"كتيّب الجزيرة العربية. مجلد II. ١٩١٧" [‎٤‎٩] (٥٤٢/٥٣)

WESTERN ROUTES (Nos. 17-39)
(iv) Routes in North Hejaz
These are cross-routes running from the ports of Yambo', Wejh,
and Muweilah to points on the Hejaz Railway. The only authority
for the route from Muweilah to Tebuk (Route No. 30) is Wallin, who
traversed it from the coast in 1847. It is a camel-track, and cara
vans usually take four days for the journey. In climbing the coastal
range the ravines are steep and rugged, but the descent on the east
of the watershed is gentle ; there are no recognized halting-places.
Supplies. Water, fuel, and fodder are abundant at Muweilah, and
are apparently obtainable along the route.
Of the two alternative tracks from Wejh to El-'Ala, which are
given in Route No. 31 from reports by officers of the Egyptian army,
the southern and shorter route is mentioned by Doughty as the one
used by the rice and date carrying caravans. It is a route for camel
transport, and was followed by the Egyptian Hajj in 1909-10 on
the down journey ; it goes through mountainous country, as it
crosses the Hejaz coastal range. The northern and longer route,
which is there given as the first alternative, passes over similar
country : it was followed by the Egyptian Hajj in 1909-10 on the
up journey. The route given as a second alternative is that
followed by Euting, in 1884, in the reverse direction. In the Wadi
el-Hamm, one day's march from El-'Ala, he was attacked by
a party of Juheinah, but succeeded in reaching a camp of the Billi
us under whose protection he was travelling. He waited with them
W two days and then resumed his journey, joining another caravan
eifff at the point he had left the route. Euting did the journey from
tall El-'Ala to Wejh in just under five days' actual marching, but he
Me gives no detailed times and few indications of direction.
Supplies. Springs yielding a tepid and brackish water are reported
antjd to occur along the whole of this coast at a slight depth below the
surface of the ground, but the presence of water along the actual
Kflf route is uncertain ; along the first alternative track there are
ulk wells at Kazaz and Beidha, and along the second alternative
track Euting reports water at Dhureib, Meleihah, and in the
reti Wadi esh-Shillul. Fuel and fodder are scarce and other supplies
^iii non-existent,
ilte
k ® The route from Wejh to Medina (Route No. 32) has not been
rt): travelled by any European, and in the following chapter it is only
jfillf possible to describe it schematically ; no details are available as
to supplies along the route.