IN THE PERSIAN GULF

Shannon News, 17 August 1928, Page 4

IN THE PERSIAN GULF

MASKAT, Arabia.

There r.re two sailings of passenger t-.teamers weelrly tVom Basiu down the remaining 75 miles of the Tigris River into the Persian Gulf, through that to the Sea of Oman, thence into the Arabian Sea and to Karachi and Bombay.

These lines } British of-course, are the "fast mail" and the "slow mail." The former making but two stops, reaches Bombay in seven days from Basra . The slower steamer which tarries a dozen times'or more, requires 12, but in the course of these calls at some' of the least known places in the world —strange and mysterious places much more familiar to men two or three centimes ago than to-day. Of them all, this little town of Maskat, once Portuguese, is the most picturesque and interesting. The guns of its crumbling fort, mark of the power' which once was Portugal, practically! commanded the entrance to the entire Persian Gulf, with the rich lands and prosperous towns which then bordered; it. To-day Maskat commands only the interest of the few strangers which seek it out, for it is apart from the ; world and .forgotten. Indeed to thosc : -nho have never been there —and have perhaps heard mention of it—it is known chiefly as the hottest place in the world, where, during the summer months the temperature mounts to 135 in the shade.

Basra itself, the starting point -of the Persian Gulf route to Bombay, is a place of many interests, especially just now with the Wahabi tribesmen almost in sight of it. It is curiously being within a few miles of the Persian frontier on the one side, and at the very edge of the most hostile part of the Arabian desert on tke other. It was once on a trade route far more important that that which passes through it to-day; for along here the * caravans came from Central Asia and the Far EaSt, came for hundreds of years, and Basra was one of the principal tarrying places. Arrest of Sheik of Mahomerah. Down the Tigris about 20 miles, just beyond a palm-lined stream where two vi Lite granite slabs mark the boundary of Irak and Persia, an expansive establishment of cream-white buildings lines the river. It is surrounded by date palms and fair green lawns and such ~ other embellishments as might be ex- ■ pected to please a Persian potentate and his retinue. This is the sumptuous abode from whic-h the Sheik of Mahomerah was lately ejected by the Shah of Persia and" taken in exile to Teheran, an affair which may.before jong figure in international politics.

The Sheik greatly aided tl:e British Government atf this vital point during 1914-18 and certain persons in England have been urging the Foreign Office to intercede for him at Teheran. But, as the story goes at Basra, it was his own arrogance that brought about his temporary eclipse. It appears that the Sheik was wont to live here beside the Tigris in all his luxuriousness and pay little or no heed to the fact that he really had a sovereign at Teheran. The present Shah is of a different temper to his predecessor, to whom the Sheik of Mahomerah is said to have made-rich and beautiful gifts and thus secured immunity from taxation and so on. The Sheik and his Shah thus came to cross purposes, and the Shah won, which is the reason why the beautiful palace beside the Tigris is falling into decay, even as the glories of the Forbidden City at Peking. Moreover, the Sheik is said to have hidden no less than 2,000 rifles beneath the floor of harem, wbichj being found by officers from Teheran, gave rise to.certain uncomfortable speculations on the part of the Shah as to their proposed use.

A few miles down the river from Mahomerah is the great plant of the Anglo-Persian Oil Company, around which a modern community, with all European amenities, is rapidly growing up. Pipe lines from hundreds of miles inland run here to supply great tank ships from all parts of the world. Electric lights, automobiles, and even tramcars are familiar sights now along the Tigris, where a few years ago there was only the desert with its date palms. Just below the mouth of the Tigris, on the Arabian side, is the little sheikruled state of Koweit, a tiny community, nominally independent, having a treaty agreement with England. This i* a state upon which King Ibn Saud has long cast covetous eyes, as indeed he has upon tho entire Persian Gulf coast. There has, then, been much apprehension lest Feisal ed Dawish and his tribesmen make a descent upon Koweit, a pleasant little palm-fringed community. The British Government, therefore, landed a"considerable force of marines there a few weeks ago and a small British cruiser and a couple of sloops are in the harbour at present. In keeping farm costs down to a One of the sloops was among those present at Wanshien, China, during the disturbances of a year and a-half ago. And so little, scarce-known Koweit is now the base of a-considerable British force, which will protect it audits tiny neighbouring states from onslaughts from the desert. Town of Busnire. Across the Gulf, 1 on the Persian side is the considerable town of Bushire, principal port of the Persian Gulf and post of the British "political agent," which is the title bestowed upon British representatives in Persian towns on the Gulf. B-ushire is an ancient pile of buildings on a point into the" Gulf, somewhat like old Sidon. It has no harbour and the shallow water about it keeps" a large vessel nearly five miles away, contact being made in a launch and native dhows. A day's sail south on the other.side are the much-discussed

Behrein Islands, centre of the Gulf pearl fisheries, and at present wrangled about by England and Persia. The Islands are well on the Arabian side, however, and it takes a good deal of elasticity of fancy td attribute' them to Persia.

A little beyond on the Arabian side is the strange little town of Dubai, located on an island a few miles off the mainland and belonging to the State "of CJatar. This, like Mecca and*Medina, is a "forbidden city-' for the white man, though it is virtually under British protection. Its Sheik is said once to have argued thus: "lihaye a peaceful little town here whore no dissension arises, neither controversy with the white man. Should 1 permit him to mingle with my people it. is not improbable that an 'incident' scntly occur. What then happens? A gunboat appears and fires shots oyer, or possibly into, my hitherto peaceful little town. My town will then bono longer peaceful, neither in all likelihood shall I continue as its Sheik. I will, therefore, have ho white man at all in my town, and thus no. ' incident' shall occur." '

And so, although an agglomeration of strangely clad find voluble natives' appears alongside our ship in equally strange craft, no one goes ashore in Dubai, the fascination and lure Of which is, therefore,, all fhe more noticeable. But hinga, the next tarrying place, is net. forbidden, and. it.is Dubai. The ship then calls at Henjam, Bunder, Abbas, and Djask, all on the Persian side,, each of which necessitates a long, small-boat journey, for the waters of the Gulf are shallow a iong way out from the land. At Henjanl there is a British cable and station station with a few British in charge. Bunder Abbas, 50 miles further on, is much the same .sort of place, a row of buildings along a Jow sanijy shore, with a great grim mountain range in the -background. At ong end of the island on which the town stands was a British military station during the war,, and the.long pier is still there. At Djask, an overnight run from Bunder Abbas, thero is another British wireless station,, and here, as the stop is usually all-day, the Britishers among the ship's crew frequently go ashore-for a game of~cricket —if the weather is not too hot. An Ola, Old Town. Next comes Maskat, a very different place from any of tliose. thus far visited ( an old, old town with many. Portuguese ruins, picturesquely, situated among the great mountains of rock and having a good- harbour. T There is an American mission here which works along the coast and far inland. Dr. Harrison, who is in charge of it, has written a book on "The Arab at Home," which is a standard work on the Arabs of this part o f Arabia, iln mid-March the climate, here is: delightful, but during the summer, with ! its hot winds from the Arabian desert and the radiation of the sun's heat from the surrounding rocks, ' ,the temperature rises to appalling-heights. ; Maskat is really outside the Gulf itself, being on the Oman Sea and the icapital of the Sultan-ruled, British;protected state of the same name. It was once a considerable sea power and included Zanzibar among its dependencies. After Maskat there come the ports of Charbur, Gwadi, ;and Pasni, before Karachi, and Mangrole and Verawal between Karachi and Bombay. Charbur is in Persia, ( and Gwadi and Pasni are in Baluchistan. Gwadi still remains a possession of Oman, the only lingering remainder of the considerable power which once attached to that state. The Baluchistan ports are fishing towns, sending, to Bombay quantities of dried 'fish, sharks' fins and beehe-de-mer. From Pasni it is a short day's sail to Karachi ami from there 500 miles to Bombay.