'Military Report on S.-W. Persia, Vol. I. Bakhtiari Garmsir' [‎53v] (111/168)

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filthy condition corrmon to Eastern towns. For remarks on supplies, see
Parts I and II. The Telegraph Office is situated in the official residence
of the Shaikh, opposite the British Consulate.
Messrs. Lynch Bros, own a baling press, used for cotton, which could
probably be used for pressing bhusa if required. It must be borne in mind
that the inhabited area, known indifferently as Ahwaz or as Bandar Nasiri
by the outside world, consists of two distinct and separate parts—Ahwaz,
an ordinary ’Arab village, which exhibits no tendency towards expan
sion, and Bandar Nasiri (Arabic Nasirieh), a town of recent growth of con
siderable size, consisting in 1908 of 250 to 300 houses, many of them well
built. Opposite is Bandar Aminieh, a village of no importance.
VAQiLl—L at. 32° 10'. Long. 48° 55'. Kiev. 800'.
An alluvial plain north of Shushtar, drained and irrigated by the Karun
River. The most thickly populated district in the Bakhtiari Garmsir, con
trolled by the Bakhtiari Khans, who pay taxes on account of it to the
Governor of ’Arabistan, who resides usually at Shushtar—see Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
Gazetteer and Index.
Access to the ’Aqili Plain from Shushtar can only be obtained via the
Tang-i-’Aqill, a difficult and narrow, gorge, through which the Karun runs,
or by crossing the river at Shushtar and again at Jalakan. A few men
could hold the Pass against a thousand. Numerous ruins, perched on
mounds, dot the ’Aqili plain—see also Layard.
B ARD-I-NLSHANDEH— Lat. 32° 5'. Long. 49° 25'. Elev. 2,700'.
A ruin 8 miles north-north-east of Maidan Minaftun on Route No.
16 to Gudar-i-Landar. It consists of a long pillar projecting about 12'
from the ground, about 1' square, near the remains of a building not
unlike Masjid-i-Sulaiman and similarly orientated, but smaller and in worse
repair.
BARD-I-QAMCHI— Lat. 32° 12'. Long. 49° 40'. Elev. 1,550'.
A small district in the Karun Valley, mainly in the hands of the Qmd’ali
section of the Haft Lang Bakhtiari. One water-mill close to the river
in Darreh Qileh (q.v.). There is a good and regularly used ferry here, with
one raft of inflated skins always available for use. Roads lead from the
north bank to Kaleh Zaras, Andakeh, and Kaleh Bazuft from the south
bank to Malamir and Marghab. (See Nos. 22 and 23.) The river at this
point cuts through the Takht-i-Qawashk or Kuh-i-Kamarao by a tang
from 30 to 40 yards broad, the cliffs on either side rising 1,000' sheer up.
There is no road through the tang, but a well-used track ascends a spur
south of the tang, from the summit of which (2,700') a magnificent view
of the gorge and the river is obtained. The latter flows at the bottom of
a ‘ cirque’ of cliffs rising vertically upwards of 1,500' from the bed of the
river. At the southern mouth of the tang are the remains of a bridge, •
probably of a single span, or perhaps a suspension bridge. Only the remains
of the piers on either side now remain, and that on the west bank ha?
almost disappeared: the pier on the east bank is difficult of access, but