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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. I. 1918' [288] (297/568)
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.
288 COMMUNICATIONS AND TEANSPOKT
Paver Transport
{a) Steamers and Motor-vessels._
Typical classes of steam river-craft now in use are: (i) Improved
Medjedieh class: 225 ft. long, 52 ft. beam, 4i ft. draught, independent
paddles, (ii) Stern-wheelers: 150 ft. long, 35 ft. beam, 4^ ft. draught,
(iii) Tugs: (1) independent paddles: 115 ft. long, 39ift. beam, 4|ft.
draught; (2) tunnel-screws: 81ij ft. long, 17 ft. beam, 3§ ft. draught.
All these classes use oil-fuel. Motor-craft are of many types, but for
general purposes a 40-ft. launch of 30 h.p. is used.
(h) Native Graft.
(i) The safineh or maheileh is a type of native sailing-vessel used on
the rivers of Irak. It is common on the Shatt el- Arab and Tigris
from Basra up to Samarra, and s of the smaller kinds are
found on the Euphrates. Safmehs are built mainly at Basra.
It appears that, while safineh is the general name for craft of this
type, the word maheileh is used for large
The sdf inch may be from 30 to 80 ft. long, with a beam about
one-third of its length. Its carrying capacity may be 10-75 tons,
according to size, and a large safineh may hold up to 60 passengers.
Draught, when fully loaded, 3-4 ft. Crew, 3-15 men ; the captain
of the safineh is called the nolcada._
The safmeh is built with considerable sheer, giving the midship
portion a freeboard of about a foot only when the vessel is fully
loaded, while the gunwale at bow and stern is several feet above
water. The safmeh is an open boat, but the larger sizes have a poop,
and all have a steering platform aft as well as a small forecastle deck
for working ground tackle and for poling.
The bow is pointed (the stern also to a lesser degree), and the lines
of the vessel are fine. There is one mast, carrying a lateen sail, and
the vessel is steered with an ordinary tiller and a broad rudder.
Against the wind, or against the current when there is no following
wind, the safmeh is towed or poled along the shallow water close to
the river-bank. Towing is done by means of a long rope attached
to the top of the mast. Usual speeds are :
Baghdad—Basra : high water, 4-7 days; low water, 2-3 weeks.
Basra—Baghdad: high water, 2-3 weeks ; low water, 5-7 weeks.
A great deal of time is lost on the upstream journeys owing to the
frequent necessity of towing.
Cost of construction, «£100-<£250.
Average freights, Baghdad—Basra 155.-255. per ton d.w.
The baghalah, used for lightering on the Shatt el- c Arab, has a hull
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