Fair of Zileh.
Silk manufactory
of
Amasiyeh,
and opening for
commerce at
Angora..
Advantages of
an English
consul or vice-
consul at
Angora.
The sale of
goods would
pay the
expenses of the
Euphrates
Expedition*
used being Russian. In the interior, Zileh is a place of some commerce. Am
annual fair is held there in the middle of November, which lasts fifteen days;
from 40,000 to 50,000 persons visit, it from all the commercial cities of Syria and
Asia Minor. The trade is carried on by barter.. Grain is> produced in abundance,
in. the plains near Zileh, Silk is. manufactured largely at: Amasiyeh, but chiefly
for barter at Zileh and. other towns, a small quantity only being exported to Con-
stantinople.'
An increasing but an exclusively private trade is carried on from Liverpool to
Iskenderun,. and thence to Aleppo, also to Beirut and Damascus; while Angora,
offers a promising position for commercial enterprise. Its trade was formerly
considerable, and British merchants were: established there, but it has been
neglected, and its only traffic at present is with Russia: Russian goods are
described as* very expensive. The staple produce of the country consists of—
Twisted Merino, Noe. 1 and1 2 . . 40 piastres per hukka, or 480 drachms.
Merino wool . . . . . . . 12 r, rat
Yellow berry . . . . . . 25. „,.
Wool . . . . . . . . . 5 „
W a x .............................. . . . 5
There is a good market for refined sugar, W est India coffee, handkerchiefs, chintz,,
calico, cotton velvets, silk dresses, cloth for the army, and cutleries of all sorts, pro-,
dudng, it is said, a profit of 200 per cent. The European imports were stated by
respectable merchants, in many towns in. Asia Minor, to be very much larger than,
the value of native products exported, in the ratio of 1,000 to 10,000 in value.
I t is therefore evident that great advantages to commerce would arise from the
establishment of an English consul or vice-consul at Angora, and the encouragement
and protection which would thus be given to trade. At present a thousand
native merchants are employed, all making large profits, where one English merchant
would suffice. This part of Asia. Minor is .well peopled, and the inhabitants
are industrious. The people, also,- are anxious for European goods, but from
passing through so many bands they are at present too dear for their means.
Russian cutlery is much in demand, there being no supply of British manufacture.
An English merchant, who has occasionally supplied goods for Asia Minor,
recommends loaf sugar, coffee, white Manchester cloths, as tungils, jaconets,
.sheetings, &c., and printed calicoes, such as those purchased by the Greek merchants
(the patterns of which should be selected by some one acquainted with
the taste of the country), as being most suitable at present for the markets of
Mosul and the neighbouring towns: The same gentleman has given it as his
opinion, that the sale of 100,0001. worth of goods, which otherwise would not be
manufactured, would more than repay the country the whole expenses of the
Euphrates expedition, without taking into account the merchants’ profits. This
calculation was made with reference to the present trade, which, however, ultimately,
would be largely increased.
Notwithstanding all the existing disadvantages, boats with merchandize are con-
1 Journey from Erz-Rdm to Trebizond, &c., by Henry Slater, Esq.; Royal Geographical
Journal, vol. X., p. 442, &c.
tinually tracked up the rivers in Mesopotamia; but the fleets going up the Tigris
against the stream from Basrah to Baghdad consume from' thirty to forty days,
while a steamer would perform this distance in four days and a half. Good
freights are therefore secured for steamers, and a valuable opening presented for
trade, since an Arab population of about twelve millions is to be supplied.1 The
actual trade to Baghdad was, in 1838, 12,000 bales or packages, brought up
the Tigris at a freight of 1?. per bale.
Under such promising circumstances, it seems that a company might advanta- Suggestions for
geously be formed, with a small capital (say of 25,000?. in 50?. ° J v J shares)» for co. m- or“r ea’ icoormmmateiorcnial
mercial purposes. One steamer might be employed on the Euphrates, commencing company.
at Beles, the port of Aleppo, for the descent. One between Mohammerah and
Baghdad, and a third on the E arun: a fourth steamer being kept as a reserve,
to give occasional rest to the officers, men, and machinery of the others. The
general voyage of the steamer on the Euphrates might be between Beles and
Hillah, a town of considerable trade, 60 miles , below Felujah, descending to the
ports of Mohammerah and Basrah as occasion might require. Felujah is the
place of transit to Baghdad, which is nearly opposite to it, at a distance of 23^-
miles. An eligible communication would thus be opened with the other steamer Communication
navigating the Tigris. From Iskenderun or Suweidiyeh on the Syrian coast to 5,et^ eeil the , & & & j j Euphrates and
Beles, a distance of 100 miles, every facility exists for conveyance. The transit Tigris.
may occupy six days from the sea to the Euphrates, and five or six more to
Baghdad : forty days is an average passage for merchant vessels from England to
Syria, making in all fifty-two days to that internal market. Supplies would alsp
reach Baghdad direct from England by way of the Persian Gulph. This channel
also embraces the whole intercourse with India and the Arabian coast, both as to
goods and passengers: the traffic and employment for steamers might possibly be
greater here than on the Euphrates above. The products of Arabia and the
inland countries have been already given in the custom-house returns.2
The steamers in the Black Sea, running between Tarabuzun and Constantinople, Traffic between
and between the latter city and Smyrna, are always crowded with Turks and other Tarabuzun and
Or \ ttoman subj-e cts, ofnt en taking witih tihemi t-heiir h arems or rfa milies; the Arabs Constantinople.
also appreciated the superior convenience of steam travelling in the time of the
Expedition, and availed themselves of it as often as allowed. They may, therefore,
be expected to afford a regular and considerable item of passage-money.
Another item will arise from the per centage on specie, pearls, shawls, and
other valuables, in which there is a constant traffic or transit in those countries.
The establishment of the navigation would probably lead to that of English
mercantile houses at all the chief places of trade on the Euphrates, and other
rivers and branches at the interior stations; so that agents would be found to take
charge of the depots and the transaction of the general business of the Company
at moderate remuneration, either by commissions, or salary— two exist already.
Independently of the natural facilities for the navigation, still greater advantages Proposed
may attend the opening of a canal from the neighbourhood of Felujah to Baghdad, ^ fa d rta ^ rii
> Vol. I , Appendix V III, p. 724. » Appendix (G.) S p h r a t e .
VOL. II. 3 A