The Coolidge examiner., 1932-09-02

prepared by the National Geographic
Society, Washington, D. c.
(WNU Service.)
TRAQ, where American explorers
recently discovered a complete
historic township, dating from
the early fourth millennium, is the
modern name for the traditional
Garden of Eden, historically known
as Mesopotamia. Many historians
hold that somewhere in Iraq-in
the valley Of the Tigris and Euphra-
tes riverS-is to be found the cradle
of civilization.
Upon the breaking up of the
Turkish empire following the World
war MesopOtamia became Brit
ish mandate which was erected into
the Arab kingdom of Iraq with a
Mohammedan prince from Mecca
upon the throne. Such is the latest
form assumed by the Phoenix
among nations. In the last six thou
sand years Babylonian, Assyrian,
Chaldean, Persian, Greek, Roman
and Saracen civilizations have flour
ished in Mesopotamia. each rising
from the ashes of it's predecessor.
The great irrigation works which,
throughout the centuries, had kept
the igris-Euphrates valley green,
rich and flOurishing were destroyed
by invading Mongols and allowed
to decay by needless Turks. The
Garden of Eden became treeless
desert except for few date
palms along the river banks. Cities
like Baghdad and Basra fell into de-
cay and seemed fast approaching
the fate which had overtaken Ur
and Babylon, where jackals howl
above a lonely waste.
Then followed rebirth during
the throes of the great war. Once
more boats crowded the swift and
treacherous reaches Of the Tigris.
Once more the bazaars of Baghdad
and Basra and Mosul hummed with
world traffic. Marauding desert
robber tribes were kept in perpet-
ual peace by airplanes humming
over their remote villages. Sanitary
regulations and electric lighting
made town and country both more
safe and more healthfuL Ice fac
tories and soda water establish
ments helped alleviate summer
days of 120 degrees in the shade.
Levees were built to keep the food
ing rivers within their banks and
slowly bit by bit work was begun
on repairing irrigation works and
building railroads. Thus was mod
ern Iraq born.
The new kingdom under British
mandate embraces the valley of the
Tigris-Euphrates between the Ara
bian desert on one side and the
Persian uplands on the other. To
the northwest lies the French man
date of Syria and to the north the
Kurdish highlands of Turkey. South
ward stretches the Persian gulf, the
country's salt water outlet to the
wide world. Within this strip of
territory are barely 100000 people
where once flOurished a population
denser than that of modern Bel
GUM.
What Baqhdad Is Like.
There are three principal cities:
Mosul, of oil fame, is in the north
Baghdad, the capital in the central
part; and the important port of
Basra in the south. OF the three
Baghdad perhaps is most famous.
From the deck of Tigris steam
er Baghdad looms up boldly, its
splendid skyline of domes and min
arets reminding one of some mid
way" of Worlds fair memory. An
odd pontoon bridge conects the two
parts of the city, separated by the
yellow Tigris. On the west bank is
the old town. inclosed by date and
orange groves. From here the Bagh-
dad-MOsul railway starts on its long
run across the trackless desert.
East of the river, on the Persian
side, is new" Baghdad. with it's
government Offices, barracks, con-
sulates, prisons, etc.
Beyond, as far as the eye can
reach in every direction, stretches
the vast, fiat, treeless, empty plain
of MesOpotamia-a region once
more populous than Belgium.
The present custom house at
Baghdad is a wing of the old palace
of Harum-alRashid; yards of
scrawling Arabic characters, cut in
marble panels, still a1orn it's his
toric walls.
Baghdad arteries Of traffic are
mere alleys, often so narrow that