Hedjaz and Yemen, with which navigation had previously rendered me conversant.

In the present narrative I shall first, for clearness sake, say a few words on the geographical outline and main features of the Arabian Peninsula, and more especially of the Desert, its character, and its limits; a main object of this being to fill up in some measure the deficiencies left on that point by the accounts of preceding travellers, such as Burckhardt, Wellsted, Wallin, &c.: accounts accurate indeed, but incomplete. I shall then give a more detailed description of Nejed and the central provinces of Arabia; and lastly of the eastern provinces and ’Oman.

A vast extent of desert, with some scattered Bedouins roam¬ ing over it, a few rocky and barren mountains, black tents, sandy plains, and an occasional palm-tree or camel to complete the scene,—such is a very common idea of Arabia as deduced from the narratives of travellers, and even to a great extent confirmed, or rather embodied, in the outlines of many maps. Yet