RAILWAY BUILT FOR PILGRIMS 



171 



longing to the permanent inhabitants of 

 Tebnk. All that were seen were of a 

 distinctly negroid type, different from the 

 nomad Bedoiini. The surrounding coun- 

 try is but sparsely inhabited by Arabs. 



Besides date palms, there are in the 

 gardens a few lemon trees and pome- 

 granates, and outside are some few fields 

 of wheat, cultivated principally as green 

 fodder. The Italian engineer in charge 

 of this section had managed to make a 

 garden in the sand, where by means of 

 irrigation he grew most kinds of Euro- 

 pean vegetables, but none of the inhabi- 

 tants seemed inclined to copy his ex- 

 ample. 



It seems certain that Mohammed visited 

 Tebuk in his earlier wanderings, and 

 tradition refers to Jebel Sherora as the 

 Pulpit of the Prophet, probably from its 

 commanding position overlooking all the 

 surrounding country. 



The rainfall in this country is ex- 

 tremely capricious, and perhaps two or 

 even three years may elapse before there 

 is any appreciable fall here, although at 

 Maan there appears to be always some 

 rain in the spring. 



Of animal life there appears to be very 

 little. An antelope, which the Turks call 

 a wild cow, but which looks to be Oryx 

 beatri.v, is to be found in this district, 

 but only in small numbers. The large 

 troops of gazelle seen north of Maan do 

 not roam here. It is said that the ostrich 

 is occasionally found, and the skin of one 

 specimen is preserved in Maan station. 



The desert air is extremely dry and 

 clear, always invigorating, and even the 

 great heat in summer is not as insupport- 

 able as in a damper climate, where the 

 thermometer is probably lower. Climate 

 has, without doubt, a great effect on the 

 human character and intellect, and the 

 nervous, high-strung temperament of the 

 Arab is to a great extent the creation 

 of his environment of desert, with its 

 splendid mirages to fire the imagination 

 and sparkling air to keep the nerves al- 

 ways alert. 



South of Tebuk want of water is 

 again a great difficulty, and the small 



posts have to be supplied daily from the 

 train. 



At Medain-Salih the valley widens a 

 little, and here are found some rock-cut 

 tombs similar to those at Petra, but far 

 fewer and less ornate. Traces of a town 

 exist, but there is nothing now visible 

 except the usual fort of the pilgrim. 

 Here again, as well as at Tebuk, the site 

 would seem a favorable one for trying 

 artesian wells, but no attempts have been 

 made to prove their success or otherwise. 



The permanent way has been laid 

 throughout by Turkish soldiers, but the 

 station buildings, all of very solid ma- 

 sonry, as well as bridges and culverts, of 

 which there are a great number, have 

 been constructed mostly by Italian work- 

 men, with some Greeks and Montene- 

 grins. As many as three or four hun- 

 dred Italian workmen were employed at 

 one time on the works near Tebnk, and 

 so little did fanaticism come into play 

 that they built the fine new mosque at 

 Tebuk. Subsequently they instructed 

 some Turkish engineers, who continued 

 the work from El Ula to the Holy City 

 itself. 



It is difficult to think of this railway 

 becoming a great highway or developing 

 any great trade with Central Arabia, as 

 the section from Maan to Medina 

 traverses an unproductive country with- 

 out possibility of development, and the 

 interior of Arabia has no surplus prod- 

 ucts to dispose of. In any case, when 

 the line reaches the sea, at Sherm Ra- 

 bigh, it is probable that any trade, either 

 export or import, to Medina or Mecca 

 will pass through that port in preference 

 to the long land journey. 



The following summary of distances 

 shows the extent of the line : 



Damascus to Maan 285 miles 



to Tebnk 430 " 



to El Ula 609 " 



to Medina 820 



to Mecca 1097 " 



The gauge of the line is the somewhat 

 curious one of J. 05 meter (3 feet 5^ 

 inches), which was necessary, when the 

 line was first commenced, to correspond 



