'Military Report on Mesopotamia (Iraq)' [‎13r] (30/226)

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gardens and many mills within its circuit; and the
arable fields stretched for 20 leagues beyond the houses.
Mukaddasi described a small lake at the chief spring, two
fathoms deep, with the water so clear that a silver piece
could clearly be seen at the bottom. The buildings of
lias al Ain were of stone, well mortared, and Ibn Jubayr,
who passed through the town in 580 (1184), mentions its
two Friday Mosques and the fine colleges and bath-houses
which stood along the banks of the Khabur. In his time
the city apparently had no wall, though in the 8 th (14th)
century this must have been rebuilt, for Mustawfi
described it as 5,000 paces in circuit. Fie adds that cotton,
corn and grapes were grown here abundantly.
About forty years ago a large Circassian colony about
9,000 strong took up its residence in the neighbourhood of
the town, which has gradually decayed. It is now a
French military station.
Population.—The population is about 2 , 000 , mostly
Chechens or Circassians from the Caucasus.
Water and Hygiene. —Water is obtained from wells and
springs, which are said to be slightly brackish and warm.
Hygiene is on a par with that of most villages in
Anatol ia—non-existent.
Commerce and Supplies. —Unknown.
Communication.—(i) By Road.—To Raqqah; passable
for pack.
To Urfah; passable for Ford vans (1).
To Mardin; passable for Ford vans.
(ii) By Railway.—To Aleppo; out of order May, 1922.
To Nisibin; out of order May, 1922.
(iii) Telegraph. To Mardin and Nisibin by military
telephone.
Tel Afar.— Tel Afar lies about 47 miles by road west of
Mosul. Little is knowm about the early history of Tel
Afar, but it is stated to have been founded by Turcoman
colonists of Tamorlane the Great. The only evidence for
this statement is the Turanian character of the
inhabitants, whose Shaikhs or Aghas babble incoherently
of ancestral domains beyond the farthest Kurdish hills.
The ruins of a castle that stands on the Qalah hill, and
is known as Qalah or Qasr Marwan, appear to be Arabic
of the tenth or eleventh century.
The modern town consists of nine suburbs, which lie on
both sides of Tel Afar stream under the shadow of the