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'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917' [284] (293/432)
The record is made up of 1 volume (214 folios). It was created in 1917. It was written in English. 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.
LAND KOUTES
Border cliffs 250-300 ft. high ; valley 200-250 yds. wide
In 1888 the track passed along river bed for 50 yds. through
2 ft. of water round spur. This is not mentioned in tL
report of 1910. 6
Lablai waterfall. It is not possible to get a satisfactory
view of it from the track. The fall is very high, and the
water pours over undivided.
Towards the end of the gorge the valley is 300 yds. wide
with cliffs 400-500 ft. high on either side. The river
is 10 yds. wide, 3-6 ft. deep, with a rapid current over
boulders. The road, in 1888, was an easy track 12-15
ft. broad following the r. bank, generally 50 ft. above
the water. It sometimes wound round boulders fallen
from cliff above. Portions of it are paved. The banks
of the river are wooded with oaks, sycamores, and shrubs.
The Khalifan Eiver joins the Rowandnz Chai near this
point. The gorge at the Eowanduz Chai is generally
30-40 yds. wide at the bottom, though sometimes it
narrows to as many feet. The hill-sides are covered
with low oak and brushwood. Precipices 1,500 ft. high
on either side of the valley. The track now winds
steeply up-hill, often over very bad surface. The rock
is hard and slippery where worn smooth. Parts of
the road (which in 1888 was 6-10 ft. wide) were de
scribed in 1910 as cobbled and ridged across at intervals
of 2-3 yds., the packing between consisting of large
unshaped stones of -j-1 cubic foot in size. It was
reported in 1888 that this made ascent was 3| m. in
length, and was called the Serderiyeh Pass. In 1910
the made ascent seems to have been less long (it took
between 40 min. and 1 hr. to walk down it); and it
crossed the shoulder of the Kurek Dagh by a pass called
Darakasab. Apparently the road described in 1888
crossed the Kurek Dagh higher up its slope. See note
at end of route. As regards the name Serderiyeh, see
Route 44 a, m. 1-|. There is no information as to the line
of the new cart-road (1916).
Pass called Saraibasab, a shoulder of ICureik Bagli. Bala-
kyan Hill 2 m. to N. The track descends by a bad path
about 400 ft. into the bed of the Eanijuz ravine or valley
which opens through a gap on the 1. of the track into the
gorge of the Kowanduz Chai.
About this item
- Content
This volume is A Handbook of Mesopotamia, Volume III, Central Mesopotamia with Sourthern Kurdistan and the Syrian Desert (Admiralty War Staff Intelligence Division, January, 1917), covering the Tigris and Euphrates from Baghdad and Fellūjeh [Fallujah] to Mosul and Meskeneh [Maskanah], the Lesser Zāb, the country east of the Tigris towards the Persian frontier, and the routes running westward from the Euphrates valley across the Syrian Desert. The volume was prepared on behalf of the Admiralty and War Office, and appears to be based on official and unofficial publications and maps which are cited in a bibliographical section in the volume. This volume was supplemented with corrections and additions in June 1918 (see IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/5).
The volume includes a note on confidentiality, a title page, 'Note', 'Abbreviations'. There is a page of 'Contents' which includes the following sections:
- Introduction;
- River Routes (The Tigris and the Lesser Zāb, The Euphrates);
- Land Routes (The Tigris Valley with Region to East, The Euphrates Valley, Connexions between Tigris and Euphrates Valleys, The Syrian Desert);
- Gazetteer of Towns;
- Bibliographical Note;
- Transliteration of Names;
- Glossary;
- Appendix;
- Index;
- 'Sketch Map of Routes', which includes 'City Map of Baghdad' (f. 212) and 'Mesopotamia: Outline Map Showing Routes, Volume III' contained in a pocket.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (214 folios)
- Arrangement
This volume is arranged according to numbered routes. There is a page of contents and an alphabetical index. There are two maps housed in a pocket.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: The foliation sequence commences at the inside front cover and terminates at the inside back cover; 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'. side of each folio (except for the front cover, where the folio number is located on the verso The back of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'v'. ).
Pagination: The volume also has an original printed pagination sequence.
- Written in
- English in Latin script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/L/MIL/17/15/41/4
- Title
- 'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, i-r:i-v, 1:422, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence