'IRAQ AND THE PERSIAN GULF' [‎108r] (220/862)

COASTS OF THE PERSIAN GULF The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. 141
entrance of Dohat al Husain (Adhwan), a shallow inlet about 10 miles
long, opening north, which has some huts on its shores. The peninsula
(Ras as Sawad) forming the west side of Dohat al Husain has a range
of stony hills along the north-west side, and an unsurveyed group of
islands lies off it. The west coast of Ras as Sawad forms the east
shore of another inlet, about 5 miles long, opening north-west. The
coast then trends south for about 25 miles and is backed by sandhills
(Jabal Dukhan) rising to 234 feet in the south. It is then thought to
trend south-south-east, with the sandhills farther inland, for about
30 miles to Salwa at the head of the bay.
Salwa to Qatif
Salwa contains three groups of palm-trees, four wells, and the
ruins of a castle.
The west shore of the shallow Dohat as Salwa trends north-west,
with several small bays and low sandy headlands, for 75 m il es t°
Oqair. There is a wide shell and coral strand along the shoreline; a
bare plain 2 or 3 miles wide extends to sandhills inland, and is
followed for a short distance by the Qatar-Hasa caravan-route. The
only conspicuous feature is Hashm Husaini, a bluff about 300 feet
high at the end of a sandstone ridge, 15 miles north-west of Salwa.
Dohat Huwaiqil, a bay about 27 miles north-west of Salwa, has
sheltered anchorage about a quarter of a mile off shore and a good
landing-beach. Twelve miles south-east of Oqair is Jazirat Zakh-
nuniya, a bare sandy islet with a village, whose south end marks the
boundary between Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. and the Hasa province of Nejd;
there are two anchorages 2 miles south of the islet.
Oqair harbour is about 7 miles long and is enclosed by a sandspit;
the narrow entrance is at the south-east end, and a shoal lies off it.
The small town on the west shore has a quay, jetty, customs-house,
and old fort. It is the port for the Hasa oasis, and imports cloth and
foodstuffs which are carried inland on camels and white asses over
the soft dune desert which comes almost down to the sea. The only
water-supply is from a fortified well on the edge of the dunes. There
are extensive ruins near Oqair, and aerial photographs have revealed
the layout of an ancient city, thought to be the Chaldean port of
Gerrha. Oqair has a musical beach south of the fort, the sands just
above high-water mark whistling with every step.
From Oqair to Qatif the coast forms the west shore of the gulf of
Bahrein. It trends north from Oqair for 43 miles, with two shallow