'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. II' [‎1370] (425/688)

1370
NAK—NAK
NAKHL-
A large village, or small town, at the head of Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. -al-Hammam in the Western Hajaf
District of the 'Oman Sultanate, The site of Nakhl is enclosed on the south and east by
mountains, and to the west of it is an intricate country of low hills and ravine. The
approach from Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Ma'awal is impressive ; at first only a watch tower on a pinnacle
200 feet high is visible : next a fort on a hill comes in sight; finally on skirting the base
of the pinnacle, and passing under a two-arched viaduct, houses, palms, gardens, orchards
and cultivations burst suddenly on the view. The settlement is scattered through date-
groves and covers an area of perhaps 4 square miles : the date plantations, containing
25,000 palms, leave little space for other cultivation. There are 11 permanent quarters,
some of which possess more than one Sablah or public hall, and other temporary quarters
spring up in ths date season. The elevation above th3 sea is 1,100 feet, and, as Nakhl
receives the sea breeze and is shelterd from hot winds, the climate is generally fresh and
agreeable. The fort, which stands on an eminence betwe3n the pinnacle rock already
mentioned and a hill called Jabal Laban, is not now in a serviceable state. Nakhl is celebrat
ed for its hot springs : of these the largest group, including Hammam Thuwarah and
about 20 others, rise among gardens at the head of the valley: on the otherside of the
towo is a second group, of which the best known is Hammam 'Adaisah. These springs
are tasteless and inodorous : their highest temperature is 106 o F.
The population of Nakhl is mixed : the tribes of which it is composed belong mostly
to the Ghafiri faction and include Salamiyin (200 houses), Bayasirah (100 houses), Bani
Harras (65 houses), Kunud (50 houses), Ya'aribah (50 houses), Bani Kharus (40 houses),
Bani Hadhram (25 houses), Sarairiy:n (20 houses), Nabahinah (20 houses), Yahamidah
(15 houses), Bani Jabir (10 houses), Hirth of the Khanajirah section (7 houses), and
Bani Azzan (4 houses). Some of the leading citizens of Nakhl belong to the Bani Harras.
There are not many negroes and those are Mutawalladin with Arab blood : no Zatut or
resident Persians are now to be found here. The total population of Nakhl is about
2,500 souls.
The date-groves are prolific and their produce is celebrated, the Naghal date of Nakhl,
a long-shaped variety, being held in high estimation. The water of the spring is entirely
expended in irrigation. There is one water-mill for grinding flour. The bazaar consists
of two streets and comprises over 60 shops. Turbans called Wizrah and lungis called
Taurir are made, but these manufactures are not peculiar to Nakhl. Porous earthenware
vessels for cooling water are manufactured by local potters, mostly of the Sarairiyan
tribe, from bluish clay mixed with sand, some of which comes from Musilmat. Barkah
if the port of Nakhl.
. r ^ ero are ^ schools in Nakhl, but the people are not more educated than elsewhere in
The Sultan of Oman maintains here a Wali who is supposed to collect as revenue for
^ Ster th ® V{ * lue of to of the agricultural produce, especially of the dates; about
SI,200 are realised annually under this head, but there is no surplus over local expendi-
ture to be remitted to the nasqat treasury. The Sultan of "Oman's authority is main-
! tamed by a garmon of 25 men. The present Sultan (Saiyid Faisal) owns some date
groves and land at Nakhl as his pnvate property ; they are worth $1,000 a year and are
^GctzeUeer) aSSIgn t0 the Wali as a g ran t-in-aid for public purposes.—(Persian Qulf
NAKHL (Jabal)—
Svdtanite ^ 0f Jabal Akhdhar ^ v '^ 111 the Western Hajar District of the'Oman
NAKHLAH ( Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. )—
An important valley in Yemen, which debouches at Kitabah {q.v.).
NAKHRAH (A n)—
'Oman.
m^lteSve 8 !^ ^ ^u.^ mOnt . 0ry and according to some authorities
at a distance of some 40 miles south-south-east from Dib^L