i'hoto by Frederick tjimpich 



AN OPIJN PLAZA IN BAGDAD S BUSY BAZAAR 



tive "cherrid," consisting of a goatskin 

 drawn over a pulley for lifting water 

 from the river, is disappearing; so is the 

 Euphrates water-wheel. Oil engines and 

 pumps are fast coming into use ; more 

 than 300 outfits were sold to Arab farm- 

 ers about Bagdad in 1909-1910. 



It is estimated that the work of putting 

 this vast area into shape for modern ir- 

 rigation farming will call for a total out- 

 lay of $130,000,000. The total area that 

 could be successfully irrigated aggregates 

 12,500,000 acres; but the project under 

 immediate contemplation embraces only 

 3,500,000 acres. The cost per acre, 

 therefore, on the work planned would be 

 slightly more than $37 per acre. It is 

 estimated that the land could be leased 

 at a figure that would bring in a 9 per 

 cent return on the investment. Prelimi- 

 nary contracts were let in 191 2, but the 

 outbreak of the war has resulted in the 

 suspension of the work for the time 

 being, at least. 



South of Bagdad, in the Karun River 

 region, oil wells have been sunk, pipe- 

 lines laid, and refineries built. Twenty 

 thousand tons of pipe came from Amer- 



ica under one order. American well- 

 drillers are employed. Coal at Bagdad 

 costs from $15 to $20 per ton; now fuel 

 oil will be used. Bitumen or asphalt 

 lakes and springs abound along the 

 northern reaches of the Tigris and will 

 contribute to the prosperity of Bagdad 

 as developed. 



SIDE LIGHTS ON Bagdad's daily life 



About fifty foreigners — British, Ger- 

 man, Russian, Italian, and French — 

 lived in Bagdad before the war. Be- 

 cause of their isolation and unusual sur- 

 roundings, a word about their daily life 

 makes a good story. Twelve of these 

 foreigners are consuls or consular agents ; 

 the rest are engaged mostly in trade. 

 Arabs do not readily pick up a foreign- 

 er's name, but identify him usually by 

 his work. The licorice buyer, for ex- 

 ample, is known far and wide as x\bu 

 Sus, "Father of the Licorice." There 

 was also the ''Father of the Rugs," the 

 "Father of the Steamers," and the den- 

 tist was called the "Father of the Teeth." 



Beneath every dwelling-house is its 

 "serdab" — a deep, cellar-like chamber. 



561 



