ub-house. There are said to
be about fifty baths in Bagdad, but in general they are inferior in
construction and accommodation. The bazaars of Bagdad are extensive and
well stocked, and while not so fine in construction as those of some other
Eastern cities, they are more interesting in their contents and industries,
because Bagdad has on the whole been less affected by foreign innovations.
Several of the bazaars are vaulted over with brickwork, but the greater
number are merely covered with flat beams which support roofs of dried
leaves or branches of trees and grass. The streets of the entire business
section of the city are roofed over in this manner, and in the summer
months the shelter from the sun is very grateful, but in the winter these
streets are extremely trying to the foreign visitor, owing to their
darkness and their damp and chilly atmosphere.

Bagdad is about 500 m. from the Persian Gulf, following the course of the
river. It maintains steam communication with Basra, its port, which is
situated on the Shatt el-Arab, somewhat more than 50 m. from the Persian
Gulf, by means of two lines of steamers, one English and one Turkish.
British steamers were first placed upon the Tigris as a result of the
expedition of Colonel F. R. Chesney, in 1836. Since that time, a British
gunboat has been stationed before the residency, and British steamers have
been allowed to navigate the river. Only two of these, however, maintain a
weekly connexion with Basra, and they are quite inadequate to the freight
traffic between the two cities. The more numerous vessels of the Turkish
service are so small, so inadequately equipped and so poorly handled, that
they are used for either passenger or freight transport only by those who
cannot secure the services of the British steamers. The navigation of the
Tigris during the greater party of its course from Bagdad to Korna is slow
and uncertain. The river, running through an absolutely flat country,
composed entirely of alluvial soil, is apt to change its channel. In flood
time the country at places becomes a huge lake, through which it is
extremely difficult to find the channel. In the dry season, the autumn and
winter, on the other hand, there is danger of grounding on the constantly
shifting flats and shoals. To add to the uncertainties of navigation, the
inhabitants along the eastern bank of the stream frequently dig new canals
for irrigation purposes, which both reduces the water of