ABSTRACT
WALKING along the river, we saw a number of primitive flat boats that served to carry wood from the tamarisk groves near Deir to the Lower Euphrates Valley, where there is no fuel. We hired two of these rafts, or boats, one for me and the other for my two travelling companions. The two boats were linked together. The navigation of this square barge was managed by three men with long poles, which they used to push into the part of the river where the current was strongest. Although the men showed some skill and experience in their craft, the locomotion was very slow, not much exceeding the speed of a good caravan. But it offered the advantage that our animals could walk along the bank unloaded, while we transported all our baggage in our boats.
