"تقرير استخباراتي للجزيرة العربية" [ظ‎‎٤] (٥٢/٨)

4
SECTION IV
t
GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY
(1) Brief Description of the Country, Location of Frontiers and Demilitarised Areas {see Plans \a,
\h, \c y \d and 2).
ARABIA is essentially a desert country comprising an area of roughly one million square
miles and inhabited for the most part by nomadic Bedouin tribes. It is bounded on the north
by KUWAIT, IRAQ. TRANS JORDAN and PALESTINE, and enclosed on the other three
sides by the sea, viz., the RED SEA on the west, GULF OF ADEN and ARABIAN SEA on
the south, and the PERSIAN GULF and GULF OF OMAN on the east.
The land surface of the peninsula enclosed within these limits slopes down steadily from
the elevated mountain barrier, which runs down the whole length of its western side, parallel
with the RED SEA, to sea level on the PERSIAN GULF, and the uniformity of this slope is
only interrupted in the extreme eastern corner of the peninsula, where the mountains of the
OMAN district rise to an elevation of 10,000 ft. above sea level. With the exception of this
mountainous district and the similar district of the YEMEN, ARABIA is a barren country
consisting of vast tracts of steppe desert, sand waste and mountainous wilderness. It is a
country of insignificant rainfall (the YEMEN and OMAN excepted) ; here and there scattered
oases or oasis groups are formed. The TAIF district, for instance, in the HEJAZ mountains
above MECCA, the QASIM and JEBEL SHAMMAR provinces in CENTRAL ARABIA,
and the HASA province near the PERSIAN GULF are among the best examples of such
districts, while MEDINA, TAIMA, RIYADH, JAUF and WADI DAWASIR are a few among
the many large oases which occur frequently throughout the country.
The population of ARABIA cannot be estimated with any certainty, but may be taken to
be about seven millions.
5^4 UDI-ARABIA
The two kingdoms of the HEDJAZ and NEJD, together with the districts of ASIR
and HASA, form a personal union under the rule of King Ibn Sand, with the title of SAUDI-
ARABIA.
The chief port in the RED SEA is JEDDA, the seaport of MECCA, with YENBO, next ^
in importance, which occupies a similar position in relation to MEDINA.
Lesser ports are MUWAILIH, WEJH, RABIGH, LITH and OUNFIDHA.
No definition is possible of the landward frontier between the HEDJAZ and the NEJD,
and in any case the two countries are now united.
The northern boundary is shown on Plan 2. The NEJD (" Plateau ") extends over
about 800,000 square miles of CENTRAL ARABIA, with a population of about 1,275,000
arabs, negroes and half-breeds, the majority being Muhammadans of the Wahabite movement.
The capital is RIYADH, but Legations are situated at JEDDA. The two chief ports in the
PERSIAN GULF are QATIF and OJAIR on the HASA littoral. On the east, south and
south-east, SAUDI-ARABIA is bounded by Trucial OMAN, the HADHRAMAUT and OMAN,
respectively, but the exact boundaries are still under discussion. On the south-west SAUDI-
ARABIA borders on the YEMEN.
THE YEMEN
The YEMEN occupies the south-western corner of ARABIA between the district of
ASIR and the ADEN PROTECTORATE, with an estimated area of about 74,000 square miles
^ a population of Si miUbns. The country is ruled by the Imam Yahya, whose capital is
at SANA and who is the head of the Zeydi sect of the Shiah Division of the Muhammadan
religion. The highlands and central portions of the central plateau of the maritime range
6 ? a , r . t ^^ RABIA ' The Chiei P ort is HODEIDA with the lesser ones of
LUHAIYA, MIDI, and MOCHA.
The boundary with the ADEN PROTECTORATE is generally the Anglo-Turkish boundary
demarcated in 1902-04, which commences on the extreme south-western point of ARABIA
Pi St ot St T7 SH i IKH SA V ) ' ^ nd . runs approximately north-east to about NAWAH (see
1 lan 2). 1^ rom this point a further line running north-east was drawn up at the same time but
not demarcated. A certain area east of the demarcated boundary around DHALI was
reoccupied during 1928. By the Anglo-Yemen Treaty of 1934, it was agreed to maintain the
situation existing in regard to the southern frontier of YEMEN, pending negotiations between
the two parties, which should take place before the expiry of the Treaty, namely, 1974.
No eastern boundary with the HADHRAMAUT is in existence.