'DIARY OF A TOUR IN THE PERSIAN GULF AND IN TURKISH ARABIA, DECEMBER, 1906 (WITH MAP)' [‎16r] (31/106)

A visit to the Euphrates.
Start for Babylon-
25
A
It was interesting to see how Major
Ramsay, who has spent years in purely
political and administrative work in Balu
chistan, had thrown himself heart and soul
into commercial questions. He has been
instrumental in procuring many large orders
for British firms, including such diverse
commodities as oil-engines and gramo
phones. He appears most popular with
the mercantile and official community.
Our time in these parts was necessarily
limited and we endeavoured to lay it out to
the best advantage. A drive across country
to the Euphrates, across country, that is,
which, if ever the schemes of Sir W illiam
Willcocks mature, will once again become
the most productive in the world, and an
inspection of the work of the German
scientific mission at Babylon seemed the
most profitable and interesting method of
spending two or three out of the five
days to which our visit was necessarily
limited. Major Ramsay kindly arranged
everything for us. A letter of introduc
tion from the German Consul to his scienti
fic compatriots at Babylon assured us of
a hearty welcome at that place : vehicles
were engaged, a Turkish Zuptich armed
with a Martini was procured as escort, and
a Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. Kavasse told off as interpreter.
The start had to be made from near the
further end of the bridge-of-boats, and
was fixed at an early hour. In order to
avoid the long pull-up against stream
from the Residency An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, established in the provinces and regions considered part of, or under the influence of, British India. we arranged to sleep
on board our river steamer, moored just
below the bridge, a course to which the
obliging skipper readily agreed.
Accordingly, between two and three the
next morning, we crossed the river in
darkness and a guffa, that coracle-like
boat of primeval man which has descend
ed practically unchanged in design through
all the ages since our earliest ancestor
first ventured on the face of the waters.
Landing at the river gate of old Bagdad,
a view of which will be found amongst
the photographs, we traversed the deserted
covered-in bazars, the silence only broken
by the far-reaching echoes of our footsteps
and the snarling of occasional dogs contest
ing some choice morsel of offal in the road
way. And so, at length, to our conveyance
which was to take us some sixty miles or so
across the desert to the banks of the
Euphrates. It was a queer looking shan-
dridan, half bathing-machine and half
grocer’s cart, with very narrow and uncom
fortable seats, and drawn by a team of
four, and sometimes five, mules harnessed
abreast and driven by a wild-looking son of
the desert. It took some time to persuade