"كتيّب بلاد الرافدين. المجلد II. ١٩١٧" [‎٤‎٨‎١] (٥٤٢/٤٩٢)

OIL-FIELDS
Wf)
481
out difficulty, runs from Dizful to Deh Luran and Bedrah along the
foot -hills of the Pusht-i-Kuh. See 10 a and b.
To NE. is fche very difficult Bakhtiyari country, in which military
movement on any considerable scale seems to be impossible. The
main lines to Isfahan are (i) the Lynch Road
vol. iii, 69, and Corrections to Boutes vol. iii (1914), 69 a):
(ii) the line Shushtar—Qal'ah Bazuft—Ardal—Isfahan, shorter and
possibly easier than the Lynch Road [Eoutes vol. iii, 84,82,69:
Corrections, 69 a): (iii) the line Ahwaz—Ramuz—Dishmuk—Bard-i-
Kirm—Lurdagan—Isfahan, through the northern part of the Kuh-
galu country, believed to be easier than the Lynch Road
to Gazetteer of Persia, vol. iii (1913), pp. 51-62).
To E. the little-known Kuhgalu country separates the Karun plain
from Shiraz (see Boutes in Persia, vol. iii, 61, and
Gazetteer, vol. iii (1913), p. 51): only mule-tracks exist here. The
Bushire coast-road is very hot in summer, and liable to be flooded in
winter (see Boutes in Persia, vol. iii, 54, 57)._
The gypsum country in the immediate neighbourhood of Maidan-i-
Naftun is rough, and becomes slippery after rain. Good water is
scarce. See Eoutes in Persia, vol. iii, 74, and (1914), 71,72.
The naturally fertile plain of Dizful and Shushtar, with improved
irrigation and efficient government, might become a good centre for
the collection of supplies. The same seems to be true of the
Earn Hormuz district. The Karun country between Band-i-Qir
and Mohammereh could also be restored by means of irrigation
works. On mules obtainable at Dizful, Shushtar, and Ahwaz, see
Appendix E.
Kirkuk—Qase-i-ShIein—Mandali
General
This section of the oil-belt may prove very important, but it
has hardly been examined as yet except in the neighbourhood of
Qasr-i-Shlrln, and it is impossible to define the limits within which
production on a large scale may take place. It can only be said
(i) that oil is known to exist on the Turkish side of the frontier in
or close to the hills near Kirkuk, Tuz Khurmatli, Kufri (Salahiyeh),
and N. of Mandali: (ii) that oil is known to exist on the Persian side
of the frontier in the area between-the Turkish frontier on the AV.,
the Mahldesht neighbourhood on the E., the Upper Sirvan (Diyaleh)
on the N., and the border of Luristan on the S. In the Persian area
MBS. u h h