Robert Alexander Wahab

“ Hofuf the capital, a town of 15,000 to 20,000 inhabitants, with its neighbour Mubāriz scarcely less populous, forms the centre of a thriving district 50 m. long by 15 m. in breadth, containing numerous villages each with richly cultivated fields and gardens. ”

“ The district is fertile but the climate is hot and unhealthy; still, owing to its convenient position, the town has a considerable trade with Bahrein and the gulf ports on one side and the interior of Nejd on the other. The fort is a strongly built enclosure attributed, like that at Hofuf, to the Carmathian prince Abu Tahir.
‘Uker or ‘Ujer is the nearest port to Hofuf, from which it is distant about 40 m.; large quantities of rice and piece goods transhipped at Bahrein are landed here and sent on by caravan to Hofuf, the great entrepôt for the trade between southern Nejd and the coast. ”

“ Beyond the present limits of the oasis much of the country is well supplied with water, and ruined sites and half-obliterated canals show that it has only relapsed into waste in recent times. Cultivation reappears at Katif, a town situated on a small bay some 35 m. ”