Treasures of the East/‘Iraq

Treasures of the East by Zia M. Bagdadi

Proofread once

"IRAQ AND THE ARABIAN DESERT

The trail from Aleppo to Baghdad by automobile along the Euphrates River, is reached a few hours outside of Aleppo. Deir ez-Zor, 225 miles from Aleppo, can be reached in the same evening, and 59 miles beyond is Abulkemal—284 miles from Aleppo.

Deir ezx-Zor. On reaching the Deir ez-Zor, we stop at the “Khan” (inn), which is a rectangular, one-story building with a flat roof, surrounding a courtyard.

A polite chap brings a tall urn-shaped pitcher of water. We get out our soap, and the boy pours water over hands and heads. Soon the villagers arrive to sell bread, milk, olives, live chickens, and sheep.

Meals are strictly buffet-luncheon style. Knives and forks do not exist and, of course, are not wanted.

Once I invited a Bedawi Arab to eat with me. For a moment he looked very serious and suspicious. ““Am I here [Page 104] open-air coffee-shops is occupied. Neither radio, movies, athletics, nor motor cars can ever rob the Oriental coffee-shop of its charm. I have repeatedly stated that to the people of the near and far East the coffee-shop is the recognized club for all classes of mankind. It is the board of trade and stock exchange in all those countries.

At night the summer gardens are open until 2:00 a.m. To the Occidental ear, Oriental music sounds queer, but after becoming accustomed to it, he will surely like it. The Syrian woman soloist enlivens her part with artistic dancing, while the orchestra and chorus, seated in a semi-circle around her, furnish the occasional responses to a recital.

Four hundred and fifty miles the old caravan route stretches across the desert from Aleppo in Syria to Baghdad in ’Iraq. Today we can go leisurely down the road in a Ford automobile.

’IRAQ AND THE ARABIAN DESERT

The trail from Aleppo to Baghdad by automobile along the Euphrates River, is reached a few hours outside of Aleppo. Deir ez-Zor, 225 miles from Aleppo, can be reached in the same evening, and 59 miles beyond is Abulkemal-284 miles from Aleppo.

Deir ez-Zor. On reaching the Deir ez-Zor, we stop at the "Khan" (inn), which is a rectangular, one-story building with a flat roof, surrounding a courtyard.

A polite chap brings a tall urn-shaped pitcher of water. We get out our soap, and the boy pours water over hands and heads. Soon the villagers arrive to sell bread, milk, olives, live chickens, and sheep.

Meals are strictly buffet-luncheon style. Knives and forks do not exist and, of course, are not wanted.

Once I invited a Bedawi Arab to eat with me. For a moment he looked very serious and suspicious. "Am I here [Page 105] to eat with you or to battle?" he asked. "To battle! What makes you say so?" I exclaimed. "Then what are these sharp knives, sharp-pointed picks, and shovels for?" he inquired, pointing his finger at the silver. I picked up the knives and forks and put them away. Then I explained to him their use. He shook his head and said. "No. Alláh has given us hands, and it would be sacrilege not to use them, even in eating.

We sleep on the flat roof of the inn, spreading our blankets. During the afternoon the men of the village sit in the shade below the coffee-shop, on the banks of the Euphrates, and watch a steady stream of women carrying heavy goatskins full of water on their heads and disappearing down the narrow streets of the village. One day from here by automobile we reach the city of Mosul and its oil fields, on the Tigris river.

Another route to Baghdad is along the west bank of the Euphrates through the ruins of Babylon, Nineveh, Palmyra, and Chrisophon to Abulkemal—the last town in French Syria. A few miles farther we reach Aana. After four hours' ride we reach Hadesa, and a dozen miles farther on is Ramadi. From Ramadi to Baghdad is half a day's ride. The Euphrates is crossed at Feludja. After that it is a level speedway of 60 miles, the gold minarets of Kadhmein soaring like beacons to the Tigris and the romantic city of old-Baghdad.

Baghdad, (The Abode of Peace), capital of 'Iraq, lies on the Tigris. Old Baghdad—the residence of Harun-ur-Rashid, hero of the Arabian nights, and the caliphs, and incidentally, the birthplace of my father and mother. Here Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of Universal Religion, lived as an exile for more than eleven years and declared his mission to the world.

The city is surrounded by a thick brick wall almost six miles in circuit. The houses are built mostly of brick. Many [Page 106] of its streets are narrow, but the bazaars are wide. The bazaar of Dawood Pasha still ranks as one of the most splendid in the world.

During the days of the caliphs-Arab rulers-Baghdad was the world's center of poetry, science, and invention.

Baghdad Mosque of Golden Domes

Harun-ur-Rashid, and after him his son, El Mamoon, were great patrons of learning, and established numerous academies and schools in Baghdad. Important works were written at that time on geography, history, philosophy, medicine, mathematics, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. Even the first clock was made in Baghdad, with all its parts of wood. [Page 107] This clock was sent from the caliph to the Emperor of France as a present.

Steamers ply on the Tigris river between Baghdad and Basrah to the Persian Gulf. The "Guffa" (Basket), a round-shaped boat, is peculiar to the Tigris and Euphrates. It is made of reeds with wooden uprights and is plastered over with pitch.

Guffas Baghdad.

Baghdad and the Tigris River

‘Iraq is now under British mandate, but its ruler is King Feisal. I met His Highness in Palestine in 1920.

Most of the inhabitants of ‘Iraq are Arabs. It is fortunate for the Arab, since his methods of irrigation have been so primitive, that his land in ‘Iraq has the most fertile soil in the world, and with the help of only a little water, produces wonderful crops. [Page 108]

THE DATE PALMS

The date palms of ‘Iraq are the chief attraction to the eyes of travelers. Imagine a huge date palm garden extending along the banks of the Tigris from Baghdad to the Persian Gulf to a distance more than two miles inland from the river. The number of trees cannot be short of 10,000,000. The quantity of fruit annually has been over 25,000,000 pounds and the value of the fruit, $3,500,000.

Baghdad The Famous Date Palms

The traveler who approaches ‘Iraq perceives the loveliness of the date palm as its rounded, slender stem, crowned with long, feathery branches rises from that land into the burning air. It grows close to the river, with "its feet in water and its head in heaven", according to the Arab saying. The tree is as good as it is beautiful. It has "as many uses as there are days in the year". A healthy tree reaches the height of more than 80 feet.