'Handbook of Arabia. Vol II. 1917' [76] (80/542)
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
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
76
NORTHERN ROUTES
miles.
total, stages.
descent described both by Blunt and Huber
-as ' impossible both for men and animals
except at one point A certain amount of
pasturage to be found at foot.
3 m, Umm 'Asdfir, at foot of Jal; the firstof a series
of three reservoirs along the route, at some
distance apart, and containing water after
rain. Route narrows for a time to single
track and crosses broken stony ground of
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
el-Batn.
160 60 Birkat el-Jumeimah, ruins, and a reservoir 90 ft. square
and about 20 ft. deep, in a depression, with steps
leading down to water and troughs for watering
animals; reported by Leachman (whose route
crossed here) in 1910 'in good condition'; in
February of that year, sufficient water for 12,000
men for several days.
[A route goes off W., and eventually turns NW.,
to link up at Umm Musheiqiq (see p. 83) with the
Kerbela-Ha'il track.]
Dir. a little W. of S., over stony ground.
8 m. Sha'lb Abarwdth (possibly Blunt's Wddi liutha)
is crossed ; a narrow valley, described as
extending about 36 miles E. and W. Huber
mentions that this valley after rain is some
times filled by stream 100 yds. wide, and 2 ft.
deep or more.
3 m. Birkat ez-Zebalah (Zobalah), situated in oval
depression (2| miles by 1J miles); 4 reser
voirs and 5 large wells, the most important
till 'Ashaq ; wells 130-160 ft. deep, cut in
rock, with masonry parapets much crumbled.
Leachman reported (1910) that the largest
reservoir had been partially destroyed. On
edge of basin are some ruined houses, which
can be seen from very far and serve as a good
landmark.
Route now goes for about 8 miles through
volcanic country, soon passing,to 1., a little iso
lated building called 'Aqalat er-Renemi, and
then ruins of castle of Bdtil Athul.
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