Through five Turkish provincesMark Sykes














THROUGH FIVE TURKISH PROVINCES





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PREFACE.
In the spring of 1898 I renewed my acquaint-
ance with the Hauran and commenced some
investigations which I resolved to continue at
the earliest opportunity. To enable me to do
so, the authorities of my college at Cambridge
kindly gave me leave of absence for the Lent
term of 1899. ^ England with the inten-
tion of spending three or four months in the
Syrian desert, but, when I reached Damascus,
I found that I was unable to obtain the necessary
permit. The consequence was that I went
over what to me was new ground, and visited
Aleppo, Baghdad, Mosul and Van; coming
home by way of Mount Ararat, Erivan, and
Batoum. In the following pages I have given
an account of my travels. The delay in pub-
lication is due to a variety of causes; among
others to the facl that since the beginning of
December last I have been with my militia
battalion first at Aldershot and then in South
Africa.


Preface.
The notes which have served me for the
compilation of this little book were jotted
down day by day; whatever erroneous opinions
may be expressed were formed on the spot and
are not due to subsequent investigations. I
have been blamed for not making "more of a
book": to have done so would have been
easy enough. I need but have padded what I
have written with historical and geographical
information, which it is better to seek in
works on history and geography, and with
crude and worthless criticisms of men, manners
and institutions. I have preferred to state
simply what has come under my own observa-
tion and not to ape the omniscience of the
journalist or of the globe-trotter. The matter
which is printed in Appendix I. originally
appeared in the Review of the Week and
I have to thank the editor of that paper for
kindly allowing me to reprint it.
I had hoped to have been able to give many
more illustrations: but my films were "fogged"
in the process of development—a result which,
I am informed, frequently happens when pro-
fessionals deal with the work of amateurs.


TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAP. PAGE
I. Introductory I
II. Damascus to Aleppo 13
III. Aleppo to Deir 31
IV. Deir to Baghdad 44
V. Baghdad to Mosul 56
VI. Mosul to Bitlis 68
VII. Bitlis to Van 81
VIII. Van to Chengil 98
IX. Civilisation! no
Appendix I. 'Isa Kubrusli 119
II. "How the Palikar's Honour was made
white" 134
III. A Quarrel among my Servants . 136
IV. Interview with an official . . . 139
Map of Asia Minor to face 142
Index H3
b





LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
The Author and Sheikh Fellah of the Adwan
Tribe frontispiece
English Passport (front and back) . to face i
My Caravan 7
Buruldi given at Aleppo 11
My Escort from Damascus 12
Ahmad Effendi and his Orderly 20
Gypsies and Bedouin, near Hasieh .... 22
Mounted Infantry from Aleppo 34
Nomad Fellahm 36
Zaptiehs 47
After the Jereed 50
First View of Baghdad 54
Kazimiyya Mosque at Baghdad 56
Mounted Infantry from Kerkuk ..... 62
Three Soldiers and a Zaptieh at Sert ... 77
American Missionary and Mission-house at
Bitlis 79
The Jdmi 84
Mulazim Mustafa Arrah 93
Kurdish Khanjars . 102
'Isa Kubrusli and a Zaptieh 119
My Cook 136








THROUGH FIVE TURKISH
PROVINCES.
CHAPTER I.
Introductory.
When I reached Damascus, in the early days
of 1899, I had the intention of again visiting
the Hauran; but difficulties arose and I resolved
to go to Baghdad by way of Aleppo. I took
with me a dragoman, a cook, a waiter, four
muleteers, and a groom; seven Syrian mules, fine
willing beasts capable of carrying heavy loads;
two good country horses for myself and one each
for the cook and the waiter; a Persian pony
for the dragoman; and last, though not least,
a Kurdish sheepdog that answered to the
name of Barud, i.e. Gunpowder, and not only
attended the pitching and striking of the
camp but after nightfall undertook the entire
responsibility of guarding it. My camp con-
sisted of three tents. One was used by me to
sleep in; another I used during the day and
my servants at night; the third served as a
kitchen. The tents provided by Messrs. Cook
B


2 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
and other contractors are excellent tor touring
in Syria, but they will not do for a long journey
where hard work is to be expected. For that
purpose either military bell tents or those
known as " the tortoise" should be chosen as
two of these will go on a mule; whereas one
of the others, technically known as Egyptian
tents, is a heavy load. I had tortoise tents,
which were provided with loops for fastening
them on to the mules. The muleteers however
covered the loops in wrapping them up and
packed them in such a way that they fell off
three or four times a day. The Syrian method
of loading mules is very bad, the pack-saddle
being merely a species of paillasse with a loose
girth on which the loads are slung with ropes;
so that if the mule increases his speed beyond
that of a slow walk the loads slip round or fall
off. This entails so much delay that another
time I should take my own mule saddles.
The most important of my attendants was
'Isa Kubrusli the dragoman, a man of Cypriot
descent. Thirty years ago a dragoman was a
person of importance; a man similar in char-
acter to the confidential courier who in the
last century accompanied young noblemen on
the grand tour. But he has degenerated and
for the most part is now simply a bear leader
to hoards of English and Americans who invade


4 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
very meselable; some ride like monkeys; and
some I see afraid from the horses." One set of
our countrymen excited his deepest contempt.
"Den noder kind of Henglish he not believe
notin; he laugh for everything and everybody;
he call us poor meselable black; he say every-
thing is nonsense and was no God and notin;
dis is de vile and if many Henglish come like
dis den our God he come hangry for your
nation, Sir, and he shake down de governoor
Henglish and his ship and his country."
But if 'Isa thought that the English had
degenerated he certainly thought them superior
to most other peoples. Germans he thought
mean; Russians a "vile beas'ly dirty people"
with "bad sense in de head and bad smell in
his body." He said "we laugh for de Italian
because he not got good sense ;" and as for the
French they are "all de same like monkey
sometime he laugh sometime he sorry he shake
de head he shake de hand and is like foolish
man." His judgements on the people of Syria
were equally trenchant. He liked the Chris-
tians of Bethlehem for "dis is very good very
quiet and nice nation "; but "the Maronites
nation is very vile he do shame busy (business)
because he got no sense." The Armenian he
described as a " debil liar and no shame 'tall."


IntroduEiory. 5
The Circassians he said have "got sense like
de Henglish"; but the Jews he abominated,
"dis man is more vile more dirty more beas'ly
from all de world because he dirty like Rooshan
and robber like Armenian." Finally he greatly
preferred to be governed by the Turk than by
the Russian; "I pray our God he help de
Toorkish if de Rooshan commence make
fight." So much for 'Isa and his opinions,1 for
it is time to say a word about my other servants.
The cook was named Michael Sala. He
was a brown-complexioned fellah, a type of
hundreds who may be seen any day looking for
work outside Shepheard's hotel in Cairo. He
had travelled a good deal and had among other
places visited Zanzibar and Bombay. Jacob
Arab, my waiter, was a young, fair-haired, blue-
eyed Caucasian who would pass for anything
but a Syrian; he was a hot-tempered youth
but willing and honest. He and Michael were
Latin Christians from Jerusalem: 'Isa, too, was
a Christian but my muleteers were moslems
from Jerusalem and the Lebanon. Muleteers
as a class are inclined to be very slow in all
their movements and are apt to complain of
long days, but with a little tacl and firmness
they can be easily managed. Three of mine
1 See Appendix, p. 119.


6 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
were faithful hardworking fellows; but Omar
their chief, a huge man with staring eyes and
a harsh strident voice, had an abominable
temper and an infinite capacity for idling.
The other servant, Halil, was what 'Isa called
"one servant for the horses "; but he was also
entrusted with the luncheon basket, my kodak,
and my rifle.
Having spoken of my servants I had better
now describe how the day was passed. The time
of rising depended on the length of the coming
day's march. An average day's work is from
seven to nine hours; a short one from five to
six; a long one twelve or more. It is always
well to arrange for arriving at the next en-
campment about four o'clock in the afternoon
even if this necessitates getting up at three in
the morning. I was generally roused from
sleep by the cries and disputes of my servants,
and soon Jacob would appear with breakfast,—
ham and eggs with toast. I ate this heartily
and then tubbed. Twenty minutes later the
muleteers would be tying the last cords round
my canvas house previous to slinging it on the
mule's back. If my escort were leaving, I
should now pay their baksheesh; and, as soon
as they were convinced that they would get no
more, they would loudly protest their regret at






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8 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
way and you keep an even pace for the caravan.
Of course muleteers do not like this, as it not
only shows how easily they might be dispensed
with but also obliges them to walk consider-
ably faster than is their custom. I certainly
believe that with light loads and with mounted
muleteers travelling could be made much
easier and quicker.
The road would roughly follow the course
of the river; sometimes it would be actually
along the bank; very rarely would it be more
than three miles away. The morning passed
quickly. The time was spent in asking and
answering questions or telling tales of the
ordinary oriental type,1 and occasionally a song
would be sung; whichever it was there would
be an incessant undercurrent of cries and abuse
from themuleteers urging on the pack-mules:—
yallah yallah yd shebdb, "Go on, go on fair
youth;" Allah a'ti&um el 'afiyeh, "God give
thee strength;" Allah egherhum Allah, " O God
help them, O God." But if a beast stumbled
we should hear amar yd min 'ainak, "O blind
one look with your eyes;" or mwatah yd ibn
hardmi, "Curse you, dead son of a thief;"
or perchance dinak yd ma'lun, "Curse your
religion O cursed one." When we were
1 See Appendix, p. 134.


IntroduStory. 9
about half way we began to look out for a
wood, " a tall rock in the wilderness," or a cave
where "el lanch" could be eaten in shade
and peace. When a suitable spot had been
found, 'Isa and Hah'l would spread the eatables
on a napkin. During ramadhan the escort
would sit down a little way off and watch the
"infidel" and his servant drink forbidden
liquors and eat the flesh of unclean animals.
It is somewhat difficult for those to whom it is
a daily article of food to grasp the moslem
feeling with regard to the eating of swine's
flesh. To a true moslem a horse, or even a
dog, would be preferable; for the hog is re-
garded as the acme of all that is foul, unhealthy,
and loathsome. I have often known a soldier
refuse even to pass a tin whereon a good
Hampshire porker was depi&ed; and I have
seen him stamp on the labels and destroy tins
which had contained ham, though every closed
metal receptacle is an objecT; of more or less value.
After luncheon a cigarette would be smoked
and the basket repacked. We should then set
out again and ride on till we were about three
miles from our destination, when with the
help of glasses we could generally distinguish
the site of the camp. If the tents were not
already raised we used to wait for half an hour






BURULDI GIVEN AT ALEPPO.


IntroduEiory.
horseback and a few on foot. All as they pass
cheerfully give the salam 'alaikum, " Upon you
be the blessing," even to Christians, expecting
to hear in reply '■alaikum es-saldm, "And upon
you also the blessing." The post, el bosta, is
carried from station to station, at about five
miles an hour, by the zaptiehs, or gendarmes,
of whom I shall have more to say later on.
The only other people one meets are the
Bedouins and nomad fellahi'n. These one in-
variably mistrusts; and, when a party of them
is seen ahead, there is a general unslinging of
rifles and easing of cartridge belts. For my
part as they passed I usually gave the blessing
with my hand in the holster.
Those who wish, as I did, to travel in the
wilder districts where an escort is necessary,
must obtain permission to do so from the wall
or governor of the vilayet or district; who, if he
approves, either gives you a buruldi, a written
permit, or telegraphs to the different police
posts on your line of route. I was granted an
escort by the wall of Damascus but did not
receive a buruldi till I reached Aleppo; after
which I received one in every vilayet I passed
through except those of Bitlis and Erzeroum.
The kind of escort of course varies according
to the nature of the country. If a traveller is


12 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
going through country where an attack is a
possibility, I think that soldiers as well as
zaptiehs are necessary. Zaptiehs are good as
guides, they know the roads to a minute—all
distances in the East are measured by time—
but as an escort I think they are of little or no
use when a really serious impediment is in the
way, as their firearms are antiquated and often
lacking in some essential part. The military,
on the other hand, are well armed and have a
very good idea of using their weapons. In
districts where it is risky even for natives to
travel one zaptieh may be quite enough, as he
will show that you are coming with the sanction
of the government and that you are not a person
who may be robbed with impunity; but, as I
have said, if it is a really unsettled locality,
such as that adjoining Kerkuk, an escort of
soldiers is better. As to this the authorities
make no difficulty if you have a buruldi;
where soldiers are necessary soldiers are given,
and where zaptiehs are sufficient such are
provided. I may say that during the whole
of my journey I never had the least difficulty
put in my way by any of his imperial majesty's
officials, and that I was never allowed to per-
ceive that I was an objecl: of suspicion, though
this must frequently have been the case.



H
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CHAPTER II.
Damascus to Aleppo.
I left Damascus on January 17th, 1899. It
was the first week of ramadhan and travelling
in the month of ramadhan has its disadvantages;
for fasting puts the muleteers into a very bad
temper and the escort clamour for food at all
hours of the night. The first day's march was
a short one of five hours, a mere trial trip.
The camp was pitched at Khan Aiash, a ruinous
building which is also used as a barrack; ten
or twelve mounted police are stationed there.
They were smartly dressed, as, like most of the
other troops in that district, they had been
given new uniforms in honour of the German
emperor's visit; which by the way seems to
have been a greater success in Damascus than
it was in Jerusalem. On my arrival I found
the commander of the police, an oriental Sir
John Falstaff, waiting with marked impatience
for sunset that he might break his fast.
I left Khan Aiash the following morning
about eight o'clock and arrived at El Kutaifeh
some three hours later; it was then snowing


Damascus to Aleppo. 15
of filth, while cocks and hens stride about among
them.
The khan at El Kutaifeh was a bad specimen;
it was filthy and alive with fleas. 'Isa said to
me in English " This is a meselable khan with
rubbish master," and to the aforesaid master
and his satellites " Why is not the khan clean?
Prepare rooms for my master. Dogs and sons
of dogs away. Make room. Shame upon you
to stand idle when my master and I require
shelter." Much to my disgust I was obliged
to stay here, and a room was prepared for me
by scraping off some of its superficial filth; but
I determined to get on with as little delay as
possible. That El Kutaifeh once possessed a
decent shelter for travellers is evident from
the only thing of interest in the village—a
ruined khan, built some four centuries ago.
But now it has none. The only thing which
enlivened my stay happened in the evening and
really was a ridiculous scene. My horse broke
loose. To catch it the muleteers threw stones
at it; screamed ta'l ta'I that is "come here,
come here;" and fought with each other. For
three quarters of an hour they yelled, shrieked,
and cursed, driving the horse about the whole
time. It was then dead beat and was caught
easily enough.


16 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
The following day I set out for Nebk. On
the road I stopped at an interesting old khan,
in ruins of course. We rode on until eleven
o'clock when we halted for luncheon. During
the meal a very small and deformed Kurd
passed along the road, by which we were to
travel; half an hour later he came running back
with loud cries, and told the officer that two
bad men had tried to rob him. We consequently
quickly mounted and cantered along the road,
the dwarf holding the officer's stirrup, till we
came upon two men—one a Kurd and the other
a Syrian from Tripoli. They were immediately
stopped and fastened together with a curious
iron handcuff" consisting of a bar of iron with
a vice at each end into which one wrist of each
prisoner was passed. A camel's hair rope was
tied round their free hands and made secure to
the policeman's stirrup. They made very little
resistance; but loudly protested their innocence
whilst the dwarf danced and jabbered like a
maniac. We led them in this way some five
or six miles and then inquired into the fadts;
and after a long cross-examination of all three
it became quite clear that the dwarf had never
had anything that could be stolen. It was
getting late and I wished to push on to Nebk
so I jokingly asked my dragoman why the officer


Damascus to Aleppo. 17
did not flog them all and let them go. This
suggestion was repeated to him and a<5ted on
promptly. After a sound castigation all three
were set at liberty, the dwarf being given three
or four hundred yards start. We then con-
tinued our journey and arrived at Nebk at about
four o'clock. I rode straight to the serai where
the kaimakam of the district lived and paid him
the usual compliments.
At one time or another I have interviewed
four walls, a score of kaimakams and as many
mudirs, and whether it was the governor of a
province the size of Scotland or the head man
of a miserable little mud village the ceremony
was the same. If you are visiting an official of
any kind you are first led into an ante-chamber
where various clients and litigants are waiting
to interview the man of power. There is the
shepherd who has been robbed, and perhaps the
Bedouin who has robbed him; the merchant
with a law suit; and the Christian who wants
a post. Probably you will not be left long in
this company. When the curtain which hangs
before the office is raised you are bound by
politeness to attempt to take off your boots;
and if no one interferes with you it would be
as well to actually take them off! This done
you will enter the official san&um. If you are
c


i8 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
expected, there will generally be a few of the
higher officials sitting there to see you; the
sheikh of the mosque, the commander of the
police, and possibly a military officer. A com-
fortable divan will run partly round the roomr
and the floor may be beautifully carpeted with
Persian rugs; but the walls are generally white-
washed and bare of ornament, with the exception
perhaps of a flaring English or French calendar.
The only furniture, besides the divan, is a table
with writing implements on it and generally
an armchair for the official himself. When, on
entering, you salute your host he will rise and
motion you to a seat. A few questions will be
asked as to where you are going; what your
occupation is in England; why you are in that
particular district; where you came from; and
what your object is in travelling. They are
especially anxious to know whether you are a
government official; and whether you are mak-
ing maps, that is "spying out the country."
When the very excellent coffee, which is always
offered, comes in, the first cup is handed to
the stranger and the conversation then takes
a more general turn. At the time of my visit
Crete was uppermost in the minds of my hosts,
and I was often asked through my dragoman
"Is it true that they make one meselable Greek


Damascus to Aleppo. 19
boy king for all the Crete?" On my saying
that I was sorry this was so, the reply would be
that:—" It is plenty shame for the Europe to
take a meselable man like this; shame for the
Turkish to leave it," or something to the same
effect. After a couple of cups of coffee have
been drunk your host will get to business,
examine your passports and papers, and then
give an order for the escort you will require to
the next station. After lighting your second
cigarette you may bid the official good-bye;
but before he lets you go he will be sure to
press his hospitality upon you and to tell you
that you are free of his house and board. All
this happened at Nebk; and I left the kaimakam
with the desired order and with the assurance
that if I liked to have his house it and every-
thing in it belonged to me.1
I declined his hospitality and returned to my
camp for the night. A fearful storm of hail
and rain woke me at two o'clock, but I did
not get up till four; I then found my cook
being extricated from the sodden ruins of the
kitchen tent. The ground was a perfect morass
and I saw that I could neither remain where I
was nor move on to my next halting place.
While I was pondering on this dilemma Ahmad
1 See Appendix, p. 139.


20 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
Effendi, the commander of the police, whom I
had met the night before at the kaimakam's,
sent his servant to ask me to stay with my
servants at his house. His hospitality was ex-
traordinary even for an oriental. He insisted
on having meals cooked for me at the greatest
inconvenience to himself, for as it was ramadhan
he could not eat before sunset, and he would not
allow me to provide any of the food. He would
even have turned out of his bed and have slept
on the floor but luckily my own bed was un-
injured by the storm. When I left him four
days later he absolutely refused to take any
remuneration for putting us up and finding us
with food; and, "like master like man," his
servants would take nothing either. This most
hospitable of men, who was about forty-five
years of age, saw active service in the Russo-
Turkish war and was one of the heroic defenders
of Plevna under Osman Pasha. In that war
he lost his left eye; he received a sabre cut on
the face, of which he still bears the scar; and
he was struck on the right arm and nearly
crippled for life by a splinter of a shell. He
is now responsible for the policing of Nebk and
the surrounding country and he told me that
he saw some pretty hard fighting with the
Druses some three years ago. Ad multos annos I



AHMAD EFFENDI AND HIS ORDERLY.





Damascus to Aleppo. 21
During the course of that day a certain
native Christian, a convert I believe of an
English-speaking mission, thought it necessary
to call upon me. He began his interview by
attempting to find out to what church I be-
longed; as I did not enlighten him he took
me to be what many young Englishmen are or
have the reputation of being, a free thinker, and
commenced jeering at both Christianity and
El Islam. When he discovered that his stupid
irreverence neither amused nor pleased me, he
changed the conversation and began to make
the vilest insinuations against the honesty of
my host, whose coffee by the way he was drink-
ing. His object evidently was to induce me
to go to his own house where he said he would
put me up very cheaply; but I need hardly say
I declined his offer. This worthy said that
the missionaries, by whom he was occasion-
ally employed, never attempted to convert
Mohammedans but entirely devoted themselves,
so far as religion is concerned, to battling with
other Christians. However this may be, I
must in fairness say that I believe that their
medical and educational works are carried on
quite irrespective of seel: or creed.
The next day it was snowing heavily and
the weather was too cold for camping so I tele-








Damascus to Aleppo. 23
o'clock. I asked him if twelve hours would
be sufficient to rest his horses and he unthink-
ingly replied in the affirmative; I thereupon
informed him that it was my invariable custom
to start at midnight. To this of course he
could make no objection; but said that if the
carriage fell over it would not be his fault. So
we had to stay for twelve hours at Hasieh, the
most desolate and filthy little village that it
has ever been my luck to visit. It possesses
two idiots instead of the proverbial one. The
first is an ordinary majnun; the other, and chief
one, the mudir who did not think it necessary
to entertain me, so that I had to spend my time
in a fellahin house which was anything but
pleasant or savoury. It consisted of a large
heap of offal with four rooms leading off it:
the first and best was occupied by the cow;
the second, which was not quite so clean, was
given to me; in the other two most of the
villagers were gathered together to watch my
cook preparing what he called "roast whale
and potted hyasna" that is roast veal and potted
ham.
We started again at midnight. Two soldiers
rode in front, to show the way, and two others
behind, to watch the coachman. It was a
bright moonlight night and the road was per-


24 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
feclly clear. Notwithstanding this the carriage
went through such a series of heavings and
pitchings as would become a broken down tramp
in an Atlantic gale. The dragoman and cook
who were my companions accompanied every
lurch with a loud cry of " Oah." The com-
motion grew serious and the discomfort in-
creased when the carriage took a decided list
to port, whereat my dragoman insisted on
changing places with me as I was the heaviest.
This in itself was a considerable achievement
as the carriage contained, besides the cook the
dragoman and myself, four pairs of saddle bags,
a folding bed and four rugs, a medicine chest,
a kodak, and a collapsible bath. I had hardly
changed places and begun to settle down when
the carriage fell on its side with a fearful thud
which was accompanied by a howl of terror
from the dragoman and the cook. The ensuing
scene was not without a humorous side. The
carriage opened and spat out a curious assort-
ment of men and things on the scrub of the
Syrian desert, and it was only when the cook,
the bath, the medicine chest, and the drago-
man, had been lifted off me that I was able
to survey the scene of the accident. Its appear-
ance reminded me exactly of those admirable
pictures drawn in Christmas numbers of illus-


Damascus to Aleppo. 25
trated papers of Gretna Green elopements
coming to grief in a ditch; luckily however
no lady was present, for the language made
use of, whether in Arabic or in English, was
neither that of the Koran nor that of the
Sunday-at-Home.
Eventually we found that by good fortune
little damage was done except to the hand of
the coachman; and as it was evident from the
account the escort gave that he had intention-
ally upset the carriage I had little pity for him.
The excitement was a little intensified by 'Isa
trying to shoot the coachman with an unloaded
revolver; but the latter fortunately contented
himself with brandishing a knife on the other
side of the wreck.
When I had been there five minutes, I
noticed, a hundred yards ahead, another carriage
very like my own, only with three horses
instead of four. I went up to it and on rap-
ping at the window I found that it contained
four native gentlemen bound for Homs, a place
distant some four hours' journey from where
we then were. The driver was cold and so
these gentlemen had pulled up in the middle
of the desert and let him in to smoke, chatter,
and sleep, just as if the carriage were one of
their Damascus cafes. They did not even tie


Damascus to Aleppo. 29
worsted saddle and bridle. I mounted this and
was conducted to the serai where the kaimakam
awaited my arrival. To reach his official
reception room, I had to pass through the
common gaol where various evil doers, who
were sitting about in chains, smilingly asked
for baksheesh. The kaimakam received me
well. As my coachman was inclined to be
troublesome and wished to stop here, I had
him brought up and saw how justice was ad-
ministered. He strode in truculent and with
folded arms, and my dragoman instantly saw
that there was an excellent chance of having a
considerable scene. Both parties began to fight;
the dragoman cursed the coachman and the
coachman cursed the dragoman. When the two
were screaming their loudest the kaimakam
handed me a cigar and began talking about
Europe; only when they had exhausted the
springs of their abuse did he intervene and
then he quietly remarked that if the coachman
did not drive on in half an hour he would re-
main there for some weeks. The coachman
cursed and swore, flung himself on his knees,
wept, hurled his tarboosh on the ground, but
all to no purpose, he had to go. That evening
about seven o'clock we arrived at Serakib, and
here to my surprise I found the mules and


30 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
baggage; mules and muleteers were in good
health, nothing had been lost on the way, and
nothing was damaged. The following day,
after a drive of fourteen hours, I arrived at
Aleppo. Alhamdolillah.


32 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
months to go, and when it does go it leaves a
scar behind. When it attacks the corner of
the mouth, it gives a most sinister expression
to its victim for the rest of his natural life;
one sees dreadful examples of this in the
bazaars. I was told that, curiously enough,
although everyone who lives in the town gets
the "Aleppo button," in the neighbouring
villages it is unknown.
I had an opportunity through the kindness
of Mr. Barnham, the English consul, of visit-
ing the citadel. From the outside it looks
very imposing; the gateway is a fine piece of
work and the doors are impressive. But the
interior is little more than a ruin, and is dis-
appointing in the extreme. I heard it stated
while I was in Aleppo that the whole mass on
which the citadel is built is artificial. This I
could hardly credit, for as we went down into
the subterranean chambers we passed through
living rock, though it seemed that we must
still be some distance from the bottom of the
eminence on which the citadel stands. The sub-
terranean chambers are very spacious but dark,
the only light being through a little crack in
the roof. There is a considerable quantity of
early nineteenth century English shells, cannon-
balls, carronade and case shot: and I have heard


Aleppo to Deir.
33
it said that there is a large collection of ancient
weapons, but they were not forthcoming.
I came across a curious example of the
growth of fidtion while staying here. Mr.
Barnham had on some occasion or another
given a fancy dress ball to the European colony.
The story which gained credit in the bazaars
was that the English consul had clothed him-
self in curious raiment and put flowers in his
hair and then called all his friends together
that he might dance before them! A story
probably not more untrue than many of those
printed in reputable journals as coming from
"our own correspondent" in some oriental
country.
Nearly everyone I met, who was not a native,
seemed to be trying to get away from the place,
without success. Amongst others in the hotel
where I stayed there was a French lady who
had come to see her son who was employed in
the Regie; she had been waiting there to see
him for about six months and in all probability
would be there for another six. There was an
official of the Ottoman Bank who had come
there with three clerks to make some enquiries;
he expecled to stay a fortnight but had already
been there four months and, according to his
own account would probably be there for
D


34 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
another year. There was, too, an English lady
who, I believe, was engaged in a perennial law-
suit with the Turkish government. So on the
whole the company of the hotel was not lively,
and I think I was looked on much in the same
way as travellers are looked on in Mexico city,
where the question is asked: "Why should
this idiot come into an accursed place like this
when he has a chance of being elsewhere?"
But I only stayed among them for six days, at
the end of which time I started for Baghdad
escorted by two mounted infantry and by two
zaptiehs.
The first day's march from Aleppo was to
take us to Deir-el-Kafir. We lost our way
after sunset and found the village by its smell,
which reached us when we were at least a mile
and a half away. The people complained of the
badness of their crops, so noticing some enor-
mous pits filled with manure I asked if they
ever put any of it on the land. My question
was received with contemptuous smiles; and I
was asked in reply who would eat corn grown
on land where such filth had been thrown.
Taken all round the fellahin of this part of the
world do not seem remarkable for their intelli-
gence; in faft they are the most good-natured
idiots it is possible to conceive. Their ideas



MOUNTED INFANTRY FROM ALEPPO.





Aleppo to Deir.
35
of time and space are nil. If you ask how far
away a certain village is, you may be told "one
hour" be the real distance anything from five
minutes to twelve hours; or, when you are
beginning to feel tired, everyone you ask during
the space of say a couple of hours may tell you
that you are only "seven hours" from your
destination. This is really the most annoying
form of stupidity I have ever met.
The following day we marched for about
eight hours. At the village where we rested
for luncheon, I came across a remarkable cure
for biliousness; a man complained to me that
he so suffered and, on my asking what he had
done for it, he bared his back and showed me
about thirty barbarous wounds inflicted with a
red-hot knife. I reached Meskeneh at about
six o'clock and for the first time saw the
Euphrates, which, though not so disappointing
as the Jordan, is not impressive. Its water is
so muddy that it is impossible to see through
a wine-glass filled with it. On the hills behind
Meskeneh there are some interesting ruins, some
Graeco-Roman and some Mohammedan. I was
especially struck by a brick minaret, which
looked as if it might have been three or four
centuries old.
Meskeneh is the first military post on the


36 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
high road from Aleppo to Baghdad. These
military posts, at one of which I stayed every
night, are situated at distances from sixteen to
twenty-five miles apart; their purpose is to
keep order in the valley and to prevent the
Anezeh Arabs from crossing the Euphrates.
They are garrisoned by police or by mounted
infantry; at Meskeneh there were about fifty
of the latter. These mounted infantry are I
believe an entirely new departure of the Turkish
military authorities and I should think a very
sensible one. For fighting purposes the Turkish
infantryman is without a rival, but in a country
where irregular warfare is the order of the day
battalions are useless and zaptiehs are not much
better; but an Osmanli "Tommy" when
mounted on a good mule is equal to any emer-
gency, for he combines the mobility of the
zaptieh with the advantages of good weapons
and some knowledge of their use.
I only stayed one night at Meskeneh; the
next one I spent at Abu Hureirah, where I
found myself in touch with the nomad fellahin
of the Euphrates valley, who are a very poor
reproduction of their Bedouin forefathers. The
ground here is almost wholly uncultivated and,
though in all directions there are signs of canals,
everything has an appearance of desolation and



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38 Through Five Turkish Provinces,
There is a town on the other side of the river
which I made up my mind to visit, but when
morning came I found that it was impossible.
On arriving at the river bank I found a soldier
bellowing loudly for a certain Abdullah who
was the ferryman. We could see his craft on
the other side of the river and several people
standing about it; and eventually we persuaded
one of them to go to the bazaar in the town
and fetch him. I was told that it was his cus-
tom to keep even the post waiting four or five
hours on the bank, till someone should cross
from the other side, so that he might not run the
risk of having a journey for nothing. After an
hour's delay Abdullah appeared and absolutely
refused to come across as he said that very likely
the soldier would not pay his fare. We threat-
ened him with our rifles but he was immovable;
so I abused him roundly in Arabic, reviling his
ancestors from Cain downwards and ending
with that most abusive epithet " Pig and child
of the remote ones" (otherwise swine), and then
rode away relieved, feeling certain that he must
have heard most of what I said.
I arrived at Mardan at about six o'clock in
the evening. Next day's march was unpleasant
as it rained heavily all the time. Camping
that night at Et-Tarif, the following day I set


40 "Through Five Turkish Provinces.
to protedt them from the rain but left my trunk,
which was made of leather and therefore
not quite waterproof, exposed. Again, as my
saddle, being a European one, was the only one
which did not gall the horse's back into a
bleeding mass, they put two ill-fitting pads
beneath it that it might do so. But this is a
digression.
I arrived at Deir at half past three or there-
abouts. Here the Turkish government seem
to have been making improvements. On the
northern side of the town there are some fine
barracks and also a large military hospital with
two little lodges at the gates. Over one is
written in French Pharmacie and over the other
Salle de Consul: I could not understand what
the latter could mean till I was close up to
it when I saw on the bottom of the frame
tation in minute characters! On my arrival I
called on the mutesarrif who was very obliging
and hospitable. In the evening some Chaldean
monks sent a message to tell me they would
call the next morning and to warn me not to
receive the Armenian patriarch; they did call
and found with me the patriarch's vicar, who
was warning me not to have any connection
with the monks, and on seeing him they
speedily retired. I did not learn what their


CHAPTER IV.
Deir to Baghdad.
I stayed at Deir a clear day and started again
the second morning after my arrival at seven
o'clock. As the muleteers had had a day's
rest they were particularly lazy and somewhat
mutinous; but the persuasions of my escort,
who threatened to use a cowhide whip if they
did not hurry up, were effectual. I had a
sergeant and four men with me. The sergeant
was at Urfa during the massacres, speaking of
which he said :—" One day our captain called
us out and told us that the wives of some Moham-
medans had been tortured by Armenians. We
were ordered to find the Armenians and kill
them and we did kill all we met. Next day
we were told to kill some Kurds in a village
near. But our captain would then do no
more and I was sent here."
We stopped at Meyadin where I visited a
ruined castle. The native story is that it was
built by the Jews and subsequently destroyed
by 'Ali, who put its inhabitants to the sword
as they would not embrace Islam; but what


y





48 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
before his superiors with hands in his pockets;
he gives his opinion on the affairs of the
empire; and he slouches through the bazaar
with an independent gait—indeed he is the
only independent man in Mesopotamia. I
have often wondered if the old soldier of fortune
of the sixteenth century was like him. His
uniform clothes him more or less for it ranges
from a hussar jacket and trousers, if emperors
have been about, to tatters and four buttons in
ordinary times. The government I believe
gives him a Snider, or a Remington, a handful
of cartridges and its blessing. To this he adds
a nickel revolver and, if he is rich, a sword;
then mounts his own horse and starts on his
business whatever it may be. His nationality
is undetermined. He may be a negro descend-
ant of some released slave, one of the fellahin
of the Euphrates valley or, as is more gener-
ally the case, a Kurd. He is at his best on
horseback and his seat is sufficiently graceful.
To see him basking in the sunlight before his
ruined barrack is not an impressive sight. He
sits there on his heels smoking some one else's
narghileh, sipping coffee which some friend
has brought him, and dispensing wisdom in
a raucous voice to the surrounding crowd.
His weather-beaten cheeks are covered with


50 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
feats of horsemanship; such for instance as
riding on a wooden saddle, without any girths,
at full gallop towards an opponent and then
stopping short when within a couple of yards
of him. After watching this performance for
an hour and a half I left and rode on to El-
Kadi'm where I camped. I found a large
Persian caravan, bound on a pilgrimage, al-
ready there. The people were interesting but
fluent liars of the first order. From three
different people I received the following
answers as to the distance between Baghdad
and Teheran. The first said it was twenty-
two, the second forty, the third thirty days'
journey. I was also told that the weather they
had had was beautiful; that there was snow
ten feet deep all the way; and that there was
continual rain. As to the road one said that
it was a railway; another a carriage road; a
third a mule road; one man even averred that
there was no road at all. One of the mule-
teers, who was certainly the ugliest man I have
ever seen in Asia, sat in my kitchen tent and
described to me the road between Baghdad and
Mosul which it was my intention to traverse.
He began by telling me that many, very many,
Europeans made use of it every year, perhaps
some three thousand; but when pressed he








Deir to Baghdad. 51
modified this and said that he had known two
European gentlemen go by it two years before.
He went on to say that it was fearfully danger-
ous; that no one had ever travelled by it and
lived; that, in facl:, one Kurd from that
country would rob a caravan of five hundred
bold men like himself! Certainly the Cretans
are not the only liars in the East!
Next day we met a number of Persian pil-
grims on the march, and were told that if, as
we proposed to do, we camped at El Nehye we
should certainly be robbed. We camped there
all the same and fortunately found that the
Persian was a false prophet. At this place the
scenery underwent a complete change; palm
trees abounded and the country generally
appeared more fertile. On February 14th I
arrived at 'Anah, the first place of any import-
ance after Deir, and found that it consisted of
one street, which appeared to me to be at least
two miles long. Its inhabitants have that strik-
ingly dignified air of philosophical abstraction
which, in orientals, generally seems to hide
inborn laziness and crass stupidity. I visited
the kaimakam and he returned my call; he
was very hospitable and gave me some useful
information as to the condition of the roads.
At 'Anah my five soldiers took their leave and


52 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
I received in exchange two zaptiehs with whom
I set off in the morning. I noticed after leaving
'Anah more naouras and some signs of irrigation.
At Hama some people joined my caravan for the
sake of the protection afforded by the zaptiehs.
Next day as I was riding to Jibba I had an
adventure. About two hours after luncheon
we saw, a mile and a half away, a man on horse-
back, with a Bedouin lance, followed by fourteen
others on foot with guns. My one gendarme
(the other was with the mules) became some-
what excited and told us we had better ride
off the track; so we cantered off the road
and stopped about five hundred yards away on
the left. The zaptieh loaded his rifle and
covered the strangers; I did the same with my
rifle; so did the dragoman with his revolver.
As they had only got flint-lock guns we were
well out of their range; but they were not out
of ours. I think they appreciated this for the
gentleman on horseback stopped and shouted
out that he would not touch us. I subsequently
learnt at Baghdad that these men were from the
Anezeh; they were I believe then going to
fight the Shammar Arabs, as at that time there
was a feud between the two tribes. When
these fellows are on such an expedition as this
they do not hesitate to rob anyone that comes


Deir to Baghdad.
in their way; and they would probably have
robbed us if we had not adted as we did.
The following day I was accompanied by
fifty persons who joined my caravan for the
advantage of the escort. That night at Hit
I was aroused about ten o'clock by a perfect
fusillade from the gentry who were camped
next me; on enquiry I found that there was
nothing the matter but that it was their custom
to fire all night long to frighten any possible
robbers. I stopped this tomfoolery.
In the morning I cantered on to Ramadi
with Jacob, leaving the mules to follow, as I
wished to telegraph to the English resident at
Baghdad. I found that the wire was broken
but the clerk, who was sitting contentedly on
the roof of his office, told me that it should
be repaired as a mark of respecl: to myself; and
that, if I waited, I should be able to send a
telegram next day. The kaimakam was a
Jerusalem man, and he seemed very pleased to
see my servants with whom he gossiped for a
long time. He called on me in the evening
and was highly delighted with my " sparklets,"
with which I made him three bottles of soda-
water which he drank with great gusto. The
next stopping place was Faliija where is found
the first bridge over the Euphrates. There is



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Deir to Baghdad. 55
and then we entered the narrow streets of Bagh
dad through which we passed, my escort push-
ing everyone aside with the arrogance which is
usually shown by military police.
The first thing which struck me was the
cleanliness of these streets. I make no doubt
that to anyone coming straight from Europe
they would appear filthy but as compared with
Aleppo, for example, they are spotless. Half
an hour after passing the oclroi the Tigris
appeared and on the right hand side we saw the
famous L. Lynch steamers surrounded by gufars
or coracles, which spin merrily between the
shipping. Arab stevedores and porters scurried
to and fro with bales of goods while solemn
officials filled up forms and accepted the
gratuities that were offered to them. A little
lower down, moored beside the British residency,
was the Comet, a dapper little gunboat of the
Indian marine. As I passed through the bazaar
and saw her Gatlings shining in the distance, I
wondered how many people in England knew
that we had a military post and a gunboat at
Baghdad, where British interests are watched
over by a "political resident" instead of by a con-
sul. I wondered, too, what use would be made
of them in the event of a Muscovite invasion
of Turkey; but this time will probably show.


CHAPTER V.
Baghdad to Mosul.
I spent a very pleasant week in the house of
the English resident, who would not hear of
my going to an hotel, and then started for
Trebizond. The country outside Baghdad is
cut and channelled in every direction by im-
mense ditches which make travelling very
difficult. The villages remind one of those of
Egypt but are not so well built and naturally
are not so prosperous. Three days' journey
from Baghdad brought me to Ma'arret Iba.
Here there is a small lake, stocked with teal
and other waterfowl, which is a perfecl paradise
for sportsmen. But Ma'arret chiefly interested
me as being the first place where I had seen
breech-loading rifles carried openly. All down
the Euphrates valley what weapons there are
are either percussion fowling pieces or Bedouin
flint-locks; but here the Kurdish influence
commences and with it superior weapons, and
for the first time I saw the home-made Martini-
Henry. This is manufactured at Soleimaniye
where, I was told, from ten to twenty rifles can





Baghdad to Mosul. 57
be turned out in a day; and some of them are
said on good authority to drift to the north
west frontier of India. The Soleimaniye rifle is
curiously constructed. Its makers have taken
as their model the Martini-Peabody American
patent, with which weapon the fifth and sixth
army corps are still armed; but they have chosen
for their bore that of the Russian Bourdan rifle.
Of course it is not a first-class weapon but the
specimens I tested were fairly reliable up to five
hundred yards. The eastern mind appears in
the sighting. In some of the rifles the back
sights were flat pieces of steel with apertures
drilled through them at the intervals, which is
the old Circassian method. Writing of this
reminds me that I once saw at Jerash an old
Circassian barrel with a Soleimaniye Martini
action fixed to it. All the cartridges for these
rifles are of Russian manufacture which perhaps
may suggest some ideas to my readers. The
Soleimaniye manufactory is not for rifles only.
Sometimes I believe the workmen turn out
beautiful weapons; certainly their khanjars are
very graceful and neatly finished.
On March 2nd I arrived at Salihiyya,
which is a very prosperous little town with
good bazaars and well cultivated fields. When
I arrived I called upon the kaimakam to ask


58 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
for an escort and he sent me to an official who
was to travel bv the same road as myself the
next day. This official in turn sent me to the
military officer; he sent me to his subaltern;
and the subaltern sent me back to the kaimakam
by whom, after I had drunk seven official cups
of coffee and smoked four official cigarettes, I
was given my escort.
The following morning I started with the
official whom I had seen the night before.
He was formerly one of the instructors in the
military school in Constantinople, and spoke
French very well indeed. He was going to
Kerkuk with his wife, eight servants, and
about a dozen mules loaded with baggage.
At Khurmati we heard that the Kurds were
becoming very troublesome and that they had
cut up a large Persian caravan, killed sixteen
men, and stolen two hundred horses. There
must have been something in this, as later on
we passed some horses being taken back to
Baghdad to be given over to the Persian con-
sulate there.
After we had ridden for four hours or so I
noticed, about a quarter of a mile off the road,
a very inviting little cave, in a hill side, in
which I decided to lunch. We had hardly
begun to eat when the zaptieh with us sud-


Baghdad to Mosul. 59
denly loaded his rifle and jumped up. Look-
ing to see what was the matter I saw a man
with a rifle crouched behind a rock a couple of
hundred yards away. A minute later another
man came, apparently from nowhere, and sat
beside him; then, from different parts of the
valley, another half dozen appeared. The
soldier spoke to the dragoman and everything
was packed up and we were off again, ig-
nominiously scampering to the road, in less
than two minutes; this was a great feat, for it
usually took a quarter of an hour to pack up
after luncheon. This incident showed me how
easily one might be surrounded in broad day-
light in a place where very little cover is to be
seen.
The following day I arrived at Kerkuk
about an hour before the rest of my caravan.
I called on the pasha and managed through a
merchant who spoke Arabic to explain to him
who I was and what I was doing. He was
very obliging and invited me to dinner that
evening, and I gladly accepted his invitation.
When my tents arrived they were pitched in
the courtyard of the pasha's house. At dinner,
besides the pasha and myself, there were the
pasha's son, the merchant of whom I have
spoken, and two officials; and they were all


Baghdad to Mosul. 61
companied by my dragoman, he sent four
mounted horsemen to look after me and they
followed as hard as they could gallop. As I
rode from the bazaar I saw an individual with
a very unamiable expression on his face stand-
ing at the door of a shop. When he saw me
coming he went inside and then came out
again with a revolver at full cock and toyed
with it. I had one too so I pulled it out and
leant it carelessly over my horse's neck in such
a position that it covered him, though ap-
parently unintentionally. He scowled, turned
again into the shop, and came back to his
former post with a cigarette instead of a revolver.
In the afternoon I called on the commander
of the garrison, a Circassian. I was taken all
over the barracks and most politely shown
everything of interest. The commander not
only entertained me very well indeed, but had
the band paraded and five tunes played in my
honour; and after I had smoked three cigar-
ettes with him I was taken to what acted as an
"ante-room" for the other officers and was
entertained by them. The adjutant of the
cavalry, who was a Soudanese, evinced great
interest in the battle of Omdurman; and when
he heard of the number of killed he licked his
lips and smiled a negro's smile.


62 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
The following day I left for Altyn Keupru1
with a kaimakam who was going to Mosul.
We started at half past six in the morning with
an escort of thirty mounted infantry and five
zaptiehs, and about an hour after leaving the
town we drew near to the range of hills on the
north east of Kerkiik. I was riding alongside
the kaimakam and just as we entered a kind
of natural amphitheatre, about two thousand
yards broad, I was handing him my cigarette
case, when I was startled by the buzzing of a
bullet somewhere overhead followed by the
faint "plop" of a rifle on the hill side. I
looked round but the kaimakam took a cigar-
ette out of my case and lit it without saying a
word. Two other bullets passed overhead and
I made some remark about them; he merely
said Sont des voleurs monsieur, and it was only
after five more shots had been fired that he took
any further notice. He then turned round to the
soldiers who were riding behind us and pointed
towards the smoke on the hill side; they split
into two detachments and took the hills on
each side, and I went with the left hand one.
1 My Arab servants called this place Kantara, but Altyn
Keupru is usually given in maps. Kantara is Arabic for " a
bridge:" Altyn Keupru Turkish for " the bridge over the
river Altyn."








Baghdad to Mosul. 63
The other detachment came across a good
many men amongst the rocks and, had a little
skirmishing. None of our people were hit
and I do not think that the robbers were, as
they were very difficult to see and galloped
among the rocks at great speed. I was much
struck by the extraordinary coolness of the
escort who seemed to think no more of the
matter than a farm boy would of crow-scaring,
and, certainly, showed far less interest in what
was going on than an English soldier does on
a field day. After this little affair we began to
get into the range of hills. Everyone who
possessed a weapon had to join the soldiers and
beat out the two sides of the road in order to
avoid an ambush; we rode about a hundred
yards apart and so covered about a mile on each
side of the bank.
I subsequently learnt that my friend the
sheikh of the mosque, whom I had photo-
graphed, had repented of giving me permission
and wished to put me away; and thinking that
I should only have an escort of four or five
gendarmes had tried to make things unpleasant.
We were told that twelve of his friends followed
us for three days; but there was always a large
escort so that they never had a chance of show-
ing themselves. If anything had happened to


64 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
me I should have only had myself to blame.
People who go into countries to which they
are not asked and who when there possibly
annoy the natives are sometimes surprised if
they do not receive a large compensation for
any insult that may be offered them; but I see
no reason why a traveller, who gets damaged
in a country to which he has gone for his own
pleasure, and in which he is not wanted, should
be recompensed whatever may happen.
From Altyn Keupru to Arbela is a ride of
about thirteen hours. On our arrival it was
proposed that my camp should be pitched in
the local graveyard, an idea which I did not
relish; I therefore ordered my muleteers to
pitch it about a quarter of a mile outside the
town. When this had been done, the kaimakam
sent a message to tell me that the place was not
safe and that I had better move my tents; but
I replied that it was impossible, as it was nearly
half past seven, and asked him to send a guard.
In about an hour's time some thirty Kurds and
eight soldiers appeared. When they arrived
I told my dragoman to ask if there were really
robbers in the neighbourhood. He asked the
chief over whose face a very curious look came
as he replied "There are many robbers; but
by God's will they will not trouble you to-


Baghdad to Mosul. 65
night." I subsequently heard that he and his
men were the principal cut-throats of the town
hired by the kaimakam to look after me for
the night; and I think this must have been
true as they refused any remuneration the next
morning. They were all armed with Martini
or Bourdan rifles. The chief, an enormous man
about six feet six in height, was covered with
cartridges and had a large drawn sabre in his
hand; his subordinates were some of the most
ferocious men it has ever been my luck to set
eyes on. They came to the kitchen tent and
ate heartily all there was to be found and then
proceeded to warm themselves with mastic
(which is a kind of aniseed brandy) as the
night was cold. When a couple of bottles of
this had been put away they stretched them-
selves all round my tent making a truly infernal
noise, whistling, yelling and shrieking the whole
night long. They placed twelve of their com-
panions in a circle about three hundred yards
away around my tent; the rest remained close
up and each in turn howled like a wolf towards
his more distant friends who replied with a long
"whistle. This fiendish noise prevented me from
getting much sleep.
The only incident worthy of notice between
Arbela and Mosul was crossing the Zab-'ala by
F


66 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
ford. The fording boats are large and square
and hold six horses or mules and twenty men.
Getting mules on board is very difficult as they
jib consistently; and the muleteers were very
barbarous in their methods of persuasion. In
one case they tied the fore-legs together, threw
the mule down and dragged him by his head,
nearly strangling the poor beast in getting him
on board. My eight mules and four horses took
about three hours to ferry across; it was almost
as difficult to disembark them as to get them
on board.
Two days more brought me to Mosul. The
first thing that struck me on approaching it was
a splendid bridge. It is a fine piece of work-
manship and has only one fault; it does not
cross the river. The engineer commenced
building it about a hundred and seventy yards
from the bank; he built twenty-four piers, and
at the twenty-fourth came to the water. Then
after due consideration he thought that he
would build the bridge with boats, and these
he chained to the end of the masonry. Though
this structure is useless as a bridge, it makes an
excellent rendezvous for beggars, lepers and
sweetmeat vendors. When I was in Mosul,
affairs were hardly in a settled condition. The
late wall had died some six months before


CHAPTER VI.
Mosul to Bitlis.
I took a house in Mosul and stayed there for
five days leaving it on March 16th for Taladas,
where I stayed one night, and then went on to
Taeletzeit, where the first casualty occurred—
one of my mules became dead lame and had to
be disposed of. The ride from Taeletzeit to
Zakhu is pleasant; one leaves the monotonous
flat country behind and comes into the rocky
and wooded mountains of Kurdistan, the great
snow peaks of Mount Jiidi appearing when you
reach the summit of the Zakhii pass. At
Zakhu I was visited by the Chaldean catholic
bishop who spoke French very well. He told
me that he had seen no European there for the
last four years excepting the superior of the
dominicans who had passed that way about five
months before.
From Zakhu to Nahrawan we had a short ride
in pouring rain and crossed two swollen rivers
with great difficulty. At Nahrawan the officer
who was with us told us that it was a dangerous
place so we had rather an uneasy night; I slept


Mosul to Bitlis.
69
in my clothes and my servants did not sleep at
all. That day we passed a camp of the Yazidi,
or devil worshippers, and I rode into it greatly
to the disgust of the officer. As it happened
all the men were away; only the women and
small children were in the camp. They are
an evil race and look every inch as bad as they
are said to be. Their tents are very curious;
they are surrounded with a kind of reed thatch,
and the roof is made of the black Bedouin stuff.
From Nahrawan we started for Jezirah and
after two hours riding we came to a river
which was utterly impassable on account of
the heavy rains. We were therefore obliged
to wait two days until it had to some extent
subsided; and even then we had great difficulty
in crossing. One man was actually carried off
his legs and borne a hundred yards down the
stream; but luckily he was caught and pulled
out none the worse for his ducking. That
day thirty villagers accompanied us for the
protection of my escort, which consisted of
three zaptiehs and a lieutenant. On our way
we crossed a bridge which spanned a roaring
torrent; it was only a yard in width, there was
no railing of any kind, and the river ran thirty
feet below. I must confess that crossing it
was creepy work, but it had to be done. I


jo Through Five Turkish Provinces.
noticed some sticks and weeds which had been
driven into the bridge, showing that the day
before it had been completely covered. We
stopped for luncheon on the other side. When
we had been there about half an hour, eight
men, all armed with rifles, crossed the bridge,
three on horseback and five on foot; they passed
us quickly and hurried on the road up a defile
that the mules had followed. I had sent one
soldier on with the baggage. The officer
said that these men were hamidieh and very
likely after our mules thinking probably that
there was no escort with them; and he thought
it advisable that we should follow, so we packed
up and rode after them, but they had got about
ten minutes' start.
We rode straight up the valley and saw no
signs of them. We then turned sharply to the
left, and found that the road was about six feet
broad with a perpendicular cliff on one side and
a perpendicular drop on the other. This road
or pathway went straight into the sun's eye.
When we were half-way up the hill, at the top
of which the road turned to the left, a man crept
round the corner, at the top, knelt down on the
road, and placed his rifle at his hip. Another
followed him and yet another until there were
five men kneeling across the road with rifles


72 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
thing, they turned to the left and took another
road to their village. We rode as fast as we
could and in about a quarter of an hour reached
the muleteers, who had seen and heard nothing
of all this. I subsequently heard two or three
shots fired in the hills but cannot tell whether
they had anything to do with us.
We arrived at Jezirah about four o'clock in
the afternoon and found that the bridge of boats
by which the river is generally crossed had been
unchained and moored on the other side owing
to the rising of the waters. The passage of
the river at Jezirah is very difficult at flood
time, as the currents are very strong at the
junction of the two rivers which form the
Jezirah or peninsula. It is therefore necessary
to tack up the main branch crossing the river
to the point of division and then down the
smaller arm; and it was consequently late
when the ferry boat reached us. The passage
took two hours each way, so I did not cross
myself but sent the cook to buy food and the
dragoman to fetch an escort. It was necessary
to obtain a fresh escort as we had passed from
the vilayet of Mosul to that of Diarbekr: but,
as Jezirah is only just across the boundary and
is in a remote corner of the vilayet, the buruldi
I had received at Mosul sufficed for the purpose.


74 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
due course, I had to do with some hamidieh of
the tribe to which Dr. Belck's assailants be-
longed, but, I am thankful to say, my experience
of them was very different from his.
I proposed starting at four o'clock the follow-
ing morning as we had a ride of twelve hours
before us; but this was rendered impossible by
the escort not arriving till half past eight.
That day the scenery was beautiful; some of
the defiles of the rivers rivalled those of Burmah.
We were in the mountains and the higher we
went, the colder of course it got; roads were
non-existent, and the tracks were impassable
for anything but mules. When night came on
heavy clouds gathered round, and soon rain
began to fall heavily; I was then forcibly re-
minded of that magnificent description of
advancing cavalry in Mr. Rudyard Kipling's
story The Lost Legion. This was even more
strongly borne in upon me when a mule fell
amid a shower of sparks; the high shrill voice
of a watchman wailed across the darkness
Ya-m-a-h-m-u-d; and an answering cry, fol-
lowed by a whistle, came, seemingly, from miles
away.
It was bitterly cold and I looked forward to
a hospitable reception by the mudir when we
reached Funduk, only to find that that village





Mosul to Bit lis.
77
and interceded for them and I let them go; but,
first of all, I had them soundly whipped and
then insisted that their father should repeat the
operation. We waited to see this done. I hope
that the effect will be lasting and that I have
earned the blessings of other travellers who may
pass that way.
Four hours after leaving the ford the town of
Sert came in sight. On arriving at this place
I called on the pasha, who was very obliging
and offered me lodging in his house; but as
there was a very excellent camping ground I
did not avail myself of his kind offer. The
following day I spent in Sert. The bazaars are
very interesting, nearly all the articles being
not only of native manufacture, but manufac-
tured on the spot. I saw some khanjars being
made and the imitation damascening applied.
This is done by clamping the knife upon
a stone and rubbing it with a mixture of, I
believe, vinegar and chalk which produces a
chemical action on the steel exactly resembling
damascening. I bought several things very
cheaply — as I did not take my dragoman.
I simply chose what I wanted and mentioned
the price I would give and then my escort
persuaded the merchant that my price was
the right one. Here I saw for the first time


yS Through Five Turkish Provinces.
the mountain Kurd in his full costume which
is very striking. After leaving the \>2lZ*.?lv
I saw the two battalions which are stationed
here drilling; their equipment was very good
indeed, as compared with the average of Turkish
soldiers, and they were armed with the Mauser
rifle lately imported from Germany, but their
drill could only be described as fair.
Next morning I started for Varkhan which
is about thirteen hours from Sert. The scenery
is very fine but during the latter part of the
day its effect was somewhat marred by the fadl
that we were riding through deep snow. The
village of Varkhan proved to be practically
non-existent and neither fodder nor food was
to be found there. As I saw that the road was
difficult, and I wanted to get into Bitlis early
the next morning, I started at midnight. The
ride down to Khandokan though very beautiful
was rough, but afterwards we came upon the
great highway which the Turks are making.
It is most extraordinary and resembles a railway
rather than a road, as there is no ballast of any
kind; there is a series of curves, deep cuttings,
and embankments, but there is no sign of any
attempt to make a road, though it could be
done with very little trouble. Going along it
we reached two most extraordinary tunnels





Mosul to Bitlis. 79
through the rock, one above the other; the
lower one was cut when they were making the
new highway, but the upper one is said to have
been bored by order of Semiramis. As we
proceeded we saw more and more snow; at
one spot an avalanche had swept away the road
which necessitated our making a detour. About
two hours before we reached Bitlis, snow be-
came very deep indeed, and as no road had
been cut we had to drag our mounts through
it. We reached the outskirts of Bitlis at about
a quarter past one in the afternoon, instead of
in the early morning as I had wished. At first
sight the town seemed to be almost European,
its houses being well built of cut stone, with
doors and windows and one or two with a
pitched roof; and even in the matter of dirt
it was less bad than most oriental towns. I
found that there was no English consul and
was astonished to hear from an Armenian
preacher of the American mission that he was
acling as consular agent or in some such
capacity. I do not know whether he spoke
truly; I can only say that there is no mention
of him in the Foreign Office List.
The mention of this Armenian preacher re-
minds me that I now came face to face with
the ghastly Armenian question. From my


84 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
necessary. Tacking on a boat like this was
almost an impossibility, as the sheet was the
only solid thing in the whole ship and this was
so contrived that it was impossible to let it go.
The only way of going about was to let the
yard and sail down bodily, then to push them
round when on deck and haul them up again;
not a very workmanlike business. Reefing
was effedted by twisting the sail at the bottom
into a bunch and at the same time taking it in
at each extremity of the yard. The rudder
was a cranky affair of enormous size but little
strength. There was a forecastle in the bows
in which the crew slept in bunks very like
those on an English fishing smack. The boat
was provided with badly made sweeps which
were of little or no use. The mast was sprung
in many places and patched with little clumps
of iron nailed here and there. Round the step
of the mast three large bags of sand were placed
in order to make it firmer. Two gang planks
each the length of the boat were drawn in and
served to make her a little more encumbered
than she already was.
There were two other passengers; an Arme-
nian who had, I believe, turned Mohammedan,
and a Jew. We started with a fair breeze
about ten o'clock in the morning, and the


■


Bit lis to Van.
85
captain said that if it continued we should be
at Van in six hours. However, two hours
after leaving Tatwan, the wind dropped and
we were becalmed. About this time I looked
at the barometer and saw that it was fall-
ing rapidly, which it continued to do until
eight o'clock. I told the captain that very bad
weather was in store for us, but he smiled and
told me that he knew the lake better than I
did. I said no more, but an hour later, much
to the annoyance of the crew and my servants,
I insisted that the kitchen fire should be put
out and the stove, which was filled with red
hot charcoal, extinguished. I then went to
bed after having told the dragoman that if the
wind should change in the night he was to
wake me. I awoke about half past eleven and
felt the boat rolling very heavily; on striking
a match, I found about two feet of water in
the cabin. With great difficulty I opened the
door and getting outside found a cloudy sky
and a heavy sea running with white-crested
waves. 'Isa was moaning feebly in the corner;
my other servants were helpless with sea-
sickness; the other two passengers were alter-
nately praying and weeping; and the crew
sat about in dismal heaps. The sail luckily
had split under a violent squall; and the


86 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
yard with great difficulty had been let down.
The tiller had been left to look after itself
and was wagging fretfully in the air. The
sand bags, that I mentioned as stepping for
the mast, had fallen over to the lee side of
the boat taking her over to an angle of about
twenty-five degrees. The tout ensemble was
not cheering.
I wanted 'Isa, as he seemed the least un-
nerved, to help me get the ballast straight,
but I found him quite childish, and he only
screamed, "Why you bring me to this debil
country? I say bad word for the day I came
with you; rubbish boat, rubbish captain, rub-
bish sea; I say bad word for the religion of
this lake!" Then as the boat took a particu-
larly heavy roll he stood on his feet with a cry
of " Our God He help us" (the us being pro-
longed into a perfect scream) and then collapsed
on the side of the boat and lay there vomiting
and praying. I managed, although very sea-
sick, to get the ballast fairly straight and to
lessen the list of the boat; and then I had to
stand on guard over it, for it required con-
tinual attention because of the heavy roll and
the washing of the water underneath. The
tiller I had to leave to itself. Of course in a
boat that is caulked with pitch, water, once it


Bit lis to Van
87
begins to make its way in, increases the leak,
especially if the boat happens to be rolling;
and the water had certainly risen an inch in
the half hour I had been up. The captain was
in a fearful state of mind, being torn by the
thought that he might lose his boat, his money,
even his life; and the crew were so inert that I
had to kick sufficient energy into one to make
him bail a little of the rising water. So com-
menced one of the most dismal vigils I have
ever kept.
When the sun rose the Jew shook himself a
little and on seeing the sea solemnly blas-
phemed, spat at the sky, and shook his fist at
the water. The Armenian renegade was too
frightened even to do this and contented him-
self with occasionally crying out Allah. At ten
o'clock in the morning the captain hoisted his
sail again, having it reefed in the peculiarly
clumsy fashion I have described. An hour
later we drew near to a cliff rising some
eighteen feet out of the water and fronted by
a series of rocks to a distance of about five-and-
twenty feet from its base. As we were rapidly
drifting on to these rocks I kicked the captain
and pointed out what was about to occur.
He became frantically excited; jabbered and
screamed to the rest of the crew; and let go


88 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
his anchor, which of course dragged on the
rocky bottom though it may have retarded our
progress to some extent. I then noticed a
number of Armenians sitting in a row on the
top of the cliff; they had a rope with them but
would do nothing and regarded neither our
prayers nor our curses.
I could see a little village about a mile and
a half away down the coast and from it there
came a horseman at full gallop, who reached
us when we were about twelve yards from the
first rock, off which we were fending ourselves.
This man was dressed in a kind of drab coat
with brass buttons, which reminded me very
much from shape and cut of " Mr. Gentleman
Joe," and on his head he had a Turkish cavalry
cap. He caught the rope from the nearest
Armenian, twirled it round his head like a
lariat, and threw it out to us; then with the
help of a stout whip, made the Armenians tow
us down the coast. Before the towing had
begun we had already bumped four times, and
had sprung a considerable leak in the boat; our
rudder too was carried clean away. Whilst
the Armenians towed we did our best to fend
ourselves off the rocks and though we were in
a sinking condition we managed to get round
the point into a little bay. I shall never forget


Bit lis to Van.
89
the sense of relief I felt when we got into calm
water; but it was soon disturbed. Hardly had
we rounded the point when the captain, coming
to me with open mouth and starting eyes,
whispered in my ear " Hamidieh," and, at the
same time, rapidly drew his finger across his
throat. 'Isa, who had recovered a little, got on
his legs and interpreted. He said " this stoopid
captain he say this man he help us and soon
he kill us. Why you bring me in this debil
country?"
When we were made fast four other
hamidieh appeared with rifles and, though
the recollection of Dr. Belck's experience was
not cheering, I decided to go on shore and
meet them amicably, as if they intended mis-
chief we should have no better chance if they
came on board. I took with me a pair of field
glasses, which I had brought for the purpose of
baksheesh, and presented them to the man who
had rendered us so much assistance. He shook
hands with me, nearly breaking the bones of
my fingers, and then patting me on the back
put me on his horse and led me in triumph
to the village, two men with rifles walking
behind. As I was not sure of their intentions
being friendly the ride was anything but
pleasant. I did not like to turn round and


90 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
look at them for fear of seeming suspicious;
but I told 'Isa, who was walking in front, to
call the man who had rescued me and make
him walk alongside. This he did and I, under
the pretence of talking to him, continually
leant over and got as close to him as possible.
When we arrived at the village, for the first
time I entered a Kurdish house; I saw others
later on and may as well give a general descrip-
tion of them here. A Kurdish house has the
general appearance of a heap of stones surround-
ing a tunnel. You dismount; your horses are
led into the tunnel; and you are motioned to
follow. Directly you enter, a thick sweet
smell assails you; such a smell that one some-
times meets with in a badly ventilated cow-shed
or a particularly dirty stable. You have to
feel your way down this passage, which is
dimly lighted and which grows darker at every
step till it takes a sudden turn to the right and
emerges into a cavernous chamber, in which
the smell becomes terribly oppressive. The
only light in this room comes from a hole
about six inches square at one of the angles in
the roof; this hole also provides the ventila-
tion, though occasionally it is covered by a
piece of glass. When this was the case I
always had it removed, of course paying for


Bit lis to Van.
the damage; and I should advise any travellers
who propose sleeping in one of these places,
winter or summer, to do the same. On enter-
ing the room you step into pools of filth and
blunder against horses and cows, which are
tethered promiscuously around the apartment.
At the far end are seen, through the dim atmo-
sphere, the columns of what appears to be a
gigantic four-poster; but on closer investiga-
tion this proves to be a raised platform, about
four yards square, thickly carpeted with felt, on.
which some ten or twelve individuals may be
seated. On this stage is a stove, or sometimes
a brushwood fire, which fills the room with
thick smoke and makes the atmosphere even
fouler than it would otherwise be. When you
have removed your boots a seat on the carpet is
provided for you. For the first hour you are
expected to drink cup after cup of scalding tea
without milk or lemon; then comes coffee;
then for another hour or so you have to answer
a series of senseless questions that nearly drive
you to desperation. After that you will be
left to the fleas who will do their best for your
entertainment for the rest of the night.
To return however to my story. When we
reached the house we went into such a room
about fourteen feet square. At the end farthest


92 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
from the door there was a fire of brushwood.
Carpets were brought and cushions for me to
sit upon; a considerable quantity of fresh fuel
was put on the fire; and a large Russian tea
urn put there to boil. While the water was
boiling, the four hamidieh who were stationed
in the village came in. At the same time
some Armenians entered, but of course they
kept at a respectful distance. When the tea
had been prepared, in Russian fashion, five or
six lumps of sugar were put into each cup. I
was obliged to drink two cups of this nauseous
mixture, scalding hot, and thought with regret
of the splendid luncheon that awaits one at
Calais after a rough crossing. After this a
large flat tray was brought, and into it eggs
were broken and then fried in oil; flat loaves
of bread were dealt out like cards and the feast
commenced. After the eggs, of which I de-
voured a dozen, and the bread had been dis-
posed of, Turkish coffee was made and cigarettes
handed round. My host affirmed that the
English and Kurds were brothers and some
day would fight together against the Muscovite.
He had heard a great deal of Fashoda and of
Muscat, and for both affairs he expressed great
admiration. His story of Fashoda was that the
French had landed in Egypt and that they had


MULAZIM MUSTAFA ARRAH.


Bit lis to Van.
93
a large army, but that the English general had
visited them alone and bade them begone; a
behest which they promptly obeyed. He had
a similar story about Muscat: and I thought
these stories were so good that it was unnecessary
to make any correction. He also told me that
he had heard that a certain Lord " Raspberry"
was then staying with the sultan; which I did
not understand until I got to Constantinople.
As all such news comes by telegraph and is
under direcl government supervision, it is inter-
esting to note that so small a matter as Lord
Rosebery's visit to Constantinople should be
known in an obscure outlying village in Kurdi-
stan a fortnight or so after it had taken place.
I learnt that my host was known as Mu-
lazim Mustafa Arrah Ibn Arslan Maju of the
tribe of Haideranli in the vilayet of Van, be-
longing to the Kassasi of Adeljiwaz. After
staying with him for a couple of hours I re-
turned to the boat and, as it was too cold to
sleep out of doors, had one of my tents erected on
the sandy shore; leaving the pestilential cabin,
in which baking operations were taking place
on a large scale, to the officers and men of the
"Jami. Starting for three or four days was out
of the question; repairs were necessary and the
crew required time to recover their nerve.


94 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
About five o'clock Mustafa Arrah joined me
with the rest of the hamidieh and informed me
that he had come to do guard for the night. I
gave him some tea and then asked him if he
would care to go on board the boat, which put
the captain into a perfect palsy of terror. His
terrified uncluousness was a pleasure to see; he
trembled from head to foot but clutched the
Kurd by the hand and pressed him to go into
the cabin, whilst the crew huddled together at
the far end of the forecastle. The whole scene
suggested a large wolf walking into a monkey's
cage.
As I was very tired with the day's opera-
tions I went to bed early. Mustafa had a fire
made outside the tent and posted three of his
men around it; he came inside himself, and
slept with his rifle clutched in his hands, his
body glittering with cartridges. One of my ser-
vants, whom I will not name, was so frightened
of this gentleman that he embraced El Islam,
and repeated the few Mohammedan prayers he
knew under his breath. Mustafa's hamidieh
were three of the most unpromising-looking
scoundrels I have ever seen; his lieutenant
had only one eye and the other two were
pidturesque bundles of rags, knives, rifles and
cartridges.


96 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
myself what reckless people they are with fire-
arms. I went to see how many shots had hit;
and as I was walking back, about twenty yards
to the left of the rock, they began shooting
again, much to my discomfiture. They were
quite satisfied as to my safety because I was
out of the diredr. line of fire.
After four more days, the captain announced
that he would like to start and at midnight on
April I st we left Parcat, Mustafa Arrah and
the hamidieh all waiting to see us off. The
only incident between Parcat and Van was
the end of the sail falling overboard and being
swept under the boat, through the yard being
let down by accident; an accident which the
helpless clowns who formed the boat's crew
managed to turn into a delay of four hours.
After that, when we were well in sight of
Van the wind dropped absolutely, and it was
one o'clock before we touched the shore. I
asked if the English consul's house was far
away and whether it would be necessary to
take a horse to reach it. The Armenian pas-
senger, seeing a chance of turning an honest
penny, said " No" and offered to lead me to
the house. After a brisk walk of between
seven and eight miles, I arrived, dusty and
parched, at the residence of the English consul,


Bitlis to Van.
97
Captain, now Major, Maunsell, R.A., who was
surprised to see me, as the only thing he had
heard was that something that called itself
English was somewhere near Adeljiwaz. He
was very kind and put me up for a week.
Van is a large place and seems to consist of
endless miles of mud houses. As a consider-
able number of the best houses had been de-
stroyed during the massacres, the town was
somewhat desolate though, on the whole, it had
been made to look fairly decent again. A
party of German archaeologists were there and
meant to stay for some months, and I have no
doubt are writing an important work on Van
and its surroundings; so I will refrain from
any description of the town.
H


CHAPTER VIII
Van to Chengil.
I arranged with three muleteers to ride from
Van to Igdir in Russia, which they said was a
four days' journey. On April 6th I arrived at
Artchag, a short distance from Van, and there
for the last time I put up my tents. The next
day we had to cross some steep mountains to
arrive at Kordzot, where I hired a house which
was new and therefore clean. Kordzot is an
Armenian village and its inhabitants are arrant
thieves.
On April 7th I started for Pergri where I
was told that the short road to Igdir by Bayazid
was closed. My muleteers were very keen to
go by it, but the zaptiehs said they would not
accompany us, whereupon the head muleteer
said he knew of two hamidieh who would take
us there for half a napoleon: I remembered
Dr. Belck and did not try the experiment.
We started from Pergri for Arjish1 about one
1 Arjish is the ruined town on the lake of Van from which
the inhabitants emigrated to the present town of Agantz
when Arjish was flooded by the lake.


Van to Chengil.
99
o'clock, but although there is an excellent road,
as the new mules were very poor walkers, we
were unable to make the town before night-
fall. My servants were in a state of terror
from the ridiculous tales they had heard of
the hamidieh, and wished to go back. I knew
there was no real danger, but told them if
they chose I would take one of the soldiers
and gallop on to Arjish and have a larger
escort sent out to meet them. This pleased
them, but dire&ly I had started they came
galloping after me, saying they did not want
to be left alone. This made me angry and
calling them cowards I drove them back with
my whip and left them frightening one another
with tales of blood. I reached Arjish just
before sun-down and I sent three zaptiehs to
meet the muleteers whilst I drank coffee with
the commander of the troops. The zaptiehs,
instead of going the whole way, sat down in
the middle of the road to wait for the arrival
of my servants and nearly got shot by Jacob,
who was too frightened to ride and was walk-
ing in front of the mules with a revolver at
full cock in his hand.
I was entertained by the military commander
and had a very clean and warm sleeping room
in his house, but the waiter and cook who had


ioo Through Five Turkish Provinces.
slept at the barracks told me that they had
been very cold and devoured by vermin. Next
morning, snow was falling in enormous flakes,
the size of a five franc piece; and it was with
great difficulty and many threats, that I per-
suaded the muleteers to start. About one
o'clock in the afternoon I arrived at Amis a
hamidieh village, the people of which were
very hospitable. My dragoman and cook dis-
tinguished themselves by one of their weekly
fights; the dragoman said that he had given the
cook a five franc piece to buy some food and
that the cook instead of returning proper change
had robbed him of two piastres. The cook
called Heaven to witness that the dragoman
was a liar: the dragoman swore that the cook
was a thief, and he would never speak to him
again. The dragoman threatened various re-
portings to Cook's office on his return: the
cook threatened counter reportings at the same
place. The performance lasted about an hour
and a half and I thought it was time to tell
them to be quiet, but they would not be
quieted. "Dinak primo ladrone" said the
dragoman. "Bestia" returned the cook. "Td
din moa belddkum" "Curse your religion and
your country," which as they were both of the
same faith and from the same town was rather


102 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
that that was where I should sleep. It was so
filthy and seemed capable of hatching so many
fleas that I refused to enter, and rode over to a
house which was remarkably well built and
surrounded by a palisade. This was Hasan
Pasha's house and the escort of course objefted
to my going there as, if I did, there would be
no money to be got from a village landlord on
their return. I paid no attention to them but
rode up to the door, struck it with my clenched
fist, and turned round according to custom.
It was opened by a Kurd, dressed in a very
gorgeous goat's hair jacket with gold facings,
who had a beautifully ornamented khanjar in
his belt. He led me into a very good room,
carpeted with felt and surrounded by a comfort-
able divan on which he motioned me to sit.
Whilst he made tea he told me that Hasan
Pasha was away at Adeljiwaz, but that he had
heard of my being wrecked at Parcat and had
given orders that if I came to Patnot, I was to
be entertained. After I had been there about
an hour, some villagers came in, on pretence
of praying, to have a look at me. In the course
of the afternoon the door was thrown open and
in strolled a very well dressed young gentleman
of twelve or thereabouts, with a Turkish hussar
cap on his head and heavy silver belt round his





Van to Chengil. 103
waist; he walked very proudly towards me
and shook hands in a dignified fashion, then
sat on the divan, and called for a cigarette.
This was Hasan Pasha's youngest son. Every-
one who came into the room made a profound
salaam to him and showed him every mark of
respedt; he seemed to be a perfect little tyrant
in his father's house and it was strange to see
these fierce looking Kurds being ordered about
and kicked by a child. He stayed an hour and
a half with me. Later on I received a visit
from one of his brothers who was seven or
eight years older; but he did not seem very
bright and certainly had none of the spright-
liness and wit of his younger brother. We
were left alone at night and were warned not to
leave any light in the windows later than two
hours after sunset. The doors were all barred
on the outside ; and two watchmen were placed
at either end of the house. At about ten
o'clock the guards commenced walking round
the house; they howled most dismally every
quarter of an hour, and their wolf-like howls
were apparently answered from ten different
places in the village and surrounding hills.
The efFecl: was very weird and uncanny.
I left Patnot at eight o'clock the following
morning, and before leaving I gave a gilt


106 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
was that we both rolled head over heels in the
snow; so I got out the medicine chest and gave
him a mixture of ginger, brandy and opium,
which I find is a very good pick-me-up for
orientals, and after a strong dose of this he was
able to walk, though not very easily. Once
his horse put his foot on the end of his ulster
and the poor old fellow, thinking that the
horse was breaking his leg, fell screaming on
the ground, shrieking "he brake me, he brake
me. Mr. Sacks I am brek, I am brek in this
debil country." He then got up and solemnly
spat in the horse's face. We assured him that
there was nothing worse than a hole in his
ulster and started again; and I tried to lead
the two horses myself. As I was going over
what seemed to be a hard snow drift, the crust
gave way and all that I realised was that my
head and shoulders were underneath a heaving
chest and that two grey legs were pounding the
snow on either side of me, when the soldier,
who was guiding us, very neatly pulled rac
out from underneath the two struggling horses
by my heels. This was bad enough but there
are other and worse dangers connected with
these drifts; in some places large rivers run ,
underneath the thawing snow and their where-
abouts can only be guessed, whilst in others it


Van to Chengil, 109
which was indeed a beautiful and impressive
sight. It is only when the mountain practically
eclipses the sun that you fully grasp its enormous
bulk.
At eight o'clock that morning I arrived at
Chengil, the last Turkish post, where fifty men
were stationed. Their captain turned them
out to present arms as I rode by, and gave me
six as an escort. I left the dragoman to pass
the baggage at the Customs and rode on alone,
and never shall I forget the feeling of regret
that came over me when I saw the red-roofed
Tartar kennel which marked the limits of that
disease known as Russia. When I arrived
there a filthy Cossack, whose stench was blown
by a gust of wind across the frontier, stopped
the Turkish soldiers; and at a little heap of
stones which marks the frontier my escort
halted, pointed towards the red brick house,
held their noses and spat in its direction. I
bade them " Good-bye" and watched the last
Turk swing round the corner before I rode
into Russia.


Civilisation! 111
Igdir. The whole country side seemed bristling
with a brutal and stinking soldiery; from be-
hind every rock greasy leather-clad Cossacks
came out and demanded my passport and
cigarettes. At Urigov, where are the first
regular barracks on the Russian side of the
frontier, the officers were very kind and told
me that if I liked to ride on to Igdir that
night to get a carriage, they could procure me
a change of horses. This I did, though I had
now been some eighteen hours in the saddle.
We started about six o'clock and after two
hours' riding could see the lights of Igdir
twinkling in the distance. Suddenly our horses
shied violently and the next thing I knew was
that a gleaming bayonet was stuck within an
inch of my nose. We were told to get off by
five evil-looking Tartars, who were patrolling
the road; and these insolent fellows pulled the
saddles off our horses, took off" our coats,
emptied out all our pockets, scattered the con-
tents of our saddle-bags about the road, and then
commenced lighting matches to look at them.
My dragoman did not appreciate this conducl:
and he cursed them liberally in Italian and
Arabic, shrieking out Rombimente di testi
complementi di ladrone mwatak din kull el
belad el Muscov din kullu memalikat kaman;


112 'Through Five Turkish Provinces.
he added several epithets in Italian which I had
better not repeat. But he was stripped and
searched. We were each put between a guard
of two soldiers, two others walking in front
with their rifles slung and with revolvers held
aloft; and as if that were not enough they
blew whistles and some other devils, worse
than themselves, came to their assistance. I
was so overcome by the humorous side of the
situation that I did not feel angry until they
took my cigarette case from my pocket, and
not only dented it badly but stole all my
cigarettes. Protests were of no use; we were
borne off through the streets of the town, taken
to the courtyard of some official building and
there kept for two hours. I sent in my pass-
port, which was brought back. I then luckily
remembered that the Russian consul at Van
had given me a cheque to buy him a kodak in
England; this I sent in with my Van pass-
port. I think that the gentleman in charge of
the police must then have come to the con-
clusion that I was on very good terms with
some Russian official, as our revolvers were re-
turned and we were released, having been de-
layed and insulted for three hours.
We then fell into the hands of some Ar-
menians anxious to let their carriage which,


Civilisation!
"3
as the price did not seem very extortionate, I
hired. It was now about eleven o'clock at
night. I had to push on to Erivan as I ex-
pected to find money waiting for me; so I
drove off in the carriage after arranging that
two wagons should proceed to Urigov the next
morning to fetch my baggage. I had now
been riding and walking twenty-four hours
at a stretch and naturally felt tired. When I
got to the stables where these carriages were
kept I was looking forward to seeing a spacious
landau in which I might rest, but I was hor-
rified to find a ridiculous little victoria, on
which our baggage was piled, in which I had
to sit with my chin almost on my knees. The
police, as far as I could make out, had appro-
priated twenty-eight cigarettes; a buttonhook;
a five franc piece; a coloured pocket-handker-
chief; and a cartridge belt. The thievish Ar-
menians who inhabited the stable stole a re-
volver; some silver lace; saddle bag ropes;
and a bridle. During the whole time I was
in the Turkish provinces I lost nothing—it
will be remembered that I recovered the bells
which the small boy stole at the ford on the
way to Sert.
We started from Igdir about midnight, and
reached Erivan after a most uncomfortable drive
I


ii4 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
of eight hours. On my arrival I called on the
chief of the police and informed him of the
robberies of which I had been the victim: he
said he would see about it but did not seem
much interested. I went through the farce of
calling on him three days running, and at the
end of that time called on the governor, who
asked why I had not been to him sooner. I
said that I had laboured under the delusion
that I was in a civilised land, and added that if
my pocket were picked in London I should not
go to the lord mayor but to the police. Had
I thought of it I might have quoted from the
Arabian Nights and said: "Oh kings of the
age, how comes it that I roamed safely in the
land of the infidel and am plundered in your
realm though it be the abiding place of peace
and justice?" As a post would leave in three
days, the governor said that he would write
about the affair to the head of the police at Igdir.
I then asked him if there was no telegraph;
and he replied that there was, but that such
matters were never entrusted to the telegraph
department. I had therefore nothing to do
but bid him " good-bye" and wait in patience.
At Erivan one comes in touch with a certain
amount of European luxury, basted on to Russia.
Of course whatever the Russians take becomes


116 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
denly turned round and went for the whole
crowd; and then ensued a most comical scene.
In less time than it takes to describe, five
Armenians were lying on the ground and the
Circassian was striding over their bodies, whirl-
ing his gun over his head, and scattering the
rest like chaff before the wind. He was nearly
mad with rage and was foaming at the mouth.
He chased them as a terrier will chase a flock
of sheep and, like the terrier, he occasionally
singled out one to worry. This went on for
about ten minutes when being somewhat out
of breath and, perhaps, a trifle fatigued the
Circassian vaulted on to his horse and rode
away with his friend.
After five days' stay in Erivan we left for
Akstapha in a post carriage which changed
horses every eighteen versts I think. The
drive was through very beautiful mountainous
country and took us a day and a half. From
Akstapha we went, by the Trans-Caucasian
Railway to Tiflis, a place which, judged by ex-
ternals, is almost European. Tarbooshes and
turbans were no more to be seen, their places
being taken by flat white leather-peaked caps
—the outward and odoriferous mark of Russia's
presence.
So far as interest was concerned my travels









■ ISA KUBRUSLI (STANDING) AND A KURDISH ZAPTIEH.


APPENDIX.
I. 'IsA KUBRUSLI.
I have already given some idea (pp. 3-5) of
my dragoman's opinions of various nations,
Western and Eastern, but I think that it is
worth while recording at length the judge-
ments of this intelligent and experienced old
man, who has been a dragoman for over forty
years.
"De more coorious from all de nation
Europ'ean is de Henglish, because he have
many kind, some berry good and some berry
bad. Before time de Henglish very different
from now, before he was very reech, very
strong, and shoot it very good, ride very good,
and nice barbe red colour and long, and always
his watch made from really gold, in Jerusalem
always beforetime we say, 'All de Henglish is
reech and strong, now we know dis is lie-word,
becos Jan Cook he bring many very different.
"I like Jan Cook plenty very much, becos
he my master, and pay me very good, and give


120 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
me plenty busy, but de traveller from Jan Cook
dis I not like it becos he is very coorious.
"One kind traveller from Jan Cook he is de
high priest for de Henglish, always closes black
color, and face very serioos, dis kind he not
like laugh too much, and he hangry for de
religion, and his religion coorious, becos he
very jealous from de Latin, de Greek, and de
Rooshan. Becos dis kind he got de church
Saint Sepulchre and de high priest Henglish he
not got notin, so he commence, say 'Dis is
nonsense, dis is not really Holy Sepulchre.'
Den everyone he say dis priest is foolish man;
den de priest Henglish be very hangry, and he
say ' Dis is not Holy Sepulchre, and I prove it.'
Den he go all round Jerusalem and by-'m-by
he find one hill and he say ' Dis is Golgotha;'
den de people say, ' Why dis Golgotha;' den
de priest Henglish he say, ' Becos I never say
lie-word, and becos I say dis Golgotha.' Den
de Latin, de Greek, and de Rooshan he leave
de priest Henglish alone and go 'way; but de
traveller Henglish believe dis nonsense story
becos he like have one Golgotha for himself
far away from de Rooshan, de Latin and de
Greek. And nearest dis Golgotha from de
priest Henglish was one jardin belong one
Christian man from Jerusalem; and in de


Appendix. 121
jardin dis Christian man he find one tombs.
And becos dis man is my friend he call me and
say, ' I find one tombs in my jardin; you are
dragoman and you like de antiquitee for to sell
de traveller, come look it in dis tombs. If you
find you keep it, becos you my friend,' and I
go to dis tombs wid de master of de jardin and
we cherche in de tomb and we find many bones,
and some piece rag but no antiquitee. Den I
say for him, 'Take all dis bone far away; den
you go to de Henglish and you say, I find one
tombs empty in my garden, perhaps you like
look.' Den he say 'yes bery good,' and he
do what I tell him; and when de Henglish
high priest hear it dis he say ' What I tell you,
here is reely Saint Sepulchre and notin inside.'
And my friend he sell it de jardin good price
ha—ha—ha, always we laugh for de Henglish
priest and his Golgotha and his Saint Sepulchre.
"Den noder kind Henglish, he is not believe
notin; he laugh for everyting and everybody;
he call us poor meselable black; and he say
everytin is nonsense; and was no God and
notin. Dis is de vile; and if many kind
Henglish come like dis, den our God He com
hangry for you nation, Sir, and He shake down
de gouvenoor Henglish and his ship, and his
country. But now not many people like dis;


122 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
but perhaps some more he come by-'m-bye.
Noder kind Henglish I see in Cyprus, becos I
was servant for one kaimakam Henglish in dis
country when first de Henglish he catch Cyprus
for himself. Dis kind Henglish is de soldiers
military, and from dese is two kind, de ofHsher
and de soldier ordinary. De offisher always is
very hangry man, and call de Arabes people
black; becos dese offisher have bad sense in de
head and is liar. De soldiers ordinary dis I
like very much; becos he got very little money,
but always he give, and he laugh and have
very good sense, always friend for me and de
Arabes. Sometime if he drink too much he
is very devil man, but I like him.
"De French^ all de same; like monkey;
sometime he laugh; sometime he hangry;
sometime he sorry; he shake de head; he
shake de hand; and is like foolish man.
"De Italian is like one man for dance; one
cooriostee; and in dis country we laugh for de
Italian because he not got good sense.
"De German dis is very hangry and savage;
never he laugh; what he want he take; and
what he take he keep. When de emperor
German he come here he—better I say notin,
our gouvenoor he like him too much. De
German nation always hangry for de antiquitee,


124 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
he sometimes bad, but if give him little bak-
sheesh he come very quiet, and never he take
de Christian to do soldier military; but I know
de Rooshan gouvenoor he is debil. When
I see de Rooshan people very meselable, and
very poor, I see becos he got very vile gouven-
our; catch plenty tax; give him bad bread;
and make him do service military very stiff. I
pray our God he keep it de Rooshan far away
from us, becos if he catch dis country from the
Toorkish he make us like animal; I pray our
God he help de Toorkish if de Rooshan com-
mence make fight.
"De Christian in dis country we have many
kind; some is good men, and dis is de Christian
from Bethlehem; dis is very good; very quiet
and nice nation. The Maronites nation is very
vile; he do shame busy, becos he got no sense.
If he think perhaps he catch some money, he
sell his wife. Dis is de shame busy, and becos
he do dis beas'ly tings some traveller like him
for servant. De Maronites people he got fine
sense for de money but he not got sense like de
Armenian. De Armenian, he is debil liar, and
no shame 'tall; perhaps de Maronites man he
got little shame, but Armenian not got shame
notin 'tall.
From de Mohamadan peoples, we have de


Appendix.
125
Bedouin; de fellahin; de people from de town;
and de Cherkesse.
"De Bedouin, he is robber and hangry man,
before he catch plenty money from de people
on de road, because he have nice horse and in
de hold time good guns. Now very different
becos de gouvenoor Toorkish he make nice
order and send many soldier wid gun martini
and he cut many Bedouin out from de country;
and now no one 'fraid from dis people, becos
his powder very bad and his gun very hold.
Now before time when I was boy small de
Bedouin very strong was, if five or six fella-
hin man he walk in de road and one Bedouin
sheikh he come wid nice lance and say with
high voice' Ergah, Ergab shake down de closes!
shake down de closes!' by force de fellahin
man he shake down his closes, and one Bedouin
sheikh he take all de trousers complete from
all de poor men fellahin. Now very different
because de gouvenoor Toorkish he send many
soldiers, many zaptieh, and beat de Bedouin.
Now, when de Bedouin he came in our country,
he is like very good man, but if de gouvenoor
not look out plenty for him he make trouble
noder time.
"De fellahin Mohamadan is very easy man
and very quiet; he never make trouble; he


126 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
do service military; he like de sultan Abdul
Hamid very much; and if de sultan tell him
do sometin' he do it.
"De Mahomadan from de town dis very bad in
Damascus country, he very hangry for de re-
ligion, and he say bad word for de religion of
de Christian. He is very nasty becos he not
do from de order of Mohamad; becos Mo-
hamad he say 'Better not drink de wine,' but
de Mohamadan from de town he drink French
cognac and say ' Bismillah dis not wine, becos
de wine from de grapes made.' Same time he
make plenty pray, and say many nasty tings
for de Christian and for de traveller, but he
like catch de money from de traveller, and
only he say bad word when he gone far 'way.
Many time I hear him say to traveller Heng-
lish 'a samm alaik, samm alaik,1 and de traveller
Henglish not understand it Arabic very good,
think dis is 'cfsalaam alaik, which mean
'Our God he help you;' but 'a samm alaik'
it mean 'I give you poison.' Dis is de joke
from de Mohamadan of de town, dis is nasty
people.
"De Cherkesse (Circassian) dis is people good
sense and good order, he was before time in
Cherkesse country livin'; but de Rooshan he
catch his country, and beat him plenty, and do


Appendix. 127
many tings bad for him, and de Cherkesse
people go to our sultan and say, 'You our
master; you help us.' De sultan, becos de
Cherkesse is poor peoples, help him plenty, and
send him here. Now de Cherkesse he make
houses very good and many nice village becos
he got sense like de Henglish; for make it roads
good, and carriage good; and put corn in the
ground very well; and take plenty crops. Only
one ting bad dis people have it, and dis is de
custom to catch de horse; if he see nice horse
soon he steal it, and if he sell de horse he make
plenty high price.
"Noder kind people we have in dis country
is de "Jews man, and dis man is more vile, more
dirty, more beas'ly from all de world; becos
he dirty like Rooshan custom and robber like
Armenian. When I see Jews man I hangry
and I spit (ptooh) for him becos he is vile;
every one he spit for him de Mohamadan and
de Christian all de same, and never de Jew he
say notin becos he know dis is his fault."
Those who have any acquaintance with the
East or with orientals will appreciate the shrewd-
ness of these character sketches. The following
story, which 'Isa told me about himself, is worth
adding as it will help my readers to form some
idea of his own character.


128 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
"Before time was I make it one journey
with one gentleman from German nation in
Nazaret' country, and one night, after dark
time coming, I sit it in the tent, prepare some
dinner for my gentleman. I hear someone in
de dark, weelin plenty and very sorry, and I
say, 'Who weelin?' and I see one boy small
from de nation Soudan, 'bout twelve year hold,
and his belly very small, and always he weelin,
'I hungry too much, our God he help me,'
like the custom from de beggar in de road
from Bethlehem. But I see his face very
black and very nice, and his tooth very white,
like one piece white cheese in one black box,
and when I see he have nice face and very
meselable, I call him come nearest, and he
come, but weelin always. Den I say to him,
'What matter?' and he say, 'I am poor boy
and plenty hungry,' and I say, 'How you
come it in this busy?' And he say nodder
time, ' I am poor boy, and before time I was
slave for one pasha Toorkish, an' he like me
very much, and I like him, and I was servant
for him, and by-'m-by come order for my
master to go Constantinopoli, and I make back
it up his closes and his bed, and we go togedder
to de steamer in Beyroute. And when we go
to de steamer, my master he say ' I like some


Appendix.
129
dates,' and he give me five piastre and one
metallic; and I go shore and cherche in de
bazaar for some dates, and I find some good
dates like honel sweet. I buy it, and I go
nodder time to de harbor; den I see de steamer
ran far away, and I see my master he leave it
me behine. Den by force I weelin; and I eat
every day somethin from the dates I buy for
my .master, and now I walking nine days, and
some people he gave me little bread becos I
am very poor and meselable.' And de boy
black he commence weelin nodder time, and
I see he talkin really word, and I give him
some bread, and goat's milk (becos many goats
in Nazaret country). Den I tell him he sleep
in de tent, and after I make some busy for
him, and he very pleased and thank me too
much, and he kiss my hand and call me Yaba
(O Father.)
"De next mo'nin I call him come de bazaar
wid me and I tell him 'You are poor boy and
I take you on my charge, and you make servant
for me, and I show you many tings how cook
it, and I give you every week three piastre.'
And he say, 'Very good; you like father for
me, but not give de piastre but put in one box
and afterward if I like I take it.' And I make
it dis rangement wid him, and I take him in
K


130 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
de bazaar and buy him one tarboosh red
colour, and trowsers complete, red colour, for
cooriositee; becos if de black wear red colour
even de donkey be pleased and laugh. I buy
him one basket; and every day I take him like
porter to de bazaar, and I show him de custom
for de waiter, and how cook it European
custom for de traveller, and Arabs' custom for
me and for him, and he is very content and he
come like servant for me for two years. In
season time he help me wid de traveller and
in summer he is servant in my house in
Jerusalem.
"Now after two years make finish, in winter
time he commence cough and come sick,
becos in Jerusalem is plenty snow, and I take
him to de doctor European in Jerusalem (one
Italian was, and have good sense), and he say,
'Dis boy if he remain in Jerusalem he die;
better he go in Egypt country.'
"So I tell de boy, and I give him his piastre
always I keep for him in de box, and I give
him five mejidi extra baksheesh, and I weelin
becos I like him too much and he weelin,
becos he like me, and he go in Egypt country.
Now after three year was finished, I have
chance to take it one party English people to
Alexandria in Egypt, and in de hotel I see de


Appendix. 131
boy, but now very different from before; he
have European closes, and boots yallow colour,
and stick for walkin from ebony wood, and
watch very fine gold make it, and collar
European and very white, and he is very fat,
and content. And when he see me he say
Alhamdolillah like custom of de Moslem,
and he laughin and weelin same time, becos
now he not see me for fo' tree year, and I say
Alhamdolillah, and am very content, and I
give him embrase. Den I ask him, 'How
you comin' very reesh?' and he laugh, and he
shake his pocket, and he show me many
napoleons; and den I ask hem nodder time,
'How you catch it dis money?' Den he say,
'I am engage for servant for one engineer from
de steamer Henglish, and his wife like me very
much, and give me de money from de master,
and de master not know notin 'tall! Dis how
I catch it de money.' Den I hangry wid dis
boy, and I say, ' Before time you was good boy,
now you come very vile, very beas'ly, very
nasty, very dirty boy, becos you traite your
master, and by-'m-by our God He beat you
becos you traite you master!' And he laugh too
much, and ask me if I like some mastic, and I
tell him go far away, and not talk to me; and
I tell him if he see me in de bazaar or de


Appendix. 13 3
make combination wid me for money change-
it." And de boy, foolish and stoopid, not
know de custom from de Armenian, he say,
'Very good,' and give him all his money; in
two day de Armenian ran far away and take all
de money from de boy. And de boy very
angry and shouting, and make high voice like
dog, and weelin, and his belly come very big
becos he so hangry. Den he come to me, and
I say, 'You see our God He beat;' and he say
notin' but ' God damn for dis debil Armenian.'
Den he go Jaffa, and he hear de Armenian is
go Beyroute, and he go by steamer to Beyroute,
and sleep on the deck becos he not have money
to pay go downstairs; and in Beyroute he find
de Armenian gone Smyrna. Den he leave it
and he come back Jaffa by steamer, and come
back Jerusalem, and was winter time, and becos
he sleep on de deck from de steamer and be-
cause snow fall down in Jerusalem, he com-
mence cough, and by-'m-by blood come from
his mouth and den by force he die—poor boy.
Our God He beat him, poor boy."


134 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
II.—" How the Palikar's Honour was
made White."
I have said (p. 8), that we beguiled the
hours of march by telling stories. The follow-
ing one of " How the Palikar's Honour was
made White," told me by one of my servants,
will serve as an example. Se non e vera e ben
trovato.
"Un vois dang le ville de Beyrout, moziou,
il y avait un gran baligar maomidang; et guesto
baligar ni bordait ny coultre ny rivolver, et
guand il allait dang le gafe toud ile mond ves-
aient gran salaam ber lui. Mais dang zette ville
il y avait anghe un altre baligar, baligar des
gretiens, jeunehomme, vorte,—shebab (hand-
some young fellow). Et zet jeunehomme il
bordait doux rivolvers boldogues, un a chague
coste; et doux coultres un izi, et un izi. Un
nuit zet baligar des gretiens il allait dang le
gafe, et il a bon bieng di arrak. Ba'dein
[presently) le baligar des maomidangs, il vieng
dang le gafe, et toud ile monde si mi dibout,
per vaire salaam per lui. Mais le baligar des
gretiens il reste azzis: et le baligar des maomi-
dangs il marche a lui; et li dit, 'Gomment
vous non vaite salaam bour moi?' Alours le
gretien il dit ' Je non vais jamais salaam bour


Appendix. 135
un gochong gomme vous!' Alours le maomi-
dang il dit 'Dinak ya kelb ibn kelb'; (i.e.,
Curse your religion dog son of a dog) et buis il
li donne doux golpes dang le vigure—Tach!
—Tach !! et le baligar des gretiens il dombe
gomme un morte. Alours on le borte dihors
di le gafe. Alours le gretien il bense per lui
meme, ' Mon honour est bartie,' et zon ventre
divient grosse dang lui. Alours il ze trouve
quattre di ses amis—jeunehommesvortes gomme
des lions; il attend per quattre zemaines; et
abresela un soir dous le zincs il boient bieng de
mastique. Et buis il attendent dihors di la
case de maomidang, et guand il venait dihors
li quattre gretiens lui prangent bar li bras et li
tiengent, vorte, verme. Et buis le baligar de
gretiens il zorte zes doux coultres, et il dranche
dang la viande di le vigure dou maomidang;
et buis il zorte zes doux rivolvers et li tire
dang le ventre—Tach !—Tach !! Tach!!!—et
li laisse morte bar derre. Alours il monte zon
jeval va vite dang le mondagnes des Maronites.
Et jamais les Turcs ne lui addraba. Ah! il
edait vorte ze jeunehomme la, et li vigure d'un
lion."


Appendix.
*37
D. Uscut, kelb ibn kelb. {Continuing.) By
and bye he come back from the bazaar, he
bring no aiggs. I say to him where is theses?
He say I no find and he call Omar the mule-
teer who requeer {accompanied) him, and the
muleteer he say " This is really word." Then
I say " You give it me the two mejidi, I go by
myself to the bazaar cherche the aiggs—
C. {Interrupting.) Questo non e vero dice.
Io a pagare per una donna di capri!
D. Non e vero, animale. You see this cook
he is high splendid liar. I tell him go buy
one goat's femeline, plenty young child and he
buy one very old, very meselable.
W. Pour l'amour di Dieu ce n'est pas la
regie di faire des batailles ainsi.
D. What for this waiter. He melle him-
self in my refer.
C. {Still at the same distance.) Turguman
maladetto e anche currioso.
D. You see he make us curious, he is rub-
bish cook. I make a report for him when I
go to Jerusalem. He wants spoil my refer.
C. Turguman maladetto! ana maladetto ya
khansir.
D. You see he say bad word for me. This
is rubbish man, high fine robber, all robbers.
I am fall down in this devil voyaje. This cook


140 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
He want to know if you are engaged from
your government to come look this country.
No, I come for my own pleasure.
What use, he ask, to come see meselable
country like this?
Many people have been to this country and
many people are great liars.
He want to know if you are engaged for
your government.
Tell him I am not engaged by my government.
He want to know if you make some cartes
[maps].
No. I do not make cartes.
[Here a servant would enter with coffee and
cigarettes and I should say „•]
Tell him I thank him for the coffee.
He says coffee notin at all. Shame for
him if he not give it you. He want to know
it is really story that all the officer French is
Jews man and if really that all these Jews trait
the French governoor.
I do not know, but I have heard it said so.
Is it true that the English governoors have
taken Crete for themselves?
No, all the governments have taken Crete
for themselves.
He say: If all the governoors Europe will catch
Crete for himself soon he commences makefight.


Appendix. 141
I think it is quite possible.
Is it true that they make one meselable
Greek boy king for all the Crete?
I am sorry to say so.
He says, "it is plenty shame for the Europe
to take a meselable man like this, shame for the
Turkish to leave it."
\I should then probably ask some such question
as..]
How many miles is it from here to Damascus?
This high splendid man, he says about twelve
hours. He say no use to go away to-morrow,
better we make rest here, sleep in his house
and he give us plenty things to eatet and drinket.
Tell him I have my camp and a kitchen.
He say, " Very shame for him if you eat in
you tent when he eat in his house."
Tell him it is my custom to eat in my tent.
He say, "If you like have his house and
everything inside all belong you if you like
take it."
Tell him I thank him.


ERRATUM IN MAP.
Uch Kalissa should come before Malhuna, and should
be spelt Uch Kilissa.





INDEX OF SUBJECTS.
Agriculture, oriental, 34, 52.
Aleppo, 31-34.
Aleppo "button," 31-32.
Anezeh Arabs, 36, 52, 54.
Archaeologists, 73, 97.
Armenian patriarch, vicar of,
at Deir, 40-41.
Armenians, 40.41, 43-44,
79-80, 84, 87, 98, 108,
112; 'Isi's opinion of, 4,
124; and Kurds, 88, 92;
massacres, 44, 115.
Attack by brigands, 62-63.
Baghdad, British resident at,
55; "Brummagen"goods
at, 67.
Baksheesh, 89, 108.
Barud, my dog, 1, 46.
Bedouins, distrust of, 11;
'Isa's opinion of, 125.
Beehive huts, 28.
Bethlehem, 'Isa's opinion of
Christians of, 4, 124
Biliousness, cure for, 35.
Bishop, Chaldaean at Zakhu,
68.
"Boom town" in Asia
Minor, 43.
Breakfast in the desert, 6.
Bridge at Deir, 43; at Faluja,
53; at Mosul, 66.
Bridges, cranky, over rivers,
69, 76.
Buruldi, n, 72.
Caravan of military students,
54; pilgrims, 10, 50-51.
Carriage, Syrian, 22; Rus-
sian, 113; accident to, 24.
Chaldaean Christians, 40,68,
75.
Christian missions, 21, 79.
Circassian colony, 37; rifles,
57; 'Isa's opinion of, 5,
126.
"Civilisation," no.
Comet, the, at Baghdad, 55.
Commanderof troops at Deir,
42; at Arjish, 99; at Ker-
kuk, 61; at Uch Kilissa,
108.
Consul at Aleppo, 32; at
Van, 97.


144 Through Five Turkish Provinces.
Cossacks, 109, in.
Crete, interest of officials in,
18, 140.
Cut-throats, a guard of, 64-
65.
Damascening khanjars, 77.
Dangers of travel, 52, 58, 61,
62-63, 70.
Day, routine of, 6.
Dinner with pasha of Kerkuk,
59-60; with pasha of Kara-
kilissa, 107.
Dominican prior, 76.
Dragoman, my, 2-5, 15, 25,
72, 75, 85, 86, 89, 105,
in, 117, 118-132.
Dressing on a snowdrift, 104.
Druses, 20, 80.
English ammunition at
Aleppo, 32.
English, 'Isa's opinion of, 3-4,
119-122.
Escorts, 11-12.
Fanatical sheikh at Kerkuk,
60, 63.
Fashoda incident, Kurdish
ideas as to, 92-93.
Felldhm, 34-35, 49; 'Isa's
opinion of, 125; nomad,
36.
Ferries and fords, 38, 65-66,
69, 72, 76.
Ferryman at Ragga, 38.
Fiction, instance of growth
°f, 33.
Firing guns at night to keep
off robbers, 53.
French, 'Isa's opinion of, 4,
122.
Frenchman, dirty, 27.
Frenchman who drank too
much arrack, story of a,
41.
German archaeologist at Je-
zirah, 73 j at Van, 97;
shot by hamidieh, 73.
Germans, 'Isa's opinion of, 4,
122.
Hamidieh, 70, 73, 89, 94,95,
99, 101, 105, 108.
Hasan Pasha, family and house
of, 102-104.
Horse, mode of catching a run-
away, 15.
Hospitality of orientals, 20,
99, 102, 104, 107, 108.
Incivility of beggar at Hama,
28; of shopkeeper at Ker-
kuk, 61.
Infantry, mounted, 34, 36,
62.
Italians, 'Isa's opinion of, 4,
122.


Index of SubjeEis. 145
Jami, the, description of,
83 ss.
Jereed, a, 49.
Jews, 'Isa's opinion of, 5,127.
Justice, oriental, 16-17, 29.
Kaimakam of Arbela, 64;
Hama, 27; Horns, 26;
Ma'arret-en-Na'man, 29;
Nebk, 17; Ramadi, 53;
Salihiyya, 57.
Kassassi (tribe), 93.
Kerkuk, fanatical sheikh at,
60, 63,
Khan, ideal and real, 14.
Khanjars, 57, 77; mode of
damascening, 77.
Kurdish house, description of,
90-91 ; sentries, 103.
Kurdistan, mountains of, 68.
Kurds, 58, 64, 76, 90-96;
recklessness of, with fire-
arms, 96.
Kurds and English "bro-
thers," 92.
Man-sledges, 82.
Maronites, 80; 'Isa's opinion
of, 4, 124.
Massacres, Armenian, 44,
115.
Military posts along Euph-
rates, 36, 54; school at
Aleppo, 31 ; students, 54.
Missions, Christian, 21.
Mounted infantry,34,36, 62.
Mudir of Hasieh, 23.
Muleteers, 2, 8, 13, 15,44,
65-66, 81.
Muscovite to be fought by
Kurds and English, 92.
Naouras, 27, 52.
"Nimrod's uncle," 67.
Nomad fellahin, II, 36.
Officials, Turkish, 12; mode
of interviewing, 17, 139W.
Omdurman, interest of Sou-
danese officer in battle of,
61.
Oriental, hospitality, 20, 99,
102,104,107,108; justice,
16-17, 29, nonchalance,
instance of, 53; modes of
persuasion, 44; agricul-
ture, 34, 52; method of
sighting a rifle, 57.
Orientals, characteristics of,
35, 39, 5i.
Pasha of Kerkuk, 59; of Sert,
77; of Karakilissa, 107.
Patriarch, Armenian, vicar of,
at Deir, 40-41.
Persians, 50-51.
Photography, difficulties in
the way of, 37, 60.
Pig, Mohammedan hatred of,
9; an expression of con-
tempt, 38.
Pilgrims, 10, 50-51.


INDEX OF NAMES OF PERSONS
AND PLACES.
Abdul Hamid (Sultan), 126.
Abdullah (the ferryman), 38.
Abu Kemal, 46.
Abu Hureirah, 36.
Adeljiwaz, 93, 95, 97, 102.
Agantz, 98.
Ahmad Effendi, 19-22.
Akaba, 45.
Akstapha, 116.
Aleppo, vii, 11, 22, 28, 30,
Alexandria, 130.
Altyn Keupru, 62, 64.
'Anah, 52.
Ararat, Mount, vii, 47, 108.
Arab, Jacob, 5, 45, 99, 107,
117.
Arbela, 64, 65.
Arjish, 98.
Amis, 100.
Artchag, 98.
Baghdad, vii, 34, 50, 54-55.
Barnham, Mr., 32.
Batoum, vii, 117.
Bayazid, 98.
Belck, Dr., 73.
Bethlehem, 3, 4, 124, 128.
Beyrout, 128, 133.
Bitlis, 11, 79, 81.
Chelmsford, Lord, 3.
Chengil, 109.
Constantinople, 93,117,128,
139.
Cook, Messrs., 1, 119, 120.
Crete, 18, 140.
Damascus, 10, 11, 13, 22,
81.
Deir, 40.43.
Deir-el-Kafir, 34.
Diarbekr, 72.
El-Kadim, 50.
El-Kutaifeh, 13.
El-Nehye, 51.
Erivan, vii, 113.
Erzeroum, 11.
Et-Tarif, 38.