CHAWAN. 
289 
inhabitants of which are said to be strangers to the small pox, and live 
to a good old age without the dread of it; but notwithstanding this 
blessing, it is looked upon in Persia as the Gyarus of the Romans, for 
hither Abbas Mirza sometimes sends offenders into exile, a punishment 
which the Persians hold in great abhorrence. 
Prom Shirameen we proceeded to Chawan, over a most barren tract 
of brown mountains, without a single tree to be seen, excepting near 
the villages. The soil of these mountains is chiefly argillaceous, and 
in some parts our road lay through long and deep strata of rocks, 
among which we noticed talc. Before we quitted the flat country sur¬ 
rounding the lake, we had a view of the swamp which renders Shahee 
a peninsula; and shortly after we lost sight of the lake altogether, 
but got another and more extended view of it as we descended 
from the mountains towards Chawan. In this view we could discover 
all the islands, which, lying in one cluster, had the appearance of a 
little Archipelago. 
From Chawan we could count eight villages, of which the most con¬ 
spicuous were Gultapeh, Jukelar, Ajeb Sheer, and Shiraz. The plain 
was covered with the flocks and black tents of the Baharlou, a tribe 
who have a tradition that they migrated from Turkey into Persia. 
Chawan is a large village, situated upon the banks of a river, consi¬ 
derable for this country, which takes its source in the mountain of Sa- 
hand, and is one of the fourteen before-mentioned that flow into the 
lake. It is called the Caleb chai, and runs through the plain upon 
which the village of Shishewan is situated, and flows close to it. Three 
boats ply on the lake from Chawan to Oroumieh, containing from 50 
to 60 kherwars, (nearly 20 tons each,) and go with oars and sails. 
The next day we pitched at Alkou, a village on an eminence three 
fursungs . distant, from whence we saw the full extremity of the 
plain to the northward, which is there terminated by swamps and 
long beds of salt, appearing conspicuously white from the height. 
From this village, not only the great expanse of the lake is seen, but 
also the productive district of Deenab, the situation of which is distin- 
