138 THE PERSIAN POST-ROAD. 



and cliildren wear a kind of elongated niglitcap — the upper 

 classes carry the tall Persian hat. We lunched off 

 'kabobs' (scraps of meat stuck on a stick and toasted), 

 and ' kaimak ' (a kind of Devonshire cream) ; our greatest 

 success was the discovery of a bottle of wine, pure juice of 

 the grape, which owed little to any skill in its manufac- 

 ture. When we were on the point of starting an unex- 

 pected question arose. At first we were told the next 

 stage over the hills was dangerous, on account of brigands, 

 and that we must take an escort ; on our refusing to ac- 

 cede to this proposal, it was suggested we might go by a 

 longer and perfectly safe route, only we should have to pay 

 more for the horses. This we also declined, and finally, 

 after much talk and waste of time, were allowed to set 

 out. Our postboy led us, by a track running due south 

 into the mountains, up a valley terminating in fine rocky 

 cliffs. We now found out why the brigands had been 

 created ; it was for the benefit of two foot- soldiers on the 

 march to Tabreez, who were naturally anxious to do a job 

 on the way by protecting us. They were fine raw mate- 

 rial — active fellows and splendid walkers, unencumbered 

 by any uniform, save an old blue coat and a white belt, to 

 which was hung a flint-and- steel gun. Presently our path 

 turned east, and crossed a broad watershed, dividing the 

 stream which flows into the Araxes and the Caspian, from 

 one of the feeders of the Lake of Urmia. A bold summit 

 rose on our right in rocky slopes intersected by snow-filled 

 gullies ; on the other side a village in a bleak situation, 

 and a serrated ridge of rocks, attracted our attention. A 

 long ride down a dull winding valley, between barren and 

 ruddy-coloured hills, brought us to Sofian, a village at the 

 foot of the mountains, overlooking the salt-plain which 

 extends to the Lake of Urmia. The people at the post- 

 house were very civil, and made us fairly comfortable for 

 the nio'ht. 



