'Gazetteer of Arabia Vol. I' [‎541] (572/1050)

DHUFAR PROPER
541
Name*
Position.
Nature
R emarks.
Salah
In the hills
eastwards of
Murbat, from which
it is said to be dis
tant two days' jour
ney.
a valley ..
This valley can only
be reached on foot.
It contains 12 huts
of Qaraa who own
150 cattle and 200
sheep and goats and
import maize from
Murbat.
Salalah is the largest place in Dhufar: the second is Murbat which is the principal
port of the district.— (Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .)
DHUFAR PROPER—
Boundaries. —A low-lying maritime plain in the Dhufar District, to which it gives its
name ; it is bounded by the sea on the south and the Samhan hills on the north, and
extends from Rlsut On the west to Khor Rori on the east. Its length is thus about 30
miles, and its greatest depth about 9 miles. The Dhufar plain is the only fertile stretch
between Aden and Masqat.
Physical characteristics. —The plain consists of miliolitic or freestone deposits covered
by a rich alluvium; its elevation above the sea is trifling, and it is famed among Arabs
as the most fertile and favoured district on the southern coast of Arabia. Numerous
watercourses from the hills traverse the plain to the sea the chief of which is the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows.
Gharzid (or Jarziz), and about a dozen of these, where they reach the shore, form creeks
of which the water is partially fresh ; some are well-wooded and grassy inland, and some
are densely grown with mangroves at the coast. Parts of the country are covered with
a coarse grass which dries up in winter, and in places there is a jungle of acacia. Water
is found everywhere at a few feet from the surface ; the wells are from 5 to 20 feet deep ;
and for three months in the year the district gets the benefit of the south-west monsoon.
At its west end the plain ends in a cul-de-sac 100 feet above sea-level, behind a coast
range of which the Risut promontory is a prolongation. At the east end it is connected
with Murbat by a narrow maritime plateau which, from Khor Rori to a point four miles
short of Murbat, is 100 feet above the sea except at breaches made by ravines. The
coast from Taqa for 5 miles to the westward consists of cliff about 10 feet high ; and from
that point as' far as Daharlz it is low and is skirted by a mangrove swamp half a mile
deep. There is generally a heavy surf upon the beach ; and the landing, which is effected
in catamarans, is ordinarily difficult or at least unpleasant.
Population. —From the topographical table at the end of this article it may be de-
deduced that the fixed population of Dhufar Proper numbers about 3,000 souls and it
will be seen that nearly all belong to the A1 Kathir tribe. The people, both nomads
and non-nomads, wear their hair long and collect it by a fillet round their heads ; Saiyids,
however^ and the poorest classes have their heads shaved. The ordinary inhabitant of
Dhufar has only one garment, a dark-blue sheet six cubits long by three broad, which
forms a kilt by day and is his only bedding at night.
Agriculture and animals. —The principal crops are bajri, maize, millet, cotton, and
a little wheat and sugar-cane. There are no dates. Cocoanuts grow, but there is no
surplus for export. Fruits are water and musk-melons, papai and a few plantains and
mulberries. Some tobacco is produced, but the quantity is insufficient even for local
consumption. Vegetables include hindis, and red pepper is grown; brinjals are seen,
but only in the Wali's garden. Ploughs are not in use ; the ground is tilled with spade
or hoe. The people own camels, cattle, sheep and goats, but have no horses and few
donkeys; the goats are of a peculiar and rather handsome variety known throughout
'Oman as Dhufar goats. Fish abound and acres of a small fish called 'aid resembling
r