'Handbook of Mesopotamia. Vol. III. 1917' [‎364] (373/432)

364
GAZETTEEK OF TOWNS
of a new town on another site. Sulphur springs, some of them hot,
are found near the Tigris both above and below Mosul (e .g. at
Hammam 'Ali, see Route III E, m. 167|). and are much resorted to
for medicinal purposes.
A hot eddying wind—the Sam —which blows in the desert W. of
the city, is said occasionally to affect fatally those who are exposed
to it. It is sometimes possible to avoid its worst effects by lying on
the ground.
Supplies and Commerce. —In spite of its arid appearance much of
the country from which Mosul is supplied is fertile, and agriculture
has on the whole been developing during the past twenty or thirty
years. There are said to be about 200 flour-mills in the city. In
normal times the bazaars of the town are well stocked with grain,
fruit, and meat. The principal crops of the Mosul country are wheat
and barley, which ripen in April, and among the minor produce
may be mentioned lentils, peas, beans, millet, maize, cucumbers, as
well as many fruits—melon, orange, fig, plum, pear, and grape.
The date palm grows, but does not fruit freely. Sheep and goats
were numerous before the present war.
The water-supply is not satisfactory; there are numerous wells,
but they are brackish ; and the people rely for their drinking
supplies on the Tigris, from which the water is brought on ponies in
skins. The Tigris water is considered good except when the river
is low. Schemes for a municipal water-supply have been talked of
for years, but nothing has been done.
There is much excellent spring grazing near Mosul. Wood for
fuel seems scarcely to be found in the neighbourhood of the city.
In normal times timber is brought from the Kurdish hills.
Mosul would make a good centre for the collection of transport
animals of all kinds. In peace time numerous donkeys, mules,
horses, and camels could be obtained here.
In the Middle Ages Mosul was an important entrepot and manu
facturing centre, and "was celebrated for its jewellery, arms, and
carpets, as well as for cotton and silk and embroidered fabrics
(the word ' muslin' is said to be derived from the name of the town).
Misrule, insecurity of transport, the introduction of cheap machine-
made goods, and the diversion of trade by the Suez Canal have in
various ways affected its prosperity, but there are still a considerable
number of gold and silversmiths, of workers in iron and copper, of
shoemakers, and above all of weavers; and only security is required
to increase very largely its commercial importance. Mosul is a
distributing centre for European goods imported through Aleppo,
and for Indian goods which come through Baghdad; and to it are