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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol II. 1917' [48] (52/542)
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.
48
COMMUNICATIONS
As it is often advisable to avoid the range of this or that clan
of the Harb, who hold the country along at least two-thirds of
the preceding route, it follows that, between Medina and Rabugh,
the same line is not always followed. There are several alternative
tracks, of which the three most important are described schemati
cally under Route No. 28 ; they all traverse more or less hilly
country. A fourth, the Ghair Route, described in the Indian
Government Road Book, is so obviously erroneous that it is not
included here.
Supplies. All the alternatives appear to be well supplied with
water, and fairly so with fodder and fuel. As to foodstuffs available,
there is little information ; but they are probably not obtainable
in any quantities, except perhaps at such settlements as Khalis and
Beder, which have small bazaars.
On or near the line of the Darb esh-Sharqi or inland track (Route
No. 29) runs the projected extension of the Hejaz- Railway, whose
construction the Harb tribesmen, abetted by the Grand Sherif,
successfully frustrated. The Darb esh-Sharqi is a dangerous as
well as a difficult route and appears to be but seldom used
now for fear of the restless Harb and Ateibah tribes. From
Medina to Suweirqiyah the track follows the low beds of sandy
wadis ; from that point to Dharibah it crosses a succession of
basins or depressions (known as ghadlr, pi. ghudrdn), in which
water stagnates, the basins being separated by ridges or flats of
basalt and greenstone averaging from 100 to 200 ft. in height.
Beyond Dharibah, the track enters a region of water-courses or
fiumaras, generally deep and narrow in character, tending W. and
SW. The region traversed is intermittently volcanic and excep
tionally barren, but rich in primary formations such as basalt,
hornblende, greenstone, diorite, and pink and grey granites. Burton
says : ' The landward (eastern) faces of the hills are disposed at
a sloping angle, contrasting strongly with the perpendicularity of
their seaward slopes.'
Supplies. Foodstuffs are not obtainable en route, except perhaps
at the stages of Suweirqiyah and Sufeinah, which have small but
fairly well-supplied bazaars, and in
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Leimun and the stage
beyond ; at one or two other points also dates and grain are culti
vated. Wells are few, and water (obtained mainly by digging) is
good when rain is fresh in the wadis, saltish in the plains, and bitter
in the nitrous basins and depressions. Forage and fuel are very
abundant in some stages of this route (the former only in spring);
in other stages they are entirely absent, as noted under the
route.
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