"دليل الجزيرة العربية المجلد I" [‎٥‎٢‎٧] (١٠٥٠/٥٥٨)

dha-dha
527
and though of considerable antiquity, can no longer boast of buildings of any architectural
pretensions. Inside the town is a large open square on to which looks the Huhumah,
or government offices. The hdzirs are mean and narrow, with small, one-storeyed, box
like shops with very limited supplies. As is usually the case in oriental towns, all the
people of one trade live in the same street. The Jews occupy a separate quarter which is
situated to the east of the town and divided from it by a large open space. Dhamar
contains about 4,000 inhabitants. It is the seat of a Qaimmaqam, and possesses an
ancient university.
Near the great square, already referred to, is the principal mosque of the town, a
walled enclosure with three large gates facing the city, and a handsome, though damaged,
minaret. There is another mosque in amongst the hdzdrs. Both these mosques are built
of sun-dried bricks, in the simple undecorative Arab style. There are of course the usual
public baths in the town. The Turkish barracks, which were destroyed by the Arabs
during the revolt of 1891, are situated outside the town on its south side (Harris
1891-2.) K '
DHAMAR—
A village and valley in the Aden Protectorate {q.v.).
PHAMAR-AL-GHAR—
A village of some size in the Sana'a district of Yemen, south-western Arabia. It is
situate:! at a distance of about 3 miles south of Dhatnar, on the route between Sana'a
and Aden.— {Harris.)
DHAMKA (B arh)—
Aden Protectorate.
DHANAIB—
An anchorage on the coast of the Hejaz Tihamah, 8 nautical miles southward of Sharm
Rabigh. It has a good anchorage in from 7 to 10 fathoms ; the coastal plain in the
vicinity is a low sandy desert.— {Bed Sea and Gulf of Aden Pilot, 1909.)
BHANAIN ( al B u ) (T ribe)—
See Na'im (Tribe).
DHANAIN (Y al ) (T ribe)—
See Habus.
DHANK TOWN—
Frequently pronounced Dhanch; the second largest town in the Dhahirah district of the
Oman Sultanate, pleasantly situated at the mouth of a precipitous opening in the
Western Hajar range which forms the exit of Wadi Dhank. Jabal Hafit is visible
from Dhank on a clear day. Dhank is divided into an 'Alayah or upper town of about
5, and a Sifalah or lower town of about 7 quarters, each quarter being ^separately walled.
The houses are mostly of sun-dried brick. Fine date plantations containing about 3,500
palms and orchards of limes and pomegranates surround the town, and on the outskirts
is some cultivation of wheat, lucerne and indigo. Water for irrigation is raised from
wells by bullocks. Livestock comprises 14 horses, 80 camels, 250 donkeys, 350 cattle
and 1,100 sheep and goats. The population of Dhank is about 3,500 souls, belonging to
various sections of the Na'im and some other tribes : in the 'Alayah, which consists of
400^houses, the people are all Na'im; in the Sifalah, containing 300 houses, they are
Na'im of the 'Ayal 'Aziz, 'Ayal Hiyah, Shawamis and Wahaishah sections and Shakur.
{Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf.)
DHANK (W adi)—
Or Wadi Dhanch ; also called Wadi Fida. One of the two chief valleys in the district
of Dhahirah in the Sultanate of 'Oman ; it begins in Western Hajar near Najd-al-Wuqbah,
on the opposite side of which pass Wadi-al- 'Ahin, going to Batinah, has its rise. From
its head to about Yanqul the direction of Waii Dhank is apparently from north to south,
but below Yanqul it runs almost due westward; its final exit from the hills of Western