60 
NOURSHIRVAN. 
riant foliage over us as we pursued our delightful ride. For a 
distance of three farsangs from the walls of Ispahan, our way 
wound through these singularly beautiful environs ; no other city 
that I had seen in Persia presenting any thing like so copious a 
display of nature’s bounties, mixed with such features of the 
loftiest and the loveliest lines of landscape beauty. The termi¬ 
nation of these three farsangs brought us to Nourshirvan, a small, 
but flourishing village; where, however, we were obliged to take 
up our quarters in a crowded caravansary. I found it filled with 
people of all descriptions, going on a pilgrimage to the shrine of 
Ali at Kerbela; and this devout assemblage kept up such an 
unceasing uproar all night, what with their own anomalous 
noises, and those of their horses, asses, and mules, that I was 
glad to prepare for starting next morning, before the rising sun 
should set the whole host again at their most tumultuous orisons. 
Accordingly, we were all in the stirrup at dawn, and left the 
gate of the caravansary by half-past four o’clock. The morning 
was fresh and fragrant; and bearing a little more to the north 
than our chart did the preceding day, we went cheerily on over 
an exceedingly stoney road, winding amongst the most romantic 
embankments. Having travelled nearly three farsangs, we passed 
a large place on our right, lying in fine masses of ruin. The 
great plain of Ispahan stretched away in that direction, shewing 
its gently swelling detached hills covered with verdure and knots 
of trees ; and the castellated towers of innumerable villages, 
animating the scenery as far as the eye could reach, where Guz 
and Moorchikord distinctly marked the horizon. At this point, 
we ascended a chain of low hills, containing rich veins of iron ; 
where, however, no thriving works appeared visible ; but clus¬ 
ters of human habitations, lying at the western foot of the hills, 
