Travels In Arabia

J >> John Lewis Burckhardt >> Travels In Arabia

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In that mountain are large caves or habitations cut out of the rock,
with sculptured figures of men and various animals, small pillars on
both sides of the entrances, and, if I may believe the testimony of
Bedouins, numerous inscriptions over the doors; but I am inclined to
think that the Arabs may have mistaken sculptured ornaments for letters.
The rock is of a blackish colour, probably volcanic, for there is a
lukewarm well in the vicinity. My illness at Medina, and subsequent
weakness, prevented me from visiting this spot, from whence I might, in
a straight direction, have proceeded to Akaba, on the extremity of the
eastern gulf of the Red Sea.

The Bedouins call the whole country between Hedye and Oela (a more
northern station of the pilgrims) the district of Sheffa. From thence to
Akaba el Sham, or the Syrian Akaba, (likewise a Hadj station), the
country is called Essafha. It is this Akaba that may be properly
described as the boundary of Arabia towards Syria. Here a steep mountain
extends for several days' journey westward towards the Red Sea, and
eastward towards the interior of the Desert. On the north of that
mountain we enter the higher or upper plain, which continues to
Damascus. Between the Syrian Akaba and the Egyptian Akaba is another
pass through the same mountain, called Bab el Nedjed, or the "Gate of
Nedjed," because here the Bedouins of southern Syria (or, as they are
called by the Arabian Bedouins, Ahl el Shemal, "People of the North,")
pass on their way to Nedjed. In those passes the Wahabys, when they make
excursions against the Bedouins, leave strong guards, to secure their
own retreat.

The Hadj route from Medina direct to Syria is not much frequented even
in time of

[p.458] peace. Sometimes a few Bedouin merchants take camel-loads of
coffee-beans by this road to Damascus; but it is infested by strolling
parties of the Beni Omran and Howeytat tribes, who live in the western
mountain, and frequently descend to rob travellers in the plain. The
most frequented route to the north of Medina is towards the country of
Kasym, which, as I have already mentioned, supplies Medina in time of
peace with all sorts of provisions. The route to Kasym lies between the
Hadj route on one side, and the straight road to Derayeh (the Wahaby
capital) on the other. The direction of the province of Kasym, as well
as of Nedjed, was often pointed out to me at Medina, and I always found.
it to be

E. 1/2 N. for Kasym
E. by S. for Derayeh bearing from Medina.

Between the Hadj road and that to Kasym lies a third route, leading
straight from Medina to the province of Djebel Shammar, which in
peaceable times is much frequented; but the most common way from Medina
to Djebel Shammar is by Kasym, two days longer than the last route, but
less fatiguing for camels, because there is abundance of water on this
road, and very little on the other.

Caravans going from Medina to Kasym visit the following stations:

Medina.--At one hour's walk beyond the gardens (the road passing E. of
Djebel Ohod) is an open space called El Areydh, with the tomb of a
sheikh, having a cupola over it. Near this is a well, named Byr Rasheyd.

3 hours from thence is El Hafna, with the bed of a torrent.

19 hours. Soweyder. The road from Hafna to this place is rocky, with two
ascents, difficult for camels, and wholly without water. Soweyder lies
between two mountains, and has some wells of brackish water dug in the
ground; also Doum date-trees. The road from Medina to this place is
inhabited by Mezeyne (or Omzeyne) Arabs, of the Beni Harb tribe, and by
the Heteym and Beni Safar Arabs, also of the same tribe.

4 hours. A valley, with wells and Doum date-trees.

7 hours. Hanakye, in the plain, with many ponds and wells of sweet water
dug in the ground. At a certain depth water is always found here. The
ruins of an ancient castle, in the Saracen style, are visible; and here
date-trees grow. This important position is frequently visited by the
Bedouin tribes.

6 hours. Abou Khesheyb. The road from Hanakye to this place is on a
sandy plain. Abou Khesheyb lies between two mountains, and affords good
well-water.

12 hours. El Heymedj, a station having sweet and saltish water.

8 hours. El Mawat. The road from Heymedj to this place is sandy, with
low mountains, no trees; the herb called adjref grows here. The pasture-
ground of the Beni Harb tribe extends as far as Heymedj: then begin the
pastures of the Meteyr Arabs. El Mawat has the best water on the whole
route: it is a sandy spot in an inlet of the mountains.

16 hours. El Badje. The road from Mawat to this place is without water,
on a sandy plain, having mountains on both sides: the chain on the left
is called Taaye. Badje is an extensive tract, with trees and herbage,
and wells both of sweet and brackish water.

3 hours. Neffoud, or, as it is called from the soil, Gherek-ed-Dessem, a
plain of deep

[p.459] sand, four hours long, after which the road becomes less sandy
and difficult, being covered with small stones.

14 hours. Djerdawye, a plain with wells of good water; from thence in

7 hours, to Dat, the first town of Kasym.--In all, one hundred hours.

From Dat to Rass, one of the chief towns of Kasym, is four or five
hours. From Rass to a place called Khabara, five hours; and from Khabara
to Shebeybe, four hours. According to the night journies of the
Bedouins, one hundred hours are equal to ten or eleven marches by day.
The journey here detailed was performed by Tousoun Pasha's army at
night. Three days from Medina to Hanakye, and eight days from thence to
Dat. A person belonging to the court of Tousoun Pasha measured the
distance by his watch. The caravans, loaded with corn, are generally ten
or eleven days on the road between Medina and Rass.

Kasym, which is the most fertile district in the province of Nedjed,
begins at Dat. The name of Nedjed, signifying high or elevated ground,
is given to this country in opposition to Tehama or "low lands," applied
to the sea-coast. It seems to be an oblong tract, extending between
three and four days' journies from west to east, and two journies in
breadth south to north. Within this space are above twenty-six small
towns or villages, well peopled, in a cultivated territory, irrigated by
water from numerous wells. The chief town is Bereyda, where resides the
Sheikh of Kasym, an old man named El Hedjeylan, once an enemy to the
Wahabys, now a convert to their doctrine. The neighbourhood of Rass
produces the most corn; and that part of Kasym about Dat and Rass lies
nearest to Medina. In time of peace, regular caravans arrive every month
at Medina from Rass. Tousoun Pasha's army found plenty of provisions in
the few villages of Kasym which they occupied.

The most considerable place in Kasym is Aneyzy, said to be equal in size
to Siout in Upper Egypt, which contained, according to the French
computation, three thousand houses. Aneyzy has bazars, and is inhabited
by respectable Arab merchants. Of the other towns and villages, the
following are most noted:--Es' Shenane, Balgha, Heshashye, El Helalye, El
Bekeyrye, Batah el Nebhanye, Ashebeybe, Ayoun, Kowar, and Mozneb.

Small tribes of the Aenezes, of Ateybe (whose chief seat is on the
Hedjaz mountains inhabited by the Beni Harb), of Meteyr, and others,
encamp during the whole year among the plains of Kasym, which afford
excellent pasturage.

Between Kasym and Derayeh, the capital of Nedjed, the intermediate
district, mostly a desert, is called El Woshem: from the eastern
extremity of the district of Kasym to Derayeh is a distance of five
days. The last place in Kasym, on this side, is Mozneb then begins Wady
Sarr, a broad sandy valley with pasturage, which continues for several
days towards Derayeh through the district of Woshem.

Nedjed, near Derayeh, assumes the name of El Aredh, a district once
separate from Nedjed, but now considered as belonging to it. El Aredh is
less fertile than El Kasym, from which, in fact, it is partly supplied
with provisions. Its principal town, Derayeb, has always been a place of
note, but much increased since it has become the capital of the Wahaby
power and sect. Its direction was often indicated to me; and I found it
to bear from Medina E. by S. (variation not computed); the bearing of
Kasym from Medina,

[p.460] E. 1/2 N. Derayeh is situated in a valley, the inlets and outlets
of which on the N. and S. sides are very narrow, admitting only one
camel at a time. The houses (many built of stone) are placed on the
declivities of both mountains, the valley itself being throughout very
narrow. The town is not walled. The number of inhabitants may be
estimated, according to the report of the Bedouins, who state that the
town furnished three thousand men armed with firelocks to the Wahaby
chief: they are composed of different tribes, principally the Mekren, a
branch of the Messalykh, part of the great Aeneze race. All the
inhabitants of Nedjed trace their pedigrees to some ancient Bedouin
tribe; thus the people of Rass claim descent from the Beni Yam, who now
reside at Nedjran, in Yemen. The smaller tribe of Beni Lam (related to
those of the same name on the river Tigris, but not, like them, of the
sect of Aly), and the small tribe of Essehoun, dwell in the Aredh, and
seldom encamp beyond its limits. Derayeh is supplied with water from
wells. Ibn Saoud, the late Wahaby chief, discovered a spring behind this
house, which he built, and wished to persuade the people that God had
inspired him on the occasion. The mansion of the Wahaby chief stands on
the mountain, at about ten minutes' walk from the town: it is spacious,
but without any splendid apartments: all the married members of the
reigning family have their own chambers; and there are many rooms for
guests, with whom the house is constantly filled; for all the chiefs of
tribes who come to Derayeh on business are invited to the mansion or
palace of the great Sheikh. There are not any khans or public inns, so
that every stranger quarters himself upon some inhabitant; and the
people of Derayeh are proverbially hospitable. The immediate
neighbourhood is barren, yielding only some date-trees. Derayeh is
supplied with provisions chiefly from Dhoroma, a large and populous
village, one day's journey towards the E. or N.E., which has gardens and
orchards well watered from copious wells.

From Derayeh to Mekka is a distance of eleven or twelve long caravan
days' journies. For three days beyond Derayeh are found cultivated spots
and small settlements of Arabs; the rest of the road is through a desert
country, as far as Wady Zeyme, two days from Mekka. The distance from
Rass (in Kasym) to Mekka is also computed at twelve days' journey. This
latter road abounds more with water than the former, and likewise passes
by Wady Zeyme.

A straight road from Nedjed to the mountains of Hedjaz (I use this word
here in the Bedouin sense, meaning the mountains south of Tayf), and to
the country of Beishe and Yemen, passes by the village of Derye, on the
southern extremity of Nedjed, on the great road from Kasym to Mekka. The
road from Derye to Beishe lies four or five days east of Mekka. Between
Derye and Taraba (above mentioned) is a pasture-land, with many wells,
called El Bakarra, a well-known halting-place of all the Bedouins of
these countries. It belongs to the Kereyshat tribe, a branch of the
Sabya Arabs inhabiting Ranye.

Nedjed is celebrated throughout Arabia for its excellent pastures, which
abound even in its deserts after rain: its plains are frequented by
innumerable Bedouins, who continue there for most of the year, and
purchase corn and barley from the inhabitants. During the rainy season
these Bedouins retire towards the interior of the Desert, where they
remain until the rain-water collected in the hollow grounds is consumed
by their cattle. Previous to the Wahaby establishment, the pasturage of
Nedjed belonged exclusively to the Aenezes,

[p.461] which I have already mentioned as the largest of all the Bedouin
tribes of Arabia. Great numbers of them frequented this territory in
spring, and kept off all the other tribes, except the powerful Meteyr,
who reside in the Desert between Kasym and Medina. These strengthened
their party by an alliance with the Kahtan Arabs, while the Aenezes were
assisted by the Beni Shaman. Between these tribes an inveterate hatred
subsisted, which every spring was the cause of much bloodshed, and
checked the commercial intercourse with the Hedjaz; and both parties
levied contributions on the settled inhabitants of Nedjed: but this
custom has been abolished by the Wahabys, whose chief, instead, receives
a regular tribute, and has reconciled the hostile parties, and opened
the pastures of Nedjed to any tribes of Wahabys who may choose to
frequent them. A Bedouin assured me that twenty encampments of different
tribes may now be seen here in the course of one day's march--such is the
security maintained by the Wahaby chief, who is inexorable in the
punishment of robbers.

The fine pastures of Nedjed have produced an excellent breed of camels,
more numerous here than in any other Arabian province of equal extent.
The Arabs call this country Om el Bel, or "the mother of camels," and
resort to it from all quarters for the supply of their own herds; and it
constantly furnishes not only Hedjaz, but Syria and Yemen, with camels,
of which useful creatures an ordinary one is sold for about ten dollars
in Nedjed. In this country there is also a most excellent breed of
horses, so remarkable that the finest blood Arabs are properly
denominated Kheyl Nedjade, or Nedjed horses. But the Wahaby power has
caused a diminution of this breed; for many Arabs have sold their best
horses in foreign parts, lest they should be forced to attend the Wahaby
chief, who, in his wars, frequently required cavalry.

Nedjed, however, is often subject to scarcity, caused by the failure of
rain, and consequently of herbage: this soon affects the cattle of the
Bedouins, who seldom expect, in this country, more than three or four
successive years of plenty, although absolute famine does not occur
above once in ten, or perhaps fifteen years. It is generally accompanied
by epidemical diseases, much like the plague, consisting of violent
fevers (but without biles or buboes,) that prove fatal to great numbers.
Nedjed is peopled by small tribes of Bedouins, who never leave it, and
by settlers intermarried with them, and often travelling as merchants to
Damascus, Baghdad, Medina, Mekka, and Yemen: they export camels and
woollen cloaks (abbas), of which the best are manufactured at El Hassa;
and from Baghdad they receive rice, (the produce of the banks of the
Tigris), and articles of dress, especially the keffies, or
handkerchiefs, striped green and yellow, of cotton, wool, or silk: these
the Bedouins wear over their bonnets. From Mekka they get coffee, drugs,
and perfumes, much used among them, particularly the perfume called
Arez, which comes from Mokha. In general there is a spirit of commerce
very prevalent in Nedjed, where the merchants are wealthy and of better
repute for honesty than most of the Eastern traders. The settlers here
are armed with matchlocks, and constitute the best portion of the Wababy
infantry: they are generally successful against the Bedouins who invade
their crops or pastures; and, as saltpetre is found in Nedjed, every
family makes its own yearly provision of gunpowder.

In Nedjed are many ancient wells, lined with stone, and ascribed by the
inhabitants to a primeval race of giants. They are generally from
twenty-five to thirty fathoms deep, and

[p.462] mostly the property of individuals, who exact a certain
contribution from the tribes whose cattle they supply with water. Here
likewise are numerous remains of ancient buildings, of very massive
structure and large dimensions, but in a state of complete ruin. These
are attributed to a primitive (or perhaps a fabulous) tribe of Arabs,
the Beni Tamour, of whose supposed works some vestiges are likewise seen
in the Syrian deserts eastward of the plains of Hauran.

Of all the Bedouin tribes that exist in Arabia, some few families at
least may be found in Nedjed, to which refugees fly for security against
their enemies. This country, in fact, is not only the seat of the Wahaby
government, but seems the most important of the interior districts of
Arabia, from its fertility and population, its central position, and
facility of intercourse with other provinces. To acquire a perfect
knowledge of the Bedouins, it would be necessary to examine them in
Nedjed, where their manners continue unaltered by conquest, and
retaining all their original purity: nor have they been contaminated by
an influx of strangers; for, except the Hadj caravan coming from
Baghdad, no foreigners ever pass through Nedjed. For this reason I
consider Nedjed and the mountains between Tayf and Sanaa as the most
interesting portion of Arabia, affording more objects of inquiry to a
traveller than any other part of the peninsula.

From Derayeh eastward towards the Persian Gulf, the country is called
Zedeyr, as far as the limits of the province of El Hassa, six days
distant from Derayeh, of which three days are without water. The
district of Hassa (or, as it is sometimes written, El Ahsa) is
celebrated for its numerous wells, and extends for about two days'
journey parallel with the sea-coast, from which it is distant, inland,
fifty or sixty miles. In breadth it is about thirty-five miles. The
abundance of water enables the Arabs to cultivate clover, which serves
to feed their finest horses. The Wahaby chief sends all his horses to
this place every season.

The town of El Hassa (built by the Karmates in the tenth century) is
populous; in it reside some wealthy merchants. It has walls and towers,
and was successfully defended against the Pasha of Baghdad in 1797. It
is one of the principal strongholds of the Wahabys; and their chief
derives from this fertile district the greater part of his income. The
sea-port for El Hassa is Akyr, a small town on the Persian Gulf, much
frequented by the Arabs of Maskat and the pirates of the Kowasem (qy.
Jowasem) tribe, who inhabit the port of Ras el Kheyme. The woollen
cloaks, of abbas, made at El Hassa are in great demand all over Arabia
and Mesopotamia: they cost from ten to fifty dollars each.

The territory of Hassa contains about twenty villages: the principal
Bedouins that inhabit it are the Beni Khaled (a tribe extended over many
parts of Arabia), the Bisher Arabs, a tribe of the Benezes, and the El
Zab tribe. Here also, as well as in Nedjed, are some of the Beni
Hosseyn, a tribe belonging to the Persian sect of Moslims.

Between El Hassa and. Basra, water abounds. The road from Derayeh to
Baghdad leads through the provinces of Kasym and Djebel Shammar, taking
a western direction, because in a direct line no water is found in the
Desert. Having reached Kowar, a small town on the frontiers of Kasym,
towards Djebel Shammar (eight days from Derayeh), the traveller proceeds
one day's journey to Kahfe, a village within the territory of Djebel
Shammar. The road continues two days in the cultivated parts of this
province as far as the well of

[p.463] Shebeyke, which bounds Shammar on this side. From thence is one
day's journey to Lyne, famous for its numerous and abundant wells, that
supplied the whole Wababy army with water: this place is much frequented
by the Aeneze Arabs. Between Nedjed and the Euphrates a well in the
Desert furnishes sulphur to the powder manufactories of Nedjed.

From Lyne three days' journey, in a desert without water, brings the
traveller to the well of Shebekka, and from that one day to the town of
Meshehd Aly. This is the summer route in winter, when the rain-water is
collected in ponds on the way, the Arabs travel from the well of
Shebekka by the road called Derb Bereydha, the ancient Hadj route of the
Khalifes when they went on pilgrimage. Here are many tanks, cased with
stone, constructed by the Khalifes to supply the pilgrims with water;
and the road passes straight on from Meshehd Aly towards Djebel Shammar,
without touching at Lyne. From Meshehd Aly to Djebel Shammar the
distance is reckoned eight days, and the traveller from Baghdad to
Nedjed always passes by the tomb of Aly. This route is much frequented,
especially by the Ageyl Arabs of Baghdad, of whom many are from Nedjed,
which they often visit as pedlars. All the Arabian Bedouins settled in
the suburbs of Baghdad are comprised under the name of Ageyl. This was
once a powerful tribe, but it has much degenerated.

Through the province of Djebel Shammar, or, as it is commonly called, El
Djebel, lies also the road from Nedjed to Damascus. It is a mountainous
tract to the N.E. of the province of Kasym, bearing from Medina E.N.E.
Its inhabitants are the powerful Beni Shammar, a tribe of which some
have passed over to Mesopotamia. Their Sheikh, Ibn Aly, is a main
supporter of the Wahaby government. They are said to muster seven
thousand matchlocks; and, like their neighbours in Nedjed, they
cultivate palm-trees by means of water drawn up from wells in leathern
buckets by camels. One of the principal towns in Djebel Shammar, is El
Mestadjedde: the chief town is said to be El Hayl; and the neat in size,
Kofar.

From Djebel Shammar to Damascus the road passes by the district El Djof,
which is five days distant from it. The road is of deep sand, without
any water but what is afforded by the well of Shageyg, four days from
Djebel Shammar, and one from Djof. I believe that there is no other
station of equal length entirely destitute of water, in any part of
Arabia frequented by caravans, like the four days between Djebel and
Shageyg. The well of Shageyg belongs to the Aenezy tribe of Rowalla; and
whoever wishes to go from Southern Syria to Nedjed, must necessarily
pass here. There is not any water from Djof southwards, in a direct line
towards Khaibar and Medina; the road is therefore not frequented. Arabs
going from Djof to Medina must pass by Shageyg and Shammar and Kasym,
taking a circuitous route.

My residence at Medina in time of war, when the eastern and northern
Bedouins were hostile, and did not come into the town, prevented me from
acquiring as much information as if a peaceable intercourse had
subsisted. Whenever this is the case, small caravans from Khaibar and
Teyme frequently repair to Medina. Khaibar is well known in Arabian
history, as the scene of early Muselman wars under Mohammed, Aly, and
their successors. It is said to be four or five days (some say only
three) from Medina, the road passing between the Hadj route to Damascus
and the route to Kasym. The Arabs of Khaibar, in time of

[p.464] peace, bring their dates for sale to Medina. They are said to be
of a darker complexion than the surrounding Bedouins: this may be caused
by the great heat in the low situation of that place. Khaibar is about
six hours distant from the Hadj route to Syria, and lies, I believe, in
a direction N.E. from Medina. It appears in former times to have formed
part of the territory of the Sherif of Mekka. When the Sherif Hassan
Abou Nema was installed in 966, (A.H.) his territory, as we learn from
Asamy, comprised Mekka, Tayf, Gonfode, Haly, Yembo, Medina, and Khaibar.
The present inhabitants of Khaibar are the Wold Aly, a tribe of Aenezes
mustering about three hundred horsemen, whose sheikh Aleyda
distinguished himself in the Wahaby war. Another branch of the Wold Aly
inhabit the deserts near Hauran, south of Damascus. At Khaibar also are
encampments of the Oulad Soleyman, a tribe of the Bisher Arabs (likewise
of the Aeneze nation); but the Wold Aly possess the ground and the date-
plantations.

A colony of Jews formerly settled at Khaibar has wholly disappeared. It
is commonly believed at Mekka and Djidda, that their descendants still
exist there, strictly performing the duties of their religion; but, upon
minute inquiry at Medina, I found this notion to be unfounded, nor are
there any Jews in the northern parts of the Arabian Desert. The Jews who
were formerly settled in Arabia, belonged to the tribe of Beni Koreyta
(Caraites). They came to Medina after Nebuchadnezzar had taken
Jerusalem; when Kerb Ibn Hassan el Hemyary (one of the Toba kings of
Yemen who had possessed themselves of Mekka) made an inroad towards
Medina, which he besieged, and on his return from thence carried some of
the Beni Koreyta with him to Yemen. These are the first Jews who settled
in that country, and their descendants still remain at Szanaa. (See
Samhoudy's History of Medina.)

The small town of Teyme is three days from Khaibar, and as many from
Hedjer, in an eastern direction. It is inhabited by the Aeneze Arabs,
and abounds with dates. It belongs neither to Nedjed nor Kasym, and,
like Kbaibar, was an independent Bedouin settlement before the time of
the Wahabys. Those small towns in the interior of the Arabian Desert,
are like the Oases in the Libyan; and serve as points of intercourse
between the Bedouins and the neighbouring cultivated countries. Their
Bedouin inhabitants are agriculturists, and mostly petty merchants who
sell to their wandering brethren of the Desert the goods which they
purchase at the first cost in the Syrian or Arabian towns. Beginning
northward with the small town of Deir on the Euphrates, we can trace a
line of these oases that form advanced points towards the Desert all the
way south as far as Medina. Deir, Sokhne, Tedmor, Djof, Maan, Ola,
Khaibar, and Teyme, are all inhabited by Bedouins, who cultivate the
soil, and form an intermediate class between Bedouins and peasants.
These positions would be highly important to those who might wish to
subdue, or at least to check the Bedouins; and they might become of
still greater importance, in being rendered the means of inspiring the
whole Bedouin nation with more amicable sentiments towards the Syrian
and Hedjaz inhabitants.