Basithah

Basithah is a broad, dry tract west of Wadi Sirhan, stretching alongside the valley in northern Arabia. The medieval geographer Yaqut described it as remote from inhabited places, with little water to sustain travellers. The poet al-Mutanabbi crossed this difficult country on his journey from Egypt towards Iraq, and in verse recalled his companions mistaking ostriches and wild cattle for palms and minarets.