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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol II. 1917' [49] (53/542)
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.
WESTERN ROUTES (Nos. 17-39)
(iv) Routes in North Hejaz
These are cross-routes running from the ports of Yambo', Wejh,
and Muweilah to points on the Hejaz Railway. The only authority
for the route from Muweilah to Tebuk (Route No. 30) is Wallin, who
traversed it from the coast in 1847. It is a camel-track, and cara
vans usually take four days for the journey. In climbing the coastal
range the ravines are steep and rugged, but the descent on the east
of the watershed is gentle ; there are no recognized halting-places.
Supplies. Water, fuel, and fodder are abundant at Muweilah, and
are apparently obtainable along the route.
Of the two alternative tracks from Wejh to El-'Ala, which are
given in Route No. 31 from reports by officers of the Egyptian army,
the southern and shorter route is mentioned by Doughty as the one
used by the rice and date carrying caravans. It is a route for camel
transport, and was followed by the Egyptian Hajj in 1909-10 on
the down journey ; it goes through mountainous country, as it
crosses the Hejaz coastal range. The northern and longer route,
which is there given as the first alternative, passes over similar
country : it was followed by the Egyptian Hajj in 1909-10 on the
up journey. The route given as a second alternative is that
followed by Euting, in 1884, in the reverse direction. In the
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
el-Hamm, one day's march from El-'Ala, he was attacked by
a party of Juheinah, but succeeded in reaching a camp of the Billi
us under whose protection he was travelling. He waited with them
W two days and then resumed his journey, joining another caravan
eifff at the point he had left the route. Euting did the journey from
tall El-'Ala to Wejh in just under five days' actual marching, but he
Me gives no detailed times and few indications of direction.
Supplies. Springs yielding a tepid and brackish water are reported
antjd to occur along the whole of this coast at a slight depth below the
surface of the ground, but the presence of water along the actual
Kflf route is uncertain ; along the first alternative track there are
ulk wells at Kazaz and Beidha, and along the second alternative
track Euting reports water at Dhureib, Meleihah, and in the
reti
Wadi
A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
esh-Shillul. Fuel and fodder are scarce and other supplies
^iii non-existent,
ilte
k ® The route from Wejh to Medina (Route No. 32) has not been
rt): travelled by any European, and in the following chapter it is only
jfillf possible to describe it schematically ; no details are available as
to supplies along 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