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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol II. 1917' [42] (46/542)
The record is made up of 1 volume (271 folios). It was created in 1917. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
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42
COMMUNICATIONS
Gulf. For practical purposes, the route may be divided into two
main sections, the first between Akaba and Ma'an, the station on
the Hejaz Railway, the second between the latter place and Jauf
el-'Amr.
In the first section camping-places are optional. A short first
stage is often made at Abul-Heirah, not far from the well 'Ain
Ma'in. A second stage may be made near the mouth of
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
el-Mudheifein ; in 1905 Turkish troops (see below) appear to have
halted at Quweirah, where there is now a military post. Musil
camped with Arabs to W. of the road, about 5 miles N. of this
place. In the third stage, the route crosses the escarpment of
Jebel Shera, close beyond which is the well 'Ain Fuweilah, where
the third night may be passed. Three cross-tracks leaving the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
'Arabah in the direction of Ma'an probably intersect this part
of the route. The most southerly, starting up the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Dharbah,
should come in not far from Quweirah. The two others ascend the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Umweilah and the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Gharandel respectively, the latter
apparently passing through Delaghah and 'Ain el-Beidha. The
second is reported fit for laden camels.
In the first section of the route there are no serious natural
obstacles, though the heat in the rock-bound valley of Yitm may
be almost unbearable in the middle of the day. The ascent from
the mouth of
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Yitm to the summit of Naqb Shatar is not
difficult ; the way up the pass follows the windings of an old
Roman road, which, if improved, would be possible for wheeled
traffic ; in 1905, some 15,000 Turkish troops were taken this way
from Ma'an to Akaba, a force presumably including artillery.
Up to the foot of the pass the slopes are never very steep. On the
far side of Shera, the ground falls gradually to Ma'an. Throughout
the whole section, the surface is generally hard, and the going
fairly good ; Musil covered the distance on horseback in about
23 hours. In the valley of Yitm, the track follows the line of the
main Roman road from Akaba to the E. of the Dead Sea, few traces
of which now remain. It would probably be easy to vary the route
between Hemeimah and the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Mureighah by keeping on in a
N. direction along the Roman road as far as Ta'san (about 11 miles),
where there is a well, or even to Sadaqah (17 miles), and crossing Jebel
Shera from these points. Since the beginning of the war, the Otto
man Government is said to have begun a survey for a line connecting
Ma'an with Akaba; it is to leave the Hejaz Railway at Qal'at el-
Mudawwarah, about 70 miles S. of Ma'an. The Arabs met with in the
first section of the route are 'Amran (Tmran) and 'Alawin, sub-tribes
of the Huweitat, whom both Doughty and Musil found friendly;
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Arabia, Volume II, Routes (Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Department: May, 1917) and contains details on routes in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as information on transport and lines of communication arranged on a geographical basis. Chapters concerning meteorological information, hygiene and disease, and vocabularies have also been incorporated. The volume was prepared on behalf of the Admiralty and the War Office. The sources from which the routes have been compiled, together with notes on directions and distance, appear at the head of each chapter, while some sections have been compiled on the basis of native information. Authorities cited include: George August Wallin, William Gifford Palgrave, Carlo Claudio Camillo Guarmani, Lady Anne Blunt, Charles Huber, Julius Euting, Gerard Leachman, Gertrude Bell, Anders Christian Barclay Raunkiær, William Henry Irvine Shakespear, and John Gordon Lorimer.
The volume includes a note on confidentiality, title page, and a 'Note' on the compilation of the volume. There is a page of 'Contents' that includes the following sections:
- Chapter 1: Methods of Transport;
- Chapter 2: Communications, A. Northern Routes, B. Eastern Routes, C. Central Routes, D. Western Routes, E. South-Western Routes, F. Southern Routes, G. Souther-Eastern Routes;
- Chapter 3: Routes, A. Northern Routes, B. Eastern Routes, C. Central Routes, D. Western Routes, E. South-Western Routes, F. Southern Routes, G. Souther-Eastern Routes;
- Chapter 4: Meteorological Observations;
- Chapter 5: Hygiene and Disease;
- Chapter 6: Vocabularies;
- Appendix: Note on the System of Transliteration and Glossary of Topographical and Common Terms;
- Index;
- Plates.
There is also a 'List of Maps' and a 'Note on the Spelling of Proper Terms'.
There is one map contained in this volume: 'Map 5. Key Map of Routes'. In addition, there are nine plates by Douglas Carruthers, Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, Captain Gerard Leachman, and Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Barrett Miles.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (271 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in chapters. There is a contents page, list of maps, alphabetical index, and list of plates.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: There is a foliation sequence, which is circled in pencil, in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. of each folio. It begins on the front cover, on number 1, and ends on the map which is inserted at the back of the volume, on number 271.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/E84/2
- Title
- 'Handbook of Arabia. Vol II. 1917'
- Pages
- front, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:534, ii-r:ii-v, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence