'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOLUME II' [‎178r] (360/706)

KIRMlNSHAH
343
payment of 50 krdns per Tdiarwdr. The Kurds of the mountains and province
of Kirmanshah, in a great degree, supply the Tehran, Hamadan, Qum and
Baghdad markets with sheep. To these places they drive whole flocks
destined for s de, but of late they prefer selling their flocks in Turkey.
Minerals. Ike mineral resources of the province are marble, plaster, lime,
coal and naphtha oil.
In the lower valley of the Kirmanshah province, near the Turkish frontier,
their exists a wide oil belt which extends south, from Karkuk in Turkey to
Shushtar in Per ia and even to the island of Hormuz; following a north-west
to south-east direction.
The principal oil fields of the province of Kirmanshah are those of Chiah
Surkh, Qasr-i-Shirin, Shah Murad, Karim Khan and Bazargar, Hurin,
Gahwarreh and Shlan. There are also indications of naphtha at other locali
ties.
From the numerous ancient cemeteries and fine temples one comes across
in these districts, it is evident that the extraction of the oil has been carried
on since the remotest antiquity, and, to this day, the Kurds get the oil in
what must have been the most ancient way of obtaining naphtha.
There is usually a well, some 24 feet deep, in the shape of a funnel the
top being 15 to 30 feet wide and the bottom 10 feet. At the bottom is a wood
en platform, giving access to two smaller wells, some 30 feet deep. In
these wells salt water and naphtha collects. The wells are emptied every five
or six days by means of a bucket. The salt water is turned into tanks for
evaporation, and the salt is sold in Qasr-i-Shirln at 1 krdn a batman. The
0 tj w ? 1 i c ^ 3 ' ^tches at the well 4 krdns per 4 imperial gallons or tin
(32 lbs. British), is taken to the still, which is now in Karim Khan’s village
on the Kuretu river. The capacity of the still is only 70 imperial gallons
° f charge 35 gallons of lamp oil are produced. This oil is sold at the
still to the Qasr-i-Shlrln Jews, at 7f to 8 krdns per tin of 4 imperial gallons
and is re-sold in Qasr-i-Shlrln, at 10 krdns a tin.
Trade.—-There are but few towns in Persia which show to-day so flourish
ing a condition from a trade point of view as Kirmanshah, and this in spite
of oppression by the local governors and the badness and lack of safetv on
the roads radiating from it. ^
Kirmanshah is the port of entry for all goods entering Persia from Bagh
dad coming from England and India via the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and the Tigris
It is practically the only route available for Western Persia, now that the
n ° !? nger be 1 relied u P on ’ Su PPlyfeg such districts as
K ruistan, Hamadan, Iraq, and even competing seriously with the trade
of the European merchants in Isfahan. At one time a certain portion of
the trade filtered down from Tabriz, but now very little comes through
h t town such Russian goods as naphtha, glassware, and hardware as
t 6 foot ® i m the baZars come md Hamadan from Rasht.
n 1885 the totaf number of loads coming in from Baghdad was in
round figures, 33,700 loads, whilst in 1897 the amount passing through
the customs was 73 950 loads, the great increase being in Manchester
piece-goods, which had risen from 8,000 to 22,000 load S g But even this
does not show what really came into the country. The administration of
he customs was very slack and evasions were numerous, the farmer los-
g arge y on his speculation. A syndicate of merchants was formed in