The surrounding mountains limited
the avenue of attack. Altogether it would not be an easy nut to crack, and
the Turks had evidently determined on a stand. What decided the army
commander to make any further attempt to advance was most probably the
great length of the line of communications, and the recent floods had made
worse conditions which were bad enough at the best. The ration supply had
fallen very low, and it seemed impossible to hold even Kirkuk unless the
rail-head could be advanced materially.
I put in all my odd moments wandering about the bazaars. The day after
the fall the merchants opened their booths and transacted business as
usual. The population was composed of many races, chiefly Turcoman, Kurd,
and Arab. There were also Armenians, Chaldeans, Syrians, and Jews. The
latter were exceedingly prosperous. Arabic and Kurdish and Turkish were
all three spoken. Kirkuk is of very ancient origin--but of its early
history little is known. The natives point out a mound which they claim to
be Daniel's tomb. Two others are shown as belonging to Shadrach and
Meshech; that of the third of the famous trio has been lost. There are
many artificial hills in the neighborhood, and doubtless in course of time
it will prove a fruitful hunting-ground for archaeologists. As far as I
could learn no serious excavating has hitherto been undertaken in the
vicinity.
The bazaars were well filled with goods of every sort.
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