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Show : Warfare SurAes Utll lflii S : Ml C 4 ( C fZf enough to own one or more, or on their V, H ' l W I 5 I Vli. T ' ' 7 'W' V"1' y back?. The women especially are con- V H 1 I "Y r- . - -ur- sidored, among the natives, as the right- , ( Ww.--;;-,:. H i I i- V JZUU.lr bringing of the water ,s one of then , ; . h' center o( a nat. ft 4231 9 . yC ( ) daily tasks. ural line of communication between B 'ftf 4i:$;iS.-'''W:':?) (-"aJ'aiS J5 V , . - t The water of the whole city being Persia, imlia anrl the west,- Bagdad 14 ff A - 1 carried it goatskins, it is natural that wa3 tne center of concentration' and fci : gfeps-pv. . 3 Q - . . there is no sewage system. The surface distribution to all parts of the world. a t'gS,iS:i0:?iiiX:M- 'A of the streets serve as depositories, and with the change of methods of trans- ft "-v. L ' ' , y J fS 1 -r- Dl C the Cahph Al-Mansur of the Ab- the (nseases and epidemics caused p0rta.tion, however, its importance as J V - . - 4 . rV Moslem llgfer rlaying ban- basid dynasty, on the western side of through such a process can be imagined. a commercial center has declined, and U i(;i:-:l:S$ 1 '': S ' - W :, fJT the Tigris iri A D. '62 Since its re- The garbage and refuse are carried by todaY Bagdad is nothing but a decayed H , -- V J 1 BUinarv Game to Retain bi'di?E and enlargement by Harun-al- spCcial government employees, who are citv; Tho tra,ie from Persia and Be- Sta ( I ' u-'u---. - jJ -2 guinary uame lO iveiain Easohl,f lt beoame th0 sacred city of so ill-paid to perform their duty that, ,ichistan, which formerlv, because of 53 V : ' 2" C C" ,l I J the callPus. ceneri, of, culture and without a "tip," there is but a little the citv.'s geographical location, passed 1 fc-uropean roothold. learning, and until the tenth century ho(ie for one s garbage to be carried through B-igdad now reaches its des- O O SCJTJV? TJ (SJXS O O was a busy city of 2,000,000 smils the away. tinatiSu either via the Persian gulf or . " Warfare SurA.es Around Ancr'ent City of Bagdad Moslem Tiger Playing Sanguinary San-guinary Game to Retain European Foothold. By TELLIS ST. PAPASTAVKO. BLEEDING, the sanguinary Moslem Mos-lem tiger, under hard and repeated repeat-ed blows, received from all sides, J gasps convulsively and plays the ! Ilfct dice in the world's greatest gajne : to retain for itself a spot under the 6un. From all sides there where for centuries the unspeakable Turk perpetrated perpe-trated endless barbarities Christian soldiers, united in a conimon cause, fight valiantly to oust the barbarous Turk from Europe and send him back to the "Red Apple Tree." The first crusade against this outcast of the human hu-man family started in 1912, when the Balkan states, led by the wisdom of a great statesman, Venizelos of Greece, ! shattered tho empire of Islam, and un der the surprise and applause of the whole civilised world the allied Balkan troops were outside of the very heart of tne unspeakable but ancient Byzantium. Byzan-tium. Wrathful and in full armor, a part of Christian Europe now raises the cross against the crescent cres-cent and fights to move from the middle of civilization the vandal Mos- ' lc.ni. Five whole centuries have passed since he crossed Europe and established estab-lished himself iu Constantinople. Since his coming there the barbarous Turk k spread his brutality and darkness far and wide. The atmosphere of Europe became full of the fetidness of his van-i van-i dalisms. and the whole moral structure V of southeastern Europe has been threat- " " ened with decay. j Only a few weeks ago the Osmanlis rejoiced at cheerful reports of the re treat of the English to tho Persian gulf, and, forgetting other more important im-portant matters, gave themselves- to gaiety. Tho repeated defeats of the English in Mesopotamia and the glamor of BiK'oessive victories of the "mighty" Turkish army raised the hopes of Islam until, like an avalaneho marine down out. of the mountains, tho Russian boar swept into the Turkish lines and captured cap-tured the very soul of the whole Caucasian Cau-casian campaign the fortress of Erze-rum. Erze-rum. With Erzerum in her hands, Russia Rus-sia is not far from her ultimate goal, for Constantinople and Bagdad stand at almost equal distances. Old Battle Ground. . The extensive desert plain along the Tigris river, where one can scarcely see a tree or a village for many miles, does not become for tho lirst time the battle ground of f ightinglogions. The armies of the kings of Babylon, Assyria and Greece fought more than once in this region. Bagdad, which is now a perfect per-fect type of the Moslem city, time and over agaia was torn by the clamor of arms. Lying on both sides of the Tigris Ti-gris river, with numerous minarets spread far and wide, with a labyrinth of dirtv alleys and foul passages, it was originally a Babylonian citv called Baghdad'u and dating back to COOtl B. C. Like all the famous cities of Mesopotamia, Mesopo-tamia, Bagdad suffered the vicissitudes of fate and. after mnnv bloody contests :nd successive wars, the cirv fell from conqueror to conqueror until finally it declined. The old round city of Bagdad, the famous fa-mous seat of the caliphs, was founded by the Caliph Al-Mansur of the Ab- , basid dynasty, on the western side of the Tigris in A. D. 762. Since its rebuilding re-building and enlargement by Harun-al- 1 Base hid it beoame the sacred city of the caliphs, a center of culture and learning, and until the tenth century was a busy city of 2,000,000 souls, the heart and soul'of Islam. In literature art and commerce she had no rival, and her influence extended to all parts of the world. , City of Adventures. Pious followers of Mohammed and his Koran from every corner of Asia and Africa traveled on foot to see the sacred sa-cred city, and money-thirsty adventurers adventur-ers from" Europe sought to reach it. The treasures and valuable stones of the Indies In-dies and Persia found a market there, and Bagdad, having a mixture of both European and Asiatic civilization, became be-came renowned the world over. Its splendor and fabulous wealth can be imagined by the study of the Arabian Nights, wherein the city is ably described. de-scribed. It was then a commercial center cen-ter of concentration and distribution, the religious and political capital of Islam, Is-lam, and bore the same relation to civilization civil-ization as Christendom does today. Although Al-though Bagdad was one of the cradles of civilisation, since the time of its decline de-cline it has remained a sluggish and sleepy city, with a population of 150,000 souls. Especially after the time of 'the Turkish conquest, and particularly after the epoch of Suleiman the Magnificent, 1620, the city has constantly declined, and today, save for the mosques and minarets, has nothing attractive. A Turko-Arab city now, dirty and foul, almost insignificant as a commercial center, turned frequently into an island city by the inundations of the Tigris, with epidemics working havoc on the population, with insanitary conditions at their zenith, Bagdad preserved but little of its ancient glory. Canals Obliterated. Modern Bacrdad lies on both sides of the Tigris, while the original city was on tho western side. It occupies an area of about 600 acres and at this point the Tigris and Euphrates rivers approach each other at a distance of twenty-five miles. Iu former times there were several sev-eral canals anil viaducts, which irrigated the intervoning territory, but all these now have long ago been obliterated and there is but one canal today worthy of mention. Leaving the Euphrates a few miles above Ambar, the canal of Sakli-lawich Sakli-lawich approaches Bagdad from tho north and, spreading in great marshes, encircles tho city and empties into the Tigris. Formerly this canal was not only navigable, but served as a source of wealth to the plains through which it parsed. The entire city was watered by it and its waters were carried by aqueducts through the streets and into tho house?. The populate of the ciiv, now without any scientific means to convey the water of the river to the city, carrv it in band from the Tigris to meet their daily needs. Filth in Water. The most convenient place for drawing draw-ing it is a distance below the great mosque. while only a mile above that point all the garbage and filthinoss of the city are emptying into the river. The more prosperous classes huv the water from ("lie water carriers for "a little com-pensnti'm. com-pensnti'm. These carriers have usnallv at t heir command n number of asses, and distribute the water throughout the city in goatskins or pottery. The poorer classes, who cannot, afford to submit themselves to the expense of 1 cent a day, carry it directly from the Tigris, either on asses, if they are fortunate enough to own one or more, or on their backs. The women especially are considered, con-sidered, among the natives, as the rightful right-ful water carriers of the house, and the bringing of the water is one of their daily tasks. The water of the whole city being carried it goatskins, it is natural that there is no sewage system. The surface of the streets serve 'as depositories, and the diseases and epidemics caused through such a process can be imagined. The garbage and refuse are carried by special government employees, who are so ill-paid to perform their duty that, without a "tip,M there is but a little hope for one 's garbage to be carried away. Foreign Reformers. Among the better classes, however, there exists a co-operative plan, launched some time ago by English and Greek merchants in the city, who employ em-ploy private men to keep the foreign quarter clean. The poorer classes suffer immensely from this insanitary condition condi-tion and the death rate during the summer sum-mer months is appalling. At times of epidemics and unfortunately, they are frequent the mortality is so enormous that the masses leave the city and encamp en-camp in the desert northward". During tho hottest months of summer, when the south wind of the Persian gulf is blowing, the atmosphere is almost feverish, fe-verish, and much unnecessary cooking is performed through the rays of the sun. The thermometer then reaches as high as 125 and 130 degrees, while during dur-ing the evening it falls down to 90. Bagdad proper, on the eastern side of the Tigris, has been built without the slightest regard to regularity. The streets are so irregular and so' narrow that one who for the first time enters the city and is not accustomed to Turkish Turk-ish ways of living thinks he is in a labyrinth laby-rinth of narrow passages and dirty alleys, al-leys, where two horsemen can scarcely pass. The streets are dirty and unpaved. The garbage from the houses is thrown out and scattered hither and thither by the dogs, which can be found by hundreds hun-dreds in the streets. Aspect Is Gloomy. The houses, being small and low structures, some without windows facing fac-ing the thoroughfares, contribute to the gloomy spectacle of the city. They are constructed of furnace-burnt bricks, chiefly derived from the remnants of Babylon and Ctesiphon. whose ruins invariably in-variably have been plundered bv the Arabs and Turks. Others are built of mud and intermingling reeds, and provide pro-vide at the same time a dwelling for the people as well as for their animals. The houses of tho richer classes, however, how-ever, are usually two-storv brick structures, struc-tures, and are very attractive. Most of them have yards in which manv trees are grown. As one enters Bagdad from either the Euphrates or Tigris rivers, especially during the spring the citv. wit h its numerous mosques and minarets, min-arets, with the glittering eold which overlays the domes of the mosque-tombs, mosque-tombs, and with the abundance of blooming trees one thinks that really he has reached the garden of Edm and the real ancient city of the caliphs and the Arabian Nichts. But as he enters it and passes Through its streets he is frightfully disappointed. Nothing has tho vandal Turk left to preserve or at least to commemorate the glory of the once renowned and populous citv. Tn former times both eastern and western Bacrdad were inclosed bv a thick brick wall, which at the principal aneles bore high towers. Nothing of ancient elorv now remains, and Bagdad tndav is not hirer but a dirty Turkish 'citv. doomed to decay, with epidemics a nd all sorts of diseases holding high carnival. car-nival. Trade Is Diverted. Bagdad's situation as a commercial center, after the change of the route? of communication from Tersia and the Indies and the opening of the Suez canal, has lost its importance. In former for-mer times, lying in the center of a natural nat-ural line of communication between Persia, India and the -west,- Bagdad was the center of concentration' and distribution to all parts of the world. With the change ol methods of transportation, trans-portation, however, its importance as a commercial center has declined, and today Bagdad is nothing but a decayed city." The trade from Persia and Be-luc'histan, Be-luc'histan, which formerly, because of the city 's geographical location, passed through Bagdad, now reaches its destination des-tination either via the Persian gulf or Trebizond on the north. On the other hand, with regard to the Indies trade, with the opening of the Suez canal a new and more convenient route has been found, and instead of using the dangerous and primitive caravan roads of Beluchistan the sea is preferable. One of the greatest revenues which Bagdad receives is from the pilgrims. From all parts of India, Persia, and everywhere ev-erywhere on the globe where Mohammed Moham-med is known as the prophet, pilgrims on their way to Mecca and Medina stop at Bagdad to pay their homage to the ancient city of the caliphs. Many rich Indians, Arabians and Persians choose Bagdad as the most suitable spot in which to pass a number of. weeks in the odor of sanctity. For the accommodation accom-modation of the pilgrims many picturesque pictur-esque khans have been established. These khans are inns, consisting of large, unfurnished buildings, surrounding surround-ing spacious courts, where caravans rest at night. Ancient Tomb Mosque. Most important of all ancient tomb mosques in Bagdad is the Kazemain, in the western side of the city. Here, history his-tory or tradition says, the seventh and ninth of All's successors are buried, and as such are considered the most sacred spots of the Islam. The Kazemain is on of the four great shrines of the Moslems and woe to the non-Moslem who defies its sanctity and tries to approach ap-proach it. The Moslem populace of Kazemain is so fanatical that many Christians who intruded on this sacred spot paid the price of their curiosity with their lives. The domes above this tomb are overlaid by gold and, being taller than any other structure in the city, as one enters Bagdad from the river, give an unparalleled perspective. Among the other mosques, which surpass sur-pass the number of thirty in the city, all are of later period and comparatively comparative-ly of less importance. At a distance from Kazemain, on the Euphrates river road, stands the shrine of Xabi, one of the four similar Hebrew shrines of Jrak. Herc is the supposed place of sepulture sepul-ture of Joshua. This place being venerated ven-erated by the Moslems also at various times it becomes a bone of contention belween tho Hebrews and Moslems, because be-cause of the f ormer 's insistence thnt the place is a burial plot of their priests. As one leaves western Bagdad and approaches ap-proaches the primitive line of horse tramway that connects the suburbs with the city, there extend numerous villages. vil-lages. Among these suburbs the Tigris extends to a width of 275 yards and is very deep. Into it empty -smaller rivers, along the banks of which the nomadic tribes of Mesopotamia dwell. They possess groat herds of horsg, sheep, goats, asses, camels and buffaloes, buffa-loes, and durine the winter months come down so near Bagdad in such overwhelming over-whelming numbers that even the city itself is threatened. Stealing Maidens Popular. The most populous and important of them is the Si;ammnr, ranging ail over Mesopotamia. Their ways of jiving have not --hanged verv much since the time the Creeks fought on that region, C'jjO years ago, and they stiil are pur- l suing the same odd ways of living, by picking a sheep, a goat or a nice looking look-ing maiden of a neighbor tribe. In the case of the latter the Shammarin applies to the parents of the girl, never to her personally, and proposes. If he is accepted, all ends well; but if the contrary, the mockery of his fellow tribesmen is unbearable, and the stealing of the maiden is the only recourse loft. If the object of adoration, on the other hand, is not a maiden, but another man's wife and that usually happens when the infatuation infatua-tion started before her marriage fellow fel-low tribesmen are employed for assistance, assist-ance, and when she is alone she is quickly mounted on a horse and taken to the' desert. Such acts result in war among the tribesmen, who, by practice of long years, have become adepts in the game. The natural traits of the Shammarin being absolute independence and constant con-stant wandering in the desert, he seldom subjects himself to manual labor. The raisin? of sheep or other animals brings good returns, and the market for them is always open. Being rather short in Ftatu're, the climate has much to do in his development, and seldom one finds a Shammarin corpulent or exceptionally strong. The absence of physical strength, however, is replaced bv the swiftness of the feet, for the Shammarin Sham-marin seldom has an equal in running. Tribesmen Hospitable. A Shammarin, though he may love and adore a favorite wife, never shows that adoration in public. To shed a tear for the death of a wife is considered as the. extremest sort of humiliation, an insult to manhood. On the other hand, the shedding of tears for the death of tho father or mother is not only permissible, per-missible, but considered as a necessary homage to the departing parent. It is considered such, however, simplv because be-cause a father can not be replaced, as can a wife. Notwithstanding his peculiar traits of life, the Sham inn ri u is, if properly treated, a good -hearted fellow and extremely ex-tremely hospitable. Hospitality among this people is never refused to a stranger. Bagdad, which fate destined to write one of the most conspicuous and brilliant bril-liant pages in the world's history at a period long antedating" the Egyptians and Creeks, way one nf the first crndlep of civilization. Being built originally at an epoch which an-heoingists cannot yet determine. Bagdad prnl'iiblv gave to the world the first lights of learning and ?"t the foundation for the civilization which western Europe and America today to-day enjoy. |