'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. II' [‎1535] (608/688)

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QUN -QOR 1535
(JDNSALlYAH—
A summer camping ground in Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Sabai' {q. v.) in south-western Najd.
QUR—
One of the valleys of the Wadyan {q. v.) tract of north-eastern Arabia.
QURAIN or QRAIN —
Frequently pronounced Grain. A small barren islet in Kuwait Bay, about half a
mile off shore at a point 4 miles to the west of Kuwait Town. Towards its south end
is a small brown-coloured mound 27 feet high. On the south-east side of the island,
between it and the shore, there is a small basin called Bandar-ash-Shuwaikh where
native boats may ride, perfectly sheltered from all winds, in 3 to 4 fathoms of water.
This harbour is connected with the open bay by a long narrow gut, which over a
distance of 400 yards carries only 12 to 13 feet of water at low spring tides: the
obstruction appears to be of rock which could not be very easily removed. " Graine,"
the old English name for Kuwait Town, was probably taken from this island.
QURAIN—
A village in Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. SamS.il {q. v.), in the 'Oman Sultanate.
QUR AI YAH—
A small village in Bahrain Island {q. v.).
QURAM—
A village in Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. 'Adai {q.v.), in the Masqat district of the 'Oman Sultanate. It is
situated 6| miles from Matrah, via Ruwi; by striking across the hills the distance is
reduced to about 4 miles, but the going is difficult and it is better to go by Ruwi village.
Quram consists of one mud building and 70 palm-branch huts. 1 here are six wells, all
stone-lined and flush with the ground; the water of one is stagnant and of another
brackish. The villagers get their drinking water from 3 small wells north-north-west of
the village, but the water in each looks dirty and would probably be unsafe unless boiled.
The average depth to water is 15 feet, and the diameter of the wells 3 feet. The well
with the stagnant water is 10 feet wide and the depth to water 20 feet. There is no culti
vation and the date palms are few and poor ; round about the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Adai a fair amount of
brushwood is obtainable. The villagers obtain their meagre supplies from Matrah.
Livestock comprises 30 cows, 26 donkeys, and 300 goats (1915), but of course these
numbers vary continually.— {Murphy.)
QURAN—
A small hamlet on the south-eastern coast of 'Oman {q. v.).
QURMAH—
An uninhabited island close to the town of Ras-al-Khaimah {q. v.) in Trucial 'Oman.
QURNAH QADHA—
A division of the Basrah Sanjaq of the Basrah Wilayat in 'Iraq.
Position and boundaries.—The Qadha of Qurnah is situated on both banks of the
Shatt-al-'Arab immediately below the point where that river is formed by the junc
tion of the Tigris and the old channel of the Euphrates ; a small portion of the dis
trict also, containing the administrative centre, is enclosed between the Tigris and
Euphrates above their confluence. Conterminous tracts are the Qadhas of Shatrat-
al-' Amarah and (perhaps) Zubair on the north, Persian territory on the east, the
Qadha of Basrah on the south, and that of Suq-ash-Shuyukh on the west.
Topography and inhabitant*.—The chef-lien, Qurnah Village, which is elsewhere
described in a special article, is the only place of any importance in the Qadha, and it
too is of small size. The only other villages deserving of mention are Madinah, Nash-
wah and Sharish, which, under Turkish rule, were the seats of Mudirs : the first of these
is the subject of a separate article, and the other two are noticed in the article on the
Shatt-al-'Arab. The only great natural features of the district are the rivers Tigris,
2Jr