Mosul's Fortunes

Horowhenua Chronicle, 10 August 1916, Page 3

Mosul's Fortunes

TOMB Of JO AAH O.Nfc 0 t : bA N UDMAju^O. Mosul, 0114) of tile Cit 1 Cf> of Mesupo tamia which enter Uuuoii nigh exptviutions of revived commercial impoiianao as a result of the stimulus to in afforded by the completion of tlie grout trade artery of the near east, the Bagdad railway, liaa been Drought suddenly into the foreground ot the world wa.r by the Kueaian operations. . are reported to be duplicating here the successes aohiovod previously at Jkrzerouiii and Trebizoud. This town of about 00,000 people, is situated on the right bunk of the tligris, 220 miles a;bove i>agdad, and just opposite the extensive ruins of tnu great Assyi'aii capital vt Ninneveli. The great mosque, with it«> odd leaning minaret, is the chief architectural i future of this otherwise unimpressive looking City. Tke Suez Canal long ago diverted much of Mosul's caravan commerce, but the town is still a distributing point for northern .Mesopo<taniui. supplanting in importance the looaliy manufactured woollen and eotton fabn> which received the name of "nun ;.,, from the city, the chief article of export to-day is gallnute, gathered in the adjacent mountains. One of the peculiarities of 'Mosul is the bridge over tho Tigris, connecting this one-time suburb of ancient iSineveh with the ruins of 'the parent t..,. One-sixth of the bridge is an orumary span which joins the right bauii ;,i;m , small island. Uoyond tho island the travel lex - crosses the wider branch •. i the river by means of a pontoon or boat bridge.* As the high waters of Ala<y aue now recedung the Tigris will soon uncover t-lio silt-enriched islands around Mosul, and by mid-summer there wiil bo a bountiful haa'vtjfat of melons and other fruit, provided the natives have nad time, during their preparations for aeleiice against the Ua.nu Luke's army, to plant their customary crops. Among the place of interest point;, out to tho traveller in this section ol Mesopotamia is the tomb of Jonah, recalling vividly to mind the history ot the mighty metropolis, louuded, supposedly, by Ninus and the famed Seniiramis more than two thousand! years betore the Christian er4, and to wn:cii the prophet Jon ah had been sent with a warning ait the time of his adventure with the "great fish, ' Mosul haa undergone many vicissitudes since its capture by the Arabs 111 the seventh century, Syrians and toe!julu held it during mo tenth" and eleventh centuries, alter whiolj cam® the fine ilare of splendour undier the rulership of the remarkable General 2engi. It was this amir who launched from Mosul the jihad or ootunter-orusade against the "intide: Christians" in Palestine. The final accomplishment of the Mosul amir's crusade fell to the , t >fc of Saladin, eon of one oi Zcngi's generals and a Mahometan rulwr of ina.ny exceptional virtues..