"كتيّب بلاد الرافدين. المجلد II. ١٩١٧" [‎٣‎٢‎٥] (٥٤٢/٣٣٤)

EOUTES 16, 17
325
EOUTE 17
KERBELA TO RAMADIYEH (109 m.)
Via S hifatheh . R ahaliyeh, and E otha
Authorities :— Routes in Arabia, 1915, no. 189 ; Lorimer,
Gulf, 1908.
Miles from
Kertoela
o
Kerbela. Track leaves town going W. over desert with
poor grazing for sheep.
Khor Abu Dibs, large lake on the N. at a distance of about
200 yards. It is about 2 m. long and 1 m. broad.
The water is brackish; fit for drinking purposes for
animals, but not for men. (See further, p. 349, bottom.)
The track is here bounded on the S. by low sand-hills.
At this point (m. 7) bearing slightly S. of W. (260°):
flat ground.
Bear W. again: flat ground.
At this point bare sandy desert begins, and the fair grazing
which had previously been obtainable ceases.
Bearing about W. by S. (256°). At this point a lake
can be seen about 1 mile to N. According to native
reports this is brackish and unfit for drinking.
Shifatlieh (or Shetateh) Oasis begins. Pop. about 8,000,
composed of Shiah Arabs (not belonging to the well-
known desert tribes) and a few Persians and Persian
Baluchis. This is a large oasis about 7-8 m. in length,
the same in breadth, with 100,000 palms.
Shifatheh occupies a site which is flat but somewhat above
the level of the surrounding country. The desert in the
neighbourhood is said to be broken up by hollows and
stony mounds. The date plantations of Shifatheh extend
for many square miles, and among them are scattered,
at intervals of about ^-1 m., 17 or walled villages.
The four largest qasrs, 'Ain, Darawisheh, Hasawi, and
A1 Bu Zain ed-Dln, contain about 200 houses each;
the smallest has 50 houses. The enclosing walls of these
qasrs are 9-12 ft. high and about 1 ft. thick. The houses
are of mud, and very poorly constructed. The oasis is irri-