'A strategical study of Persia and the Persian Gulf' [‎11] (19/150)

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moderate, water sufficient for a brigade. A brigade
could march in one echelon.
13. Waterways and sea ports. —There are no inland water
ways within the zone. On the Caspian Sea none but Russian
steamers are allowed. Postal steamers visit the principal ports
weekly in summer and fortnightly in winter. The principal ports
are as follows :—Bandar-i-Gaz, the port of Astarabad Bay, consists
of a few houses and a pier, 350 paces long and 8 feet wide^ reported
suitable for landing of troops and guns. It would be very difficult
for a force to march from here to Astarabld in the present state of
the roads. The channel is well buoyed and ships of the largest
size navigating the Caspian can enter in any state of the weather by
day or night. The harbour is quite sheltered and can hold a large
number of vessels. Mashad-i-Sar is a small badly built village with
an open roadstead. There is no pier or wharf, steamers lie out
some distance and passengers and cargo are transferred in flat-
bottomed boats of which 40 exist.
Enxali on the western sand spit and Gazian on the eastern one
at the mouth of the Murdab form a port; there is a bar across
the mouth. At Gazian there are wooden wharfs and two landing
stages inside the bar alongside which steamers can load and discharge;
but the mail steamers in all weathers lie outside and land passengers
and goods in steam launches. In bad weather they do not stop.
Ships drawing 7 or 8 feet can cross the bar in calm weather. There
are over 1,000 boats of sorts at Enzali, and the harbour could bo
rendered accessible to mail steamers by dredging the bar.
Astara is situated on both banks of the river of that name which,
forms the boundary between Russia and Persia. A bar of sand
exists at the mouth and vessels have to lie a couple of miles out to
sea. It is merely a landing place and a most unhealthy one, too.
14. Telegraphs. —The telegraph lines in Persia are classified
under four separate headings :—
(a) Those worked by an English staff forming the " Indo-
European Telegraph Department in Persia." This is
a British Government Department established in
virtue of a number of conventions between the British
and Persian Governments.
(&) The Indo-European Telegraph Company. This company
works a line between Tehran and Julfa and is of
British origin.
(c) Persian lines maintained by (a).