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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [248] (257/568)
The record is made up of 1 volume (282 folios). It was created in 1918. It was written in English, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac. 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.
248 COMMUNICATIONS AND TKANSPORT
the bay 1-3 miles from the shore and landing is by boat. The
opinion that Koweit might be made the port of Irak seems to
have been connected with an exaggerated idea of the difficulty of
making the Shatt el-'Arab accessible to ships drawing more than
20-21 ft. It appears that the construction of the harbour works
needed to make Koweit a well-equipped port would be exceedingly
costly. (On the nature of the coast between Koweit and the Shatt
el-'Arab see p. 29.) It appears that vessels of 20-26 ft. draught and
450 ft. length can navigate the Khor 'Abdallah and Khor eth-Tha'alab
up to the Umm Qasr creek, which is about 40-45 miles across the
desert from Basra. See Vol. II, Bo I, C, 23 a and b.]
(6) Communications between Basra and Baghdad.
The line of through communication between Basra and Baghdad
at present follows the Tigris, as on the Euphrates there is no through
waterway from- Basra to northern Irak that is practicable for large
river-craft at all seasons. But the extension of the Baghdad Railway
to Basra was planned to follow the line of the Euphrates, keeping to
the edge of the Arabian Desert past the marshes of southern Irak.
(i) Tigris line.
(1) River-route (500 miles). This route is practicable at all seasons
for craft drawing 3-| ft. See further pp. 280-2.
(2) Land communications. Railways : Basra—Amara, 112 miles,
metre gauge.
Kut—Baghdad (about 105 miles ?), metre gauge.
Road (about 350 miles): since 1915 there has been a good deal of
road-construction along the banks of the Tigris, and it seems that
light motors can now pass in the dry season from Basra to Baghdad.
(ii) Euphrates line.
(1) River-route (Basra—Hindiyeh Barrage, about 400 miles).
Practicable in high water for steamers drawing about 4 ft., but in
low water only small craft can pass the shallows between Kurna and
Nasirlyeh and on the Bahr-i-Shinafiyeh. See further pp. 282-4.
(2) Land communications. Railway : Basra—Nasirlyeh, 141 miles,
metre gauge ; along the border of the Arabian Desert.
[The extension of the Baghdad Railway was designed before the
war to pass by Museyib, Kerbela, and Nejef, and thence along the
edge of the desert to Basra.]
Caravan-routes and roads : Basra—Baghdad Nejef, about
420 miles ; ^ via Hilla, about 370 miles. Before the war the only
roads on this line that were of much importance were those from
Nejef and Hilla to Baghdad.
Basra Nasirlyeh (140 miles). Desert route along southern side
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume I, General (Naval Staff, Intelligence Department: November 1918). This is an updated and expanded edition of A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume I, General (Admiralty War Staff, Intelligence Department: August 1916) (IOR/L/MIL17/15/41/1). This is an introductory volume containing matter of a general nature giving an account of conditions in Mesopotamia, for the most part as they were before the First World War.
The volume includes a note on official use, a title page and 'Note'. There is a page of 'Contents' that includes the following chapters and sections:
- Chapter 1: Boundaries and Physical Features;
- Chapter 2: Climate;
- Chapter 3: Minerals;
- Chapter 4: Fauna and Flora;
- Chapter 5: Hygiene;
- Chapter 6: History;
- Chapter 7: Inhabitants;
- Chapter 8: Religions;
- Chapter 9: Administration;
- Chapter 10: Irrigation of Irak [Iraq];
- Chapter 11: Agriculture and Land Tenure;
- Chapter 12: Commerce and Industry;
- Chapter 13: Currency, Weights, and Measures;
- Chapter 14: Communications and Transport;
- Vocabularies;
- Index.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (282 folios)
- Arrangement
The volume is arranged in numbered chapters. There is a contents page and an alphabetically arranged index.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; 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'. of the folio.
Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English, Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish and Syriac in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/2
- Title
- 'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:556, ii-r:ii-v, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence