'Routes in Arabia' [‎401] (434/852)

401
Route No. 108— contd.
• Ko. of stage {
and total I Details,
distance.
DHALI' See Route No. 103, stage 6.
1 AR-RADO (AR- 8m. From Dhali to Ka-
■ RADU'A, RADU). flat Zubaid (Zobed)
8 m. at mile 3, see Route 103,
stage 6. From Zubaid two passes lead down to Ar-Rado:—
ii) Ar-Rabadh (Rabad) pass. A pood path from Zubaid r'sfes
easily through cultivation to the head of the pass at mile 3. The
descent is 780 feet in about a mile, the path winding down steep
rocky slopes. The gradient is generally easy, but there are one
or two steep zigzags for a short distance. Practicable for
laden camels. At mile 4J the path enters the bed of the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Rabodh and then winds up over a spur and down again into
a nullah. Here is a caravan halting place in a narrow gorge
and a spring. At mile 8 Ar-Rado is reached in the Hardaba
valley. See Route No. 102, stage 6.
This was the pass used for the regular passage of troops and
convoys between Aden and Dhali in 1902 and 1901, and the
path was considerably improved.
An'alternative path leads from Dhali' to the Ar-Rr.badh pass
through Laghwal, a village -J mile east of Zubaid, and near the
Hakl ravine. This path is a better one for troops camped north
Of Dhali to use.
(w) Ath-Thauba (or Thoba) pass, 12|- miles, longer and more
difficult than the Ar-Rabadh pass. From Zubaid the path rises
easily to the head of the pass. The descent is about 1,200 feet
in 2 miles, and long and wearisome the gradient being steep.
The path is fairly good and practicable for lightly laden camels.
There is no water near the road. At mile 6 the foot is reached,
and at mile 7-| the village of Ath Thoba on a ridge to the right.
There is good camping space here, and a good well 600 yards
from the road. Thence down the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Thoba, passing below
Al-Hamra to Al-Kafla in the Hardaba valley at mile 9|.
From Al-Kafla north up the Hardaba valley to Ar-Radu'a
at mile 12^.
2 HAJAF .. 13 m. J mile north to Ar-
Radu'a the path bran-
21m. ches east through a
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