ملف ١٩١٧/٧٥٦ الجزءان ٢-٣ "النشرات العربية أرقام ٦٦-١١٤" [ظ‎‎١‎٠‎٤] (٨٣٤/٢١٧)

62 —
were fortified by a wall of immense circuit and great gates, and
bastions whose remains, still massive in their desolation, tell the
story of the downfall of the proud capital just a century ago.
In the middle of the wadi itself stands the massive rock on
which stood the palaces and city, now a massive- of ruins, and
around it along the sandy bed of the torrent lie extensive palm
groves and terraced corn fields protected from the torrent by
masonry walls. In and among the palms appear the hamlets of
Malwi, el-Dhahara, el-Ghasiba, el-Auda and el-Ub which collec
tively make up the modern town of Daraiyya, and extend in the
order given northward up the valley, to the point where the
two sides of the Wadi Hanifa converge again on a narrow
opening perhaps about 150 yards across.
The Daraiyya area extends about four or five miles from
south-east to north-west and is about one mile across at its
broadest point. Its population may be anything up to 10,000
souls of the mixed composition common to Nejdi habitations, the
ancient stock of Beni Tamim mingling with Dawasir, Qahtan and
other elements.
Camping for the night under the ruins of Taraifa, as the
old city is called, we pursued our course the following morning
in a north-west direction up the Wadi Hanifa, which, after the
last ^ palm groves are passed at el-Ilb, continues between
precipitous cliffs, varying in height from 100 to 200 feet for
about two and a half miles to Malqa, a prosperous little palm
grove belonging to Ibn Saud himself and standing at the edge of
a little ravine, which flows down from the east into the Wadi
Hanifa at its continence with the Wadi Ammariya coming 1 down
from the west.
From this point the ordinary Hajj route follows the upper
course of the Wadi Hanifa north-west via Jubaila, reputed to be
the first settlement established in the wadi, Ayaina, Sadus and
fiaisiya round to Dhruma, but a hasty consultation decided to
deter the prospect of visiting these places to some later occasion
and to continue our journey up the W r adi Ammariya.
We accordingly turned west into the heart of the Jebel
luwaiq whose great rock buttresses ran down on both sides of
the wadi, hemming in its broad bed with a wall varying in
height from 200 to 500 feet. Three miles up the waTwL e
Xe'^Shsi Wa Ih ab n t , W - N - W -’ We l >assed the " ow deserted
age of Shajaia Abu Qubas, once prosperous and well covered
slusrjs - s
, ,, Coil .|! nui ng u p the wadi we came after another three miles
^foot V ^ Vei 7 Picturesquely situated at
The present villao-p ^ <UH ( 1111 7 i emm iscent of past prosperity,
e present village is a mere shadow of its greater predecessor
to he t 'tt? nL a T ng a £or f ‘ stumps reduced
water faiC it |a fuVrf'th 1 ' 8 TT d ° W ” P 6 Valle >’ %
me raiiure of the wells however has only been