394 
KOUROOD-PA-INE. 
and so numerous, that they appeared to form woods of them¬ 
selves ; chesnut, almond, peach, apple, plum, cherries, in short, 
every fruit which can be made to grow in these regions. The 
grape is never seen amongst them; a useful precaution, perhaps, 
lest temptation might press it into wine! The slopes of the 
mountains on each side of the vale (for here steep on steep 
only lead to others) were covered with abundant crops of corn 
and barley. The ground on which they grew, was formed by 
ranges of terraces on the slopes I have just mentioned, and 
ingeniously fed with water by the indefatigable husbandmen. 
There are two villages in this little district, bearing the name 
of Kourood, which the natives distinguish by the addition of the 
Upper and the Lower. They are nearly a mile separate, and 
contain all the population of the vale, which, though prolific of 
inhabitants, is not more than five miles long, and two in breadth. 
The number of dwellings which compose both places may 
amount to about two hundred. They are clean, commodious, 
and cheerful, are built on the side of the hill; and each house has 
several stories, with a flat roof: a style of village architecture, 
totally different from any I had hitherto seen in Persia. The 
activity of the peasantry amongst their trees, and along the 
heights waving with the future harvest, gave a delightful ani¬ 
mation to every object; and the figures of the women, which 
we sometimes descried passing through the rose and jasmine 
parterres, that grew up with the apples and pears near their houses, 
seemed moving with that sort of bustling step, which betokens 
the help-mates of their husbands. 
We passed through the first of these villages, which is called 
Kourood-pa-in e, our design being to halt in the upper place of 
the name, nearer to the southern extremity of the valley. In 
