Myself on a sudden surrounded by a
swarm of women and children, so that I thought it advisable to
hasten back again to the ship's people - not that any one offered me
any violence; but they crowded round me, handled my dress, wanted to
put on my straw bonnet; and this familiarity was far from pleasant
on account of their extreme dirtiness. The children seemed
shockingly neglected; many were covered with pimples and small
sores; and both great and small had their hands constantly in their
hair.
At the places where we stopped they generally brought sheep and
butter, both of which were singularly cheap. A sheep cost at the
utmost five krans (4s. 6d.). They were very large and fat, with
long thick wool, and fat tails of about fifteen inches long and
eight inches broad. Our crew had a better diet than I had ever
noticed on board any ship. What pleased me even more was the equal
good treatment of the natives, who were not in any particular less
thought of than the English. I never met with greater order and
cleanliness than here - a proof that blows and thumps are not
indispensably necessary, as I had so often been assured.
In the districts where the ground was covered with underwood and
grass, I saw several herds of wild swine; and there were said to be
lions here, who come from the mountains, especially during the
winter time, when they carried off cows and sheep: they very seldom
attacked men. I was so fortunate as to see a pair of lions, but at
such a distance, that I cannot say whether they exceeded in beauty
and size those in European menageries. Among the birds, the
pelicans were so polite as to make their respects to us by scraping.
21st May. Today we saw the ruins of the palace of Khuszew
Anushirwan at Ctesiphon. Ctesiphon was formerly the capital of the
Parthian, and afterwards of the new Persian empire: it was
destroyed by the Arabs in the seventeenth century. Nearly opposite,
on the right bank of the Tigris, lay Seleucia, one of the most
celebrated towns of Babylon, and which, at the time of its
prosperity, had a free independent government and a population of
600,000 souls. The chief portion were Greeks.
One obtained two views of Ctesiphon in passing, in consequence of
the river winding considerably - almost running back again several
miles. I made a trip there from Baghdad, and therefore reserve my
account of it.
The old caliphate appears in marvellous magnificence and extent from
a distance, but unfortunately loses this on nearer approach. The
minarets and cupolas, inlaid with variegated earthenware tiles,
glitter in the clear sunlight; palaces, gateways, and fortified
works, in endless succession, bound the yellow, muddy Tigris; and
gardens, with date and other fruit trees, cover the flat country for
miles round.
