'The Expedition for the survey of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, carried on by order of the British government, in the years 1835, 1836, and 1837; preceded by geographical and historical notices of the regions situated between the rivers Nile and Indus. In four volumes. With fourteen maps and charts, and embellished with ninety-seven plates, besides numerous wood-cuts. Volume the first.' [‎638] (737/905)

638
MAHRAH AND AINAUD. [CHAP. XXIV.
delights to place the remains of Kasr Moscheid, the palace of
the powerful Shedad Ben Ad, who could tear up trees by the
roots, and eat as much as 28 ordinary men; and at the oppo
site or north-western extremity of Hadramaut, Kubr-el-Houd,
the tomb of the Prophet, near Bounfath: elsewhere in this
territory are placed Bir-Borhout and Bir-Moaatthale, two
enchanted wells; one of which may possibly be represented
by the quicksand recently discovered, and already noticed
(p. 635).
District of The territory of Mahrah properly commences where Makal-
^hrah, lah "terminates, but the present limits of the province include
a portion of Shehr, since they extend south-westward to the
foot of the Sheikhawi mountains, and again north-eastward
to 'Oman; the sea is on the south-east, and El Ahkaf on the
north-west. The whole is, however, considered by some of
the Arabian geographers as part of ancient Hadramaut, and
both provinces are traversed by the prolongation of the same
great chain of mountains. The capital, Dzifar, is also called
Ahmedyat, from its founder Ahmed-ben-Muhammed, 1 who
destroyed the town of Mediyat, on the coast. 2
and of Ainaud. In the interior is the district of Ainaud, with a capital of
the same name, situated seven days from Shehr. One day
from thence is the tomb of Kaktan, a celebrated place of devo
tion ; at which a great fair is also held. 3 Near the coast is
the town of Haseks, and a little way from the shore opposite
to Sherbadhat are the Kuria Muria isles. This sterile group,
five in number, viz., Hellaniyah, Soda, Jebeliyah, Karzawet,
and Hasiki, appear to have been what was at one time a con
tinuation of the mountains, 4 passing through Morbat and
Hasik. The structure consists of ridges of granite, surmounted
by a kind of trap or green stone, which, in the form of dykes,
pervades the mass, and also appears in the shape of seams run
ning in all directions through the granite. In Hellaniyah,
the largest, the hills form a cluster of sterile peaks in the centre
1 In a.h . 610.
2 Arabic MS., 7502, in the British Museum, translated by Dr. A. Sprenger.
8 Niehbuhr's Travels, vol. II., p. 109; Heron's translation.
4 The Kartan and Martan of Edrisi, tome V., p. 54, ed. Jaubert.