'Reconnaissances in Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, North-West Persia, and Luristan from April to October 1888. By Lt F R Maunsell, Intelligence Branch. In Two Volumes. Volume I: narrative report, description of larger towns and routes leading from them. Simla: Intelligence Branch, Quarter Master General's Dept, 1890' [‎47v] (99/312)

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at each corner and a great number of long windows. Muhammad Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. is a
man of considerable influence in Sulaimaniah and these districts.
To the north-east, under a range of low bare hills, 5 miles distant, could
be seen some ruins white and staring against the bare hillside.
The Diala is also known as the Ab-i-Sirwan, which is its name in its
upper course. The frontier follows the course of the river from where the
line of towers meets it. A good wheat season was expected this year, but
the locusts have done a good deal of damage.
Weather sultry with thunder clouds hovering round ; temperature 80° at
5 p.m. and 65° at 5 a.m.
9th May—Left Shaikh Said (920') and started in a westerly direction
over a bare gravelly plain, 6 to 8 miles wide. It grows good grass in the
spring time but is withered now. Several small dry ravines were passed.
Gok Su .—At 5f miles we crossed the Gok Su, a stream in broad gravelly
bed, about 200 yards wide.
Along the right bank is the Jabal Khushka, a low range of gravelly hills
cut up in all directions by small ravines rising about 400 feet above the plain.
The more direct road to Kifri led up the valley of the stream; we tried a
shorter way and eventually got lost and made a wide detour to the south
west.
Prom the stream bank followed a path which led over the rounded summit
of the Jebel Khushka (1,290') and commenced a long gradual descent up and
down among small ravines. A little water was found in some of the ravines
and several low parallel ridges of sandstone appeai’ed in the conglomerate
soil. At 17 miles we reached the fertile valley of Chenimassir, 2 to Smiles
wide (875'), growing fine crops of barley and wheat. A small stream flows
north-east down the centre of it and the south side of the valley is bounded
by a low range of gravelly hills, the Jabal Diwanza Imam, similar to that
which we had just crossed.
On it was the ruined village of Rahimurka, roofless and destroyed by
Hamawand raiders. Prom here we turned north towards Kifri, passing a
large encampment of Bagbilan Kurds engaged in cultivating the plain.
Durkhava River .—A wide gap occurs in the Diwanza Imam Range through
which the Durkhana River passed, and the ridge then continues north
west under the name of Jabal Khurreh. Distant miles from Chenimassir
we reached a broad well-defined track, the main road from Baghdad to Mosul
through Kifri. We forded the Durkhana River, in two wide channels flow
ing from a gap in the Jabal Khuskha 4 miles south-east of Kifri.
Farther on forded two other channels of theChechapan River, from 300 to
400 yards wide, full of shingle and stones. The soil of the plain is fertile, and
grew good wheat crops. At 26| miles from Shaikh Said we halted in Kifri
(760').
Kipri.—K ifri is a place of 6,000 inhabitants (1,200 houses), situated at
the mouth of a small gorge through which the Chechapan River emerges
and surrounded bj r a low mud wall in a bad state of repair. Round the town
are a few gardens of date and fruit trees with two large patches of gardens
outside; with these exceptions the plain is quite bare of trees.
The Baghdad-Mosul telegraph line passes through here, and there is a
telegraph office.
The bazar is small and covered in, with a fair amount of supplies, flour,
dates, dried fruits, &c., procurable. The houses are of stone and mud, with
flat roofs. There are few two-storied masonry houses on the south side built
of lime and gypsum from the hills close by.