"دليل الجزيرة العربية المجلد II" [‎١‎٥‎٣‎٦] (٦٨٨/٦٠٩)

1536
QUR—QUE
Euphrates and Shatt-al-'Arab, on which its entire character depends The nrinciml
tribes of the Qadha are Ahl-al-Jazair, Qatamah, Bani Malik and Bani Mansur of these
the first and the last are found on both banks of the Euphrates and on the right bank
of the Shatt-al-'Arab the whole way from Hammar to Sharish, while the Bani Malik
are found chiefly on the eastern side of the Shatt-al-'Arab.
Population. The fixed population of the Qadha is estimated at 30 000 souls and
nearly all of these are Arabs belonging to the Shi'ah sections of Islam.
Resources. —Qumah is a damp and unhealthy district, but fertile arid well irrigated'
Large quantities of dates and rice and smaller quantities of wheU and barlav are nro-
duced year by year ; and livestock are abundant, especially buffaloes. The only local
manufacture is one of reed mats.
Administr'Uion.—qnmah is divided into 4 Nahiyahs besides that forming the head
quarters or Markaz : they are Dair-wa-Sharish, on the right bank of the Shatt-al-'Arab •
Madinah, upon both sides of the Euphrates before its junction with the Tigris • Bani
Mansur; and Nashwah on the left bank of the Shatt-al-'Arab. The headquarters of
the first, third and fourth of these are the villages of Sharish, Madinah and Nashwah
respectively. '
QURNAH VILLAGE—
A small municipality in 'Iraq, situated between the Tigris and the old bed of the
Euphrates.
Qumah consists of about 160 houses with a large number o* huts ; and the inhabitants
who are almost all Shi'ah Arabs of the Bani Mansur and Ahl Nahairat tribes, mav number
about 2,000 souls. Many natives of the place are employed as lightermen at Basrah
and elsewhere. The neighbourhood produces dates, barley, wheat and rice and many
buffaloes ; but the climate is unhealthy and there is very little trade. The only manufac
ture is of fine summer 'Abas, some of which (it is said) can be passed through a finger-
ring and are called Khachiyah : Qumah was also famous for a kind of cheese which is
made in strands and plaited together for sale.
The position of the town, commanding both rivers where neither is more than 100
yards broad and the water in each is 20 to 30 feet deep, is one of high administrative
and military importance, and the fact was realised, though imperfectly by the Turks
Qumah is the headquarters of the Qadha of the same name. There are a quarantine
station and a telegraph office, the line from Basrah to Baghdad dividing at the latter
into two branches, one of which follows the Tigris and the other the Euphrates
valley. r
\ She present Qumah was founded more than 100 years ago by the Turks, who fortified
it with a double wall on the landward side against Persian attack ; but the name existed
as early as the 17th century, and there was a " castle " even in the 16th. Qumah is said
to occupy the site of a more ancient place called Dighah, while local tradition even
places the Garden of Eden here and points to a tree, still in existence, as planted by the
patriarch Noah. Qumah has greatly increased, both in size and importance, since the
Turkish evacuation. It is at present the terminus of the Tigr s railway.
QURR—
A hamlet in Wadi Tayin {q .v.), in the Sultanate of 'Oman, eastern Arabia.
QURTA'—
A hamlet, or small village in Wadi Samail {q.v.) in the Sultanate of 'Oman. Qurta'
is about a mile below Bidbid. ^
QURTUBAH—
One of the tracts in the Salahiyah Nahiyah of the Shamiyah Qadha {q .v.), in' Iraq.
QURUN
One of the sub-divisions of the Bani Ruwahah {q .v.) of the 'Oman Sultanate.
QURWASH (B ani)—
A section of the Bani Jabir tribe {q .v.) of the 'Oman Sultanate.