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Turks thus obtained a footing in Katr, which they have retained ever since. Turkish occupation (now firmly established throughout El Hasa) includes Katif (the See also:

ancient See also:

GERRHA (Arab. al-Jar'a)

Gerrha), and El Bidia on the coast of Katr. But the See also:

pearl See also:

FISHERIES

fisheries of Katr are still under the See also:

PROTECTION

protection of the chiefs of Bahrein, who are themselves under See also:

BRITISH

British See also:

SUZERAINTY

suzerainty. In 1895 the See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief of Katr (See also:

SHEIKH, or SHAIKH

Sheikh Jasim See also:

BEN (from Old Eng. bennan, within)

ben Thani), instigated by the Turks, attacked Sheikh Isa of Bahrein, but his See also:

FLEET

fleet of dhows was destroyed by a British gunboat, and Bahrein (like See also:

ZANZIBAR

Zanzibar) has since been detached from Oman and placed directly under British protection. Oman is a mountainous See also:

DISTRICT

district dominated by a range called See also:

JEBEL (plur. jibed)

Jebel Akhdar (or the See also:

Green See also:

Mountain), which is 1o,000 ft. in See also:

ALTITUDE (Lat. altitudo, from altus, high)

altitude, and is flanked by See also:

minor ranges See also:

RUNNING

running approximately parallel to the coast, and shutting off the harbours from the interior. They enclose long lateral valleys, some of which are fertile and highly cultivated, and traversed by narrow precipitous See also:

GORGES, SIR FERDINANDO (c. 1566-1647)

gorges at intervals, which See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form the only means of See also:

ACCESS (Lat. accessus)

access to the interior from the See also:

sea. Beyond the mountains which flank the cultivated valleys of Semail and Tyin, to the west, there stretches the See also:

GREAT

great Ruba el Khali, or Dahna, the central See also:

DESERT

desert of southern Arabia, which reaches across the See also:

CONTINENT (from Lat. continere, "to hold together "; hence " connected," " continuous ")

continent to the borders of See also:

YEMEN (Yaman)

Yemen, isolating the See also:

province on the landward See also:

side just as the rugged mountain barriers shut it off from the sea. The wadis (or valleys) of Oman (like the wadis of Arabia generally) are merely torrential channels, dry for the greater See also:

PART

part of the year.

See also:

WATER

Water is obtained from See also:

wells and springs in sufficient quantity to See also:

SUPPLY (through Fr. from Lat. supplere, to fill up)

supply an extensive See also:

SYSTEM

system of See also:

IRRIGATION (Lat. in, and rigare, to water or wet)

irrigation. The only See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good See also:

HARBOUR (from M.E. hereberge, here, an army; cf. Ger. Heer and -beorg, protection or shelter. Other early forms in English were herberwe and haiborow, as seen in various place names, such as Market Harborough.. The French auberge, an inn, derived through

harbour on the coast is that of See also:

MUSCAT, MUSKAT

Muscat, the See also:

capital of the kingdom, which, however, is not directly connected with the interior by any mountain route. The little See also:

PORT

port of Matrah, immediately contiguous to Muscat, offers the only opportunity for penetrating into the interior by the See also:

WADI

wadi Kahza, a rough pass which is held for the See also:

SULTAN (an Arabic word meaning " victorious " or " a ruler," sultat, dominion)

sultan or See also:

IMAM

imam of Muscat by the Rehbayin chief. In 1883, owing to the treachery of this chief, Muscat was besieged by a See also:

REBEL, JOHANN PETER (176o-1826)

rebel See also:

army, and disaster was only averted by the guns of H.M.S. " See also:

PHILOMEL (Fr. Philomele; Ger. Philomele or Stahlgeige)

Philomel." About 5o M. south of Muscat the port of Kuryat is again connected with the inland valleys by the wadi See also:

HAIL (O. Eng. kcegl and hagol, 1 cf. the cognate Teutonic hagel, as in German, Dutch, Swedish, &c.; the Gr. K&XX17E, pebble, is probably allied)

Hail, leading to the gorges of the wadi Thaika or " See also:

DEVIL (Gr. &a,3oXos, " slanderer," from &ctflisXX sty, to slander)

Devil's See also:

Gap." Both routes give access to the wadi Tyin, which, enclosed between the mountain of El Beideh and Hallowi (from 2000 to 3000 ft. high), is the See also:

GARDEN (from O. Fr. garden, mod. Fr. jardin; this, like our words " garth," a paddock attached to a building, and " yard," comes from a Teutonic word for an enclosure which appears in Gothic as gards and O. H. Ger. gart, cf. Dutch gaarde and Ger. .garten)

garden of Oman. Fifty See also:

MILES, NELSON APPLETON (1839— )

miles to the north-west of Muscat this interior region may again be reached by the transverse valley of Semail, leading into the wadi Munsab, and from thence to Tyin. This is generally reckoned the easiest See also:

LINE

line for travellers. But all routes are difficult, winding between See also:

GRANITE (adapted from the Ital. granite, grained; Lat. granum, grain)

granite and See also:

LIMESTONE

limestone rocks, and abounding in narrow defiles and rugged torrent beds. Vegetation is, however, tolerably abundant—tamarisks, oleanders, kafas, euphorbias, the See also:

MILK (0. Eng. meoluc; from a common Indo-European root, cf. Lat. mulgere, Gr. ?t dXyetv)

milk See also:

BUSH

bush, rhamnus and acacias being the most See also:

COMMON

common and most characteristic forms of See also:

VEGETABLE

vegetable See also:

LIFE

life, and pools of water are frequent. The See also:

rich See also:

OASIS (Gr. &toss, the name given by Herodotus to the fertile spots in the Libyan desert: it probably represents an Egyptian word, cf. Coptic ouahe, ouih, to dwell, from which the Egyptian Arabic sod is derived)

oasis of Tyin contains many villages em-bosomed in See also:

palm groves and surrounded with orchards and See also:

FIELDS, JAMES THOMAS (1817-1881)

fields. In addition to cereals and vegetables, the cultivation of See also:

FRUIT (through the French from the Lat. fructus; frui, to enjoy)

fruit is abundant throughout the valley. After the date, vines, peaches, apricots, oranges, mangoes, melons and mulberries find See also:

SPECIAL

special favour with the Rehbayin, who exhibit all the skill and perseverance of the Arab agriculturist of Yemen, and cultivate everything that the See also:

SOIL

soil is capable of producing.

The sultan, a descendant of those Yemenite imams who consolidated Arab See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power in Zanzibar and on the See also:

East See also:

AFRICAN

African coast, and raised Oman to its position as the most powerful See also:

state in Arabia during the first See also:

HALF

half of the 19th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, resides at Muscat, where his See also:

PALACE (Lat. Palatium, the name given by Augustus to his residence on the Palatine Hill)

palace directly faces the harbour, not far from the British residency. The little port of See also:

GWADAR

Gwadar, on the See also:

MAKRAN, or MEKRAN

Makran coast of the Arabian Sea, a station of the Persian Gulf See also:

TELEGRAPH (Gr. Tike, far, and rypaq5eiv, to write)

telegraph system, is still a dependency of Oman. See See also:

COLONEL (derived either from Lat. column, Fr. colonne, column, or Lat. corona, a crown)

Colonel Miles, See also:

GEOGRAPHICAL

Geographical See also:

Journal, vol. vii. (1896); See also:

COMMANDER

Commander Stiffe, Geographical Journal (1899). (T. H.

End of Article: OMAN

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