Skip to item: of 360
Information about this record Back to top
Open in Universal viewer
Open in Mirador IIIF viewer

'Central Asia. Part V. A contribution towards the better knowledge of the History, Ethnography, Topography, and resources of part of Asiatic Turkey and Caucasia' [‎90] (105/360)

The record is made up of 1 volume (342 pages). It was created in 1872. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: Printed Collections.

Transcription

This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.

Apply page layout

90
BIT
with heat. This palace was erected about 30 years a<?o; it is a rude
and extensive building. In the centre is a quadrang-ular court, with a
copious fountain of tine water placed on the side facing- the entrance:
three sides are devoted to the use of the male portion of the Beg^s
establishment and his own sitting and receiving rooms, and the fourth
to the harem. The ground floor contains the stabling and store
houses. In that alone are the rooms, which are all entered from an
open gallery overlooking the court. The windows are on the outer
walls of the building and command extensive views. In the centre of the
rooms are bare flag-stones, and on either side is a raised soft bench on which
are felt with cushions. In summer the heat at Bitlis is not oppressive except
in situations inaccessible to the breeze, which usually blows down the valley.
In winter the snow falls and drifts into the valleys to so great a depth that
the communication with other places is always difficult and often interrupted.
In point of trade Bitlis is the most important place in the Pashalik, yet still its
commercial transactions are far from extensive. The consumption of foreign
articles is small in quantity and limited in variety. No coffee but that of
Mokha is used, which is brought from Baghdad; a small quantity of East
India indigo is required for a dyeing establishment, which is
generally supplied through Arzrum and Persia. Unbleached British
calicoes are sold to a moderate extent, and shawls to a less: besides these
some woollen cloths, printed calicoes, and gay-coloured silks and satins are
purchased, and a small quantity of refined sugar. The principal consumption
is in the manufactures of Damascus, Aleppo, and Diarbakr, and coarse cotton
cloths are manufactured here largely and imported also from different parts
of the country for the purpose of being dyed red. This place is celebrated
for the brightness of the colour produced, and the cloths thus dyed are
exported to distant parts of the country as well as to Georgia. A few European
calicoes are likewise dyed but the great bulk are Native. The manufacture
of short heavy calicoes is very extensive throughout the whole country.
The cotton used is mostly grown in the districts of Shirvan to the south
and Khargan to the west, but it is imported likewise from Khol. Although
the raw cotton is as dear as in England, and although the yarn is spun by
hand and woven by the most ordinary process, yet the calico is sold cheap :
and it is to be doubted whether the British manufacture could be got to compete
with it, on account of the low quality the great weight of cotton used in
the latter and the great expense of a long land carriage on an article so
bulky and at the same time of comparatively so little value. The production
of calicoes amounts to several hundred thousand pieces, but a tolerably
exact account cannot possibly be obtained. The madder used in dyeing the
red colour is produced in Shirvan. Galls are brought to Bitlis for sale from
the Kurdistan mountains to the east and south. A considerable quantity
of gum tragacanth may be collected on the mountains. There are two
plants, one with a white and the other with a pink flower. The former
yields a white gum, which is exported to Europe, and the latter, a brown kind,
of very inferior quality, which is used entirely in Turkey. The gum is
collected by persons who traverse the mountains for the purpose; they clear
away the earth from the roots of the plants and make incisions on them
from which the juice exudes and in a day or two hardens, when the people
return to gather it. The occupation affords but a trifling remuneration
under ordinary circumstances, and few people follow it except such as can

About this item

Content

Central Asia. Part V. A contribution towards the better knowledge of the History, Ethnography, Topography, and resources of part of Asiatic Turkey and Caucasia.

The book is written by Charles Metcalfe MacGregor.

Publication Details: Calcutta: Foreign Department Press. 1872.

Extent and format
1 volume (342 pages)
Arrangement

The contents in the volume are arranged in chronological order.

Physical characteristics

Dimensions: 250 mm x 155 mm.

Pagination: 1-342.

Written in
English in Latin script
View the complete information for this record

Use and share this item

Share this item
Cite this item in your research

'Central Asia. Part V. A contribution towards the better knowledge of the History, Ethnography, Topography, and resources of part of Asiatic Turkey and Caucasia' [‎90] (105/360), British Library: Printed Collections, 010055.d.42/5., in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100023897132.0x00006a> [accessed 29 March 2024]

Link to this item
Embed this item

Copy and paste the code below into your web page where you would like to embed the image.

<meta charset="utf-8"><a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023897132.0x00006a">'Central Asia. Part V. A contribution towards the better knowledge of the History, Ethnography, Topography, and resources of part of Asiatic Turkey and Caucasia' [&lrm;90] (105/360)</a>
<a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100023897132.0x00006a">
	<img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100023557353.0x000001/010055.d.42_5._0105.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" />
</a>
IIIF details

This record has a IIIF manifest available as follows. If you have a compatible viewer you can drag the icon to load it.https://www.qdl.qa/en/iiif/81055/vdc_100023557353.0x000001/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images

Use and reuse
Download this image