Sometimes they went north by train. They once went to Kirkuk
where the storks nested on most of the rooftops. They visited the 'Eternal
Fires' at Baba Gurgur, which can be seen from Kirkuk. Nancie walked between the
knee- high and waist-high flames and tried to stamp them out. (No Health and
Safety nonsense in those days!). She thought the ground between them felt very
brittle and hollow. Fed by chemicals in
the ground they have been burning for centuries and are reputed to be the fiery
furnace into which King Nebuchadnezzar cast Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
Another favourite outing was to Ctesiphon, about thirty
miles south of Baghdad. There stands the oldest and highest unsupported
man-made arch in the world. Even today despite having been partially demolished
it is still an impressive sight. Renovations are in progress as I write this in
2015 but back in 1930 it was a most stunning bit of architecture, standing
alone in the desert with no other building for many miles.
The German Billet was on the east side of the river where
most of the Railway officials lived. To get to the main shopping area Nancie
had to cross the Maude Bridge. The main emporium was called 'Orosdibachs'.
During the festival of Ramadan they were not allowed to cross the bridge 'because
of the unrest amongst the native Baghdadis'. I'm not quite sure whether she
means they were celebrating in the streets or what. There was a 'Railways Club'
for the people who worked for the railway but the main British Club was on the
Baghdad side of the river and was called " Alwiyah". Gertrude Bell, the famous 'Arabist' who was
Chief Assistant to the British High Commissioner, had founded this club a few
years earlier. It had a large swimming pool and other facilities.
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