290 
MARAGHA. 
guished from the otherwise dreary landscape by its extensive orchards 
and its villages, imbosomed in trees and cultivation. 
Our tents were situated close to a spot, which I conjecture re¬ 
sembles the thrashing floor so often mentioned in the Scriptures, for 
here is the Kherman gah, or the place of harvest, of Ahmed Khan, 
where his corn is collected from the surrounding country, win¬ 
nowed, and then sent to his storehouses. A tower of mud bricks was 
erected close to it, in which guards are stationed when the corn has been 
collected. The floor consists of nothing but a plat of hard earth, swept 
clean, upon which the harvest is thrown into heaps. In some parts ot 
the East, the ground is prepared by being daubed over with cow-dung*; 
but the Persians are not so nice; and perhaps this will account for the 
quantity of sand that is found in their common village bread. 
On the 27th we reached Maragha. Three miles from Alkou we 
passed by a large village called Khorma zerd, prettily situated in a 
valley, with a profusion of running water, fertilizing the fields by 
which it was surrounded; and three miles further on, we came to the 
walls of Maragha. The first object which struck us on our approach 
was a bridge of six elliptical arches, admirably constructed of red brick, 
built by the present Governor over the river Safy, which flows close to 
the walls. A second, of similar size and construction, is seen a quarter 
of a mile lower down ; and both give a grandeur of appearance to this 
town that we did not in the least expect to see. Each of these bridges 
leads at once into a gate of the town. 
The Ambassador was met by the Governor’s son, who made excuses 
for the absence of his father, saying that he was nine fursungs off, quel¬ 
ling a disturbance on the frontier of the Courdistan. He escorted us to 
our tents, that were pitched on the east side of the city, near a rectangular 
brick building, of a solid construction, which we were informed was 
the tomb of one of Jenghiz Khan’s descendants. On leaving us he 
* Shaw, vol. i. p. 255. 
