"دليل بلاد فارس. مجلد III." [ظ‎‎٦‎٦] (٩٨٢/١٣٧)

122
BAN—BAN
highest tower 30° 3' 14"; Long. 50° 9' 45"). Nine miles south-east—half-
■east of Bandar Dilam—is a small table hill of light colour with nernendicular
sides (Lat. 29° 57' 9' 58" ; Long. 50° 17'36"). It is 165 feet high and
visible for 14 miles. The coast here is merely a strip of land 10 or 15 feet
above the sea, inland of which are swamps extending for miles The anchor
age for vessels, about 31 miles off the shore, is sheltered from the shimdl
and partially from the kaus ; the bottom is of soft mud and the depth of
water 4 fathoms ; native craft lie close to the beach in a creek in a mud
flat. Landing is difficult because of the mud, and cargoes are loaded and
unloaded by means of donkeys.
Population.—The population is from 1,000 to 2,000 souls of the BehbehanI
tribe and is entirely Shi’ah ; all are Persian speaking, but about one-third
of them can talk Arabic as well. Some are cultivators 4n the surrounding
Liravi district ; others sailors or fishermen and the remainder merchants or
shop-keepers.
Resources and Supplies.—1U resources of the place are inconsiderable
Drinking-water is scarce and indifferent; it is brought from Tunub, about
1 mile distant. About 20 horses, 40 mules, 200 donkeys and 500 sheep
are owned by the inhabitants. There are 10 bums, 10 mdshuvehs and 20
small fishing boats.
Bandar Dilam is the port of the wheat-growing districts of Zaidan
and Behbehan, and to this circumstance it owes such trade as it eniovs
Theover-sea trade is principally with Bushire, but also, to a limited extent,
with Kuwait,^Bahrain, and Masqat. The chief exports and imports are
Exports.
Wheat.
Barley.
Straw.
Gum.
Linseed.
Ghi.
Dried figs.
Imports.
Rice.
Coffee.
Sugar.
Tea.
Pepper.
Turmeric.
Dried limes (Masqat).
Kero,sine oi).
TbIv e pro h , er i> en dT’ using the drag net, catch large quantities of seer fish.
villam s on do ar i d dned ^ ds , ent to Basrah b 7 ^a and to the surrounding
vllagts on donkeys. The bazar contains 90 shops. Ordinarv Persian
com mostly krans, is current, and two units of weight are in use viz
the local man of 14 lbs. 8J oz. English, and the Hashim man, of 16 ordinary
local mans : unit of length is the gaz of 40 or 41 inches ^
Ther^fverTlittff a '' 0 "T° phthal n ia is the disease here,
thalmia the town JmhTyeTy ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ° Ph “
Administration. Bandar Dilam is ruled by two local Khans brothers
who are under the authority of the Governor of the Gulf Ports to whose
charge it was relegated during the political re-arrangement of the Persian
Gub littoral which fo lowed the fall of the Zill-us-Sultan in 1888 The Khans
wno defer considerably to Saiyids and Mullas, dispose of criminal matters
Srh a rr ar Tr dby “ zi and
r y Cl Klah-feh Xl ongimUy by Ban! Tamm ’Arabs and after them
r V Khalifeh. The latter were displaced 70 or 80 years ago bv the
father of the present Khans, Hazi Tahir, who profited b/the ablnce of the