Presently the women came out of the
cabin; they were so covered with large wrappers that they had to be
led as if they were blind. They stood close together between the
walls, and waited until the whole were assembled, when the entire
party, namely, the moveable wall and the beauties concealed behind
it, proceeded step by step. The scrambling over the narrow ship's
ladders was truly pitiable; first one stumbled, and then another.
The landing occupied more than an hour.
13th May. The captain brought me word that a German missionary was
accidentally at Bassora, who had a dwelling with several rooms, and
could probably give me shelter. I went to him immediately, and he
was so obliging as to provide me with a room in which, at the same
time, I found a fireplace. I took leave of the good captain with
sincere regret. I shall never forget his friendliness and
attentions. He was a truly good-hearted man, and yet the
unfortunate crew, mostly Hindoos and negroes, were treated worse on
board his ship than I had observed elsewhere. This was the fault of
the two mates, who accompanied nearly every word with pushes and
blows of the fist. In Muscat three of the poor fellows ran away.
The Christian Europeans excel the pagan Hindoos and Musselmen in
learning and science; might they not also at least equal the latter
in kindness and humanity?
A small English war-steamer was expected at Bassora in the course of
a few days, which carried letters and dispatches between this place
and Baghdad, and whose captain was so good as to take European
travellers (of whom there are not many that lose themselves here)
with him.
I availed myself of the few days of my stay to look about the town,
and see what still remains of its ancient celebrity.
Bassora, or Bassra, was founded in the reign of the Caliph Omar, in
the year 656. Sometimes under Turkish, sometimes under Persian
dominion, it was at last permanently placed under the latter power.
There are no vestiges of antiquity remaining; neither ruins of
handsome mosques nor caravansaries. The fortified walls are much
dilapidated, the houses of the town small and unattractive, the
streets crooked, narrow, and dirty. The bazaar, which consists of
covered galleries with wretched stalls, cannot show a single good
stock of goods, although Bassora is the principal emporium and
trading port for the Indian wares imported into Turkey. There are
several coffee-stalls and a second-rate caravansary in the bazaar.
A large open space, not very remarkable for cleanliness, serves in
the day as a corn-market; and in the evening several hundred guests
are to be seen seated before a large coffee-stall, drinking coffee
and smoking nargillies.
