'Travels in Assyria, Media, and Persia, including a journey from Bagdad by Mount Zagros, to Hamadan, the ancient Ecbatana, researches in Ispahan and the ruins of Persepolis, and journey from thence by Shiraz and Shapoor to the sea-shore. Description of Bussorah, Bushire, Bahrein, Ormuz, and Muscat, narrative of an expedition against the pirates of the Persian Gulf, with illustrations of the voyage of Nearchus, and passage by the Arabian Sea to Bombay.' [‎395] (426/582)

CLIMATE OF BUSSORAH. 39^
place, and the range of Gebel Senam, covered with a light blue
tint, like a thick bed of clouds just rising in the west.
The climate of Bussorah is excessively hot during the summer,
or from April to October; but yet not so hot as at Bagdad, where
the thermometer rises above 120°, while here it is seldom above
110°. Its greater nearness to the sea may be perhaps one cause
of this difference, and also the occasion probably of the greater
moisture of the air, and of more refreshing dews during the
hottest weather. The autumn is acknowledged to be generally
unhealthy, and few people escape without fevers, many of whom
are carried off by them. The winters and the springs are
however delightful; for there is a sufficient degree of cold in
the first, to render the use of warm clothing, carpeted rooms,
and an evening fireside delightful; and in the last there is but
little rain to interrupt the enjoyments of morning rides and
free exercise in the open air. It is usual for invalids to come
from India to Bussorah, for the restoration of their health; and
if the seasons were properly chosen and attended to, there are
few constitutions that would not benefit by the change.
The extreme filthiness of the town, which surpasses that of all
other Turkish or Arab ones that I remember, is a great hindrance
to perambulation through it; and in the summer it is insupport
able, from the heat of the air, the confined alleys, and the dis
charge of refuse into the streets themselves, all which must, no
doubt, affect the health as well as the comfort of the passengers;
and in winter, riding on horseback without the walls is sometimes
interrupted for several days together after only a slight fall of
rain. The worst evil, however, which would be likely to be felt
by an Indian invalid, who made this his hospital, would be the
total want of society, except the members of the factory An East India Company trading post. at which
he might be lodged. Independent of the present Resident, there
is not another individual in all Bussorah, whether male or female,
native, or stranger, whose company could be enjoyed after the
manner of European society; and there is consequently no one
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