Turkish POW Treatment by the British

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5 responses to “Turkish POW Treatment by the British”

1. 

   Anonymous

   August 22, 2009

   A few words about Claim 2:
   Whoever posted this clearly has no idea what he or she is talking about.This is, I suppose, one of the downsides of the internet–anyone gets to say something no matter how wrong, inaccurate, and even stupid it might be. Yanikdag’s “Ill-fated Sons of the Nation” does not make the claim mentioned above at all. The statement above is a complete misrepresentation of what is said in the dissertation. One person cannot infect another with pellagra. However, if you deny someone nutritious food–food with vitamin B-3, etc–for months and years, then you can be sure that person will develop pellagra. Dissertation does NOT conclude that it was a deliberate policy at all. WRONG, Wrong, wrong! Pellagra does not take 5-6 years to develop. It can develop as short a period as 3-4 months; it depends on how severe the shortage of B-3 is. British documents themselves admit that healthy Ottoman POWs coming from India and Burma to Egypt developed pellagra within 3 months of their arrival in Egypt.

   Additionally, are you really, really sure, no Ottoman POW spent that much time in Egypt? While the majority were captured in 1917 and 1918, there a good number who were captured in early 1915 and were not repatriated until 1921. If my math is correct, that’s 6 years–not that you need 6 years to develop pellagra.

   Perhaps the thing to do is to go read things (the dissertation, articles, etc) instead of believing the words of an ignorant fool.
2. 

   Lewis B. Sckolnick

   August 23, 2009

   TURKISH PRISONERS IN EGYPT

   A Report By The Delegates Of The International Committee Of The Red
   Cross

   _Extracted and translated from the Official Reports of the Red Cross
   Society_

   _(Documents publiés à l’occasion de la Guerre Européenne, 1914-1917)_

   Published in 1917

   _A Report on a visit made in December, 1916, and January, 1917, to the
   Camps for Turkish Prisoners of War in Egypt, by the Delegates of the
   International Committee of the Red Cross._

   Turkish Prisoners in Egypt

   ~INTRODUCTION~

   Being deputed by the Red Cross International Committee to visit Turkish
   prisoners 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 December
   19, 1916, and after an uneventful journey reached Port Said on December
   27.

   At Cairo General Murray, Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in
   Egypt, was good enough to put us in touch with Brig.-General II. 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. A
   motor-car was placed at our disposal, and permission given us to take
   photographs in the camps, distribute gifts among the prisoners, and
   talk freely with them.

   We have to express our warmest thanks to General Murray and to the
   officers who allowed us to make our enquiries everywhere, without
   restriction. We should also like to offer our deepest gratitude to Sir
   Reginald Wingate, British High Commissioner in Egypt, for the kindly
   care 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 villas
   founded in 1905 under the name of The Oasis of Heliopolis. The camp site
   is 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. A
   barbed-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, are
   of uniform construction, and about 42 feet long by 30 feet wide. They
   are solid frames of wood with the spaces between filled in with reeds
   arranged vertically and held in place by crossbars. The roof is of reed
   thatch edged with tarred felt. Thanks to the design, the ventilation is
   perfect. The sandy soil shows hardly a sign of dampness. The passage
   between the rows of beds is made of hard-beaten earth which is very dry
   and easily kept clean. All along this corridor, as in all the camp
   roads, buckets full of water are arranged in readiness to meet an
   outbreak of fire. The water in these buckets is not meant for drinking,
   and therefore contains a little cresol to prevent prisoners drinking it.
   The danger of fire is further reduced to a minimum by the fact that the
   men smoke only out of doors and that the mildness of the climate does
   away with the use of stoves. Each barrack accommodates 50 men.

   _Bedding._–Each prisoner lies on a mat of plaited rush, and has four
   blankets. Every morning the mats are brushed and rolled up and the
   blankets folded, so that during the day there is a large clear space
   inside the building. The detention cells have the same sleeping
   accommodation.

   _Exercise._–The space left between the barracks of the separate
   sections is amply sufficient for exercise, which is quite unrestricted
   during the regulation hours.

   _Food._–Provisions are purchased by the commissariat and brought every
   morning into a special barrack, whence each section draws its daily
   rations. Bread comes from the Cairo bakeries. It is of good quality and
   agreeable to the taste. The kitchens are in the open and heated by wood
   fires. They are staffed by a detachment of prisoners under a head cook.
   At meal times each section sends men to draw the rations for each room
   in large metal bowls. Every man has his own spoon, bowl and drinking
   cup, all of metal. The hours of meals are ordinarily as follows:

   5 a.m.; 11 a.m.; and 4 p.m.

   The last meal is the principal one of the day.

   We have examined the various food materials given the prisoners and
   found them to be of excellent quality.

   The menu of the Turkish prisoners of war now interned in Heliopolis Camp
   consists of bread, meat, vegetables, rice, butter, pepper, salt, onions,
   tea (7-1/2 grammes), sugar (42 grammes), cheese and jam or olives.

   Each prisoner receives 42-1/2 grammes of cigarettes and two boxes of
   matches every week; two lbs. of firewood per day; and soap.

   It interested us to make a note of the expenses involved by the support
   of each Turkish prisoner, according to figures supplied by the English
   authorities.

   The calculation is based on a period of six months (in winter).

   £ s. d.
   Clothing and linen 3 0 0
   Periodical renovation of winter
   clothes 0 6 6
   Renovation of linen, footwear,
   and towels (twice) 1 10 0
   Food at actual contract prices 5 0 0
   Tobacco 0 12 6
   Wood (average price) 0 7 6
   Lighting (as for Maadi Camp) 0 2 0
   Water filtration (Maadi) 0 0 6
   ————-
   Total £10 19 0
   =============

   Depreciation of buildings, fittings, blankets and other things provided
   is not included in these figures.

   _Canteen._–The regulation food of the prisoners being ample, the
   canteen plays a very minor part in the feeding arrangements. It sells
   tea, coffee, and light refreshments. A cup of sweetened tea costs 5
   paras, or about one-third of a penny. The canteen also deals in letter
   paper, post-cards, thread, needles, buttons and other small odds and
   ends.

   The men receive 2 ounces of tobacco free every week. They never get
   alcohol.

   _Clothing._–Each prisoner is supplied with two complete sets of
   underwear: shirts, drawers, and socks. The uniform consists of trousers
   and coat of dark blue cloth. The brass buttons give it a military
   appearance.

   All the men wear the red fez. They are allowed to wear their
   decorations. That they are prisoners is shown only by their having on
   them a white metal plate about 1-1/2 inches in diameter, bearing a
   registration number and the two letters P.W. (Prisoner of War). In our
   opinion this kind of medallion is a more judicious form of indication
   than the bands, armlets or large letters used elsewhere. In summer the
   cloth uniforms are replaced by linen uniforms of the same cut and
   colour.

   All men wear indoors leather slippers of the Eastern kind. Shoes are
   used only by prisoners engaged on gardening, and by non-commissioned
   officers.

   Linen, clothes and footwear are renewed on fixed dates or according to
   need.

   _Hygiene._–Everything that has to do with hygiene and the sanitation of
   the camp is the province of Lieut.-Colonel E.G. Garner, Medical Office
   Inspector of Prisoner-of-War Camps in Egypt.

   Water is supplied from the Heliopolis town mains, is of good quality,
   and is provided in sufficient quantities.

   For toilet purposes the prisoners have the use twice a day of shower
   baths and water taps. The floor of the lavatories is sloping cement, and
   the water drains away through a gulley between the two rows of baths.
   Prisoners can get hot water from the kitchen when they need it. Soap is
   supplied _ad libitum_.

   For washing their clothes the prisoners have some very convenient
   arrangements. Once a week each prisoner’s blankets and clothes are
   passed through the disinfecting chamber and thoroughly sterilised.
   Thanks to this precaution, there is not a trace of vermin to be found in
   the camp.

   Ten Turkish barbers are occupied in cutting the hair of prisoners and
   shaving them in a well-managed barber’s shop.

   The latrines are clean and numerous enough. Some of them are on the
   English system; the rest on the Turkish. They are disinfected daily with
   carbolineum. All discharge into the sewers.

   _Medical attention._–The camp medical service is staffed by Colonel
   E.G. Garner and two Armenian doctors (Arsen Khoren and Léon Samuel).
   Four English hospital orderlies are assisted by three Turkish orderlies.
   An English dentist visits the camp at the doctor’s request.

   At the infirmary, which is clean and well looked after, all prisoners
   not seriously ill are accommodated with beds having mattresses and steel
   springs. The consulting room is well supplied with medicines. Serious
   cases are sent to the hospitals set apart for prisoners of war.

   From 20 to 30 men come to the infirmary daily for medical attention. All
   the cases are entered in a register, which we have examined; after each
   name is the complaint and the treatment prescribed.

   At the time of our visit there were six lying-down cases in the
   infirmary; two with tuberculosis in the first stage (prisoners captured
   recently at El Arish); one with diarrhoea; one with conjunctivitis; one
   with malaria; and one with a wounded leg.

   Of the prisoners in camp 3 per cent. have been attacked by malaria–old
   cases from the marshy districts of Turkey, such as Angora Yosgath, for
   instance. Nine per cent. have been attacked by chronic bacillar
   dysentery; these are treated periodically with anti-dysenteric serum.
   Some cases of amibian dysentery are being treated with calomel, salol,
   and emetine. Twenty per cent. were affected by ophthalmia due to their
   stay in the desert before being captured. These were treated with
   sulphate of zinc and protargol.

   Four prisoners are suffering from trachoma of old standing. Recent cases
   are ordinary ailments, bronchitis and simple diarrhoea.

   As a general rule the camp prisoners look well, have a good colour and
   are well nourished.

   The prisoners were inoculated in Turkey against typhoid fever and
   smallpox. All who no longer showed traces of vaccination were vaccinated
   immediately after being captured. They were also inoculated against
   cholera.

   There is no typhoid fever in the camp, nor exanthematic typhus, nor any
   other infectious disease.

   _Work._–The prisoners have no regular work to do. No prisoner is
   employed in workshops outside the camp. Even inside, except for ordinary
   camp fatigue duties, and some light gardening, no labour is exacted.
   During our inspection we saw the digging for a water supply through the
   camp being done by Arab workmen, not by prisoners.

   In any case, corporals and sergeants are not allowed to work.

   _Religion and Recreation._–The prisoners are quite free to follow their
   own religious practices, which are performed thrice a day ordinarily,
   and six or seven times daily during Ramadan. Music and singing are
   permitted; prisoners have manufactured several guitars and violins.

   _Correspondence._–Most of the prisoners brought money with them; some
   have received sums of money from their families through the Turkish Red
   Cross and the International Committee of the Red Cross. They receive the
   amount in weekly instalments of 30 piastres (about 6 shillings) per
   month. Each person has a separate current account with the camp
   accountant.

   Letters take from three weeks to three months to get from the sender to
   the prisoner to whom they are addressed. Some of them are sent through
   the American Consul at Cairo. Very few of the prisoners can write, but
   these may do so as often and for as long as they wish. There is no
   system of delaying correspondence after delivery or before despatch.

   _Prisoners’ Aid._–There is no relief committee in the camp; so far, no
   general relief funds have been sent. Sergeant-Major Hussein Hissan, a
   native of Constantinople, told us that, although there were many poor
   prisoners in the camp, there was no need to send help, as all prisoners
   are well fed, well clothed and supplied with tobacco.

   _Prisoners’ Behaviour._–What strikes one more than anything else on
   entering the camp is the prevailing orderliness and cleanliness. A
   Turkish sergeant-major commands each group of huts, and a Turkish
   sergeant is responsible for each dormitory. The prisoners are smart,
   give the military salute and come to attention at the orders of the
   non-commissioned officers when those in command pass through the camp.

   Sergeant-Major Hassar Mohammed, from Angora, and Hamid Abdallah, from
   Koniah (Asia Minor), told us, on behalf of their fellow prisoners, that
   they had no complaints to make, and assured us of the kind treatment
   which they receive.

   On their part, the English officers and non-commissioned officers
   declared that the prisoners are well disciplined and very willing. In
   short, we took away with us an excellent impression of Heliopolis Camp.

   ~2. Hospital No. 2, at Abbassiah, near Cairo.~

   _(Visited on January 2, 1917.)_

   This hospital, on the pavilion system, and arranged in accordance with
   the requirements of modern practice, is reserved exclusively for
   German, Austrian, Bulgarian and Turkish prisoners of war. It is staffed
   by head doctor Wickermann, assisted by four English doctors. Some
   English Red Cross nurses and 18 Turkish orderlies attend to the sick and
   wounded. These nurses and orderlies are engaged only with treatment. The
   rough ward work and cleaning are done by native employés. The pavilions
   are built of stone and separated by intervals of 32-1/2 feet. The roofs
   are of cement. Along one side runs a covered gallery wherein beds and
   arm-chairs are placed for the open-air cure of patients for whom it is
   prescribed. The floor of the pavilions is a kind of linoleum made of
   sawdust and cement, and is covered with palm mats. The windows are
   large, and the cubic space per patient ample. The beds are arranged in
   two rows and have spring and stuffed mattresses. Blankets are not
   stinted. The rooms are scrupulously clean; and the hospital sterilising
   chamber serves to disinfect the clothes, which, after being washed and
   labelled, are stored in a wardrobe and handed back to the owners when
   they leave the hospital. The prisoners have no trouble over them. A
   large supply of things for the patients is kept in the laundry.

   _Clothing._–The hospital patients wear pyjamas like those of British
   soldiers; and, like the latter, convalescents wear a bright blue suit
   with white facings and a red necktie. Patients able to sit up have
   folding easy-chairs at their disposal.

   _Dressings._–The hospital drug department is well stocked. The wounded
   are supplied with surgical appliances, and with artificial limbs of the
   most perfect make.

   The day before our visit 80 wounded prisoners arrived at the hospital
   from El Arish in an exhausted and emaciated condition. We saw each case
   receive the most suitable treatment. The apparatus most generally used
   for dealing with fractures consists of a metal frame with flannel strips
   stretched from side to side to form a kind of trough. When the broken
   limb is in position the apparatus is suspended from the ceiling by means
   of pulleys. We have never seen this ingenious arrangement in any German
   or French hospital; it seems to us to be a very practical idea and
   likely to prove of great benefit to the wounded. At the head of each bed
   is a temperature chart, a diet chart, and a clinical summary of the
   case.

   _Special Quarters._–The operating theatre is well arranged; a
   sterilising stove is heated by paraffin. In the wards for prisoners
   suffering from malaria the beds are enclosed by mosquito nets to prevent
   the _anopheles_ mosquito infecting itself and then biting other patients
   or people of the neighbourhood. Two wards are kept for convalescent
   cases, who have a dining-room to stay in during the day.

   Cases of venereal disease are also confined to separate premises.

   The orderlies live in two comfortable tents in the hospital garden, one
   of which, is occupied by those on day duty, the other by those on night
   duty.

   _Hygiene._–The water is of good quality, supplied from the Cairo water
   system. The prisoners can use the well-equipped hot and cold baths at
   their pleasure. Invalids wash themselves, or are washed with the aid of
   bowls. Convalescents wash at the taps supplied for their use.

   The latrines are on the Turkish plan, with automatic water-flush, and
   discharge into the town drainage.

   _Food._–The hospital management employs a contractor to do the
   provisioning. The food is prepared in the kitchen by 4 Egyptian
   employés. The dietary of the Turkish soldiers differs somewhat from that
   of the German and Austrian prisoners, in order to suit the palates of
   each. For example, the Turks prefer flat loaves, which are baked for
   them; while European prisoners get what is called English bread,
   toasted. Bulgarian curdled milk is prepared for dysentery patients, and
   the English doctors testify to its good effects.

   An ice-box in each pavilion keeps such provisions as must stay there
   quite fresh. The diet for invalids is divided into full diet and milk
   diet.

   1. FULL DIET.
   _Breakfast_: Bread; milk.
   _Lunch_: Meat stew; vegetables; rice; bread.
   _Supper_: Bread; soup; rice; milk.
   _Extra, when ordered_: Chicken; pigeon; rabbit; butchers’
   meat; lemons; eggs; cheese; curdled milk.

   2. MILK DIET.
   _Breakfast_: Bread; milk.
   _Lunch_: Soup; bread; milk; rice.
   _Supper_: Bread; milk; sugar.

   The quantities of food allowed to invalids are given below:

   _Diet for
   _Ordinary _Milk Fever
   Diet. Diet. Patients.
   grm._ grm._ grm._

   Native bread (baladi) 937 625
   Beef 115 100
   Vegetables 120
   Rice 115 50
   Milk 200 800 1,200
   Fat 20
   Sugar 20 25
   Salt 15 5
   Pepper 3 1
   Onions 20
   Tomatoes 10

   We examined all these provisions and found them to be excellent in
   quality.

   _Sickness._–Sick prisoners are transferred from the camps to the
   hospital in specially fitted motor vehicles. The English doctors without
   exception praise the patience and brave endurance of pain shown by the
   Turkish prisoners. The cases treated in the hospital up to January 2,
   1917, the date of our visit, are analysed below.

   Turks Bulgarians Germans
   Tuberculosis 27 0 0
   Bacillar dysentery 37 3 2
   Malaria 3 0 0
   War wounds 74 2 4
   Anaemia and weakness 30 12 5
   Various 96 5 0
   — — —
   Totals 267 22 11
   === === ===

   There is no epidemic disease in the hospital.

   _Deaths._–Sixty-six Turkish prisoners died in the Abbassiah hospital
   between August 8, 1916, and January 1, 1917.

   From Dysentery 45
   ” Tuberculosis 9
   ” Beri-beri 1
   ” Malaria 1
   ” War wounds 9
   ” Typhoid fever 1
   —
   66
   ===

   In addition, one German prisoner died of pneumonia. As regards deaths
   from dysentery, most of the prisoners attacked by the disease came from
   the Hedjaz, and were in a seriously weak and exhausted condition.

   Turkish prisoners are prepared for burial in the manner prescribed by
   their religion. They are buried in a Moslem cemetery. British soldiers
   from the garrison pay them the last honours, and the prisoners are
   represented at the cemetery.

   ~3. Maadi Camp.~

   _(Visited on January 3, 1917.)_

   The chief camp at Maadi is 9-1/3 miles south of Cairo, on the right bank
   of the Nile. All prisoners are taken to it after capture, and thence
   distributed among the other camps in Egypt.

   _Strength._–Five thousand five hundred and fifty-six Turkish
   non-commissioned officers and men, including 1,200 men recently captured
   at El Arish in the Sinai peninsula.

   No officers are interned in this camp. Three imaums (priests) were not
   classed with the officers, as they had served as privates.

   The prisoners include–besides Turks–Arabs, Armenians, Greeks, Jews
   from Palestine and Mesopotamia, and some Senoussi. Only a small number
   have been captives ever since the beginning of the war; a large
   proportion come from Gallipoli. We found among the prisoners a boy 8
   years old, named Abd-el-Mohsen, who lives in camp with his father.

   The camp is divided into 41 sections and 4 quarters. The last are
   divided off from one another by barbed wire fences.

   _Accommodation._–The quarters of the Turkish prisoners in Maadi Camp
   include: (1) Old buildings originally erected as a school of music and
   subsequently used as a factory; (2) barracks built recently for
   prisoners of war.

   The first consist chiefly of a huge hall 252 feet long and 49 feet wide,
   with many large openings in the walls. The roof, of match-boarding, is
   33 feet above the floor. Standpipes are fixed all along the hall. There
   are, in addition, some out-buildings used by the management and as
   stores.

   In the other camp sections new barracks, measuring as a rule 100 by 39
   feet, were erected by a building firm. Walls and roof are of wood and
   thatch; the floor is hard-beaten earth. All camp quarters are well open
   to the air, so that proper ventilation presents no difficulties.

   _Sleeping Accommodation._–Lengthwise of all the quarters run platforms
   of beaten earth, 6-1/2 feet wide, and 9 inches above the floor. On these
   are placed the woven rush mats which serve for beds. Each prisoner has 3
   blankets. During the season when the temperature falls appreciably at
   night extra blankets are served out. All bedding is cleaned and
   disinfected at regular intervals. Shelves whereon the prisoners can keep
   their belongings are fixed between the rows of beds.

   _Food._–The food of the prisoners of war is according to the scale
   already given. Kitchens are provided in each section and staffed by the
   prisoners themselves. We tasted the soup and meat stew, and found them
   of good quality and very appetising. The prisoners receive _baladi_ or
   native bread, which resembles their usual food and is supplied by Cairo
   bakeries. We questioned many of the men, who assured us that they were
   satisfied with the food. The only complaint noted by us was that of a
   man who thought that he got rice too often. A small canteen supplies
   black coffee, sweetened, at a farthing per cup. It is run as a private
   concern under the supervision of the authorities. Tobacco is
   distributed every Thursday on the scale mentioned previously.

   _Clothing._–Soon after their arrival in camp the prisoners were taken
   to a large courtyard, in which they stripped off all their clothes and
   foot-gear. As a health precaution all this stuff was scrapped and
   destroyed. After being disinfected, the men received a complete new
   outfit consisting of two pairs of drawers and two flannel shirts, a
   cholera belt, socks, a pair of trousers and a dark blue cloth tunic with
   linen lining and uniform buttons, and a red fez. Leather slippers for
   privates and shoes for sergeants and corporals complete the outfit, the
   smartness of which leaves nothing to be desired. Although on the day of
   our visit the thermometer stood at about 53°F. many of the men were also
   wearing their thick cloth overcoats. Every prisoner has fastened in his
   tunic a small metal plate bearing his registration number.
   Non-commissioned officers are distinguished by a white linen armlet,
   crossed by a blue band for corporals, and by a red band for sergeants.
   The sergeant-major wears a red armlet.

   _Hygiene._–The drinking-water used in camp is drawn by two steam pumps
   from a well sunk to a great depth close to the Nile. The Nile water,
   after passing through a kind of natural filter, is thus lifted into a
   reservoir above the camp, and is distributed in all directions by
   gravity. The bacteriological analysis made every week when the supply
   was first opened–now once a month–showed the water to be perfectly
   pure.

   Water for washing purposes is plentiful. Hot and cold shower-baths are
   installed throughout the camp. The prisoners are obliged to use them
   once a week, but may, if they choose, have a bath four times a day. In
   summer especially the baths are never idle.

   Prisoners get plenty of soap and wash their own linen on wooden tables
   arranged under water taps.

   Two high-pressure steam disinfecting chambers serve the camp, and once a
   week all blankets are passed through them. The camp contains no fleas,
   lice, or bugs.

   The day latrines are 100 yards from the living quarters. They are of the
   Turkish kind, with movable tubs–1 tub for every 10 men. Every tub
   contains some cresol solution. The night-soil is removed daily by the
   Cairo road authorities and converted into manure. Some latrines close to
   the barracks are kept for night use and are locked up during the day.

   _Medical Attention._–The medical service of Maadi Camp is in the hands
   of head-doctor Captain Scrimgeour, who in time of peace practised in
   Nazareth. He is assisted by an English doctor-adjutant, and 4 Arab
   doctors, natives of Syria. All these doctors speak Turkish and Arabic.
   Nine English orderlies and 12 Turkish orderlies carry out the sick
   duties. A dentist comes to camp when required.

   The infirmary included three well-appointed quarters built in masonry,
   and able to hold 40 patients.

   The infirmary bedding accommodation consists of iron bedsteads with
   spring mattress and stuffed mattress. The blankets are warm and
   unlimited in number.

   _Illness._–Every morning 300-400 prisoners come on sick parade. This
   number represents about 8 per cent. of the strength. Although these men
   often come to be treated for trifling ailments, such as slight
   constipation, or even a small boil, the doctors make it a rule not to
   prevent anyone going sick, as this course enables them to keep the
   closer watch upon the health of the camp.

   On the occasion of our visit there were in the infirmary 7 men laid up:
   1 with itch, 1 with diarrhoea, 1 with neuralgia, 1 with an abscess in
   the neck, 1 with articular rheumatism, and 1 with gastritis. A prisoner
   who had been trepanned by the doctors on account of damage done to his
   skull before his capture, was gradually recovering the power of motion
   and his normal sensibility.

   Since the camp was opened there have been 35 cases of tertian ague, all
   from the Hedjaz, Mecca, Taïf and Jeddah; but no case of aggravated
   malaria. Eleven cases of tuberculosis were sent into the Egyptian Red
   Cross hospitals and to that at Abbassiah. Six cases of trachoma are now
   undergoing treatment with applications of protargol. In summer there
   have been a few cases of ordinary diarrhoea. The camp has not suffered
   from dysentery, typhoid, typhus, nor any other epidemic disease.

   All prisoners are inoculated against smallpox, typhoid and cholera.

   _The Severely Wounded and those who have lost Limbs._–A special
   quarter of the camp contains 55 men who have lost limbs in the war. They
   are provided with the most perfect prothesis apparatus, jointed
   artificial limbs. Among them are 2 blind men. Sixty other wounded who
   have escaped more lightly suffer from stiffness of the joints, ankylosis
   and atrophy. They are well provided with sticks and crutches.

   _Deaths._–Two aged prisoners have died in the camp, both from apoplexy.
   They were interred with military honours in the Moslem burial-ground
   nearest to the camp.

   _Exercise._–No limit is placed upon the time during which exercise may
   be taken in the open space round the barracks.

   _Work._–The prisoners have not to do work. Several attempts have been
   made to teach them boot-making, but their results were so unpromising
   that they were given up. Although there are many agriculturists among
   the prisoners, it would not do to use them for work on the land along
   with the natives, owing to the ease with which they could escape and the
   need for having many soldiers to guard them. However, for some weeks
   past the camp commandant has made trial of using some prisoners for
   market gardening on lands beside the Nile, just outside the camp.

   _Discipline._–Under the head of discipline there are hardly any
   complaints to make, and punishment has rarely had to be inflicted. One
   case of escape was punished with three months’ imprisonment without any
   alteration in diet. Only tobacco was cut off. An old offender was
   brought before a court-martial, and sentenced by it to six months’
   imprisonment. The prison quarters are cells built entirely of cement,
   with two barred windows well above the ground to light the chamber,
   which is of ample size.

   _Right to Make Complaints._–The camp commandant makes a general
   inspection every day. Every prisoner has the right to step forward and
   make his complaints. The commandant converses with the prisoners through
   the medium of several British officers who speak Arabic and Turkish.
   Moreover, the prisoners have the right of appeal to the
   Commander-in-Chief and to Brig.-General Casson, who often make tours of
   inspection through the camps.

   _Religion._–The prisoners have every opportunity for practising their
   religious observances. For the Mahometans a small mosque has been built,
   round which they spread their praying carpets. Some of them read the
   Koran regularly; others seem indifferent. Despite differences of race,
   origin, and even of religion, good-feeling prevails among the prisoners
   and quarrels are very few in number.

   _Games and Recreations._–As regards games and recreations, the
   prisoners are interested only in wrestling, cards and dominoes. They
   have been introduced to football without success. Some have shown great
   skill in the manufacture of mandolines, guitars, and tambourines. All
   materials as well as games are provided gratis by the British
   Government. The camp commandant has bought the men some gramophones.
   Many prisoners make articles of coloured beads–handbags, purses,
   necklaces, bracelets, etc.–which show considerable artistic taste. We
   bought one of these beautiful pieces of work as a specimen. The articles
   sell readily in the curiosity shops at Cairo. One section of 1,200
   prisoners netted from the sales a sum of 2,500 francs in a fortnight.

   _Correspondence._–Most of the prisoners receive very few letters or
   none. They are allowed to write in their language once a fortnight, but
   take very little advantage of the permission. It seems that many letters
   addressed to their families in Turkey come back again, as the addressee
   has not been found. Some Turks captured near Bagdad and transported to
   Burmah received their money from home, but have not received any more
   during the one or two months that have elapsed since they were
   transferred to Maadi. It is probable that the money was sent home again,
   or forwarded officially to the new place of internment, and this takes a
   long time. Several prisoners have taken advantage of their captivity to
   learn reading and writing with their comrades’ assistance. Many men had
   money on them when they were taken. This money is lodged, and handed to
   them at demand in monthly payments. Many soldiers have received money
   orders from their families through the International Committee of the
   Red Cross. Parcels, which are seldom received, are opened in the
   presence of the addressee. Only knives are confiscated.

   _Help for Prisoners._–Leaving out of consideration the wish expressed
   by some men to have a little money for buying extra tobacco and coffee,
   we are satisfied that there are no needy persons in the camp at Maadi.

   _Mentality._–The many questions which we have asked show that there is
   no dissatisfaction among the prisoners with regard to the treatment they
   receive. Prisoners have mentioned to us chiefly their anxiety about
   their families, of whom they have no news. The Armenian clergy at Cairo
   look after their fellow-countrymen.

   ~4. The Egyptian Red Cross Hospital at Cairo~.

   _(Visited on January 4, 1917.)_

   The Egyptian Red Cross, under the presidency of His Highness Prince Fuad
   Pasha, being anxious to help its co-religionists, founded in March,
   1915, a hospital for sick and wounded prisoners of war. This hospital is
   under the sole management of the Turkish Red Cross, which is in touch
   with the British authorities through Dr. Keatinge, Professor of the
   Faculty of Medicine at Cairo.

   _Sanitary Staff._–All the hospital doctors are Egyptian. In addition to
   the doctor-in-chief, Dr. Abbas Bey Helmey, two doctors, three surgeons,
   and one druggist live in the hospital.

   Consulting doctors come from the town when sent for to treat nose, ear
   and eye troubles. A Cairo specialist also places his X-ray apparatus at
   the service of the hospital patients. The matron is an American, and has
   three English nurses under her.

   Thirty-two orderlies do the ward work.

   _Accommodation._–The Egyptian Red Cross Hospital is installed in an old
   palace of Omar-Pasha Lufti, situated in a large garden, which is very
   shady and well kept. The dimensions of the wards assure easy circulation
   of air and perfect ventilation. As the building was not designed to
   serve its present purpose, the various staffs are somewhat scattered,
   but this difficulty has been got over in a most practical manner. A huge
   corridor gives communication between the wards, which are usually 23
   feet square and 26 feet high. The large wards considerably exceed these
   measurements, and their tasteful decoration gives them a characteristic
   style. On the first floor, the rooms for the consumptive patients
   measure 16 by 16 by 13 feet–a very good cubical allowance for the four
   beds in each. The floor is of large flag-stones. Most of the rooms
   command the garden and a courtyard planted with trees. The building
   occupied by the guard is quite separate from the hospital. Electricity
   is used throughout the buildings.

   _Bedding._–The iron bedsteads, painted with white ripolin, are
   separated from one another by pedestal tables. The spring mattress,
   stuffed mattress, sheets and pillows are in very sound condition. There
   is no limit set to the number of blankets allowed. The beds are covered
   with pretty blue and white quilts, with the Red Cross in the middle.
   This quite recent innovation has a very pretty effect.

   _Food._–The commissariat is arranged by contract with a head cook. The
   menus are drawn up by the doctors according to the diet prescribed. We
   tasted the day’s food and found it excellent. All provisions examined by
   us were of good quality and carefully overlooked. The kitchen, with its
   well-fitted ranges and polished utensils, struck us favourably. The
   cooking and attendance is done by persons engaged by the chef.

   Each man is provided with two bowls of tinned copper and a drinking cup.
   All invalids get sweetened tea twice a day. Officers may choose tea or
   coffee. The following is the hospital dietary:

   FOR OFFICERS.
   _Breakfast_: European bread; fresh milk; 3 eggs; tea; coffee.
   _Lunch_: Mutton; two dishes of vegetables, or macaroni rice;
   salad; rice pudding; coffee; fruit.
   _Dinner_: The same as lunch, but without fruit.

   ORDINARY DIET.
   _Breakfast_: Arab bread; sweetened fresh milk.
   _Lunch_: Arab bread; beef; rice, vegetables.
   _Dinner_: Arab bread; rice soup; rice pudding.

   MILK DIET.
   _Breakfast_: Bread, 350 grm.; sweetened milk.
   _Lunch_: Arab bread; soup; beef-tea; rice pudding.
   _Dinner_: Bread, 350 grm.; sweetened milk.

   FEVER DIET.
   _Breakfast_: Milk, 400 grm., without sugar.
   _Lunch_: 400 grm. of milk without sugar.
   _Dinner_: 400 grm. of milk without sugar.

   On Sunday and Thursday mutton is replaced by game. On the same two days
   a course of sweetened rice and macaroni is substituted for fruit. The
   ration of Arab bread is 780 grammes for ordinary diet; that of European
   bread 450 grammes. The proportion of other articles is equally liberal.

   _Clothing._–The sick men’s garments are consigned to a storehouse, and
   are replaced by 2 nightshirts, a hospital jacket with a hood, and a pair
   of slippers.

   _Hygiene._–Drinking water is drawn from the town main and filtered
   before use. There is an ample installation of lavatories with running
   water, baths with hot and cold douches, and Turkish baths. Turkish
   latrines have been fitted in the annexes of the palace. Natives do the
   laundry work and ironing.

   _Special Quarters._–The Red Cross Hospital is provided with a spacious,
   well-lighted theatre for operations, and all the necessary apparatus. In
   a neighbouring ward a powerful fumigating stove, built by natives after
   a French model, enables instruments and dressings to be completely
   sterilised. Since the introduction of this perfected method of
   sterilisation cases of infection and erysipelas have entirely
   disappeared from the hospital, and post-operation mortality has been
   reduced to barely one quarter per cent.

   There is a laboratory devoted to summary analyses; more complete
   chemical or bacteriological analyses are carried out in the town
   institution. The dispensary is well supplied, containing all the most
   modern medicaments.

   Six wards are reserved for tuberculous cases, who have their own special
   nurses. Such consumptives as are not confined to bed pass most of the
   day in one of the palace gardens which is assigned to them.

   One ward is occupied by wounded officers; another by the
   non-commissioned officers. Two more wards are set apart for patients
   suffering from dysentery. Operation cases are assembled in a special
   chamber adjoining the theatre. Three comfortable English hospital tents
   erected in the garden serve as accommodation for convalescents who have
   to vacate their beds in the palace when an unexpected influx of sick or
   wounded prisoners takes place. All the wards are clean and well kept; at
   the head of each bed is a medical chart detailing the illness and the
   temperature.

   _Sickness._–Since March 17, 1915, the date of its foundation, up to the
   day of our visit, the Egyptian Red Cross Hospital has treated 2,245
   wounded or sick prisoners.

   There are at the present time 149 prisoners under treatment, 8 Ottoman
   officers and 141 soldiers, distributed as follows:

   Surgical cases (wounds): 66; among them 13 invalids and 6 who have
   undergone amputation and have been detained a long time in the hospital.

   Internal ailments: 38; we may mention among the most serious cases of
   this kind noticed by us, 4 suffering from bilious haemoglobinurea, all
   from Bagdad; 6 from dysentery, anaemic and enfeebled patients; 4 from
   chronic nephritis.

   Eye affections: 25.

   Consumptives: 20.

   Which make up the total of 149 cases.

   Among the officers under treatment we may mention: 1 wounded right knee,
   1 scalp wound, 1 compound fracture of the thigh, 1 neck wound, 1 bullet
   wound in the chest, 1 bullet wound in the face, all recent cases coming
   from El Arish.

   _Deaths_:

   Number Number
   Cause of Death. of Deaths of Deaths
   in 1915. in 1916.
   Surgical cases 30 17
   Pleurisy 2 5
   Dysentery 8 19
   Typhoid 1 1
   Pericarditis 1 2
   Pneumonia 3 11
   Pulmonary tuberculosis — 26
   Intestinal tuberculosis — 21
   Nephritis — 5
   Gangrene — 1
   Hepatitis — 1
   Pernicious anaemia — 1
   — —
   Total 45 110
   === ===

   The dead were buried in the Musulman cemetery with military honours,
   such comrades as were well enough attending the ceremony.

   ~5. The Cairo Citadel Camp.~

   _(Visited on January 3, 1917.)_

   This camp occupies the curious Jewel-Palace, one of the monuments of the
   citadel, and contains only women and children coming from Hedjaz, who
   were captured near Mecca.

   The dates of arrival are as follows:

   Women and Children.
   1st convoy of 123 September 11, 1916
   2nd ” ” 66 October 16, 1916
   3rd ” ” 26 ” 28, 1916
   4th ” ” 82 November 7, 1916
   5th ” ” 132 ” 29, 1916

   _Numbers._–The total includes 229 women and 207 children (7 of whom
   were born in camp), and a further batch of 200 women is expected
   shortly.

   _The Head Matron_ is Miss Lewis. It is she who has the management and
   full control of this camp, which, by its character and its diversity of
   nationalities, classes and religions, demands great patience, tact and
   kindness–qualities possessed in the highest degree by Miss Lewis. She
   devotes herself entirely, and most capably, to this often very
   ungrateful task, and we welcome this chance of conveying to her the
   expression of our appreciation.

   Those interned are divided into three classes. The first class consists
   of officers’ wives and children; the second class, of those of the
   non-commissioned officers; and the third class, of soldiers’ wives and
   servants. This classification has been adopted in order that the
   dormitories shall be occupied by persons of as nearly as possible the
   same social standing.

   _Accommodation._–The important group of buildings known as Saleh-el-din
   (Saladin) comprises a great number of rooms whose size and curious
   ornateness contrast strangely with their present use as a concentration
   camp for civilian prisoners. From the windows of these apartments one
   looks across the panorama of Cairo, with its mosques, its minarets and
   the misty background of the desert.

   The 40 inhabited rooms are allotted in three sections, corresponding to
   the social classification established for the interned women.

   The rooms and corridors are paved throughout with marble, but the
   general distribution of mats and even beautiful carpets gives an
   impression of comfort. The large dimensions of the chambers, as compared
   with the smallness of the number of occupants, give plenty of room for
   exercise and work. Corridors and vestibules connect the different
   buildings. They are lighted with paraffin lamps.

   An extensive garden is always at the prisoners’ disposal.

   _Bedding._–The japanned iron bedsteads are furnished with spring and
   stuffed mattresses, sheets, blankets, and pillows. In their arrangement
   one notices the influence of personal taste. Embroidered coverlets,
   hangings and upholstery give to some of the apartments an aspect of
   comfort and even of elegance. The military administration supplies all
   the furniture and the regulation bedding, to which the inmates may add
   what they like at their own expense.

   _Dress._–The English authorities supply women and children with all
   their linen and other clothing.

   _Food._–Provisioning is a private enterprise, carried out under a
   contract. The food is the same for all classes, and is unlimited in
   quantity. The women are given as much as they desire of each dish. No
   complaint was made concerning the food, which is wholesome and
   palatable. We visited the kitchen and sampled the day’s menu. Milk in
   large quantities is provided for the children. The meals are served in
   three well-appointed dining-rooms.

   The hours for meals are:
   Breakfast, from 7.30 to 8.30.
   Lunch, from 12.30 to 1.80.
   Supper, from 5.30 to 6.80.

   _Hygiene._–Water is supplied from the town mains. Lavatories are
   installed in the corridors near the dormitories. The inmates may have
   hot and cold baths every day. As to laundry work, those of the first
   class can have it done by their own servants or pay the third-class
   women to do it.

   The W.C.’s consist of movable tubs on the Turkish system, each
   containing a solution of cresol. They are emptied daily by contract into
   the citadel cesspool, which communicates with the main sewer of Cairo.

   _Medical Care and Illnesses._–The Head Physician, Captain Scrimgeour,
   comes to the camp every day; a Greek doctor also visits it four times a
   week at 9 o’clock in the morning. These two doctors both speak Turkish
   and Arabic fluently. Three trained nurses and an English midwife take
   charge of the infirmary. As Moslems usually have very good teeth, the
   services of a dentist are not often needed.

   The infirmary is very commodious. It consists of a consulting-room, with
   a couch for examinations; a surgery, and a sick ward.

   In the infirmary register the name, the disease, the treatment and the
   course of the illness are all duly noted.

   When the internment camp was opened a hundred prisoners applied for
   treatment daily; many had suffered great privations previous to their
   capture. At the present time only 5 or 10 patients take advantage of the
   doctor’s visit; and these are mild cases, chiefly bronchitis,
   constipation, diarrhoea, and eye affections among women and children,
   and some cases of heart affections and chronic bronchitis among the old
   people.

   There is neither malaria, dysentery nor typhus in the camp, and no
   epidemic malady. An early case of tuberculosis, without Koch’s bacillus
   in the sputa, was cured.

   On the day of our visit to the infirmary we found 5 patients in bed or
   crouched in the oriental manner upon their bedsteads; 1 suffering from
   senile paralysis, 2 from bronchitis, 1 from inflammation of the ears,
   and 1 from general debility.

   _Maternity._–Confinements not being uncommon, it was necessary to
   establish a maternity ward. There were 5 births during the last three
   months of 1915. Two more occurred upon the day we inspected the camp,
   mothers and infants doing well.

   _Deaths._–Up to that time there had only been one death at the Citadel
   Camp, that of a baby prematurely born, which died from debility at the
   age of 18 days.

   _Education._–A school has been started in the camp, and all boys as
   well as girls up to 12 years old are obliged to attend it. A mistress
   teaches them Turkish and Arabic, and also gives them half an hour’s
   instruction in English daily.

   _Religious Services._–The imaum came once to hold a Mahometan service,
   but the interned women expressed no desire that he should repeat his
   visit. However, an old woman, chosen from among them, reads the Koran
   aloud upon feast days.

   _Intellectual Diversions._–The women seem to have no needs or desires
   on this score. They pass their days in talking and smoking.

   The camp has been presented with a gramophone.

   _Work._–This is absolutely voluntary. The head nurse has organised a
   little dressmaking class, the wife of a former president, Sir B.
   McMahon, having given her £10 with which to buy the necessary materials.
   The results will be divided equally among those who did the work, but as
   most of the women have plenty of money they are not energetic over it.

   _Money._–Many of those interned had money on them, sometimes a large
   amount, when captured; the whole of which has been left in their hands.
   They often send money through the agency of British officers to their
   husbands who are prisoners in Maadi Camp, or at Sidi Bishr, near
   Alexandria. Others, on the contrary, receive allowances from their
   husbands. Some money orders have also come through the International Red
   Cross Committee.

   _Correspondence._–Each person interned has the chance of writing once a
   week; those who do not know how to write get help from their companions.
   An interpreter is attached to the camp. Many letters arrive through the
   medium of the International Red Cross Committee, but the exchange of
   correspondence is not generally very active.

   _Wishes of the Interned._–Some of the women express a wish to see their
   husbands more often, at least once a month; others wish to see their
   sons or brothers who are prisoners at Maadi or at Sidi Bishr. This being
   a legitimate and comprehensible desire, the English Government has
   several times already allowed the husbands to come from these camps (4
   hours distant by train) to spend three or four days with their wives in
   the Citadel. A part of the building containing 12 rooms has been
   reserved for these visits. But it would clearly be impossible to permit
   these indulgences often, as they entail considerable expense, and
   require much organisation and surveillance.

   _Repatriation._–Some of the women beg to be sent back to Turkey, which
   the British Government has already offered to do. Many, on the other
   hand, prefer to remain in Cairo. The American chargé d’affaires in
   Egypt, M. Knabenschuh, is considering this question. He has visited the
   camp several times, and has transmitted different propositions of the
   English Government to the Sublime Porte. The first offer was to
   repatriate the interned women and children by means of an American
   vessel, which would land them at the port of Mersina in Asia Minor. The
   second was to take them back to Turkey in an English hospital ship,
   which should at the same time carry medical supplies, food and clothing
   to the English prisoners in Asia Minor, and bring away about 25 English
   ladies who had been made prisoners in Mesopotamia. Finally, the English
   Government offered to repatriate the Turkish women without any
   reciprocity conditions. Unhappily, up to now all these proposals have
   borne no fruit. The English Government sincerely desires to be freed
   from the maintenance and surveillance of these people, whom it took
   under its care merely for reasons of humanity.

   _Special Inquiry at the Citadel Camp._–During our visit to the Maadi
   Camp, Dr. Suleïman Bey, head physician at Taïf, a town of the Hedjaz,
   told us that he had personally nothing to complain of in the camp
   treatment, but that his wife and children, interned in the Cairo
   Citadel, were suffering greatly from the conditions there. What he
   especially criticised was the diet and the medical attendance. These
   complaints, made in much detail, seemed to us to deserve a specific
   inquiry, and we went again to the Citadel next day. We closely
   cross-questioned Mme. S. and another of the ladies. Her replies,
   collected and confronted with the official data, our personal
   observations, and the testimony of the other interned, absolutely
   convinced us that Dr. Suleïman’s accusations had no real foundation.
   Mme. S. assured us that meat was only provided three times weekly. We
   have proof that meat is served six times each week, a quarter of an
   English pound being supplied to each person. After telling us that the
   cheese and olives were of the worst quality, she finished by owning that
   she only found the cheese too salt and the olives monotonous. Mme. S.,
   who purchased coffee, biscuits, fruit and bonbons at the canteen, would
   not touch ordinary bread because it was not good enough for her. This
   bread, which is provided by the best bakery in Cairo, is served fresh
   twice a day to whoever desires it. Mme. S. has enough money to buy any
   food that she wishes, either from the canteen or by ordering it in from
   the town. Her companions, less rich and less dainty, find the food
   provided by the camp kitchen both excellent and abundant.

   As Dr. Suleïman Bey complained that his two sick children, interned at
   the Citadel with their mother, received no medical care, they were
   examined by Dr. Blanchod. The one suffered on its arrival in camp from
   ophthalmia, now completely cured, no trace of photophobia remains, no
   redness nor oedema; the other had its sub-maxillary glands enlarged;
   these glands are now reduced and nothing to worry about.

   These two children have received constant care from (Dr.) Captain
   Scrimgeour, their names are repeatedly entered in the infirmary
   register, and their mother herself expressed gratitude for the care
   which had been lavished upon them.

   Dr. Suleïman Bey’s complaints upon this point therefore proved equally
   inexact.

   ~6. The Ras-el-Tin Camp.~

   _(Visited January 5, 1917.)_

   This camp of interned civilians is situated on a rising ground beside
   the sea, 5 kilometres (3 miles) from Alexandria.

   The camp contains 45 Ottoman civilians of military age, and 24 others;
   the latter are all elderly men, or have been exempted from military
   service owing to illness. There is one priest (imaum). We also found 400
   Austro-Germans interned at Ras-el-Tin; many of them had been in Egypt
   when war was declared and could not get home.

   Though our mission was to visit the Turkish prisoners, we made a point
   of concerning ourselves equally with the Austrians and Germans, and of
   entering into conversation with them.

   Several Ottoman prisoners in the camp were making the pilgrimage to
   Mecca when they were captured by the Sherif’s troops and passed over to
   the English authorities, who interned them. The camp at Ras-el-Tin was
   to be evacuated in a few days’ time, and all the occupants were to be
   transferred to Sidi Bishr Camp, now prepared to accommodate 5,000 men.
   In this camp there will be a special section for civilians.

   The commandant of Ras-el-Tin is Major F.G. Owens, who takes the greatest
   interest in his prisoners. Every day he personally receives anyone who
   has a wish or a complaint to bring forward.

   The camp was visited in 1916 by the American Consul from Alexandria, and
   also by the American chargé d’affaires from Athens.

   _Accommodation._–The civilians interned in the camp of Ras-el-Tin are
   placed in tents. These circular tents, set up either on the sand or on a
   cement base, each contain three men. Those of the Ottoman prisoners form
   one sectional group of 24 tents. In the centre of each tent is a
   wire-work cupboard to contain personal belongings. The space inside the
   tent is ample for the three beds. Some prisoners are provided with
   matting and small rugs.

   In the stone buildings surrounding the court a certain number of rooms
   are reserved which open upon a veranda. Each contains three beds. These
   comfortably fitted-up chambers are assigned to elderly prisoners or to
   those in weak health. The rest of the camp buildings are occupied by the
   administrative quarters, the kitchens, refectories, canteens, etc. The
   English guard is lodged under canvas in a special section. The camp is
   lighted by electricity.

   _Bedding._–The bedsteads are iron provided with a wire-spring
   mattress, a squab of vegetable fibre and a sufficient number of
   blankets. All the bedding is kept scrupulously clean.

   _Food._–The commissariat is supplied by a private contractor. A
   committee presided over by the camp commandant, and composed of
   delegates from among the prisoners, arrange the menus for each week. The
   kitchen is very clean, and the prisoners do not provide the personnel.

   Here is the menu for Friday, January 5, 1917,
   the day of our visit:
   _Breakfast_: Porridge; milk; chocolate; butter; bread.
   _Lunch_: Haricot soup; ragoût of beef and potatoes.
   _Dinner_: Rice soup; hashed meat (moussaka), with vegetables;
   eggs; tea.

   The prisoners’ menu is extended on Thursdays and Sundays by an extra
   dish and cake of some sort. We examined the day’s provision in the
   kitchen, and found it wholesome and appetising. When pork is included in
   the menu, which happens rarely, this item is replaced, in the case of
   the Turkish prisoners, by a dish of eggs and vegetables.

   A second kitchen staff, installed in a separate room, prepares a special
   menu which the prisoners can have by paying for it. The commandant
   himself authorised the reservation of this kitchen to provide for such
   prisoners as possess ample means.

   Here is the extra menu for January 5, 1917:
   _Lunch_: Italian dumplings; roast veal; salad and gherkins.
   _Dinner_: Soup “parmentier”; fish croquettes; braised beef with cabbage.

   The meals are served at:
   Breakfast, half-past seven.
   Lunch, one o’clock.
   Dinner, half-past five.

   Three canteens furnish all kinds of commodities to the prisoners–ham,
   sausages, preserves, cakes, chocolate, fruits, wine, beer, etc. The
   prices are exactly the same as in the English army canteens. A shop, run
   by a Bulgarian merchant, is permitted for the sale of tobacco, cigars
   and cigarettes. Besides this there is a Viennese who makes cigarettes in
   the camp itself. On Christmas Day the commandant made a generous
   distribution of cigarettes to all the interned men at his own expense.
   They can also obtain at the bar tea, coffee and other drinks. In point
   of fact, we made sure that the camp administration has organised the
   commissariat in a manner that meets all needs.

   _Clothing._–The men arrived in camp in their own clothes. When these
   began to wear out the administration furnished a new outfit, which
   consists of two flannel shirts, two knitted pairs of drawers, a vest and
   trousers of blue cloth, an overcoat, a police hat or a fez for the
   Turks, socks and slippers. The Mahometans receive Turkish slippers. All
   prisoners have a red scarf and two handkerchiefs. A well-found shop
   sells under-clothing at moderate prices, and articles of outfit, scent,
   post-cards and watches.

   _Hygiene._–Drinking water, abundant and wholesome, is brought from the
   mains of the town of Alexandria. Besides the toilet lavatories, there
   are 4 bathrooms supplied with hot water and cold douches always
   available. The prisoners go in parties to bathe in the sea near the
   camp, under guard of British soldiers.

   The prisoners do their own washing, numerous wash-houses being provided
   for the purpose.

   The latrines are partly on the English and partly on the Turkish system,
   1 to every 10 men, cleanly kept. They are disinfected daily. The floor
   and the lower part of the chambers are treated with cresol; the upper
   part is whitewashed. The sewers discharge into the sea. The sweepings
   are burnt in a special stove.

   _Medical Attention._–The sanitary condition of the camp is inspected at
   regular intervals by the Colonel, medical director of Hospital No. 21,
   Alexandria. Captain (Dr.) Dunne is resident in the camp; he pays a
   medical visit each day at 9 o’clock. Eight to ten prisoners out of the
   total in camp may present themselves for treatment, among them 1 or 2
   Ottomans.

   An interned Turkish civilian, Abrahim Assan, by calling an employee in a
   Constantinople factory, who speaks French and English perfectly, serves
   as orderly-interpreter.

   An English Red Cross orderly assists the doctor. An Austrian dentist,
   formerly in business at Cairo, gives dental attention to the prisoners;
   he has a complete outfit of instruments.

   The infirmary is well housed in a stone building. It contains a
   consulting-room, supplied with a full-flushed lavatory basin; a sick
   ward with 6 iron beds, mattress and coverings _ad libitum_; an isolation
   ward, and a dispensary.

   Only slight cases are treated at the infirmary; serious cases are
   removed to Hospital No. 21 at Alexandria, situated within 10 minutes of
   the camp, a large modern hospital overlooking the sea.

   On the day of our inspection there were in the infirmary 1 prisoner ill
   with bronchitis; at the hospital 1 tuberculous case and 1 with a wounded
   elbow.

   The sanitary state of the camp has always been excellent. Apart from two
   relapse cases of dysentery in 1916, there has been neither trachoma,
   typhoid, typhus, malaria, nor any other infectious disease. This is
   explained by the fact that the interned civilians were not in bad health
   before their captivity, as was the case with soldiers who had sojourned
   in the desert, whom we saw in the other Egyptian camps.

   There had been no deaths in the camp or at the hospital in Alexandria.
   The orderly, Abrahim Hassan, told us of his own accord that the sick
   receive the most assiduous attention, and have nothing but praise for
   the resident physician.

   _Religion and Amusements._–The prisoners offer their prayers daily. A
   mosque will be built for them in the new camp at Sidi Bishr.

   Catholics are looked after by several Austrian priests, who used to
   manage Catholic schools in Upper Egypt.

   For the Germans and Austrians there is a good circulating library,
   containing English, French and German books.

   The prisoners have formed an orchestra, and organised theatrical
   performances, for which they have painted pretty scenery.

   There is a cinematograph performance every evening. There are a piano
   and harmonium. A photographer, who had an establishment in Cairo before
   the war, practises his art in the camp.

   _Discipline._–The very occasional cases of infraction of rules which
   entail one or more days’ detention in the police cells, have a special
   diet prescribed for them. The military authorities find the general
   conduct of the civilians quite satisfactory.

   _Exercise and Sports._–The prisoners have at their own disposal that
   part of the grounds lying between the tents and the barracks, a broad
   space where they can amuse themselves all day long with football and
   other games.

   They have also a tennis-court, of which the Austro-Germans make more use
   than the Orientals; a committee of the prisoners arrange the hours for
   each set of players. Skittles are very popular. Fencing is eagerly
   learned; the English officer who teaches it being delighted with his
   pupils’ progress. Lessons in gymnastics, like those in other sports, are
   optional.

   Periodically a gymkhana is got up, with donkey races, gymnastic
   competitions, and the distribution of prizes.

   _Work._–No work is demanded from the prisoners.

   _Correspondence, Money Orders and Parcels._–Very few money orders are
   received. The interned Turks are chiefly illiterate; those whose wives
   are interned at Cairo, and who are allowed to occasionally visit them,
   seldom write, as they know them to be well treated. Parcels are seldom
   sent to the camp, and hitherto no philanthropic society has busied
   itself over the necessitous.

   _Prisoners’ Aid._–The only plea which has been addressed to us by means
   of the Ottoman interpreter, who speaks French and English extremely
   well, comes from a certain number of destitute prisoners. They wish to
   have, in addition to the complete outfit with woollen overcoat supplied
   by the English Government, a change of warm garments, which they have
   not the means to buy. Many find it difficult to wear the kind of
   foot-gear in ordinary use–the heelless leather Turkish slippers–and
   wish for laced shoes such as they wear at home. We asked the interpreter
   to make out a list of names of the needy; and after submitting it to the
   commandant of the camps for verification, we decided to send him from
   the Ottoman Red Cross Fund the sum of 2,000 francs, to provide these
   prisoners with the extra garments which they require, and with shoes and
   tobacco.

   ~7. Sidi Bishr Camp.~

   _(Visited on January 6, 1917.)_

   The camp of Sidi Bishr is situated 15 kilometres (9-1/2 miles) to the
   north-east of Alexandria in a healthy spot on the sea shore, where the
   sand dunes form little hillocks intersected by miniature valleys. Palms
   are scattered over it, and it lies open to the fresh breezes. The view
   from the highest points of the camp is very extensive. A recently
   constructed road for vehicular traffic leads into the camp, all the
   appointments of which give the impression that everything has been done
   to make the prisoners as comfortable as possible. A kitchen garden has
   just been laid out in a sheltered place, and a flat piece of ground
   surrounded by palm trees prepared for games, tennis, football, etc.

   _Strength._–The camp at Sidi Bishr contains 430 officers, 60 of whom
   have been here since February, 1915; 410 orderlies captured with their
   officers, on whom they attend, each officer having 1 orderly; 10 imaums
   (pri
3. 

   Robert

   August 23, 2009

   Mr. Sckolnick,

   That was a most impressive piece that you wrote! However, I feel that you should know that ever since the Geneva Convention agreements, not everything is as it appears on the surface. While he was alive, a friend of ours was captured when shot done and became a POW (Army Air Corps) in Europe during WWII. He told us many stories that during WWII, all throughout Europe, the German Stalags holding Allied POW’s, treated their captives with torture and the most foul mistreatments, including starvation (the Japanese camps in Asia for Allied POWs were far worse!). When they got news of Red Cross representatives who were coming to inspect these camps, the had a habit of changing all of the beddings, fatting up the POWs, getting them all cleaned up, and stalling them just long enough to make sure that repairs were made to window-dress the camp so as to pass inspection. The POWs knew what would happen to them if they even uttered a word to the RD inspectors regarding the truth! As soon as the inspectors finished touring the camp, seeing the “bounty” of nutritious foods for the captives, they’d write a favorable report and leave. Of course, as soon as the inspectors were gone, all of the fresh linens, good food, etc were all removed and things went back to the way they were (poor hygeine, torture, etc.). The same things were done in Hanoi, Vietnam during that war, to the US POWs!

   All nations and people are capable of doing anything. It’s a well known fact that the British, for centuries, has been an imperialistic monarchy (The sun never sets on the British Empire)! They have constantly created wars, caused feuds between local tribes and nations, and have stuck their noses into other nation’s affairs. Just look at the Picot-Sykes Agreement, the British Blue Books (especially during WWI), etc. They have continuously robbed blind other nations of their state treasures, and then have the audacity to judge others! A good friend of mine, an Indian Cardiologist who was trained in the UK before coming to the US, told me something that I shall never forget…”The difference between the French and the British is that when the French leave a country after they’ve declared their independence, they leave that country wet! However, when the British leave a country after they’ve declared idependence, they leave that country BONE DRY!”. Do you understand what he meant by this statement? The British would steal anything that wasn’t nailed down from that nation! The British have tried to manipulate every country on the planet for their own greedy purposes! During WWI, the infamous Zimmerman Telegram is now known to have been sent by the British to get the US involved in the war to save their asses! There’s even speculation that the British may have sunk the S.S. Lusitania, blaming the Germans, to get the US into the war. In other words, there isn’t anything that the British wouldn’t do, no suffering that they wouldn’t create, no wars that they wouldn’t start, no allies that they wouldn’t sacrifice, to get what they wanted!! If it wasn’t for the US, the UK wouldn’t exist today!

   So I wouldn’t place a whole lot of creadence in all of that material which you posted above. Some of those reports may actually be true, to an extent. However, never forget that when one is in charge, one can do anything, including making certain “alterations, manipulations and other changes”. After all, consider the sources!
4. 

   Anonymous

   August 24, 2009

   As most of the health problems in the POW camps started and got out of hand towards the end of 1917 and into 1918 and 1919 (yes, that late), the ICRC report above does not prove anything at all. Yes, it gives some useful information, but only prior to the major “catches” of Ottoman POW starting in late 1917. Would we want to judge the destruction of the WWII, especially towards the end, by referencing reports which only cover the first couple of years? Well, then, the same holds true for the Great War. The ICRC report covers the period when conditions were relatively good. The diet of:
   Here is the extra menu for January 5, 1917:
   _Lunch_: Italian dumplings; roast veal; salad and gherkins.
   _Dinner_: Soup “parmentier”; fish croquettes; braised beef with cabbage.
   was for show to keep the ICRC happy.
5. 

   Selsinfifef

   September 2, 2010

   That dumbo carved big stripped lady presenting big breasts and directing his bottom. That graphic is shocking. This idiot might choose any tattoo from , although we assume he simply planned to get us angry.