'Field notes. Mesopotamia' [‎86r] (176/230)

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161
Route No. 11—contd.
cultivation, at intervals. Road used by wheeled transport but
not metalled. ^
2 FALLUJAH .. 19 m. General direction*
—• west. (
^ . m ‘ About m. 4, old Sami-
yah fort, some 2 miles to the south ; not used now. Country
more undulating. Soil gravelly. Patches of grazing for camels.
Signs of recent cultivation. No tents or water seen.
At m. 19, Fidlujah; a small village, on the Euphrates of about
100 houses of the usual Arab type. Noticed a good big modern
looking hous«? on the west bank. Breadth of river 120 yards.
Bridge of boats (17, and 2 or 3 spare ones). Grazing for camels.
The town is under a Mudir. Camped here.
3 RUM ADI YAH .. 30 m. General direction,
'—* *— west by north.
67 m - From Fallujah the road
practically follows the river all day, running, as far as m. 12 ,
between it and a low, flat-topped range of hills, from 50 to 80 feet
high, and then the hills come down to the river and the road
runs on through level country until 1 hour from Rumadiyah,
when a low hill, about 1 | miles long, west of the road and at
right angles to it, is passed. This hill commands the Fallujah-
Rumadiyah road. Cultivation all the way to Rumadiyah along
the river bank. Saw about 100 horses near Fallujah and about
1,500 sheep on the road. Many fallahin Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. living along the river-
bank.
At m. 30, Rumadiyah ; a small town rather larger than
Fallujah. There is a Mudir here. Camp outside the town,
which is generally known as Rumadi.
4 WADI A seasonal or intermittent watercourse, or the valley in which it flows. SAYAR 20 m. General direction,
‘—■—'— west-north-west.
87 m. . , On leaving Rumadiyah
a canal from the Euphrates called the Tash, and running into the
Habaniyah lake, is crossed by a stone bridge.
To m. 3, track runs near river. Hills to southward, 6 miles
distant, from 50 to 80 feet high.
At m. 3, river flows from the north-east; road continues
through sandy plain. Some cultivation.
S212(w)GSB