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HEJAZ (H1JAz)
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See also:HEJAZ (H1JAz) , a See also:Turkish vilayet and a See also:province of Western See also:Arabia, extending along the Red See also:Sea See also:coast from the See also:head of the Gulf of See also:Akaba in 29° 30' N. to the See also:south of Taif in 20° N. It is bounded N. by See also:Syria, E. by the Nafud See also:desert and by See also:Nejd and S. by See also:Asir. Its length is about 750 M. and its greatest breadth from the Harra See also:east of Khaibar to the coast is 200 M. The name Hejaz, which signifies " separating," is sometimes limited to the region extending from See also:Medina in the See also:north to Taif in the south, which separates the See also:island province of Nejd from the Tehama (Tihama) or coastal See also:district, but most authorities, both Arab and See also:European, define it in the wider sense. Though physically the most desolate and uninviting province in Arabia, it has a See also:special See also:interest and importance as containing the two sacred cities of See also:Islam, See also:Mecca and Medina (q.v.), respectively the birthplace and See also:burial-See also:place of See also:Mahomet, which are visited yearly by large See also:numbers of Moslem pilgrims from all parts of the See also:world. Hejaz is divided longitudinally by the Tehama range of mountains into two zones, a narrow littoral and a broader upland. This range attains its greatest height in See also:Jebel Shar, the See also:Mount Seir of scripture, overlooking the See also:Midian coast, which probably reaches 7000 ft., and Jebel Radhwa a little N.E. of Yambu rising to 6000 ft. It is broken through by several valleys which carry off the drainage of the inland See also:zone; the See also:principal of these is the See also:Wadi Hamd, the See also:main source of which is on the Harra east of Khaibar. Its See also:northern tributary the Wadi Jizil drains the Harrat el Awerid and a See also:southern See also:branch comes from the neighbourhood of Medina. Farther south the Wadi es Safra cuts through the mountains and affords the principal See also:access to the valley of Medina from Yambu or See also:Jidda. None of the Hejaz Wadis has a perennial stream, but they are liable to heavy floods after the See also:winter rains, and thick groves of date-palms and occasional settlements are met with along their courses wherever permanent springs are found. The northern See also:part of Hejaz contains but few inhabited sites. Muwela, Damgha and El Wijh are small ports used by See also:coasting See also:craft. The last inherit as parceners, and made but one See also:heir. at See also:common See also:law), but by and their See also:capital Deraiya in Nejd taken by See also:Ibrahim See also:Pasha in 1817. Hejaz remained in See also:Egyptian occupation until 1845, when its See also:administration was taken over directly by See also:Constantinople, and it was constituted a vilayet under a vali or See also:governor-See also:general. The See also:population is estimated at 300,000, about See also:half of which are inhabitants of the towns and the See also:remainder Bedouin, leading a See also:nomad or See also:pastoral See also:life. The principal tribes are the Sherarat, Beni Atiya and Huwetat in the north; the Juhena between Yambu' and Medina, and the various sections of the Harb throughout the centre and south; the Ateba also See also:touch the Mecca border on the south-east. All these tribes receive surra or See also:money payments of large amount from the Turkish See also:government to ensure the safe conduct of the See also:annual See also:pilgrimage, otherwise they are practically See also:independent of the Turkish administration, which is limited to the large towns and garrisons. The troops occupying these latter belong to the 16th (Hejaz) See also:division of the Turkish See also:army. The difficulties of communication with his Arabian provinces, and of relieving or reinforcing the garrisons there, induced the See also:sultan Abdul Hamid in 1900 to undertake the See also:con- The struction of a railway directly connecting the Hejaz Hejaz railway. cities with See also:Damascus without the See also:necessity of leaving Turkish territory at any point, as hitherto required by the See also:Suez See also:Canal. Actual construction was begun in May 1901 and on the 1st of See also:September 1904 the See also:section Damascus-Ma'an (285 m.) was officially opened. The See also:line has a narrow See also:gauge of 1.05 See also:metre= 41 in., the same gauge as that of the Damascus-See also:Beirut line; it has a ruling gradient of 1 in 5o and follows generally the See also:pilgrim track, through a desert See also:country presenting no serious See also:engineering difficulties. The graver difficulties due to the scarcity of See also:water, and the lack of See also:fuel, supplies and labour were successfully overcome; in 1906 the line was completed to El Akhdar, 470 M. from Damascus and 350 from Medina, in See also:time to be used by the pilgrim See also:caravan of that See also:year; and the section to Medina was opened in 1908. Its military value was shown in the previous year, when it conveyed 28 battalions from Damascus to Ma'an, from which station the troops marched to Akaba for embarkation en route to See also:Hodeda. The length of the line from Damascus to Medina is approximately 82o m., and from Medina to Mecca 28o m.; the highest level attained is about 4000 ft. at See also:Dar el Hamra in the section Ma'an-Medina. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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