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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [308] (317/748)
The record is made up of 1 volume (371 folios). It was created in 1916. 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
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308
HASA
3. 'Oftair (frequently pronounced 'Ojair), 64 miles S hv w
Qatlf town and 24 miles WSW. of the S. end of BahmWand
It lies on the SW. shore of a bay, with an entrance 200-300 varrk
wide, and a channel of 3-4 fathoms. There is, strictly speaking no
town of 'Oqair the place consisting of a fort and a large » close
together The latter is an enclosure of 150 by 80 yards, surrounded
by a wall 16 feet high, with sheds along three sides in the interior-
it contains three shops, and all travellers to and from the nort
take up their lodging within its walls. Under Turkish rule there
were practically no inhabitants other than the detachment of
soldiers in the fort, some police, the customs and port officers and
a few agents representing merchants in the Hasa oasis. Water is
obtained in the sandpits at Abu a short distance SW. of
the fort, but that from the well of in the surrounding tract
of Biyadh is of better quality.
The^ port serves the Hasa oasis, and, to a great extent, S. Neid
to which it imports rice, piece-goods, coffee, sugar, and hardware'
chiefly coming through Bahrein. The neighbouring Arabs are
Ahl Murrah, Ajman, and Beni Hajar.
3. Other Tracts
i. Zor el-Audhdn, from Jebel Manifah to Musallamiyah Bay, and
inland to the marshy depression of Sabkhat el-Mutaya. The tract,
which is without settlements, has an extension on an average less
than 20 miles. Its wells are poor : that of is on the
coast half-way between Has el-Ghar and Has el-Museinah; that
called Sudah is about 3 miles inland from the NW. side of Musalla
miyah Bay.
ii. Huzum, S. of the above, extending 25 miles to the foot of
Dohat ed-Dafi; the wells of Mistannah (see Route No. 13) are on its
W. boundary. The soil is sandy, bearing the tree, with
shrubs and grasses. Wells average 6 ft. in depth. That named
Nuqurlyah is in the base of the promontory point of Musallamiyah
Bay ; that of Mutdya is 3 miles SW. of the foot of the same bay.
There is no settled population, but the tract is frequented by the
Beni Khalid and Ajman.
iii. Biyddh, the largest of the Hasa tracts, S. of Huzum, extending
about 130 miles from opposite Abu 'Ali Island to Ras es -Sufeirah
opposite the S. end of Zakhnuniyah Island, with a maximum breadth
of about 50 miles. The soil is sandy, with many low white sand-hills
{naqiydn) ; grasses and scrub grow in profusion, and water is
obtainable everywhere by digging a few feet beneath the surface.
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Arabia, Volume I, General (Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Department: May, 1916) and contains geographical and political information of a general character concerning the Arabian Peninsula. The volume was prepared on behalf of the Admiralty and War Office, from sources, including native information obtained for the purpose of compiling the volume, since the outbreak of the First World War. Separate chapters are devoted to each of the districts or provinces of the Arabian Peninsula and include information on the physical character, as well as social and political surveys.
The volume includes a note on official use, title page, and a 'Note' on the compilation of the volume. There is a page of 'Contents' that includes the following sections:
- Chapter 1: Physical Survey;
- Chapter 2: Social Survey;
- Chapter 3: The Bedouin Tribes: A. Northern Tribes, B. Tribes of the Central West, C. Tribes of the Central South, D. Tribes of the Central East, Supplement: Non-Bedouin Nomads;
- Chapter 4: Hejaz;
- Chapter 5: Asir;
- Chapter 6: Yemen;
- Chapter 7: Aden and Hadhramaut: A. Aden and the Interior, B. Hadhramaut;
- Chapter 8: Oman: A. The sultanate of Oman, B. Independent Oman;
- Chapter 9: The Gulf Coast: A. The Sultanate of Koweit [Kuwait], B. Hasa, C. Bahrain, D. El-Qatar, E. Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ;
- Chapter 10: Nejd;
- Chapter 11: Jebel Shammar;
- Chapter 12: The Northern Nefūd and Dahanah Belts;
- Chapter 13: Settled Tribes of the North-West;
- Chapter 14: Settled Tribes of the West;
- Chapter 15: Settled Tribes of the South;
- Chapter 16: Settled Tribes of the Centre;
- Appendix: Note of Topographical and Common Terms;
- Index;
- Plates.
The front of the volume includes a 'List of Maps' and a 'Note on the Spelling of Proper Names'. Maps contained in this volume are:
- Map 1: Arabia: Districts and Towns;
- Map 2: Orographical Features of Arabia;
- Map 3: Land Surface Features of Arabia;
- Map 4: Tribal Map of Arabia.
The volume also contains fifteen plates of photographs and sketches by Captain William Henry Irvine Shakespear, Douglas Carruthers, Captain Gerard Leachman, Dr Julius Euting, George Wyman Bury, and Samuel Barrett Miles.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (371 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 last of various maps which are inserted at the back of the volume, on number 371.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917' [308] (317/748), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/E84/1, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100037114036.0x000076> [accessed 9 March 2025]
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/E84/1
- Title
- 'Handbook of Arabia. Vol. I. 1917'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:381, 384:726, ii-r:ii-v, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence