76 THE LANDS OF THE TIGRIS. 



miles below Mossul, and later on passed the mound 

 of Nimrud already referred to, the village of Kaleh 

 Shergat close to the ruins of the ancient city of 

 Asshur, which gave its name to the great Assyrian 

 empire, and the hamlet of Tekrit, where I changed 

 raftsmen, tying up on the evening of the fifth day 

 close to the sacred city of Samara, whose brazen dome 

 shone like molten gold in the rays of the setting sun. 



The town of Samara, situated on the left bank of 

 the Tigris, not a mile and a half from the river, as 

 stated in Murray's handbook (I made it just 550 paces 

 from my raft to the city gate), is the usual collection 

 of erections of sun - dried brick, surrounded by walls 

 built by the richer pilgrims to resist the incursions of 

 pillaging Bedouins. The objects of pilgrimage are the 

 tomb of Imam Hussein Askar, above which rises the 

 great golden dome which catches the eye from afar, 

 and a small mosque and dome, beautifully embellished 

 with enamelled tile-work, which mark the site of the 

 disappearance of the Imam Mohammed el Mahdi, who, 

 according to Moslem belief, will return to earth again 

 with Christ at the end of the world. 



The only other object which stands out in relief 

 against the dead level of the plain is a curious spiral 

 tower built of brick, which rises to a height of 163 

 feet at one end of a ruined madressah, and is known 

 as the Malwiyeh. The spiral way which leads to the 

 summit is now devoid of any rail, and presents a surface, 

 from 2 to 4 feet in width, of brick roughly imbedded in 

 cement. The portion giving access to the small turret 

 which forms the apex has been much broken, and at 

 the present time affords but a narrow ledge, which 

 would constitute a formidable obstacle to any one with 

 "nerves" or a bad head for heights. The top of the 

 turret itself is reached by a short flight of steps, and 



