!['DIARY OF A TOUR IN THE PERSIAN GULF AND IN TURKISH ARABIA, DECEMBER, 1906 (WITH MAP)' [‎9v] (18/106)](https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x0001e3/IOR_L_PS_20_C260_0018.jp2/full/!1200,1200/0/default.jpg "'DIARY OF A TOUR IN THE PERSIAN GULF AND IN TURKISH ARABIA, DECEMBER, 1906 (WITH MAP)' [‎9v] (18/106)")
'DIARY OF A TOUR IN THE PERSIAN GULF AND IN TURKISH ARABIA, DECEMBER, 1906 (WITH MAP)' [9v] (18/106)
The record is made up of 53 folios. It was created in 1907. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
This transcription is created automatically. It may contain errors.
12
up the time somehow. On the fifth day,
with all due formalities, we were released
from quarantine, but we continued to sleep
at the quarantine station for two or three
days longer owing, to the absence of any
hotel in Basra. The first use we made
of bur liberty was to go and see the
Consul and the shipping offices. We
soon found out that it was useless rely
ing on the Turkish line of river boats
to get us to Bagdad, inasmuch as they
started at uncertain times and arrived
on still more nebulous dates. There are
also no arrangements for feeding on board
these steamers, an awkward business
in a voyage which may, and probably will,
last for a week. The general condition
of the boats, too, was reported to us as
dirty and disagreeable. We accordingly
pinned our faith to the weekly British
steamer, by going up in which and re
turning again in her we should have
some days in Bagdad, though I should
be cutting my time for reaching Agra in
time for the
Darbar
A public or private audience held by a high-ranking British colonial representative (e.g. Viceroy, Governor-General, or member of the British royal family).
to the narrowest
possible limits. Passages were booked
accordingly.
The interval we filled up by looking
round Basra, with the aid of the Consul
and the ladies in his house, who through
out were most kind and hospitable.
They asked us to every meal and re
gretted that they could not put us up
entirely owing to being already full.
They took us to the chief mosque of
Basra, a brick building with a minaret
ornamented with some pretty blue tiles,
but, on the whole, a squalid and sorry
structure which in India one would hardly
turn aside to look at. More interesting
were the bazars of Basra, with their nu
merous and novel types of people, the
Arabs of course predominating. I think
I mentioned in a previous entry that Basra
lies two to three miles away from the
main stream of the Shatt-el-Arab, up
a side creek. This creek is of course
the main stream of traffic, and
boats are going up and down in
crowds all day, except when the tide
falls so low as to make progress im
possible. There are no local manufac
tures of note to be had in Basra. The
shops are full of Manchester goods of
a florid and ornate pattern, suited to the
local taste. One can get, of course, Persian
carpets, but they are not of the best sort
and the prices are extravagantly high.
However, the bazars themselves are suffi
ciently interesting to a stranger. They
differ from similar places in India in that
they are covered in, a good arrange-
Release from quarantine.
Steamer facilities.
Basra:
Its bazars,
and waterways.
Merchandise.
*
About this item
- Content
Wilfrid Malleson, Diary of a Tour in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and in Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. (Simla: Government Monotype Press, 1907). This is the diary of a tour in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. and Turkish Arabia A term used by the British officials to describe the territory roughly corresponding to, but not coextensive with, modern-day Iraq under the control of the Ottoman Empire. by Lieutenant-Colonel Wilfrid Malleson, 7th-29th December, 1906. It describes his journey up the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. from Muscat to Basra, Muhammerah [Khorramshahr], and onto Baghdad, including periods in quarantine stations as well as the competing shipping lines, types of boats, date trade, and life in Baghdad. Includes his description of life in Muscat for the British Consul and encounters with German and Russian diplomats.
Includes 53 annotated photographs (ff 23-50) of the journey including views of Baghdad, Basra, Ctesiphon, and Musandam as well as two maps (ff 51-52).
- Extent and format
- 53 folios
- Arrangement
Folios 3- 14 are the written diary of the tour. Folio 23 has two prints (Muscat harbour; the telegraph station and post office at Fao. Folios 24-50 are photographs. Folio 51 is a map of the entrance to the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , folio 52 is a map of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the front cover and terminates at the inside back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio (except for f 52, where the folio number is located on the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. ). Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
Use and share this item
- Share this item
'DIARY OF A TOUR IN THE PERSIAN GULF AND IN TURKISH ARABIA, DECEMBER, 1906 (WITH MAP)' [9v] (18/106), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/L/PS/20/C260, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100117294308.0x000013> [accessed 14 June 2026]
https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100117294308.0x000013
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_100117294308.0x000013">'DIARY OF A TOUR IN THE PERSIAN GULF AND IN TURKISH ARABIA, DECEMBER, 1906 (WITH MAP)' [‎9v] (18/106)</a> <a href="https://www.qdl.qa/en/archive/81055/vdc_100117294308.0x000013"> <img src="https://iiif.qdl.qa/iiif/images/81055/vdc_100000000884.0x0001e3/IOR_L_PS_20_C260_0018.jp2/full/!280,240/0/default.jpg" alt="" /> </a>
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_100000000884.0x0001e3/manifestOpen in Universal viewerOpen in Mirador viewerMore options for embedding images
Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/PS/20/C260
- Title
- 'DIARY OF A TOUR IN THE PERSIAN GULF AND IN TURKISH ARABIA, DECEMBER, 1906 (WITH MAP)'
- Pages
- front, front-i, 2r:22v, 50r, back-i, back
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence