"دليل الخليج. مجلد I. القسم التاريخي. الأجزاء Iأ و Iب. ج.ج. لوريمر ١٩١٥" [‎١‎٥‎١‎٤] (١٧٨٢/١٦٦٩)

16U
aud of the Constantinople Board of Health on Shi'ah pilgrims to the
shrines of 'Ali and Husain in Turkish 'Iraq. The Persian Government
took advantage of popular feeling to prohibit such pilgrimages by
Persian subjects altogether, and an effort was made to divert the stream
of religious devotion (with its accompanying profits) to Mashhad in the
Persian province of Khurasan. This prohibition of pilgrimages in
Turkey was either soon withdrawn or not long respected, and the at
tempt to substitute Mashhad for Najaf and Karbala was a failure; but
for several years there was a marked falling-off in the number of Persian
pilgrims to Turkish 'Iraq, and the effect on the internal trade of the
province was unfavourable in an appreciable degree. At length, in 1878
the main grievances of the Persian pilgrims were removed by an agree
ment between Turkey and Persia regulating quarantines and the admission
of corpses for burial from Persia, and dealing with the subjects of
passports and fees; and the pilgrimages quickly recovered their former
attraction for Persians.
The importation of salt from Persia into Turkey was prohibited,
and the importation of tobacco subjected to special conditions, by Agree
ments executed between the two countries in 1875 and 1H78. The
lestiictions were arranged in the interest of the public revenues of
luikey, in which the receipts from salt and tobacoo monopolies are
important items.
In December 1885 the Wali of Basrah informed the British Assistant
1 olitical Agent at that place that it was the intention of the Turkish-
Government to construct a large fort at Fao; and in May 1886 a
Tuikish military detachment of 160 men (probably a nominal battalion)
was stationed there, and building materials were collected.
hen C olonel Murdoch Smith, Director-in-Chief of the Indo-
Luropean Telegraph, visited Fao in 1887, he found the construction of
the fort in active progress. The work promised to be a strong one, and
it was evident that it would completely command the navigation of the
Shatt-al- Arab, from the cnannel of which it was only 500 yards dis
tant
It will be remembered that the British and Russian Ambassadors at
Constatinople informed the Porte, before the Treaty of Erzeroum
(1817) was ratified, that Persia had undertaken to abstain from cons
tructing fortifications on the Persian bank of the Shatt-el^Arab so
long as lurkey did not erect any on the Turkish shore opposite to
Persian territory ; this assurance was obtained by the mediating Govern-