KIER!. Near this town, in the pass through which the Ak-Su penetrates to the plains, is a naphtha pit. The hills are about a mile S.E. of the town of Tuzkurmatti, close to the gypseous hills of Kifri, and the pit., being in the bed of the torrent, is sometimes overflowed by it, and, for a time, spoilt. The pit is about 15 feet deep, and to the height of 10 feet filled with water, on the surface of which black oil of naphtha floats, small air-bubbles continually rising to the surface. They skim off the naphtha, and ladle out the water into a channel, which distributes it into a set of oblong, shallow compartments, made in the gravel, where they allow it to crystallize, when it becomes very good salt, of a fine, white, brilliant grain, without any intermixture of bitter ness. Great quantities of this are exported into Kurdistan ; and it is worth annually about 20,000 piastres. The oil of naphtha is the property of the village. Part of it is consumed by the manzil khanah, or sold for its support, and part for religious establishments, etc. About two jars, each containing six oka, or one Baghdad batman, of naphtha, may be skimmed from this well in twenty-four hours. The spring is at the bottom
of the pit or well, and once a year they cleanse the well, on which occasion the whole village turns out, victuals are distributed to all the poor, and sacrifices of sheep are made to the sound of drums and oboe, in order to insure the good flowing of the spring again,—a ceremony in all probability derived from remote antiquity. The principal naphtha springs are, however, in the hills, a considerable distance south of this, towards Kifri. They are five or six in number, and are much more productive than this pit, but no salt is found there. Indeed, it is probable that naphtha may be found in almost any part of this chain. Near the naphtha pit in the hills are alum (zak or sheb) and chalk (tabashir), of a very fine, close, white grain ; but the natives make no use of these products. An earth, also, is found, which they employ to give an acid flavour to some of their dishes; no doubt it is vitriolic. Sulphur is also found, and is used by the peasants to cure the itch in their cattle and themselves.—Rich's Kurdistan, i. pp. 27-29.