| | |following river bank, and | | |passes small village of Tibna | | |at 6 miles. Fair but heavyish | | |going to 10 miles, where short | | |cuts from Khulla and telegraph | | |line join in. Bad going to 11 | | |miles over low, rocky ridges | | |covered with sand; then | | |excellent going to Ginefab, 14 | | |miles. Then ½ mile of bad | | |going, and 5 miles good going | | |to Shellal Gurgurib over open | | |ground with many sunt trees; ¾ | | |mile more of good going to Ab | | |Tin at 20 miles. This, though | | |quite a small place, is the | | |largest village that has been | | |passed. It has a small area of | | |cultivation and some palms. | | | | | |Road good and open, though | | |heavy in places, for 5 miles, | | |till it strikes railway; then | | |heavy sand with small hillocks | | |and many dom palms and other | | |trees to 9 miles, where road | | |and river turn south and track | | |gets harder. The railway | | |station is about 1 mile north | | |of Abu Hamed village. Residence | | |of Mamur and headquarters of Abu Hamed | 10 | 140 |the district. --------------+-------------+-------+-------------------------------- [Sidenote: Abu Hamed.] Abu Hamed used to be chiefly notable as being the point of arrival and departure of the various caravan routes which traverse the Korosko Desert, and takes its name from a highly venerated sheikh, whose tomb is here situated. The merchants were in the habit of depositing here any articles with which they did not wish to encumber themselves during their journey through the desert, and the environs of the tomb used to be surrounded by every sort of superfluous impedimenta, left by their owners to await their return, with no other protection than that afforded by the sanctity of the defunct sheikh.