Chapter 33
Section 33 of A Woman's Journey Around the World. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Piotr Nater. A Woman's Journey Around the World by Aida Laura Pfeiffer. Chapter 19. Mosul and Nineveh. Part 1.
Journey of the Caravan through the desert. Arrival at Mosul. Curiosities. Excursion to the ruins of Nineveh and the village of Neb Yunus. Second excursion to the ruins of Nineveh. Tell Nimrut. Arabian Horses. Departure from Mosul.
In order to travel from Baghdad to Mosul safely, and without great expense, it is necessary to join a caravan. I requested Herr Swoboda to direct me to a trustworthy caravan guide. I was indeed advised not to trust myself alone among the Arabs, at least to take a servant with me. But with my limited resources, this would have been too expensive. Moreover, I was already pretty well acquainted with the people and knew from experience that they might be trusted.
A caravan was to have left on the 14th of June, but the caravan guides, like the ship captains, always delay some days. And so we did not start until the 17th instead of the 14th. The distance from Baghdad to Mosul is 300 miles, which occupy in traveling from 12 to 14 days. Travelers ride either horses or mules, and in the hot months travel during the night. I had hired a mule for myself and my little baggage, for which I had paid the low price of 15 krans, 12 shillings, 6 pence, and had neither fodder nor anything else to provide.
Everyone who intends proceeding with the caravan is obliged to assemble before the city gate about five o'clock in the evening. Herr Swoboda accompanied me there and particularly recommended me to the care of the caravan guide, and promised him in my name a good backchish if he saved me all the trouble he could during the journey. In this way I entered upon a 14 days journey through deserts and steppes, a journey full of difficulties and dangers, without any convenience, shelter or protection.
I traveled like the poorest Arab and was obliged, like him, to be content to bear the most burning sun, with no food but bread and water, or at the most a handful of dates, or some cucumbers, and with the hot ground for a bed. I had, while in Baghdad, written out a small list of Arabian words so that I might procure what was most necessary. Signs were easier to me than words, and by the aid of both I managed to get on very well. I became in time so used to the signs that in places where I could make use of the language
I was obliged to take some pains to prevent myself from using my hands at the same time. While I was taking leave of Herr Swoboda, my little portmanteau and a basket with bread and other trifles had already been put into two sacks which were hung over the back of the mule. My mantle and cushion formed a comfortable soft seat and everything was in readiness. Only the mounting was rather difficult as there was no stirrup.
Our caravan was small. It counted only 26 animals, most of which carried merchandise, and 12 Arabs, of whom five went on foot. A horse or mule carries from two to three and a half hundred weight, according to the state of the road. About six we started. Some miles outside the town several other travellers joined us, chiefly peddlers with loaded animals, so that presently our party increased in number to sixty.
But our numbers changed every evening as some always remained behind or others joined us. We often had with us some shocking vagabonds, of whom I was more afraid than robbers. It is, moreover, said not to be uncommon for thieves to join the caravan for the purpose of carrying on their depredations if there should be an opportunity of doing so. I should, on the whole, have no great faith in the protection which such a caravan is capable of affording,
as the people who travel in this way are principally peddlers, pilgrims and suchlike, who probably have never in their lives used a sword or fired a gun. A few dozen well-armed robbers would certainly get the better of a caravan of even a hundred persons. On the first night we rode ten hours until we reached Jengice. The country around was flat and barren, uncultivated and uninhabited.
Some few miles outside Baghdad cultivation appeared to be suddenly cut off, and it was not until we came to Jengice that we saw again palms and stubble fields showing that human industry is capable of producing something everywhere. Travelling with caravans is very fatiguing. Although a walking pace is never exceeded, they are on the road from nine to twelve hours without halting.
When travelling at night, the proper rest is lost, and in the day it is scarcely possible to get any sleep, exposed in the open air to the excessive heat and the annoyances of flies and mosquitoes. The 18th of June. In Jengice we met with a hun, but it was by no means equal in appearance and cleanliness to that on the road to Babylon. Its chief advantage was being situated near the Tigris.
The hun was surrounded by a small village, to which I proceeded for the purpose of satisfying my hunger. I went from hut to hut, and at last fortunately succeeded in obtaining some milk and three eggs. I laid the eggs in the hot ashes and covered them over, filled my leathern flask from the Tigris, and thus loaded returned proudly to the hun. The eggs I ate directly, but saved the milk for the evening.
After this meal, procured with such difficulty, I certainly felt happier and more contented than many who had dined in the most sumptuous manner. During my search through the village I noticed from the number of ruined houses and huts that it seemed to have been of some extent formerly. Here also the last plague had carried off the greater part of the inhabitants,
for at the present time there were only a few very poor families. I here saw a very peculiar mode of making butter. The cream was put into a leathern bottle and shaken about on the ground until the butter had formed. When made, it was put into another bottle filled with water. It was as white as snow, and I should have taken it for lard if I had not seen it made.
We did not start this evening before ten o'clock, and then rode eleven hours without halting to Uesi. The country here was less barren than that between Bagdat and Jengice. We did not indeed see any villages on the road, but small groups of palms and the barking of dogs led us to conclude that there were some very near. At sunrise we were gratified by the sight of a low range of mountains,
and the monotony of the plain was here and there broken at intervals by small rows of hills. The 19th of June. Yesterday I was not quite satisfied with the hunt at Jengice, but I should have been very thankful for a far worse one today, that we might have found any degree of shelter from the pitiless heat of the sun.
Instead we were obliged to make our resting place in the field of stubble, far removed from human habitations. The Caravan Guide endeavoured to give me some little shade by laying a small cover over a couple of poles stuck into the ground, but the place was so small, and the artificial tents so weak, that I was compelled to sit quietly in one position, as the slightest movement would have upset it.
How I envied the missionaries and scientific men who undertake their laborious journeys, furnished with horses, tents, provisions and servants. When I wished, shortly afterwards, to take some refreshments, I had nothing but lukewarm water, bread so hard that I was obliged to sop it in water to be able to eat it, and a cucumber without salt or vinegar.
However, I did not lose my courage and endurance, or regret, even for a moment, that I had exposed myself to these hardships. We set out again about 8 o'clock in the evening, and halted about 4 in the morning at Delia Bas. The low range of mountains still remained at our side. From Delia Bas we crossed the river Hassey by a bridge built over it.
The 20th of June. We found a hun here, but it was so decayed that we were obliged to encamp inside, as there is danger of snakes and scorpions in such ruins. A number of dirty Arab tents lay near the hun. The desire for something more than bread and cucumber, or old half-rotten dates,
overcame my disgust, and I crept into several of these dwellings. The people offered me buttered milk and bread. I noticed several hens running about the tents with their young, and eagerly looking for food. I would gladly have bought one, but as I was not disposed to kill and prepare it myself, I was obliged to be contented with the bread and buttermilk.
Some plants grow in this neighborhood which put me in mind of my native country, the white fennel. At home I scarcely thought them worth a glance, while here they were a source of extreme gratification. I am not ashamed to say that at the sight of these flowers the tears came into my eyes, and I leaned over them and kissed them as I would a dear friend. We started again today, as early as five in the evening,
and we had now the most dangerous stage of the journey before us, and were desirous of passing it before nightfall. The uniformly flat sandy desert in some degree altered in character. Hard gravel rattled under the hooves of the animals, mounds and strata of rock alternated with raising ground.
Many of the former were projecting from the ground in their natural position, others had been carried down by floods or piled over each other. If this strip had not amounted to more than five hundred or six hundred feet, I should have taken it to be the former bed of a river. But as it was, it more resembled the ground left by the returning of the sea.
In many places, saline substances were deposited, whose delicate crystals reflected the light in all directions. This strip of ground, which is about five miles long, is dangerous, because the hills and rocks serve as a favorable ambush for robbers. Our drivers constantly urged the poor animals on.
They were obliged to travel here over hills and rocks, quicker than across the most convenient plains. We passed through in safety before darkness came on, and then proceeded more leisurely on our journey. The 21st of June, towards one in the morning,
we came up with the town Caratappa, of which, however, we saw only the walls. A mile beyond this, we halted in some stubble fields. The extensive deserts and plains end here, and we entered upon a more cultivated and hilly country. On the 22nd of June, we halted in the neighborhood of the town Kuferi.
Nothing favorable can be said of any of the Turkish towns, as they so much resemble each other in wretchedness, that it is a pleasure not to be compelled to enter them. The streets are dirty, the houses built of mud or unburned bricks, the places of worship unimportant,
miserable stalls and coarse goods constitute the bazaars, and the people, dirty and disgusting, are of a rather brown complexion. The women increase their natural ugliness by dyeing their hair and nails reddish-brown with henna, and by tattooing their hands and arms.
Even at 25 years old, they appear quite faded. On the 23rd of June, we halted not far from the town of Duss, and took up our resting place for the day. In this place I was struck by the low entrances of the houses. They were scarcely three feet high,
so that the people were obliged to crawl rather than walk into them. On the 25th of June, we came to Daug, where I saw a monument which resembled that of Queen Zobidi in Baghdad. I could not learn what great or holy man was buried underneath. The 25th of June, at four this morning,
we came to the place where our caravan guide lived, a village about a mile from Kerkou. His house was situated, with several others, in a large dirty courtyard, which was surrounded by a wall with only one entrance.
This courtyard resembled a regular encampment. All the inhabitants slept there, and besides these there was no want of mules, horses and asses. Our animals immediately went to their stalls, and trod so near to the sleepers that I was quite anxious for their safety,
but the animals are cautious, and the people know that and remain perfectly quiet. My Arab had been absent three weeks, and now returned only for a very short time, and yet none of his family came out to greet him except an old woman.
Even with her, whom I supposed to be his mother, he exchanged no kind of welcome. She merely hobbled about here and there, but gave no help, and might as well have remained where she was lying as the others.
The houses of the Arabs consist of a single, lofty, spacious apartment, separated into three parts by two partition walls, which do not extend quite across to the front wall. Each of these compartments is about 30 feet in length by nine in breadth, and serves as a dwelling for a family.
The light fell through the common doorway and two holes, which were made in the upper part of the front wall. A place was set apart for me in one of these compartments, where I could pass the day. My attention was first directed to the nature of the relationships
between the several members of the family. At first this was very difficult, as it was only towards the very young children that any kind of attachment or love was shown. They appeared to be a common property.
At last, however, I succeeded in asserting that three related families lived in the house, the patriarch, a married son, and a married daughter. The patriarch was a handsome, powerful old man, 60 years of age, and the father of my guide,
which I had learned before, as he was one of our travelling party. He was a terrible scald and wrangled about every trifle. The son seldom contradicted him and gave way to all that his father wished. The caravan animals belonged in common to both,
and were driven by themselves and by a grandson 15 years old and some servants. When we had reached the house, the old man did not attempt to the animals much, but took his ease and gave his orders.
It was easy to see that he was the head of the family. The first impression of the Arab character is that it is cold and reserved. I never saw either husband or wife, or father and daughter, exchange a friendly word.
They said nothing more than was positively necessary. They show far more feeling towards children. They allow them to shout and make as much noise as they like. No one vexes or contradicts them, and every misconduct is overlooked.
But as soon as a child is grown up, it becomes his duty to put up with the infirmities of his parents, which he does with respect and patience. To my great astonishment, I heard the children call their mothers mama or nana,
their fathers baba, and their grandmothers ete or eti. The women lay lazily about during the whole day, and only in the evening exert themselves to make bread. I thought their dress particularly awkward and inconvenient. The sleeves of their shirts were so wide
that they stuck out half a yard from the arms. The sleeves of the caftan were still larger. Whenever they do any work, they are obliged to wind them round their arms or tie them in a knot behind.
Of course, they are always coming undone and causing delay and stoppage of their work. In addition to this, the good folks are not much addicted to cleanliness and make use of their sleeves for blowing their noses on,
as well as for wiping their spoons and plates. Their head coverings are not less inconvenient. They use first a large cloth, twice folded. Over this two others a wound, and a fourth is thrown over the hole.
Unfortunately, we stayed here two days. I had a great deal to undergo the first day. All the women of the place flocked round me to stare at the stranger. They first commenced examining my clothes,
then wanted to take the turban off my head, and were at last so troublesome that it was only by force that I could get an arrest. I seized one of them sharply by the arm and turned her out of the door so quickly
that she was overcome before she knew what I was going to do. I signified to the others that I would serve them the same. Perhaps they thought me stronger than I was, for they retired immediately. I then drew a circle round my place
and forbade them to cross it, an injunction they scrupulously attended to. I had now only to deal with the wife of my guide. She laid siege to me the whole day, coming as near to me as possible
and teasing me to give her some of my things. I gave her a few trifles, for I had not much with me, and she then wanted everything. Fortunately, her husband came out of the house just then.
I called him and complained of his wife, and at the same time threatened to leave his house and seek shelter somewhere else, well knowing that the Arabs consider this a great disgrace. He immediately ordered her harshly out,
and I at last had peace. I always succeeded in carrying out my own will. I found that energy and boldness have a weight with all people, whether Arabs, Persians, Bedouins or others. Towards evening I saw, to my great delight,
a cauldron of mutton set on the fire. For eight days I had eaten nothing but bread, cucumber and some dates, and therefore had a great desire for a hot and more nutritious meal. But my appetite was greatly diminished when I saw their style of cookery.
The old woman, my guide's mother, threw several hands full of small grain and a large quantity of onions into a pan full of water to soften. In about half an hour she put her dirty hands into the water and mixed the whole together,
now and then taking a mouthful, and after chewing it spitting it back again into the pan. She then took a dirty rag and strained of the juice, which she poured over the flesh in the pot. I had firmly made up my mind not to touch this food,
but when it was ready it gave out such an agreeable odour, and my hunger was so great that I broke my resolution and remembered how many times I had eaten of food, the preparation of which was not a wheat cleaner. What was so bad in the present instance was that I had seen the whole process.
The broth was a bluish-black in colour, and with a rather strongly acid taste, both the result of the berries. But it agreed with me very well, and I felt as strong and well as if I had undergone no hardships
during my journey from Baghdad. I hoped soon to have had a similar dainty meal, but the Arab does not live so extravagantly. I was obliged to remain satisfied with bread and some cucumbers without salt, oil or vinegar.
The 26th of June. We left the village and passed Kerkou. At sunrise we ascended a small hill, from the summit of which I was astonished by a beautiful prospect. A majestic lofty chain of mountains extended along an enormous valley
and formed the boundary between Kurdistan and Mesopotamia. In this valley there were the most beautiful flowers, mallow, chrysanthemums and thistle plants. Among the latter there was one which frequently occurs in Germany, but not in such richness and magnificence.
In many places these thistles covered large spaces of ground. The country people cut them down and burned them instead of wood, which is here a great luxury, as there are no trees. We saw today some herds of gazelles which ran leaping past us. End of section 33.
