"دليل الجزيرة العربية المجلد II" [‎١‎٣‎٧‎٣] (٦٨٨/٤٢٨)

NAQ-- NAQ
1373
deface the inscriptions before noticed, there is no other appearance of the building
having suffered from any ravages besides those of time ; and owing to the dryness of
the climate, as well as the hardness of the material, every stone, even to the marking of
the chisel, remains as perfect as the day it was hewn.
The ruins of Naqab-al-Hajar, considered by themselves, present nothing more than a
mass of ruins surrounded by a wall. But the magnitude of the stones used in its con
struction, and the perfect knowledge of the builder's art, exhibited in the style and mode
of placing them together, with its towers, and great extent, would give it importance in
any other part of the world. Here in Arabia, where, as far as is known, architectural
remains are of rare occurrence, its appearance excites the liveliest interest, That it
owes its origin to a very remote antiquity is evident by its appearance alone, which
bears a strong resemblance to similar edifices which have been found amidst Egyptian
ruins. There is (as in them) the same inclination in the walls, the same form of entrance,
and the same flat roof of stones. Its situation, and the mode in which the interior is laid
out, seem to indicate that it served both as a magazine and a fort. The conclusion may
be adopted that Naqab-al-Hajar was erected during a period when the trade from India
flowed through Arabia towards Egypt, and from thence to Europe. Thus Arabia Felix
comprehending Yemen, Sabai' and Hadhramaut, under the splendid dominion of the
Sabaean or Homerite dynasty,* seems to have merited the appellation of which she
boasted.
NAQAIL—
An enclosure, with two date groves, of Raudhah {q. v.), in the Aflaj District of Najd.
NAQAIR—
Or Inqair ; some wells in Sudah {q. v.), in the Kuwait Principality.
NAQAlRAT ( Khisat or Saba')—
A small well-like spring in the Hasa oasis {q. v.), in Eastern Arabia.
NAQAIYAH—
A deserted quarter of Lailah {q. v.), in the Aflaj District of Najd.
NAQAIYAH (B andap)—
An anchorage on the west side of Qxtar {q. v.), in eastern Arabia.
NAQBIYIX—
Singular Naqbi; an Arab tribe found only in the Sharjah Principality, and chiefly on the
eastern side of the 'Oman Promontory. The principal places which they inhabit are
Khor Fakkan, Ghallah, Lulaiyah and Zubarah in the Shamailiyah district; Dibah ;
Fahlain in the Sir tract; Khatt in the Jiri plain ; and Diftah in Wadi Ham. The total
number of the tribe appears to be about 1,800 souls, all of whom are engaged in agricul
ture and similar settled occupations. The Naqbiyin belong to the Ghafiri political
faction and are Sunnis of the Hanbali sect: they are quite distinct from their neighbours
the Sharqiyin, to whom they are generally hostile.— {Persian Qvlf Gazetteer.)
NAQIB (AN)—
A site, near Buraidah in Qasim [q. v.). of desultory cultivation by agriculturists from
that town. There are said to be no permanent habitations.
NAQIRAH—
Some wells in the Sudah {q. v.) plain of the Kuwait Principality ; these wells are also
called Inqairah.
NAQlS—
One of the hamlets of the Tana'am group or tract in Dhahirah (q. v.), 'Oman Sultanate.
♦The ancient people, called Himyari by the modern Arabs, were probably called Homeiri by their ancestors,
as their territory corresponds with that of the Homerita of Ptolemy.