PERSIA. S c 3 



district of Dushtistaari, lying to the south-west, it is remarkably good. 

 The sheep are of a superior flavour, owing to the excellence of the 

 pasturage in the neighbourhood of Shirauz, and are also celebrated for 

 the fineness of their fleece : " they have tails of an extraordinary size, 

 some of which I have seen weigh," says Mr. Francklin, " upwards of 

 thirty pounds ; but those which are sold in the markets do not weigh 

 above six or seven. Their oxen are large and strong, but their flesh 

 is seldom eaten by the natives, who confine themselves chiefly to that 

 of sheep and fowls." 



Natural, curiosities... .The baths near Gombroon are medicinal, 

 and esteemed among the natural curiosities of Persia. The springs of 

 the famous Naptha, near Baku, are mentioned often in natural history 

 for their surprising qualities ; but the chief of the natural curiosities 

 in this country is the burning phenomenon, and its inflammatory 

 neighbourhood, already mentioned under the article of religion. 



Population, inhabitants, manners, customs.... It is impossible 

 to speak with any certainty concerning the population of a country so 

 little known as that of Persia. If we are to judge by the vast armies, 

 in modern as well as in ancient times, raised there, the numbers it con- 

 tains must be very great. The Persians of both sexes are generally 

 handsome ; the men being fond of marrying Georgian and Circassian 

 women. Their complexions towards the south are somewhat swarthy. 

 The men shave their heads, but the young men suffer a lock of hair to 

 grow on each side, and the beard of their chin to reach up to their 

 temples ; and religious people wear long beards. Men of rank and 

 quality wear very magnificent turbans ; many of them cost twenty-five 

 pounds, and few under nine or ten. They have a maxim to keep their 

 heads very warm, so that they never pull off their caps or their tur- 

 bans out of respect even to the king. Their dress is very simple. 

 Next to their skin they wear calico shirts, over them a vest, which 

 reaches below the knee, girt with a sash, and over that a loose gar- 

 ment somewhat shorter. The materials of their clothes, however, are 

 commonly very expensive, consisting of the richest furs, silks, mus- 

 lins, cottons, and the like valuable stuffs, richly embroidered with gold 

 and silver. They wear a kind of loose boots on their legs, and slip- 

 pers on their feet. They are fond of riding, and very expensive in 

 their equipages. They wear at all times a dagger in their sash, and 

 linen trowsers. The collars of their shirts and clothes are open ; so 

 that their dress upon the whole is far better adapted for the purpose 

 both of health and activity than the long flowing robes of the Turks. 

 The dress of the women, as well as that of the men, is very costly; 

 and they are at great pains to heighten their beauty by art, colours 3 

 and washes. 



The Persians accustom themselves to frequent ablutions, which are 

 the more necessary as they seldom change their linen. In the morn- 

 ing early they drink coffee, about eleven go to dinner upon fruitsj 

 sweetmeats, and milk. Their chief meal is at night. They eat at 

 their repasts cakes of rice and others of wheat flour ; and as they es- 

 teem it an abomination to cut either bread, or any kind of meat after it 

 is dressed, these cakes are made thin, that they may be easily broken 

 with the hand ; and their meat, which is generally mutton or fowls, is 

 so prepared that they divide it with their fingers. When every thing 

 is set in order before them, they eat fast, and without any ceremony. 

 But it is observed by a late traveller, that when the oldest man in the 

 company speaks, though he be poor, and sit at the lower end of th« 



Vol. II. F 



