1839.] Account of a Journey to Beylah. 191 



Ularacky having communicated to me the decision of the durbar 

 respecting the survey of Soonmemy, and finding the Jam's answer to 

 the Government letter would not be ready for two days, I determined 

 to employ the interval in visiting Shuhr Roghan, an ancient excavated 

 city, situated amongst the mountains to the northward ; on stating my 

 wish to Ularacky, he at last obtained the requisite permission from the 

 Jam's mother ; who as a compliment, sent one of her confidential at- 

 tendants with her son's state-matchlock to accompany me. 



Beyond the town the road for some distance wound through a thick 

 wood occupying the bed of a deserted river; here and there it opened 

 out into small but picturesque glades, but in general the underwood 

 was so dense, that we had some difficulty in making our way through 

 it : the bushes were full of birds, amongst which I noticed several 

 parrots, and a very pretty little bird with green and golden plumage : 

 it was decidedly the most beautiful spot I had seen in the pro- 

 vince. On ascending from the bed of the river we came upon an open 

 plain thickly covered with large rounded stones, and cut up in every 

 direction by deep water courses, and about four miles from the town 

 crossed the dry bed of a river about 500 yards wide; a short distance 

 beyond it is situated the small village of Momadary surrounded by 

 fields, and to the eastward a grove of lofty trees was visible, where my 

 attendants said the Jam had a large garden. From Momadary to the 

 head of the valley the stony plain is thinly dotted with bushes, and 

 every where deeply furrowed by channels ; this part of tjie valley rises 

 slightly to the foot of the hills, and from its appearance, must have 

 water flowing over its surface in the rainy season, towards the Poorally, 

 from one range of mountains to the other. 



About nine miles to the northward of Beylah, a range of low hills 

 sweeps in a semicircle from one side of the valley to the other, and 

 forms its head. The Poorally river issues from a deep ravine on the 

 western side, and is about 200 yards broad ; it is bounded on one side 

 by steep cliffs, forty or fifty feet high, on the summit of which there is 

 an ancient burying ground, and the* water runs bubbling along it in 

 two or three small rivulets, amongst heaps of stones and patches of 

 tamarisk jungle. Having crossed the stream we pursued our way up its 

 bed amongst the bushes, until we gained the narrow ravine through 

 which it flows, and then turning into one of the lateral branches 

 entered Shuhr Roghan. The scene was singular; on either side of a 

 wild broken ravine the rocks rise perpendicularly to the height of four 

 or five hundred feet, and are excavated as far as can be seen ; in some 

 places where there is footing to ascend, up to the summit ; these ex- 

 cavations are most numerous along the lower part of the hills, and 



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