26 The Persian Travels Book I. 



From Arde'iul to Cafbin you travel through a good Country - 7 tor every three or 

 four Leagues you meet with little Rivers that tall from the Northern Mountains, 

 and water the Earth. The Caravan is uiually five days between Ardcatl and Arion y 

 between Arion and Taron two , between Tar on and Cafbin two more. Half a League 

 on this fide Taron you muft crols a great River over a ftone Bridge, and half a League 

 beyond you come to KalkaL 



sArion is a little City, Taron and Kalkal are two great Towns 4 , and there are 

 but theic three places in all Terfia where there grow any Olives, or that they make 

 any Oyl. Leaving Kalkal, you travel over a Plain for three hours, at the end whereof 

 is a Way which you cannot get over in lcfs than four hours. The way is io bad that the 

 Horfes and Mules can hardly get up •, but for the Camels, they muft take the lower 

 Road, which is alio very tedious, and full of Stones which "the Torrents tumble down, 

 and it is three or four Leagues about. When you are up , the Country is level, 

 and you have not above three Leagues to Cajbin. 



Cafbin lyes in 87 Degrees and 30 Minutes of Longitude, and 36 Degrees and 

 15 Minutes of Latitude. It is a great City, the Hsufes whereof arc low and ill 

 built ; except feven or eight , which are next to the King's Gardens. It has no 

 Walls, and indeed the bed half of the City is in Gardens. There arc three Inns, 

 with Market-places round about •, one of the three being large and commodious. 

 It is inhabited altogether by Mahometans; or if there be any Chriftians, they arc 

 very few. 



The Soil about Cafbin produces Piftaches. The Tree that bears them is never 

 bigger than a Walnut-tree of ten or twelve years old. The great quantity of Pifta- 

 ches that are exported out of Perfia come from Malavert, a little City twelve Leagues 

 from Jjpahan , toward the Eaft. Thcfe are the heft Piftaches in the World , and 

 the Country being of a large extent, produces them in fuch abundance, that it 

 furniihes all Perfia and the Indies. 



Leaving Cafbin , you come to a little Village where there is but one Inn r, and you 

 travel that day fix Leagues through Countries fertil enough , and well watcr'd. 



The next day you travel through a good Country, and in nine or ten hours you 

 come to Denghe. This is a great Village at the foot of a Hill , through which there 

 runs a fair River. It abounds with excellent both White and Claret Wine , where 

 the Travellers take care to rcplcnifh their Bottles. But generally they never lye 

 here-, being defirous to go a League farther, for a good Inn's lake, which makes it 

 a handlbm Stage. 



At this Town of Denghe it is where the two Roads from Tanris to Ijpahan meet : 

 the firft, through Ardeuil and Cafbin , I have already defcrib'd. Hither alfo come 

 the Caravans that go for the Indies through Mejhehed and Candahar, and where they 

 feave Ifpahan Road to take the left-hand Way, which carries them Eaftward. 



CHAP. VI. 



The ordinary G^oad from Tauris to Ifpahan , through Zangan, 

 Sulcame , mi other places. 



. ^T P% T E muft now return again to the Lake Gx Leagues beyond Tauru, 



tfjgT % / % / whefe the y tnat wi,t take tne ordinary fhort way througt Zan- 



J 7 \f \f g*n and Soli ante , leave the left hand way ©f ^Ardcml and 



T T Cafbin. This Lake is ufually full of large red Duck* , which 



arc very good Meat. 



From thence, after twelve or thirteen hours travel , in which time you meet With 

 three Inns , you come to Karafiima , a large Town in a deep Valley, that feems to 

 be well manur'd. There is in it only a fmall Inn built of Earth, the Doors whereof 

 are fo low, that the People are fore'd to creep upon their knees to get in. 



The next day you come to another large Village calPd Turcoma, where the Soil 

 is fertil, though it be very cold. There are feveral Caravanf era's built like a long 



Alley 



