'Narrative of a Residence in Koordistan, and on the Site of Ancient Nineveh; with Journal of a Voyage down the Tigris to Bagdad and an Account of a Visit to Shirauz and Persepolis.' [‎103] (134/450)

CH. XVI.]
TELKEIF.
103
invited us to halt for the night *. The country all
tiie way Avas undulating, being marked by water
courses making their way to the Tigris, and receiv
ing the contributions ot secondary or subordinate
courses.
At twenty minutes past eleven we halted to let the
baggage pass, and to allow of its getting to our
station at lelkeil some time before us, imagining
that we had still an hour's journey to perform. At
noon Ave marched again, and, ascending the undu
lation at the bottom ol Avliich Ave had stopped, found,
to our great surprise, that Telkcif Avas quite close to
us, being situated in a hollow on the other side. We
arrived at a quarter past tAvelve, having been on the
road only tAvo hours and twenty-live minutes.
Telkeif is a town wholly inhabited by Chaldeans,
many ol whom go to Bagdad to seek work and
service. The Kiahya, a very decent old man, told
me it contained a thousand houses, in some of Avhich
are thirty souls. The number of houses is probably
overrated, but it is a considerable place and very full
ol people, a dirty ill-favoured set, like all the Chal
deans I have seen. The Chaldeans are a dark-com
plexioned race, and do not in the least resemble the
Koords. We observed a great deal of gypsum
to-day on the way from Teliskof.
There are two open tanks and some covered reser-
* A mile from Batnaia is the monastery of Mar Abraham,
who is supposed to have been a Bebbeh Koord.