"العراق والخليج الفارسي" [ظ‎‎١‎٠‎٨] (٨٦٢/٢٢١)

H 2 * COASTS OF THE PERSIAN GULF
bays fringed by salt-marsh, and several isolated sandhills, to A 1 Khobar.
Inland of A 1 Khobar is Jabal Dhahran, 300 feet high, the principal
field of the California Arabian Standard Oil Company. There are
about twenty oil-wells in the area. The crude oil is pumped through
pipes to storage tanks and terminals at A 1 Khobar and at Ras Tannura
(P- HS)* whence it is shipped to Bahrein for refining. It is hoped
that this field may prove to be one of the richest in the east. From
A 1 Khobar the coast curves north and north-west for nearly 15 miles
to the ruined town and fort of Damman, and a further 10 miles north
west to Qatif. There is a dry-weather motor-road from Oqair to
Qatif, through Dhahran, A 1 Khobar, and Damman. Many reefs and
shoals lie off the coast.
Qatif is composed of a fort containing 700 houses near the beach,
a bazar, and seven suburban villages among the date-groves of its
damp, unhealthy oasis. There is plentiful water from springs. Qatif
can be reached by small craft through several channels, but landing
is inconvenient. It exports dates and imports foodstuffs. There is a
motor-road north to Ras Tannura and a dry-weather road south
east to Oqair. Jazirat Tarut lies off Qatif on the coastal reef which
extends nearly 10 miles off shore: on it are date-groves, two forts,
and an emergency landing-ground.
Bahrein Islands
The Bahrein islands lie inside the entrance to the gulf of Bahrein
between Qatif and the north end of the Qatar peninsula. The
principal island, Bahrein itself, is 30 miles from north to south and
nearly 10 miles from east to west in the north, tapering southwards.
Manama, the capital, is at the north-eastern tip (photo. 61). The
low and sandy Muharraq island, north-east of Bahrein, is 3 miles from
east to west and has three southward promontories: Muharraq town
is on the west of these, and A 1 Hadd town on the east. Sitra, a palm-
covered island 4^ miles long and if miles wide, lies off the east coast
of Bahrein near its north end. Umm Nasan, a low desert island with
two peaks, is 3! miles long and zf miles wide and lies off the west
coast of Bahrein in the same latitude as Sitra. There are also several
small uninhabited islets in the group.
Bahrein island is formed by a gentle dome of limestones, flints,
and marls. The centre of the island is occupied by a large uncultivated
depression 13 miles long and 4 miles wide surrounded by limestone
cliffs. Jabal Dukhan, a hill of darker limestone, which contains the