DEPARTURE FROM ISPAHAN—MOURCHEKOURD—SCENE OF THE VICTORY OF NADIR SHAH—RUINS—THE BUND KOHROOD—KASHAN—SALT DESERT—KOOM; TOMB—POOL DALLAUK; ADVENTURE IN THE NIGHT—VIEW OF TEHERAN—APPROACH—ENTRANCE INTO THE CITY.
On the 7th of February, accordingly we left Ispahan; our first day’s march, from Goush Khonéh to Gez, was a distance of ten miles only. On the right of the road is a village called Sayin, which, as we were told, produces the best melons in the country. The soil, over which we travelled, was soft and crumbling, and strongly impregnated with salt, and in parts rendered muddy and swampy by the streams which intersect it. The weather was lowering on all sides, with a breeze from the Westward; which here and there in little whirlwinds carried the sand high up into the air in columns, resembling water-spouts at sea. The whole plain is covered with ruins, from which only now and then a few miserable peasants crept out to gape at our passing troops. The dikes, cut from the banks of the Zaiande-rood, irrigate the whole of the plain, and produce a greater appearance of cultivation than hitherto we had generally seen. The caravanserai at Gez, though falling into decay, is still handsome, and is built of the same materials, and on nearly the same grand scale, as that which we had occupied at Mayar. This likewise is the work of the Seffis. Similar caravanserais were constructed at every stage on the road to Bagdad; nothing, indeed, can equal the truly royal establishments which Shah Abbas the Great maintained throughout his dominions for the accommodation of strangers.
8th February. The bearing from Gez to Mourchekourd is N. W. and the distance by our computation is eighteen miles, which we travelled in six hours. At about seven miles, we came to a ruined caravanserai, built of the same materials and in the same neat manner as that at Gez. Nearly facing it is a well, to which we descended by a path, excavated from the surface on an angle of forty-five degrees, and about fifty yards in length. We saw small fish swimming about in this well, which appeared to us to be a spring of fine and limpid water. After having travelled about six miles further, we came to a very handsome caravanserai. We had discovered it immediately on ascending the summit of a range of hills, over which the road carried us. It is situated on the right of the road, and, with its bath and reservoirs on the left, was built by the mother of Shah Abbas. The structure has suffered less, than any other which we have seen, by the injuries of time and man. It is built of brick on a foundation of the same fine blue stone, which we had so much admired at Mayar. The front is ornamented with an open brick-work, and with neat Mosaic. The portico is crowned by a superb dome, and leads into the square court; the sides of which contain the rooms for travellers. Behind are vaulted stables with much accommodation. The hummum is useless through decay; but the reservoir is still in good repair.
From this we proceeded five miles to Mourchekourd, and passed over a part of the plain, on which Nadir Shah gained his decisive victory over Ashreff, the Affghan Chief. The mountains to the Northward were covered with snow, and still presented a winter to us, although the weather on the plain was delightfully serene and mild. The soil is hard, in some places argillaceous. The whole country, which we had passed in the day’s march, was poor and depopulated, though the ruins in different parts of the plain, speak that it was once enlivened and enriched by men. As we approached Mourchekourd we found indeed cultivation, and the kanauts which produce it.
9th. From Mourchekourd a caravanserai which we were to pass, bore by our compass N. 15 W. a distance of twelve miles. The road was good, on an arid plain, bounded by inconsiderable mountains. The caravanserai itself was another of those structures, which in the latter part of our route we had so often admired. From this point we continued for eight miles over rising and falling ground to a second caravanserai called Aga Kemal, but pronounced short without the g, Aakemal. Around we saw a little cultivation and a few poplars; all the rest is desert. On the left, bearing West, is the small territory of Joshoogun, containing the three villages of Bendai, Khosroabad, and Vazvoon, which we descried at the distance of about four miles, situated under a red hill at the extremity of the plain. From Aga Kemal we ascended mountains entirely covered with snow, which, from its appearance indeed, may remain there throughout the whole year. The distance to Kohrood was still sixteen miles, which we travelled by sun-set, having set off at five in the morning. By the bearings of elevated hills we arranged our whole march to the direction N. 10 W.
As we descended into the valley of Kohrood, which from the depth of the snow was a work of some trouble, we noticed a pretty little bubbling stream, which, winding through the vale, watered a succession of cultivated spots and plantations of apple, pear, poplar, and walnut trees. The town is built on the side of a mountain. We passed the night in the caravanserai, where our accommodations were indifferent, and our rest, of which we were in great want, was broken by the incessant noise and wrangling of our Persian attendants. Several of our horses had been left on the road from excessive fatigue.
The valley of Kohrood extends in a North-Eastern direction; it is abundantly watered and wooded beautifully, and every species of fruit tree thrives there. The fields are disposed in terraces, and each separate plat of cultivated ground is intersected by small ridges raised to facilitate irrigation. We had hitherto passed through a country, to which so much wood and so much cultivation afforded a very delightful contrast. The Persians, indeed, admit, that there are few Kohroods in the kingdom, and that in summer its verdure is incomparable. Our route led through another village in the same valley. Close to the road is the tomb of one of the inferior saints of Persia, with a pyramidical roof covered with green-lacquered tiles. As we passed near it, a little boy, surrounded by a set of his companions, entreated our compassion by invoking the name of the holy man in the neighbouring grave. When we had quitted the trees and cultivated grounds, we continued to wind in the valley which had then narrowed to a close and sometimes difficult pass. This pass, on a bearing of N. 30 E. is in length about six miles, and is terminated on the left of the road by a caravanserai called Gueberabad. Before we reached it, we skirted a small artificial lake called the Bund Kohrood, the waters of which are supplied by the river of Kohrood, and the melting of the snows of the adjacent mountains, and are confined on the N. extremity by a strong wall built across the chasm of the valley. A stream, however, oozes out from the base, which finally expends itself in the plain about Kashan. Gueberabad is at present a ruined village; in former days it was peopled, as its name imports, by the Guebres.
The caravanserai is one of the good buildings of the age of the Seffis, and by an inscription on the front appears to have been erected by Meer Sakee, one of the generals of Shah Abbas. Here first we discovered the plain of Kashan, bounded by the distant range of mountains, of which Demawend formed the most conspicuous and the highest point. It rises in a very symmetrical cone abruptly from a long and unbroken range. It is covered with eternal snows, but its height is more easily deduced from the distance to which it is visible. In a direct line from the caravanserai of Gueberabad, that distance could not have been less than one hundred and fifty miles; and the Persians declare that it can be seen even at Ispahan from the minaret of the Mesjid Shah, which is at least two hundred and forty miles distant. We descended rapidly into the plain towards Kashan: here we were met by a large istakball, which accompanied us to the Northern side of the city with all the noises of Persian rejoicings.37
From Kashan we continued along the immense plain; the mountains, which bind it on the North, just appeared in the lightest blue tints on the edge of the horizon. From Kashan to our encampment at Nusserabad, we saw on the skirts E. and W. of the plain several villages, and with them cultivation. On the left of the road were Cosac, Key, Ser, Badgoon, Rouand, Corabad: on the right, Aroun, Britgoli, Nouchabad, and Ali Abad. We reckoned the total length of the day’s journey at thirty miles (on a bearing of N. 20 W.) viz. eight to Gueberabad, thirteen to Kashan, and nine to Nusserabad. In former days the people of Nusserabad were noted for their idleness and propensity to voluptuousness, so that a fine gentleman is still called a Mirza of Nusserabad.
On the morning of the 11th we quitted our tents two hours before sun-rise, as we had a march of forty miles before us to Koom; the Persians call the distance fifteen fursungs. We continued our route along the plain in the same course as on the preceding day. On our left were mountains, and on our right was the plain bounded only by the horizon, and constituting indeed the commencement of the great Salt Desert of Persia, which, according to the people of the country, extends even to the confines of Usbeck Tartary. The principal part of that over which we passed was a soil strongly impregnated with salt, which, after rain or snow, renders the roads difficult and dangerous. The weather was favourable during our passage, and we crossed without any inconvenience (except that of a heavy mud) a part of the plain dreaded by caravans and travellers in winter journies. We traversed the plain for ten miles, and then turned N. 30 W. among the mountains. As we proceeded, we observed their strata disposed in singular directions, and forming very varied angles with the horizon. Nature, in some places, amid the stupendous masses of rock which surrounded us, seemed to have finished her operations by small conical mounds, increasing by regular gradations as they approached the mother mountain. Every thing looked as if it were newly created, and only wanted the art and industry of man to rub off its first rude surface.
At about eleven miles from Nusserabad stands a caravanserai called Sin Sin, erected by the present King. It is a strong but vulgar building, when compared with the elegant structures of the reign of Shah Abbas. The rude stones and plaster with which it is constructed, are covered with a coat of white wash, which, at a distance indeed gives it a magnificent appearance. Near this were the ruins of a village. Still further, on the right of the road, are more ruins, which, according to my informer, were those of a town called Dehnar. A second caravanserai of the same materials as that of Sin Sin, is situated at the distance of seven miles. Next is Passangoor, which is merely another caravanserai in the plain, and distant twelve miles; at three miles distant further is Langarood, which is remarkable for some old pinasters standing about it, and a garden of some extent. From Langarood to Koom is ten miles more. We reached Koom very late and had to pass through its extensive ruins when it was quite dark. The Envoy, who rode in the takht-e-ravan, was in some danger in passing over a bridge, for one of the mules slipping threw him nearly into the stream.
Koom is esteemed a holy city; it encloses the tombs of many saints, and among others that of the sister of Imaum Reza. The present King made a vow before he ascended the throne, that if he should ever succeed to the crown he would enrich the city of Koom by buildings, and exempts its inhabitants from paying tribute. He has fulfilled his vow, and has built a large medressé or college near the tomb of the sister of Imaum Reza, and gives great encouragement to the learned people who resort to it. He covered the cupola of the tomb itself with gold plates (instead of the lacquered tiles which he removed), and he is said to spend one hundred thousand tomauns annually, in the embellishments of these monuments. The riches of this tomb are said to be immense, and they are augmented every year by some new donation in jewelry and precious stones from the King’s wives, and the great men of the court. The tomb of Imaum Reza himself is in the city of Mesched.
12th. The morning presented to us a dark and threatening atmosphere, and a country covered with snow. It had fallen in the night to a depth of six inches. We however proceeded on to Pool Dallauk, a distance of twelve miles; leaving our heavy baggage behind, as the Envoy was particularly anxious to reach the capital, before the commencement of the mourning of Moharrem. North of Koom there is a small river called the Khour-e-Shootur. The plain was much soaked with the melted snow; we reached the caravanserai at Pool Dallauk at an early hour, intending to depart again at ten o’clock at night. This place derives its name from a barber who repaired the bridge, originally built by Shah Abbas over the river, which runs E. and W. before the caravanserai. The water of this stream, and indeed all the rivulets here, derive a saltness from the soil through which they pass.
After having refreshed our cattle and ourselves, we made preparations to depart at ten o’clock. The night was very dark, and our Mehmandar (who had not shewn an inclination to second our desires of proceeding with all dispatch) now opposed every difficulty which he could devise: he expatiated on the danger of undertaking the journey by night, and talked of certain passes on the road, where travellers had been lost and never more heard of. He was in fact an old man, unaccustomed to the activity of our proceedings. Yet he was not the only one, who was disappointed and surprised at the celerity of our movements.
The chiefs of the tent-pitchers and of the muleteers, who had attended former missions, had passed months on the road, and thus secured a profit on the pay of their people and their mules, which the shortness of our engagement greatly reduced. Our journies were compared with the celebrated marches of their late King Aga Mahomed Khan, who waged so many wars with Lootf Ali Khan; but those, who considered it incompatible with the dignity of a great man to move fast, said that we were rather choppers (couriers) than Embassadors. Yet the greatest distance that we ever travelled in one day was forty miles, and we employed thirty-five days in a journey of about six hundred and fifty miles, at an average perhaps of nineteen miles a day.
When we were unmoved by his forebodings, our Mehmandar endeavoured to sooth us into compliance to his wishes, by sending us a variety of savoury dishes for our dinner, which however only renewed our spirits, and increased our eagerness to proceed. We accordingly mounted our horses. The troop had already advanced with much of our baggage. The Envoy (preceded by two people, who by courtesy were called guides, and followed by the Mehmandar and the gentlemen of the suite) had not travelled half a mile from the caravanserai, when his conductors declared that they had lost the road. After long and fruitless exertion, bewildered more and more by those who had undertaken our direction, we resolved to return to the caravanserai, and to take a fresh departure. Even this became impracticable, for the town was not to be found. The Mehmandar then, seemingly in great trouble, went forward himself to seek the place, and after much delay returned to us, bringing along with him a poor wretch, whose hands he had tied behind his back, and to whom he occasionally administered blows. This was our new conductor, but he was so much frightened, that he could not proceed, until the Envoy pledged himself, that he should meet with no harm; but on the contrary should receive a reward of fifteen tomauns, if he led us in safety to Kinar-a-gird. We again advanced, and were again unsuccessful; our new guide was more perverse or more stupid than his predecessors, and we were once more obliged to return in the hope of regaining the caravanserai. In search of this place we roamed about four long and melancholy hours, hearing the cries of wanderers, as we supposed like ourselves, in all parts of the plain. Unfortunately we had then no compass with us, nor was there a star to be seen that might direct us. At length however we espied a light, which happily proceeded from the walls of our caravanserai, and guided us again to it.
We departed again the next morning, and discovered to our surprise that the road, which to us had been rendered so intricate, led straight to the opening of the mountains through which we were to pass. It was impossible therefore to wander from it except purposely, and the Mehmandar at length acknowledged that he had himself contrived the delay, and the mortification of the preceding night. The Envoy refused to speak to him, threatened a complaint to the King, and terrified him so effectually, that with every oath common to a Persian, he cursed himself as “an old fool, and a stupid senseless wretch.” The Envoy at length relented, and assured him that he had nothing to fear. At the distance of six miles from Pool Dallauk, we entered the swamp of Kaveer, which (to its termination at the caravanserai called Haooz Sultan) we crossed in three hours, a length of ten miles. It is part of the great desert which reaches into Khorassan, the soil of which is composed of a mixture (at least equal) of salt and earth. Though the road therefore, over which we travelled, is as good as those in any other direction across the swamp, it is frequently after rains impassable: as the horses, which in our passage were up to the fetlock, are up to their bellies in less favourable weather.
At Haooz Sultan we were met by an Officer with a letter from the King, expressing his thanks for the information communicated to him by the Envoy, of the defeats which “the common enemy” had received in Spain, and inviting him to arrive at his capital without delay. We proceeded, and came to the Mulluk-al-Moat, a kind of pass leading through an extent of broken country, which, forming a labyrinth of little hills and intricate nooks, has not unfrequently been a real cause of difficulty to travellers, and to a certain degree embarrassed us till we reached Kinar-a-gird. In the dells were a variety of streams which were nearly salt. The land itself bears evident marks of the action of fire. The soap-wort is the most common shrub all over the face of the country, but no use is made of it. About two fursungs from Kinar-a-gird we crossed a large salt stream, running from W. to E. and just before it we were greeted by an istakball. Our march on this day was forty miles. We passed the night in a large caravanserai built by the present King at Kinar-a-gird; where the Mehmandar, regardless of his late disgrace, again behaved ill, for his servants were suffered to intrude on the space which had been reserved for us.
From Kinar-a-gird to Teheran is six fursungs, which we called sixteen miles. We continued along the plain for two miles, crossing numerous channels of water which are carried from the stream by Kinar-a-gird. We then wound among some small hills for four miles, when the plain of Teheran opened upon us, bounded from E. to W. by a lofty range of mountains. Clouds generally rest on their summits, and the snow at this time covered their very roots. On the West and high above them is the peak of Demawend.
Teheran, as we descended gradually into the plain, bore N. 25 E. of us. On the right are the ruins of the ancient city of Rey, scattered in great profusion at the foot of the nearer mountains. The soil of the plain is salt, and of course very soft, intersected by a great number of dikes, which being well replenished with water had rendered the road extremely difficult. As we approached Teheran, we were met by frequent istakballs, in the principal of which was Norooz Khan, one of the King’s relations, and Master of the Ceremonies. The mob increased greatly as we came to the town walls. At the gate, through which we passed, were posted files of soldiers of the new corps, dressed something like Russians and disciplined after the European manner. We passed through small streets of miserable buildings, and saw nothing that indicated royalty. At length we dismounted at the house of Hajee Mahomed Hossein Khan, the second Minister, where we were treated with chairs and tables, which had been provided by our host. Though it had been his own residence, and though he had just removed from it to make room for the Embassy, we found it a mansion far less respectable than any that we had seen either at Shiraz or Ispahan. All the riches are collected on the throne, and all around is poverty, either real or affected.
The reception of His Majesty’s Mission, from our entrance into Persia to our arrival in the capital, was marked with the most ready attention, and the highest honours from all classes; and our journey was now closed at Teheran by particular and gratifying distinctions.