61S ANNUAL REGISTER, 181i>. 



It 18 open by arches on all its sides, 

 and its raised ceilinj^ is supported 

 by pillars. Its interior is arranged 

 iu a variety of" water-channels, and 

 through the centre passes the prin- 

 cipal stream, which runs throuo;h 

 the whole building and grounds. 

 This little pleasure-house, though 

 built of coarse materials and but 

 rudely furnished, is erected on an 

 excellent model, and is admirably 

 calculated for the Ireats of the 

 summer. Under it are subterra- 

 neous chambers. Proceeding fur- 

 ther, on another terrace is a grand 

 pleasure-house, constructed on a 

 less perfect principle than that of 

 the first, though ^till sufficiently 

 adapted for a summer retreat. 

 Through this also water is intro- 

 duced from a terrace above. Before 

 this place is a very extensive square 

 of water, in which, as we were told, 

 there were fish; we saw none, 

 but the water itself is most luxuri- 

 ously clear and refreshing. From 

 this we ascended up two terraces 

 much more elevated than the first; 

 on these there were only small 

 reservoirs, from which the water 

 was continually falling into the 

 basins on the successive descents, 

 at the height perhaps of twenty 

 ftet between each terrace. 



At length we entered the main 

 body of the building, which, like 

 all other Persian houses, consists 

 of a large square court lined on all 

 sides with rooms of various dimen- 

 sions and uses. The choicest 

 apartment of the whole is a small 

 one, placed in the very summit of 

 the building, where every species 

 of native workmanship in painting, 

 glazing, and Mosaic, has been col- 

 lected. We found here portraits 

 of women, Europeans as well as 

 Pereians. The glass is beautifully 



painted, and the doors are prettily 

 worked and inlaid with poetical 

 quotations carved in ivory. From 

 this there is a delightful view olthe 

 town and country. In the other 

 rooms below, there are several 

 pictures of the king and his fa- 

 vourites; one of the subjects is 

 tingular, as it represents his ma- 

 jesty in the costume of a sick 

 man. 



The whole of this place is of 

 brick, except the exterior wall, 

 which is mud, flanked however 

 by brick turrets. It is much in- 

 ferior in workmanship to any of 

 the brick buildings either of Kerim 

 Khan, or of the Seffls. The soil 

 on which it is erected is indeed ill- 

 adapted to the purpose, as it is 

 salt ; and the salt oozesout through 

 the walls and materially under- 

 mines their solidity. 



The king is building another 

 summer residence, half a mile 

 from the town, called the Nega- 

 ristan. One house is finished, 

 consisting however of only an 

 arched room, in which are various 

 channels for water and playing 

 fountains. In the garden we 

 found water-cresses, of the eata- 

 bleness of which the Persians ap- 

 peared totally ignorant. 



The climate of Teberan is vari- 

 able, in consequence of its situa- 

 tion at the foot of high mountains, 

 which on the other side are backed 

 by such a sea as the Caspian. For 

 the earlier part of our stay it was 

 moderate ; till the 10th of March, 

 the thermometer, which was sus- 

 pended near an open window in a 

 room unexposed to the sun, was 

 at 51° Fahrenheit. On the lOth, 

 throughout the whole day, there 

 was much snow; indeed on the 

 following morning, when the 

 thermometer 



