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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [283] (292/568)
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.
COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
283
channel was improved for navigation, the bar obstructing its eastern
end being apparently dredged. From Suq esh-Shuyukh to Nasirlyeh
there are ample depths at all seasons.
Between Kurna and the Hammar Lake the width of the channel
is 180-160 yds.; the Mezlaq channel was reported in 1915 to be only
25 yds. wide for the first 2 miles above its mouth; from Suq esh-
Shuyukh to Nasirlyeh the average width is 150-200 yds. The
current is slight to Suq esh-Shuyukh, thence to Nasirlyeh it is
reported to be 2^-3 knots.
Large native boats navigate from Gurmat Ali to the Mezlaq
channel across the Euphrates TMr in high water.
(ii) Nasiriyeh— Samaiveh.
Navigation on this stretch appears to be easy. A steamer drawing
3 ft. 2 in. made good running here in February. The width of the
river is said to be about 300 yds. to Duraji, and from there to
Samaweh about 50-120 yds.
(hi) Samaiveh— Hindiyeh Barrage (Hindiyeh branch).
The navigation channel in 1913 followed the Shatt Khansar be
tween Samaweh and Shinafiyeh, crossed the Bahr-i-Shinafiyeh, and
thence proceeded up the Shamiyeh channel to Kifl.
A steamer drawing 3 ft. 2 in. made this voyage in February 1912
and at the beginning of July 1913, but in the months when the
river is lowest only small bellams, or large laden to not more
than one-third of their capacity, can cross the Bahr-i-Shinafiyeh.
There is a bar at the southern entrance to the Shinafiyeh Lake, where
in February 1912 there was less than 2-| ft, of water. Navigation on
the lake is difficult and variable. The Shamiyeh channel had 4-7 ft.
of water in July 1913. Its width was generally 50-150 yds., but
navigation was somewhat hampered by irrigation-dams which left
only a narrow fairway with a strong current.
The Kufeh channel from the Bahr-i-Shinafiyeh to Kill is prac
ticable only for small native boats.
Depths on the Hindiyeh branch have been reduced by the Hindiyeh
Barrage, and in 1917 they were further decreased owing to the
cutting by the Turks of the Saqlawiyeh dam (near Ramadiyeh),
which has now been repaired.
(iv) Samaweh—Hilla Regulator (Hilla branch).
This arm is probably navigable for large native craft and small
steamers in high water, the Hilla Eegulator being open. Exact
information is not available.
(v) Hindiyeh Barrages and Hilla
The Old Hindiyeh Barrage, near the head of the Hindiyeh branch
and about 6 miles below Museyib, practically blocks navigation.
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