"دليل الجزيرة العربية المجلد II" [‎١‎٤‎٩‎٠] (٦٨٨/٥٦٣)

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1490 qatar
its entrance at Has Musandam and its head at the mouth of the Shatt-al-'Arah: the
axis of Qatar runs due north and south, and the promontory as a whole measures
about 85 miles in length by about 40 in breadth.
Boundaries. —On the east, north and west Qatar is surrounded by the sea. The
southern boundary is somewhat indeterminate. It begins at the foot of Dohat-as-
Salwa on the western side of the promontory, and from that point runs south-east
wards to the wells of Sakak : thence, according to one account, it strikes east-north
east to the north end of the Naqiyan sandhills, or, according to another, east by south
to the southern end of the same hills on the north side of the entrance to Khor-al-
"'Odaid. As the territory of the Trucial Shaikh of Abu Dhabi has ne-jer clearly been
asserted to extend beyond Khor-al-'Odaid, and as the A1 Thani Shaikhs of Qatar
undoubtedly claim the Xaqiyan tract, the latter of the two alternative lines is to be
preferred : the British Government have recognised Khor-al-'Odaid as belonging to
Abu Dhabi and the boundary consequently cannot be placed nearer to Trucial 'Oman
though the Al Tbani Shaikhs assert a right to the whole coast as far as the Shabakhat
Matti. It is said that three men, stationed at Dohat-as-Salwa, Sakak, and Niqa-al-
Mabarah, respectively, can watch the whole southern border of Qatar from sea to sea.
Physical characteristics. —The interior of Qatar has only once been visited by a Euro
pean ;* but its nature is tolerably well known from native accounts, and a list of the
chief wells and camping grounds is given in this article ; the principal features of the
coast line also are enumerated and described below. Practically the whole pronon-
tory consists of undulating rocky and pebbly desert, and the northern part at least
is very 1 >w ; the level of the rest is generally higher than that of Bahrain Island. The
only hill of any importance is Jabal-at-Tawar. Wells are numerous, and in winter
there are also many pools of water among the rocks. The soil is poor, consisting in the
b 'st localities of gravel and marl mixed with sand ; fields and date groves there are
almost none, and such gardens as exist near towns and villages are small and unpro
ductive, while hardly a tree is to be seen anywhere. The only natural vegetation is
coarse grass, growing in tufts upon the sandhills, and stunted brushwood in places,
i he climate is dry, and at a few miles inland the air appears to be entirelv destitute of
moisture ; nevertheless the rainfall appears to be less scanty than in Bahrain, and fine
crops of natural hay are said to be produced.
Places and features of the coast. —The following are alphabetically arranged lists of
the chief places, bays, headlands, hills, and islands which form or adjoin the coast;
the first table is of those upon the eastern side, the second of those upon the western:—•
East Side of Qatar.
I Name.
Position.f
Nature.
R emarks.
'Abud (Has Abu)
3 miles below
Dohah.
Cape.
••
'Aliyah (Jazlrat-
al-).
3 miles off the coast
8 miles above
Dohah.
Island
Small and uninhabited.
Arq (Ras-al -or
Fasht-al-)
8 miles below
Wakrah.
A coral reef
Projects from the coast
and almost forms a
cape. Also called
Fasht Shuwaimsah.
* Fie., thfi German traveller Herr H Burvharvu ,..u„ ♦ ~ , ,
Mukainis in January 1904. In December 1905 Canted P R Qat, ' lr ./ r ? n ! Dohat-as-Salwa to Dohah vid
Lusail. captain U. B. Pndeaux visited the Bu Hasa oasis, 12 miles from
tin this column " above," means nearer fn th*
it, in following the coast line. ^ promontory, and " below," means further from