"كتيّب بلاد الرافدين. المجلد II. ١٩١٧" [‎١‎١] (٥٤٢/٢٠)

INTEODU OTION
11
'Abdallah is marshy. Boat channels are believed to lead from it to
the Shatt el-'Arab (e. g. at Hamdan and Abu'l Fulus, between Moham-
mareh and Basra). Between the head of the Khor Zobeir and Basra
the country may be flooded in spring.
E. of the Shatt el-Arab there is (i) the Bahman Shir Kiver, leading to
the Karun a short distance above Mohammareh (see IIB); can
be navigated by vessels of 7 ft. draught for 30 m. ; thereafter it is
choked for the rest of its course (14-15 m.) by sandbanks, and is
apparently now unnavigable for any craft larger than native sea
going boats ; and even these can only reach the Karun with the aid
of the high tide, (ii) E. of the Bahman Shir the coast is low and to
a great extent marshy, liable to inundation and fringed with mud
flats. Native boats can ascend the Khor Musa and Khor Duraq to
Buzlyeh (in the Fellahlyeh district), the Khor Musa to Bandar
Ma'shur, and the Hindlyan-River to Hindlyan village. The country
round Fellahlyeh and Bandar Ma'shur is much intersected by water
channels, and is liable to flood, and the land route leading from
these places to the Karun in the neighbourhood of Marid is probably
impassable for troops. The same is believed to be true of the whole
route from Bushire to Mohammareh (see vol. iii,
54). More practicable would seem to be the routes from Bandar
Ma'shur and Hindlyan to Ahwaz (see 66, stage 3;
62, stage 3 ; and 57).
The Lines of the Tigris and th —The Tigris leads
through Eastern and Northern Irak, the Euphrates along the
southern and western edge of the alluvial plain. The greater part
of the population of the country between Basra and Baghdad is to be
found on and near the banks of these rivers. E. of the Tigris to the
Karun, and NE. to the difficult hills of Luristan, the land is in
general either marsh or open steppe. To S. and W. of the Euphrates
ai'e the Arabian and Syrian deserts. Between the rivers the country
is for the most part either swamp or waterless waste. Therefore all
movement on a large scale from the Persian Gulf to the region of
Baghdad is confined to the lines of the Tigris and the Euphrates.
Of these the line of the Tigris is the more important, as that river is
much better suited to navigation than the Euphrates. Along both
lines land communication is difficult. On both, supplies of cereals,
rice, and live stock are to be had in quantities varying from poor to
plentiful according to the district and the year.
The line of the Tigris (about 450 m. by river and about 300 m.
by land from Kurna to Baghdad).—The river to Baghdad is navigable
for vessels drawing 5-6 ft. in the flood season, and 3 ft. in low
water. Navigation is variable owing to the changes caused by the