It Is Only About Ten Years, That The Ryhanlu Have Cultivated
The Land; Like The Other Turkman Hordes They Had Always Preferred The
Wandering Life Of Feeders Of Cattle.
Agriculture was introduced among
them by the persuasion of Hayder Aga, whose daughter having married a
chief of the neighbouring Kurds, an alliance took place, which enabled
the Turkmans to perceive the advantages, derived by the Kurds from the
cultivation of the soil.
The principal riches of the Turkmans however
still consist in cattle. Their horses are inferior to those of the Arabs
of the desert, but are well adapted for the mountains. Their necks are
shorter and thicker than those of the Arab horses, the head larger, the
whole frame more clumsy: the price of a good Turkman horse at Aleppo is
four or five hundred piastres, while twice that sum or more is paid for
an Arab horse of a generous breed. Contrary to the practice of the
Arabs, the Turkmans ride males exclusively. The family of my host
possessed four horses, three mares, about five hundred sheep, one
hundred and fifty goats, six cows, and eight camels; he is looked upon as
a man in easy circumstances; there are few families whose property does
not amount to half as much, and there are many who have three or four
times as many cattle. I have heard of some who are possessed of property
in cattle and cash to the amount of one hundred and fifty thousand
piastres. Such sums are gained by the trade with Aleppo and by usury
amongst themselves.
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