1887.] 
87 
C. E. Y ate •—Notes on the City of Hirat. 
# ^ sV J*^ sJ ^ v j * 
*« 
# Ua. UijJJ Ulc jy* * 
# JtJ 4 ^ j 4U-* «5 jA.J a&T * 
# v -r ? T (*/^i «3 ^.a-L) * 
# ^>1^. jjyAA. J*y^ )1 S*^^c^Lui * 
.* ° r 
# \j^s6 c)*^ <JG« * 
# ( JxwU ^y^J u°j^ ) 2 ;•* (*j^^V‘ 
This inscription by the Abjad reckoning gives the date of A. H. 1100 
or A. D. 1689. 
The entrance to the shrine lies at the eastern end of the main 
courtyard, through a doorway under a high arched vestibule and across 
a covered corridor, paved with slabs of white marble, worn and polished 
into the most dangerous state of slipperiness by, presumably, the feet 
of countless pilgrims. Roundabout this door sit Mullas, beggars 
and pilgrims of sorts, in addition to the numerous blind Hafiz or reciters 
of the Quran who here seem to act as the general showmen of the place. 
Immediately in front of the entrance and looking inwards, but now 
half-buried in the ground, is the carved figure in white marble of a long, 
thin animal, said to be a tiger, though what a tiger is the symbol of in 
such a place I cannot say. 
Passing through the entrance one emerges into a square courtyard 
surrounded by high walls and little rooms, with a lofty half-domed 
portico at the eastern end, the tile work on which is very much out of 
repair. It is generally the custom to engrave the date of any mauso¬ 
leum over the entrance door, but there is no date engraved on this. 
On either side of the entrance are the usual retiring rooms with 
arched prayer niches. In the northern niche the following text is 
engraved :— 
^ g i ^ c La.> jto j aXilLJUiA Gi (2) 
" I 
1 The word etfli is doubtful here. The line does not scan and may be changed 
thus :—# j ^ A. H. A. 
♦* 
2 [The numerical words are enclosed within brackets ; thus ^ - 8 > j ~ 6 ^ 
= 800, j = 7, £ =40, ^ =00, J =30, v = 2, ^ =10; hence 8 + 6 + 800 + 7-1-40 
+ 7 + 40 + GO + 30 + GO + 2 + 10 + 30 = 1100. Ed.] 
