About half-way, we
came to the river Hasar, called Gaumil by the Greeks, and made
remarkable by the passage of Alexander the Great. It was broad, but
not deep, and we therefore rode through. The chain of mountains
still continued at the side at some considerable distance, and here
and there rose low, sterile hills, or head-lands. The total absence
of trees in this part of Mesopotamia is striking: during the last
five days I did not see a single one. It is, therefore, easy to
imagine that there are many people here who have never seen such a
thing. There were spaces of twenty miles in extent, upon which not
a single branch was to be seen. However, it is fortunate that there
is no scarcity of water; every day we came once or twice to rivers
of various sizes.
The town of Mosul did not become visible until we were within about
five miles. It is situated upon a slight elevation in a very
extensive valley, on the west bank of the Tigris, which is already
much narrower here than near Baghdad. We arrived about 7 o'clock in
the morning.
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