48 
S. B. Miles —On the route between 
[No. 1, 
dried and salt-fish going up to el-Bereymi, where the consumption of 
these articles is very considerable. The elevation of this place was found 
to be 850. The road we have been travelling lies almost entirely along 
the smooth sandy bed of the Wadis or torrents, and presents no difficulties 
of any kind to communication. For the first 30 miles or so from Sohar the 
road winds up Wadi Jezze, and for 10 miles more its confluent Wadi 
’Abileh. We then cross the ridge of the chain, here very low and not 
exceeding 1,900 feet, while the peaks on each side reach about 3,000. On 
descending the other side, we find ourselves on the plain of el-Jow, which 
borders on the great desert. Though heavy in places, the road is quite 
practicable for guns, and I remember no place that would be likely to cause 
artillery more than an hour’s detention. The mountain range that has been 
crossed is part of the chain leading from Bas Mosandim u»\j) to Jebel 
Akhdhar, and divides the provinces of el-Dhahireh and el-Batineh. The 
hilly district between these two provinces is styled el-H ajar by the 
Arabs, but there is no general name for the range that connects Jebel Akhdhar 
with Ruus el-Jebal. The water-sheds towards Buus el- Jebal lie east and 
west, while lower down towards Jebel Akhdhar, they lie N. E. and S. W. 
Bunning water was met with by me only in Wadi Jezze from Hail to Sehlat, 
and then never more than a few inches deep, but there is no scarcity of 
water anywhere. The inhabited spots are irrigated both by canals drawn 
from the stream, and by wells. The rocks met with were mostly sediment¬ 
ary, the principal being a very dark limestone and an argillaceous slate, 
the latter lying in great angles. The bed of Wadi Jezze is cut through 
a breccia containing fragments of granite, green limestone, quartz, and a 
beautifully variegated sandstone, and the breccia or conglomerate is pene¬ 
trated in some places by masses of slate or shale. The range is very peaked 
and sharp ridged, and here and there the strata were in waves, appearing as 
if the rock had been at some period subjected to pressure. Throughout the 
whole route, the aspect of the country is extremely barren and sterile, and, 
as might be expected, is unable to sustain much animal life. The only 
wild animals, I noticed, were a few ravine deer and foxes, and birds were 
everywhere extremely rare. On starting the following morning, we pro¬ 
ceeded down the bank of Wadi el-’Aweyneh of the el-Mokabil, 
who occupy chiefly the upper part, where it is well wooded, and where run¬ 
ning water is abundant. In an hour and a half we reached Jebel Grharabeh, 
(&j| y- (J-^) where, as I had already learnt from Sheikh Bashid, who had been 
regaling me throughout the journey with the traditionary lore of ’Oman, 
were situated the ruins of the citadel of ’Oman, the pristine name of Sohar, 
at one time the capital of the whole country. I determined here to take 
the opportunity of exploring these interesting and ancient ruins, which are 
probably not paralleled in ’Oman, and accordingly made a short halt for the 
