About: Turkish Prisoners in Egypt by Various
TURKISH PRISONERS IN EGYPT
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TURKISH PRISONERS IN EGYPT
A Report By The Delegates Of The International Committee Of The RedCross
_Extracted and translated from the Official Reports of the Red CrossSociety_
_(Documents publies a l'occasion de la Guerre Europeenne, 1914 1917)_
Published in 1917
_A Report on a visit made in December, 1916, and January, 1917, to theCamps for Turkish Prisoners of War in Egypt, by the Delegates of theInternational Committee of the Red Cross._
Turkish Prisoners in Egypt
~INTRODUCTION~
Being deputed by the Red Cross International Committee to visit Turkishprisoners of war in Egypt, we presented ourselves on December 3, 1916,to the officer for Naval Transport in the British office at Marseilles.By order of the War Office he obtained berths for us on the liner_Morea_, of the P. and O. Line. We embarked at Marseilles on December19, 1916, and after an uneventful journey reached Port Said on December27.
At Cairo General Murray, Commander in Chief of the British forces inEgypt, was good enough to put us in touch with Brig. GeneralII. G.Casson, C.M.G., Director in Chief of the Prisoners of War Department.With the help of Colonel Simpson we drew up a programme of visits. Amotor car was placed at our disposal, and permission given us to takephotographs in the camps, distribute gifts among the prisoners, andtalk freely with them.
We have to express our warmest thanks to General Murray and to theofficers who allowed us to make our enquiries everywhere, withoutrestriction. We should also like to offer our deepest gratitude to SirReginald Wingate, British High Commissioner in Egypt, for the kindlycare accorded us throughout our stay.
~1. Heliopolis Camp.~
_(Visited on January 2, 1917.)_
This camp is laid out quite close to the new city of hotels and villasfounded in 1905 under the name of The Oasis of Heliopolis. The camp siteis 134 feet above the level of Cairo.
_Strength._ 3,906 Turkish non commissioned officers and men.
3 Turkish soldiers of the Sanitary Corps.
2 Armenian doctors (officers in the Turkish Army).
The camp is arranged to hold a total population of 15,000 men. Abarbed wire fencing separates it from adjoining property.
_Accommodation._ The barracks for the prisoners are arranged in groups,in parallel lines separated by passages 65 feet wide. These barracks,built under the supervision of the Egyptian Engineering Department, areof uniform construction, and about 42 feet long by 30 feet wide. Theyare solid frames of wood with the spaces between filled in with reedsarranged vertically and held in place by crossbars. The roof is of reedthatch edged with tarred felt. Thanks to the design, the ventilation isperfect.
The sandy soil shows hardly a sign of dampness. The passagebetween the rows of beds is made of hard beaten earth which is very dryand easily kept clean. All along this corridor, as in all the camproads, buckets full of water are arranged in readiness to meet anoutbreak of fire.
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