File 756/1917 Pt 2-3 ‘ARAB BULLETIN Nos 66-114’ [‎208r] (424/834)

HEJAZ RAILWAY, EL-ULA TO BOWAT.
^ The difficulty of' procuring a route-report of the Hejaz
Railway, south of el-Ula, the last point to which Christians used
to be allowed by the Turks to travel, is notorious. Therefore
Major W. A. Davenport, M.C., who has been engaged in
operations on the line at various points south of el-Ula since the
spring of 1917, was asked to collect from notebooks and reports,
and to tabulate, his observations. Since he has been concerned
primarily with attacks on stations and posts, his report deals
chiefly with these ; but it makes a notable contribution towards
the complete account of the line which is desired. It should be
compared with Lieut. Clayton’s report on the section from Abu
Naam to Bowat, printed in our No. 68, p. 445.
u El-Ula .—I have not actually seen the military part of the
station, but in 1917 obtained a distant view of the native quarters,
which seemed to consist of many houses and a large grove. It
is now reported from native sources that the military station has
been much strengthened in defences, and that the Turks have
connected a large spring by an aqueduct to the station. The
railway valley looked about 4,000 yards wide here.
“ The country west of el-Ula consists of masses of hills as far
as the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Jizzil, and is very waterless. In 1917 it was
found impossible to keep near the line for lack of water. I even
tually found water in the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Jizzil by digging forty-six feet,
and four wells were bored, now called Bir Salim ; the water was
salty but just drinkable. These have now been buried by this
year’s seil. Therefore the country between Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Jizzil and el-Ula
forms a very good barrier against attack from the west, on
account of the nature of the country and the impossibility of
keeping any body of men out from the Wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. Jizzil more than
forty-eight hours.
a El-Bedai .—Nothing known.
u Meshed.— Here the railway runs through a narrow wadi A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. with
clift'-like red hills on either side. I got fairly near the station in
1917 ; in the dark it seemed to consist of one building and a very
long platform.
“ Sell Matran .—From Meshed the railway comes out into an
open plain about ten miles broad, and runs past a fortified post
about seven kilometres out of Meshed. In 1917 there was quite
a quantity of wood on each side of the railway ; now it seems to
have been mostly cut.
“ The station at Seil Matran itself consists of one square, two-
storied, well-built building, and a platform about fifty yards long
surrounded by trenches ; opposite the door of the building, in
the middle of the line, there is a cement basin with a pipe run-
nino- to a bio’ cement tank under the building, and the only water
supply is this. Therefore it is entirely dependent on train-
service for water.