360 
BVA POLE 
[ fred. 15, 1883 
Although Colonel Stewart had recently brought home 
some accurate information regarding the present state of 
the Oasis, this region had been actually visited by no 
European traveller since Abbot’s expedition in 1840. 
Hence Mr. O'Donovan is here on comparatively new 
ground, and his graphic account of the place and its in- 
habitants will be read with deep interest, especially by 
those who have not seen the portions already published 
in the Dazly News. Since the Russian occupation of the 
Akhal country, the Oasis has doubtless lost whatever 
strategical significance it may have hitherto possessed. 
Nevertheless its position in the desert midway between 
the Oasis and Caspian, its great fertility and dense popu- 
lation—estimated at about 500,000--its numerous anti- 
quities and grand historic memories, must always ensure 
for the “ Queen of the World” an exceptional importance 
in the eye of the statesman and historian. The student 
will here find ample details of its present social and 
economic condition, of its government and administra- 
tion, of the organisation of the Toktamish and Otamish 
Tekke tribes,! their local institutions, the water system of 
the Murghdb, the remains of Bairam Ali, and other 
cities which successively bore the name of Merv, the 
home life of the Mervlis, their actual commercial and 
political relations and future prospects. 
A very full description is given of the many ruins 
scattered over the Oasis, all of which were visited and 
sketched by the explorer. Of these the most extensive 
are Giaur Kala, the original site of Merv, destroyed about 
the end of the seventh century by the Arabs, and Bairam 
Ali, its successor, destroyed in 1784 by the Amir of 
Bokhara. A general plan is given of all these crumbling 
citadels, palaces, tombs, baths, and earthworks, ‘‘ where 
now no living creature is to be met with, save an occa- 
sional Ersari robber or treasure seeker. For here, as in 
almost every other part of the East, the popular imagina- 
tion enriches these ruined vaults and foundations with 
secret treasures stowed away beneath them ” (ii. 247). 
From the frequent recurrence of the term Xa/assz, 
supposed to be a corruption of ecc/esza, some archzologists 
have scattered the remains of ancient Christian churches 
with a liberal hand over Western Turkestan. But Mr. 
O'Donovan suggests that there is here a confusion 
between A7z//ss7, which really represents ecc/esta, and 
Kalassit, a Turki form of the Arabic Ka/’a, a fort or 
castle.2, Hence Kara Kalassi, for instance, would mean, 
‘not the “ Black Church,” but the “Black Castle.” In 
Armenia, a Christian country, Az//ss¢ certainly occurs ; 
but in the Oasis Mr. O’Donovan “never came upon any 
structure which could possibly have been a Christian 
Church ’’ (ii. 177). 
Amongst the remains are some earthworks bearing the 
title of Iskander Kala, or ‘‘ Alexander's Castle,’’ the 
local tradition being that the Macedonian army encamped 
here on its way to India. But here again he pertinently 
remarks that “in these countries Alexander comes into 
every story connected with ruins of remote antiquity.”’ 
* The subdivisions of these two main branches of the Merv Tekkés do not 
correspond with those given by Mr. Marvin in his ‘‘ Merv, the Queen of the 
World.” Some of the discrepancies however may, be reconciled by restoring 
to their proper form the names disguised in Mr, O’ Donovan’s peculiar ortho- 
graphic system. Thus his Aarvatchmet appears by reference to Marvin’s 
tables to stand for the Kava-A/med subdivision of the Otamish branch. 
2 At the same time this Ka/ass? would appear in many cases to be simply 
the Persian Kadésa, a well, and especially the watering-places maintained 
pe nnterals in the desert for the convenience of caravans‘ and pilgrims to 
Mecca, 
Some points of resembl«nce are discovered between 
the Turkoman and Kelt, which are probably not intended 
to be taken seriously. But the description of the Turko- 
man type, coming from a shrewd and original observer, 
possesses sufficient ethnological value to deserve quoting: 
“ The usual Turkoman physical type, both male and 
female, is rough, rude, and vigorous, and quite in contrast 
with that of the frontier Persian, which is sleek, cat-like, 
feeble, and mean. The worst part of the Turkoman is 
his head, which is decidedly conical, the point being 
thrown somewhat to the rear. A phrenologist would say 
that firmness was very pronounced, conscientiousness want- 
ing, and benevolence small. The features are not of that 
Tartar cast that one’would be apt to suppose in denizens 
of East Caspian districts, and though here and there may 
be seen a suspicion of peeping eye, a tendency towards 
flattening of the point of the noise, and occasionally high 
cheek bones, on the whole the faces are more European 
than otherwise. In fact I have seen some physiognomies 
at Gumush Tepé which, if accompanied by an orthodox 
European dress, would pass muster anywhere as belonging 
to natives of the West. It is among the women that the 
absence of European features is most conspicuous. There 
are many of them who could fairly be reckoned pretty, 
though it is quite a different order of beauty from that to 
which we are accustomed. . . . It is among the men that 
the handsome individuals must be sought for, especially 
when there has been an admixture of Persian blood. The 
scanty beard of the pure Turkoman is then replaced by 
one of much more luxurious proportions, and of a darker 
tint ; the nose assumes a more or less aquiline form, and 
the eye loses the cold grey expression so characteristic of 
the pure-blooded dweller on the Steppes ” (i. 231-3). 
The accompanying portrait of the author in oriental 
garb might be taken as an apt illustration of this descrip- 
tion. There is also an excellent map of North Persia 
and the Trans-Caspian region, based on that of Colonel 
Stewart, but with numerous fresh details embodying the 
results of the explorer’s observations in the Tejend Valley 
and Merv Oasis. But the spelling is as usual at variance 
with that of the text, and there is unfortunately no index. 
The appendix contains 1acsimiles of a number of letters 
from Turkoman Khans, one or two of which are fine 
specimens of the beautiful ta’lik penmanship. 
The reputation of an inteliigent and enterprising ex- 
plorer secured to General Macgregor by his ‘Journey 
through Khorasén (noticed in NATURE, vol. xx. p. 453); 
will be considerably increased by his “ Wanderings 
through Baluchistan.” The trip was made in company 
with the ill-fated Capt. R. B. Lockwood, of the 3rd Bengal 
Cavalry, on their return to duty in India, between the 
months of September, 1876, and March, 1877. During 
this period the western section of Makran was thoroughly 
explored, and the problems connected with the drainage 
of the Mashkid and Mashkel rivers at last cleared up. 
The Mashkid was supposed by many geographers to 
flow through the Dasht to the Arabian Sea, while the 
Mashkel was sent northwards to the Zirreh or Sistan 
Hamun, that is, to the Helmand basin. But by actual 
survey the explorers have shown that (1) both of these 
rivers belong to the same hydrographic system ; (2) this 
system is unconnected either with the Helmand or 
Arabian Sea; (3) the two streams, after their confluence 
above the romantic Tank Zorati pass in the Sianeh-kuh 
range, flow mainly north-west to the Mashkel Hamun in 
28° 20’ N., 60° E.; (4) this swamp has no outlet, and is ac- 
tually separated by another depression, the Kindi Hamun, 
