Turkish Prisoners in Egypt - A Report by the Delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross by Various
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page 3 of 64 (04%)
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_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. |
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