Above the confluence the Tigris flows almost due north and south

TCD MS 10516 folio 86 recto

TCD MS 10516 folio 86 recto

[12th October 1916] and brown, laden with a fine sediment; those of the Euphrates are bright and clear, much of the silt having settled in a higher lake, and the river now reflects the gleam of transparent waters.The muddy Tigris joins the clear blue Euphrates; for a short distance the two streams, in striking contrast, flow side by side. Soon the waters are mingled and not far below the confluence, we observe the combined stream of these mighty rivers foul with suspended silt. But of more interest than the relation to Biblical legend and the clash of contrasting waters is the manner in which the flow of one river has influenced the flow of the other river at their point of union. Above the confluence the Tigris flows almost due north and south; the Euphrates almost due west and east. Thus the