Persia / [prepared ... under the direction of K. Mason].

  • Great Britain. Naval Intelligence Division
Date:
1945
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Persia / [prepared ... under the direction of K. Mason]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    740/864 (page 544)
    construction was initiated by Riza Shah as part of his policy of centralization and tribal control, and even before the present war motor-lorries were already beginning to replace the ancient forms of transport on the main highways. Of this mileage probably not more than 5,000 are even roughly metalled, often only with stones thrown together and roughly water-bound, but crushed hard by the passage of transport. Much of the remainder has only a light surfac- ing of stone or gravel, and sometimes only an improved earthen . surface. On the other hand, in many parts of the country, particu- larly in central Persia, light cars can travel without roads in summer, the chief obstacles being sandy patches, irrigation ditches, and the kavirs. Considerable improvements have been made by British and American military engineers during the last few years, and it is probable that the Russians have constructed new roads in the north, but details are not yet available for publication. Travel in winter is impeded by mud, rain, and snow, especially on the poorer types of road, those in the coastal plains being often impassable. Passes in the Elburz are generally kept clear of snow, but those in the Zagros may be blocked for a fortnight at a time. In the following brief summary only the most important routes are mentioned. The mileages are approximate only and do not take into consideration many war-time developments which include new aline- ments, improvements to gradient, and new connexions. Roads are summarized under four headings: (A) Through roads from south to north. (B) Through roads from west to east. (C) Roads across the Elburz. (D) North-west frontier roads. Mileages are given in brackets before the place-name to which they refer. The roads are shown in outline on fig. 60, and in most cases in more detail on the regional maps (figs. 11-22). Route numbers are given in square brackets. (A) Through Roads from South to North Route [1]. KHURRAMSHAHR—TEHRAN Distances in miles eee a9) (0) Khurramshahr. (83) Ahwaz. (155) Shushtar. (194) Dizful. (359) Khurramabad. (437) Burujird. (475) Malayer (Daulatabad). (533) Iraq (Sultanabad). (619) Qum. (711) Tehran. ™ Road alinements have not been shown on figs. 13, 14 and 20 to avoid obscur-