seded by the railway, and a more important caravan route 'in this direction is that leading from the Hauran down the Wadi Sirhan to Jauf and central Arabia. At Weisat, about 175 km. from Jauf by this way, another track strikes westward to Ma'an.
(v) Traffic to and from Egypt is for the most part by sea, but the old coast road via Gaza and Rafa is still used, and many camels are sent that way in the summer.
Inferior roads and tracks are too numerous to describe in detail, though they have an importance in consequence of the large extent to which pack-animals are still used. It has been estimated that in Syria the tonnage transported by animals is at least equal to that sent by rail. Since 1914, however, pack-animals have been commandeered in large numbers for military purposes, and very many are reported to have died.
(b) Rivers
The Euphrates lying outside the scope of the present survey, Syria and Palestine may be said to have no navigable rivers. In winter, boats of 100 tons can ascend the Nahr el-Asi (Orontes) for about three miles; this river is 100 yds. wide at its mouth; its depth inside the bar is 9 ft., and on the bar 3-5 ft. There are no canals. During the war a service of motor boats and barges across the Dead Sea was established in order to transport grain from the Kerak district to the north-west shore for Jerusalem. A small steam launch owned by the Hejaz Railway plies on the Lake of Tiberias from Semakh to Tiberias in connection with trains.
(c) Railways
(i) Railway System in General
The railways fall into four groups:—
1. The Baghdad Railway, of which the Syrian portions are: Islahie—Muslimie—Aleppo,
