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LEFT TURKESTAN 38 TURKEY province of Semipalatinsk by the Thian- Shan Mountains. Divided by the Pamir plateau, or "roofs of the world," into two distinct portions, it has a total esti- mated area of 1,576,400 square miles. Eastern Turkestan shades off into the desert of Gobi, while western Turk- estan, sinking to the level of the Kirghis steppes, extends to the shores of the Caspian. These two regions have a very dissimilar character, the latter contain- ing the Iranian khanates, now mainly embraced in Russia, the former from olden times, as now, the arena of Turkish adventurers, who have more or less suc- cessfully asserted their dominion against China. Within western Turkestan are com- prised the former Russian government- general of Turkestan, the former khan- ates of Bokhara and Khiva, the Tur- coman steppes, and the hill districts of Karategin on the upper Oxus. The country is nearly synonymous with the basin of the Amu-Darya, and Russia formerly held both the right bank of the river in what used to be Khivan terri- tory, and its delta, green with rice fields. The Amu valley and delta are covered with gray clay, impermeable to water, and therefore invaluable to the inhabitants for the construction of canal banks. The non-irrigated and far greater part of western Turkestan, with the exception of a few table-lands, is covered with black or yellow sands, and the only land fit for cultivation, in addition to the oases along the river, are the slopes of the hills. Khiva is the principal of the oases, and the Amu-Darya, at its greatest height in July, overflows the desert in the direction of the Caspian for 50 miles. The climate is one of extremes, and the heat of autumn is aggravated by a wind laden with fine dust which is al- most suffocating, and darkens the air for a week at a time. Gold is found in the Obi district, and in the Karatan Mountains are extensive coal deposits, besides valuable ores. Wheat and clover are the winter crops; all other cereals, such as maize, millet, barley, rice and peas, are sown in April and gathered in August. Grapes are cheaper than pota- toes and yield a good wine. Bokhara cotton is of excellent quality. Tobacco and silk are also largely produced; some tobacco seed from Maryland is succeed- ing admirably. The chief races are Usbegs, who are purely Turkish; Tajiks, the Iranian and trading people; the predatory Turcomans, Turks with an Iranian infusion; and the nomad Kirghis and Kara-Kalpacks. The Russian gov- ernment of Turkestan was formed in 1867; it was divided into the provinces of Syr-Darya, Ferghana, and Samar- kand; and had an area of 257,134 square miles, and pop. about 3,000,000. The prevalent language is akin to Turkish. Eastern Turkestan is called Nan-ly by the Chinese, Altai-shar ("six towns") by adjoining Mohammedans, and liti- shar ("seven towns") by its Moslem rulers. It may be considered as identical with Kashgar. Till 1853, eastern Tur- kestan was a Chinese province, but that year witnessed a massacre by the natives of the Chinese who rejected Islam, and subsequently it was ruled by its despot liberator, Yakoob Beg, till his death in 1877. He was succeeded by his son, but the Chinese Government recovered its lost territoiy in 1879. TURKEY, or the OTTOMAN EM- PIRE. Prior to the World War Turkey was composed of Turkey in Europe, Tur- key in Asia, and certain islands in the Mediterranean. Considerable territory was lost following the conclusion of the First Balkan War (November, 1913). Turkey in Europe was in part divided among Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece, and in part created into an independent state of Albania. Cyprus and Egypt, which formerly were in- cluded in the Ottoman empire, were an- nexed to the British empire, the first in November, 1914, and the second in January, 1915. By the terms of the Peace Treaty of the Allied nations, signed on May 11, 1920, the area of the empire was still further reduced. Tur- key ceded practically all of Thrace to Greece, as well as Tenedos and Imbros, and the islands in the ^gean, occupied by Greece. Smyrna, with the surround- ing strip of territory, was to be admin- istered by Greece under Turkish sover- eignty for five years, after which the territory might annex itself to Greece by plebiscite. By the terms of a later agree- ment, signed on March 17, 1921, Smyrna was returned to Turkey. Mesopotamia, Palestine, Armenia, and Hedjaz became independent. The first three were placed under mandatories. Kurdestan was to be autonomous. Several islands in the .^gean were ceded to Italy. Turkey re- tained Constantinople, but the coastal area of the Dardanelles, Marmora, and Bosporus was placed under the control of the Commission of the Straits ap- pointed by the League of Nations. The area taken from Turkey was 438,757 square miles, with a population of about 12,000,000. The area of the remaining territory is 174,900 square miles, with a population of about 8,000,000. In the territory remaining under Turkish rule, Moslems greatly preponderate. In Asi-