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"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
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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. Allah 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 coffeeshop, 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 Baha’u'llah, 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
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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.
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106 TREASURES OF THE EAST
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 roundshaped boat, is peculiar to the Tigris and Euphrates. It is made of reeds with wooden uprights and is plastered over with pitch.
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 “Irag 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.
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TREASURES OF THE EAST 107
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.
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Karbild. Sixty miles southwest of Baghdad is the town of Karbila, with its shrine of the martyred Hussein, son of "Ali, the fourth caliph and grandson of Muhammad. It is estimated that more than 200,000 pilgrims with their women and children journey annually to Karbila. Many bring the remains of their relatives to be buried in the sacred soil of this town.
