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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [250] (259/568)
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.
250
COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
(&) Land communications.
The alluvial plains along the lower Karun can be traversed easily,
when dry, by pack-animals and light carts, but become impracticable
after heavy rain or when the floods are out.
When the ground is dry light motors can travel from Marid, on
the left bank of the Karun 8 miles above Mohammareh, to Ahwaz
(58 miles); from Ahwaz to Shushtar (65 miles), crossing the Ab-i-
Gargar by the Band-i-Qlr boat-bridge; and from Ahwaz to Shush
(75 miles).
From Ahwaz to the Maidan-i-Naftun oil-field there are two roads :
(i) Via Band-i-Qlr and Dar-ivKhazineh (82 miles); a cart-track, but
at Dar-i-Kbazineh where the Ab-i-Gargar is crossed there is neither
bridge nor ford.
(ii) Via Abgungi (about 69 miles) ; passable for carts to Abgungi,
thence a good pack-road. Water scarce from mile 24, where the
track leaves the Karun.
B. From the Direction of Syria to Baghdad
As the Syrian Desert (see p. 21) is a bar to direct communication
between Irak and southern or central Syria, the main routes to
Baghdad on this side enter Mesopotamia in the upper part of the
middle Euphrates valley. Two sets of routes may be distinguished :
those which having entered the Euphrates valley follow it down to
Fellujeh W. of Baghdad, and those which strike across upper
Mesopotamia and pass round by Mosul. To the first of these groups
belong the road and river-routes from Aleppo to Baghdad the
Euphrates valley; to the second belongs the line of communication
already partly covered by the Baghdad Railway (Aleppo—Jerablus
Nisibin—Mosul—Samarra—Baghdad).
[Distances from Aleppo or Damascus to the Syrian coast are:
Aleppo—Alexandretta, by rail {via Toprak Qal'ah), 135 miles.
Aleppo—Suedia, by road, 89 miles.
Aleppo—Latakiyeh, by road, 100 miles.
Aleppo—Tripoli, by rail, via Homs, 188 miles.
Damascus—Beirut, by rail, via Rayak, 92 miles.
Damascus—Haifa, by rail, via Derat, 178 miles.]
I. The Euphrates
(a) Aleppo—Baghdad.
(i) Land -route.
Aleppo—Baghdad road (527 miles) Meskeneh (57 miles), Deir
ez-Zor (205 miles), Anah (340 miles), Hit (424 miles), Fellujeh
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