Sun 12. [12 February 1905] Stormy but we started getting off at 8.45.
Namrud, Gablan and I rode together straight E across the railway then
across the Hajj road by a little hill on which there is a ruined site called
Thelaleh. Then we rode NE for a couple of hours to the foot of the
hills called El 'Alia [Arabic characters] where we found Gablan's tents.
We passed some Belkawiye tents. Hamud was away and we were
received by Fellah bn 'Isa, Gablan's father. They are all {brothers}
uncles of Mukheimir. It was 11.15. We drank coffee and talked of Ibn
Rashid. 2 soldiers came in to Namrud's cave last night having fled
from Nejd [Najd] and reported that all the Sultan's troops had fled.
The mules came in at 12, we lunched and at 1 rode up the valley to
'Alia where there was nothing but the traces of a 4 square ruined
place very rough work. So on along the tops of the hills to El
Muwaqqar [Muwaqqar, El]. We came back by the plain. Near the
camp there is another ruined site nothing but rujm of stony walls called
Nageireh[?] [Arabic]. Got in at 4.15. We passed lots of little sort of
semicircular nests in the ground which are made by the camels for
themselves. The little ones make them first and the big ones finish
them. It rained on and off a good deal but fine rain and nothing to
matter. Gablan knows of several castles out E at KharanÈ [Qasr el
Kharana[?]] to which the Gray Hills went, Umm Sass and others. He
says some have pictures in them and some carvings. KharanÈ is a
day's journey from here. At 6 came Gablan and invited me to his tent
where in the dark by the light and smoke of the fire we dined. A most
pleasant evening. We spoke of words found in the Mu'allakat, of
Turkish tyranny, of the English govt in Egypt, of water finding etc.
They knew of the water finder with the stick. An Italian has recently
been doing the trick in the Jebel Druze [Duruz, Jabal ad]. They have
a plan of finding water with a ball, which the man throws and digs the
well where the ball stops. Much warmer this evening. Awful noise of
camels, goats, sheep and dogs all night.