Sir Ry Ker Porter's Travels in Georgia, Persia, Armenia, &e. 
‘ower! partioP: his face. 
responsible ito the government of “tlic 
Pasha ‘for the general ‘security! ofthe 
rdad from casual depredators; butander 
the -present ‘circumstances; when! their 
brethrens of) the desertioissue>'forthioin 
‘such formidable hordes, these poor crea- 
tures dare Larldly show their heads.: 
fod f complained of want of:cleanliness 
mii ithe persons'cof!othe> Persian ‘lower 
orders; I have notderms to express ‘the 
exceeding Joathsomeness of the Arab 
Fella. >The skins of tliese people are 
lactually ingrained with dirt; and the 
male children, additionally embrowned 
wdyothe roasting sui, run about till thir- 
teen or fourteen ycars of age, without the 
shadow of a! garment!) The mothers 
answempretty welloto the description I 
haveialveady given!of the lowest class in 
‘Bagdad. ;The only’ difference appears 
to be; thathere their)shift-like gowns are 
‘always of a. coarse*red ‘flannel, open a 
ood way down in front, buttoned at the 
neck, ‘and ‘touching the: ankles and 
wrists; both of which extremitics are’ 
usually: adorned witli massive silver 
rings. ‘Strings of many-coloured beads 
hang on their tattooed necks, sometimes 
enriched witha silver or gold coin. A 
black: handkerchief binds their heads, 
Beneath: which devolve their Jong un- 
‘combed ‘tresses: The nose is’ never 
Avithout: its weighty ring also, which 
‘gives rather‘a*snoffling grace to the 
Woice of the wearer. 
-tofPbe: men do not, like the Turks and 
Persians, shave their heads; but, letting 
their hair grow, its dark locks much in- 
crexse the wild and often haggard ap- 
pearance sof their roughly bearded 
wvisages. > They frequently are seen with- 
‘out other covering than the haffia or 
cloak, formed of an extremely: broad - 
striped staff. This: is the domestic: at- 
tire, inowhich they ave met in the vici- 
nity of their homes; but when they go 
farther: a-field, they put on a brown 
woollen: tunic, girt) about the middle 
with a stout leathern belt, armed witha 
short: wooden club, or a long crooked 
dagger. Mostiof them carry, in addi- 
tion, a scymetar, anid a small: round 
shield.» “The head- dress: of Arab men 
appears the point to whieh they pay the 
most: attentions »It-is: usually of one 
fashion with all; being) composed of a 
yellow: and réd_ picce: of stuff; wound 
round the browslike a:close turban, with 
poitited) ends: banging slong upon the 
‘breast. The wearer sometimes throws 
one of them across bisichin; which piece 
of drapery, falling on his shoulder, con- 
eceals his neck and the whole of the 
597 
From the folds 
round his forehead) depend two twisted 
braidsofiong blackshair; which add not 
‘andittle Of the savage tothe wily air of 
the dower orders of ‘this tribe. 
oNoye 10th We left the khaun* of 
Iskanderia*at half-past seven” o’élock 
this morning. “Soon after clearing the 
numerous low ‘heaps of rains and yub- 
bish diverging’ fron’ the piace, we dis. 
covered the golden cupola of Mosscib, 
reflecting the rising ‘sun, in’a direction 
south 40° west. © Waving travelicd 
about four miles farther, the usual traces 
of former buildings spread a vast way on 
the rest of our road ; and one relic, not 
inferior in bulk to that of Boursa 
Shishara, stood very couspieuous. It 
was built of unburnt bricks, marked at 
their lines of union with no other ce- 
ment than that of shine ; neither rceds, 
nor straw, appeared outwardly ;-and at 
first I judged) it to have been of more 
receut construction than the former pile 
Thad ascended; but, on examining some 
broken pieces of the bricks; which lay 
thickly around, I found several bearing 
remnants of cuneiform inscriptions ; 
proof sufficient of the antiquity of the 
materials at-least. But whether the 
place, of which the ‘edifice they com- 
posed had formed a part, were coeval 
with Babylon, or was ‘afterwards 
erected out of her remains, cannot easily 
be determined. Yet, so extensive and 
numerous are the traces of former build- 
ings on the spot, we must conelade that 
something like a town has existed here; 
and if the historical acconnts'are'to be 
depended on, that the original dimen- 
sions of Babylon extended to a length- 
and breadth of fifteen miles, the adja- 
cent great villages, or minor towns, 
usually attendant on metropolitan cities, 
might very well reach thus far. 
Mahowil lies four miles from’ the 
Hadgé’s khaan; and is ‘only separated 
from the plain more Immediately con- 
nected wit! the remains of Babylon, by 
the embankments of two onee'ioble ca- 
nals, very near each other; and running 
almost due east and’ west. ‘In ‘the first, 
whieh we crossed by a brick bridge, we 
saw ‘water.’ These canals'secm at pre- 
sent to be regarded ‘as’ the ‘boundary, 
whienee the decided vestiges of the great 
cily commerfice 5 and'we’ Soon disco- 
vered’ thei’ widely° spreading tracks. 
In crossiig’ the’ bridge,’ which leads to 
those iiimense tumuli’ ‘of ‘temples, pa- 
Jaces, and human’ habitations of every 
enc attagee Pesos ee ttt eee 
* Inn or cavayausery. 
description ; 
