iz6 Tray els into the Levant. Part IL 
make their Glafs of a White Stone, almoft as hard as Marble, which they get in a 
Hill four days Journey from Schiras, and it is very clear : efpecially they make great 
Bottles as clear and delicate as in any other place i^ the world ■■, but it is wonder- 
Çtrabii. fully ftrange how they can blow the great Bottles, they call Caraba, which are as 
thick as ones Finger, and hold near thirty Quarts of Wine i thefe Bottles are co- 
vered with the Straw of Canes. 
The Soil about Schiras is very good, and produces plenty of all things j they 
have of all the Fruits that we have, and Oranges and Limons in abundance : but 
they make a Wine, which, (without difpute,) is one of the beft Wines in the World, 
The Wine of andtheprime Wine of Terfia. In this Kingdom, it being a common faying, Tes- 
Schiras. de-Kajl Bread, Schiras Wine, and lezd Women ; the handfomeft women of Ferfia 
being, (as they fay,) in that Tov>'n. The Wine of Schiras is an excellent Stomach 
Wine, but very ftrong, fo that without fpoiling thetaftc of it, it will carry two 
thirds of water. It is not made of Kijhmijh, or Grapes without ftones, as at Ifpahan 
becaufe then it would be fo ftrong that it could not be drank, but it is made of com- 
mon Grapes; they have both Red and White, but the Red is the beft: it is full 
of Lees, and therefore very heady to remedy which they hltrate it through a 
Cloath, and then it is very clear and free from fumes. The people of Schiras make 
their Wine at Martlemafs, when the Grapes are already almoft half dry i they ftay 
till they be fo before they gather their Vintage : when the Wine is made and in con- 
dition to be laid up, they burn Incenfe all over the Cellar, to take away all noy- 
fome fccnts, before they Cellar it up. They put it into great earthen Jarrs, which 
hold ten or twelve even to fourteen Carabas , but when they broach a Jarr, 
it muft be prefently drawn off, and Bottled up in Carabas i for if the Wine be left 
any time in the Jarr after it hath been opened, it fpoils and grows Eagre. There 
is a great deal of that Wine made, and many Chefts of it yearly fent to Ifpahan and 
the Indies ; in each Cafe or Cheft they put ten great Bottles, with a good deal of, 
firaw, and two of thefe Chefts make a Mules load. They have alfoftore of Ca- 
Capersj pers, which they fend alfo into all parts. 
Theyprefeive another thing in Vinegar, which I never faw done any where 
Prefervtfd dfc ^ and that is Grapes, which they gather half ripe, and the time of gathering 
Grapes, them they take to be when the Sparrows begin to peck them i they put thefe 
Grapes into Bottles with good ftore of Vinegar, which fo macerates them, that they 
lofe their hardnefs, yet no fo as to become too fofr, or lofe their Greennefs, only 
they look a little yellowifli. Thefe Grapes prcferved in Vinegar, have a certain 
fweet acidity which is not unpleafant, efpecially in the great heats > aitd therefore 
they fend great quantities of them into the Indies. 
Rofc-water. They have alfo abundance of Rofes, from which they draw fo much Rofe- water, 
that they furnifti all the Indies with it. They have a great deal of Corn, but thev 
give much of it to the Horfes, to be eaten in the blade, becaufe, (they fay,) it would 
not come to maturity for want of water. There is a great deal of Opium made 
at Schiras^ and round the Town there are large fields fowed with White Poppies. 
A powerful In former times Schiras was Governed by a Chan, who was the firfl of Perfta i 
Chan of Schi' and his Government reached as far as Lar^ Bender, and the Ifle of Ormus : nay he 
was fo powerful, that in the Reign of the great Schah Abbas, there was a Chanoi 
Schiras, called Imem-Couli-Chan, who fpent as much as the King, and kept no 
fmaller Family j in fo much that the King commanded him to fpend a Mahmoudi 
lefs a day, that there might be fome difference betwixt their Expences. Schah Sefi 
grand Child of Schah Abbas, and Father to Schah Abbas who Reigns at prefent, 
put 'that Chan and all his Children to death, becaufe he was afraid that being fo 
• powerful, he might play him fome trick, and after him there have been fome Chans 
in Schiras -, but at prefent there is none, a Vizier commands there, as the Kings 
Farmer > to whom he yearly pays out of his Government a thoufand 'tomans^ 
which make a hundred and fifty thoufand Crowns. 
CHAP. 
