Notes Prepared for Reference during Curzon’s Tour of the Persian Gulf, and Other Papers on Persia and the Persian Gulf [‎146r] (291/678)

Ill
SECTION IV.
Baghdad to Alexandretta.
Of the two roads which connect Baghdad with the Mediterranean, that Routes,
which goes northwards through Mosul and Diarbekir is the most generally used
and the best known. This road passes through a fairly populous and fertile
region, has caravansarais all along it with a service of post horses, and is the
route by which the mails from Baghdad to Aleppo are carried. The other road
which is considerably more direct, follows the Euphrates Valley to within two The Euphr^te
marches of Aleppo. It passes through a sparsely populated country, with only Valley Road,
three small towns along its whole length, and was formerly considered danger
ous on account of Bedouin raids. Now there are police outposts at regular
intervals along the whole route, and except perhaps for the off-chance of falling
in with a “Ghazu” of the Ahnizah or some other tribe, it is as safe as any
other road in Asiatic Turkey and, for a Christian at least,_ far more so than
those which pass through the disturbed districts of Armenia and Kurdistan,
From Der another road branches off to Damascus across the desert, and
caravans pass pretty constantly along both routes. Besides its shortness it has
the advantage of good grazing in the spring along its whole course, and though
supplies in large quantities are not generally obtainable, enough to supply the
wants of a small party can usually be found at or near the police outposts. The
total distance by this road from Baghdad to Aleppo is about 512 miles, and the
iourney occupies generally 24 days, including a halt at Der, on which the 'f nu | e ‘
teers insist. Mules and horses for the journey can be hired at either end, the
rates ranging from about 2 to 2^ liras (32 to 40 rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. ) each. .During the
sprint when the melting snow causes the Euphrates to rise, it frequently ‘T^ts
its banks in the low-lying country below Hit, and floods the surrounding fields.
At these times there is always a certain amount of difficulty, the flooded parts
iravino-to be crossed in boats and causing a good deal of delay, but once Hit is
reached the difficulty is over and nothing worse than a short detour to avoid
marshes need be feared. The usual crossing is at Fallujah, where there is a
bridge of boats, but when in flood the river here widens out to an enormous ex-
tent forming innumerable islands, and it is then better to keep to the left bank
as far as Hit and cross there. This was the route followed and a detailed
account of it is given in Appendix I.
From Baghdad to Fallujah the road is across the stoneless, level Baby
lonian plain, mostly covered with grass and patches of cultivated land planted by
the nomad tribes who roam over it, and whose black tents and numerous flocks
and herds are frequently passed. At Fallujah the Euphrates Valley is entered.
For the whole distance from here to Maskanah the nature of the country is
much the same throughout; the river, dotted with islands, winds through a
strip of level country, varying in width from a hundred yards or so to a mile or
more on each side, beyond that on both banks is the desert an undulating,
stony plain sparsely covered with grass, some two or three hundred feet above the
level of the river, and ending sometimes in a steep, rocky cliff, sometimes
sloping gently down, but more frequently with a rounded outline and in
tersected here and there by stony “ wadys.” As_ far as Anah and for a short
distance above it the level strip by the river is cultivated in patches all along by
settled or semi-nomad Arabs, there are numerous small villages surrounded by
troves of palm trees, and everywhere the aqueducts and water-wheels, which
have been mentioned by so many travellers ; in this portion there is little brush
wood except on the islands, and fuel is somewhat scarce. From a little above
Anah to Maskanah the level strip forms a succession of grassy plains many of them
extending for several miles back from the river, while between them the cliffs
come in places right down to the water’s edge. There is less settled population
and few villages in this part, but the Ahnizah and other nomad tribes graze their
flocks and herds on the plains, and in most places there is a belt of brushwood
along by the river.