Public Domain

Across Coveted Lands Or A Journey From Flushing Holland To Calc

The start--The terrors of the Russian Custom-house--An amusing incident at the Russian frontier--Politeness of Russian officials--Warsaw: its sights; its lovely women--The talented Pole--People who know how to travel by train--A ludicrous scene.

Chapters

87. Chapter 87

Morad Khan Kella--The horrors of a camera--Seven high dunes--Three tracks--Where the railway will be laid--A fine old tamarisk turned into a Ziarat--Pagoda-like rest-houses--Sci...

46. Chapter 46

The deserted city of Farmidan--More speculation--The Afghan invasion--Kerman surrenders to Agha Muhammed Khan--A cruel oppressor--Luft-Ali-Khan to the rescue--The Zoroastrians--...

82. Chapter 82

The Beluch-Afghan boundary--Substantial advantages obtained--The Afghans driven from Chagai--Who owns Beluchistan?--How Beluchistan is subdivided--Treaties and engagements with...

70. Chapter 70

Departure from Sistan--Dadi--Not one's idea of a pasture--The Kuh-i-Kwajah--Its altitude--The "City of roars of laughter"--Interesting ascent to the summit--A water reservoir--F...

23. Chapter 23

The Shah's Palace--The finest court--Alabaster throne hall--A building in European style--The Museum--A chair of solid gold and silver--The _Atch_--Paintings--The banqueting roo...

72. Chapter 72

Sand accumulations--A round tower--Mahommed Raza Chah--A burial ground--Rustam's city--An ancient canal--Rustam's house--The Persian hero's favourite room--A store room--Recepti...

73. Chapter 73

Girdi-chah, a desolate spot--Its renowned water--Post-houses and Persian Customs soldiers--Nawar-chah and its well--The salt river Shela--Its course--Beautiful colours in salt c...

4. Chapter 4

The Port of Enzeli--Troublesome landing--Flat-bottomed boats--A special permit--Civility of officials--Across the Murd-ap lagoon--Piri-Bazaar--A self-imposed golden rule--Where...

68. Chapter 68

An ancient city as big as London--The citadel--Towers--Small rooms--The walls--Immensity of the city--Sand drifts--Why some parts are buried and some are not--An extensive wall-...

13. Chapter 13

Cash and wealth--Capital as understood by Persians--Hidden fortunes--Forms of extravagance--Unbusiness-like qualities--Foreign examples--Shaken confidence of natives in foreigne...

17. Chapter 17

Education--Educated but not instructed--The Mullahs--The Madrassahs--The Royal College in Teheran--Secular Schools--The brain of Persian students--Hints on commercial education...

74. Chapter 74

South-west of Robat (at 210° bearings magnetic) stands a fine mountain, the Lahr Kuh, and from it descends a little stream flowing towards the north-east. There is a large _than...

69. Chapter 69

A short historical sketch of Zaidan city--How it was pillaged and destroyed--Fortresses and citadels--Taimur Lang--Shah Rukh--Revolutions--The Safavi dynasty--Peshawaran, Pulki,...

41. Chapter 41

The Guebres of Yezd--Askizar--The Sassanian dynasty--Yezdeyard--The name "Parsees"--The Arab invasion of Persia--A romantic tale--Zoroaster--Parsees of India--Why the Parsees re...

56. Chapter 56

Intense cold--Dulled sense of taste--Characteristics of the country--Beautiful stones--Clouds of the desert--A salt stream--Icicles on the moustache and eyelashes--Longing for s...

57. Chapter 57

My caravan disbanded--Birjand--Ruined fortress--The city--Number of houses--Population--The citadel--Artillery--Trade routes--Birjand as a strategical position--A trading centre...

77. Chapter 77

Saindak--Beluch prisoners--Thana and Bungalow--Beluch bread--The Saindak mountain and its mineral resources--The Daftan volcano--_Surmah_ and lead--Mukak and its strong man--A s...

38. Chapter 38

Early in the afternoon Khupah (altitude 5,920 feet) was reached, with its very large and dirty caravanserai to the west, just outside the town wall. From the roof--the only clea...

5. Chapter 5

Resht--Impostors--A visit to the Head Mullah--Quaint notions--Arrangements for the drive to Teheran--The Russian concession of the Teheran road--The stormy Caspian and unsafe ha...

43. Chapter 43

Desolate scenery--Anar--A word for Persian servants--Sadek's English--Bayas village--Sand deposits--Robber villagers--Kushkuhyeh Chappar khana--The post contractor, his rifle--C...

79. Chapter 79

Mushki-Chah--A Ziarat--Beluch dwellings--The Beluch and the camera--Characteristics of Beluch--Three wells of good water at Kundi--The Kuh-i-Sultan and the "Spear of the Sultan"...

40. Chapter 40

Yezd is the most central city of Persia, but from a pictorial point of view the least interesting city in the Shah's empire. There are a great many mosques--it is said about fif...

6. Chapter 6

A journey by landau and four--Picturesque coachman--Tolls--Intense moisture--Luxuriant vegetation--Deschambe Bazaar--The silk industry of Ghilan--The cultivation and export of r...

39. Chapter 39

Bambis--The Kashsan-Yezd high road--The Kevir plain--Minerals--Chanoh--Sand deposits--Sherawat--Kanats--Agdah--Stone cairns--Kiafteh--An isolated mount--A long sand bar--A forsa...

14. Chapter 14

The Banks of Persia--The Imperial Bank of Persia--The most revered foreigner in Persia--Loans--The road concession--The action of the Stock Exchange injurious to British interes...

83. Chapter 83

The evolution of Nushki--The Zagar Mengal tribe--Tribal feuds--Competition in trade--Venturesome caravans--Pasand Khan--Dalbandin and its geographical situation--Game big and sm...

19. Chapter 19

A Persian wedding--Polygamy--Seclusion of women--Match-makers--Subterfuges--The _Nomzad_, or official betrothal day--The wedding ceremony in the harem--For luck--The wedding pro...

65. Chapter 65

The history of the Sistan Vice-Consulate--Major Chevenix Trench--Laying the foundation of the Consulate--Hoisting the British flag--Major Benn--A terrible journey--A plucky Engl...

15. Chapter 15

Illegitimate Bank-notes--Hampering the Bank's work--The grand fiasco of the Tobacco Corporation--Magnificent behaviour of the natives--The Mullahs and tobacco--The nation gives...

24. Chapter 24

I had much difficulty in obtaining a really first-class servant, although many applied with glowing certificates. It has always been my experience that the more glowing the cert...

42. Chapter 42

_Badjirs_--Below the sand level--Chappar service between Yezd and Kerman--The elasticity of a farsakh--Sar-i-Yezd--An escort--Where three provinces meet--Etiquette--Robbers' imp...

61. Chapter 61

Sadek's wastefulness--Meeting two enterprising English traders--Another circular crater--Wind and electricity in the air--Their effects--A fortress--Soldiers and brigandage--Zem...

25. Chapter 25

On a deserted road, sleepy and shaken, with the wind blowing so hard that it tore and carried away all the cotton curtains of the carriage, I arrived at Kum (3,200 feet above se...

86. Chapter 86

The fast growing city of Nushki--The Tashil--the Tashildar--Beluch law--Hospital--Pneumonia and consumption--Lawn tennis--The Nushki Bazaar--Satisfactory trade returns--The proj...

85. Chapter 85

A new city--The Bungalow--Numerous Beluch villages--Nomads--Beluch architecture--Weaving looms--Implements--Beluch diet--Cave dwellers of Nushki--Beluch dress--Children--The sal...

67. Chapter 67

The London of the East--A city eighty-six miles long--The village of Bunjar--An ancient tower--Iskil--The _Kalantar_ of Sistan--Collection of ancient jewellery from the buried c...

66. Chapter 66

Laid up with fever--Christmas Day--A visit to the Amir--Hashmat-ul-Mulk--An ancient city over eighty miles long--Extreme civility of Persian officials--An unusual compliment--Pr...

54. Chapter 54

A visit to the eight-towered village--A hostile demonstration--Quaint houses--Stoned--Brigand villagers--A device--Peculiar characteristics of natives--Picturesque features--Con...

1. Chapter 1

The start--The terrors of the Russian Custom-house--An amusing incident at the Russian frontier--Politeness of Russian officials--Warsaw: its sights; its lovely women--The talen...

16. Chapter 16

Russia on the brain--The apprehended invasion of India--Absolute nonsense--Russia's tariff--In the House of Commons--A friendly understanding advisable--German competition--The...

47. Chapter 47

Difficulties of crossing the Great Salt Desert--The trials of arranging a caravan--The ways of camel-men--A quaint man of the Desert--A legal agreement--Preparations for the dep...

78. Chapter 78

Sick men and camels--What came of photographing Sahib Chah--Losing the track--Divided opinions--Allah _versus_ the compass--Sadek's way of locating positions--Picked up hungry a...

64. Chapter 64

Sistan's state of transition--British Consul's tact--Advancing Russian influence--Safety--A fight between Sistanis and Afghans--The Sar-tip--Major Benn's pluck and personal infl...

26. Chapter 26

Kashan--Silk manufactories--Indo-European Telegraph--The Zein-ed-din tower--The Meh-rab shrine--The Madrassah Shah--The Panja Shah--The hand of Nazareth Abbas--The Fin Palace--H...

71. Chapter 71

Villages between Sher-i-Nasrya and Kuh-i-Kwajah--The last of the Kayani--Husena Baba--Thousands of sheep--The Patang Kuh--Protecting black walls--A marsh--Sand dunes--Warmal--Qu...

59. Chapter 59

Departure from Birjand--A cloud like a skeleton hand--A downpour--The village of Muht--A ruined fortress--A beautiful sunset--A pass--Besieged by native callers--Two towers at G...

60. Chapter 60

We remained at Sahlabad the whole afternoon, and we were visited in camp by a number of suspicious-looking people, who were most inquisitive to know what I possessed and how muc...

50. Chapter 50

Lawah or Rawar--A way to Yezd--The bazaar--Trade--Ruined forts--Opium smoking and its effects--Beggar's ingenious device--In a local gentleman's home--The Tokrajie--Buying fresh...

21. Chapter 21

temples, where they end into a fine point, from the nose, over which they are very frequently joined. The iris of the eye is abnormally large, of very rich dark velvety brown, w...

62. Chapter 62

English fancy geographical names--Sher-i-Nasrya--The main street--The centre of the city--Reverence of the natives for Major Benn--A splendid type of British official--Indian an...

63. Chapter 63

The British Bazaar--The pioneer traders of Sistan--Sistan a half-way house and not the terminus of the route--Comfortable route--Protection and redress--Indian tea in Persia--Pe...

7. Chapter 7

Menzil and the winds--The historical Alamut mountain--A low plateau--Volcanic formation--Mol-Ali--A genuine case of smallpox--Characteristic sitting posture--A caravan of mules-...

34. Chapter 34

The grand Avenue of Isfahan, much worn and out of repair, and having several lines of trees along its entire length of half a mile or so down to the river, is one of the sights...

35. Chapter 35

Isfahan the commercial heart of Persia--Dangers of maps in argument--Bandar Abbas--The possibility of a Russian railway to Bandar Abbas--Bandar Abbas as a harbour--The caravan r...

11. Chapter 11

Through the kindness of the Persian Legation in London I had received letters of introduction which I forwarded to their addresses on my arrival in Teheran. The first to answer,...

8. Chapter 8

Four thousand feet above sea-level--Castellated walls--An obnoxious individual--Luggage weighing--The strange figure of an African black--How he saved an Englishman's life--Tehe...

80. Chapter 80

The picturesque Gat mountain--Strange-looking mountains--Mirui--White covered country--Sotag--Desolate shed at Chakal--The _Karenghi rirri_ deadly plant--The Mesjid or Masit--Th...

52. Chapter 52

A long detour--Mount Darband--A water-cut gorge--Abandoned watch towers--Passes into the desert--A wall-like mountain range--The tower and fortified caravanserai at camp Darband...

58. Chapter 58

A loud explosion--Persian military officers--Dr. Abbas Ali Khan, British Agent in Birjand--His excellent work--Gratefulness of the natives--A quaint letter--The Russian Agent--A...

18. Chapter 18

Persia's industrial, mineral and agricultural resources--Climate of various districts--Ghilan's trade--Teheran and the surrounding country--Khorassan and Sistan--The Caspian pro...

75. Chapter 75

An excellent track--A quaint rock--A salt rivulet--Laskerisha--Mahommed Raza-chah--Beluch encampment--The horrors of photography--Maternal love--A track to Mirjawa--Kirtaka--Dir...

12. Chapter 12

The Persian army--The Persian soldier as he is and as he might be--When and how he is drilled--Self-doctoring under difficulties--Misappropriation of the army's salary--Cossack...

31. Chapter 31

The great square of Isfahan is looked upon as the centre of the city. It is a huge oblong, with the great and beautiful dome of the Mesjid-i-Shah on one side of the long rectang...

81. Chapter 81

Captain Webb-Ware, C.I.E.--The Nushki route--An excellent track--Bungalows built and in course of construction--The water--Postal service--Important Government concession--The N...

2. Chapter 2

Kiev--Its protecting Saint--Intellectuality and trade--Priests and education--Wherein lies the strength of Russia--Industries--A famous Monastery--The Catacombs of St. Theodosiu...

45. Chapter 45

A visit to the Madrassah on the north side of the bazaar was extremely interesting, it being the best preserved building of that type I had so far seen in Persia. The Consul and...

37. Chapter 37

I only halted a few days in Isfahan, during which time I was the guest of Mr. Preece, the British Consul-General. Mr. Preece's hospitality and popularity are proverbial among Eu...

36. Chapter 36

Mahommerah--Where Russia's aims are directed--Advantages of Mahommerah--The navigation of the Karun River--Traffic--Rates on the Ahwaz-Isfahan track--The Government's attitude--...

51. Chapter 51

Salt sediments as white as snow--Brilliant stars--Plaintive songs of the camel men--An improvisatore--Unpleasant odour of camels--A large salt deposit--No water and no fuel--A d...

22. Chapter 22

The Shah's birthday--Illuminations--The Shah in his automobile--Ministers in audience--Etiquette at the Shah's Court--The Shah--A graceful speaker--The Shah's directness of spee...

49. Chapter 49

An abandoned caravanserai--Fantastic hill tops--No water--A most impressive mountain--Sediments of salt--A dry river bed--Curious imprints in the rock--A row--Intense heat--Acci...

33. Chapter 33

A carpet factory--Children at work--The process of carpet-making--Foreign influence in the design--Aniline dyes--"Ancient carpets" manufactured to-day--Types of carpets--Kerman...

48. Chapter 48

On November 6th we were some fifty miles from Kerman. Again when midnight came and I was slumbering hard with the two kittens, who had made themselves cosy on my blankets, the h...

76. Chapter 76

The excursion which I made into Afghan territory to the salt deposit of Gaud- or God-i-Zirreh, and a lower depression to the east of it, was of great interest to me.

32. Chapter 32

Winding our way through the labyrinth of narrow streets, and meeting a crescendo of diabolical din as we approach it, we emerge into a more spacious and lighter arcade, where hu...

9. Chapter 9

A description of Teheran is hardly necessary here, the city being so well-known, but for the help of people unfamiliar with its character a rough sketch of the place may be given.

30. Chapter 30

From October, 1889, to December, 1891, a Christianised Jew of Teheran, named Mirza Korollah, worked in Isfahan as the representative of the Society for promoting Christianity am...

27. Chapter 27

Crossing the Pass--Held up by robbers--Amusing courtesy--Brigands to protect from brigands--Parting friends--Soh--Biddeshk--Copper and iron--Robber tribes--An Englishman robbed-...

3. Chapter 3

Baku--Unnecessary anxiety--A storm--Oil wells--Naphtha spouts--How the wells are worked--The native city--The Baku Bay--Fortifications--The Maiden's Tower--Depressing vegetation...

44. Chapter 44

It was my intention to pay my respects to the British Consul for whom I had letters of introduction from the Minister at Teheran, and I at once proceeded through the city, enter...

53. Chapter 53

Fortress-like cliffs--A long troublesome march--Sixteen hours on the saddle--All our fresh-water supply gone!--Fever--Electricity of the desert--Troublesome camel men--A small o...

10. Chapter 10

As late as 1872 there were only four Legations in Teheran: the English, French, Russian and Turkish; but since then the Governments of Austria, Belgium, Holland, and the United...

55. Chapter 55

Many misfortunes befel us at this place. We had made our camp in the oasis of palm trees at the foot of the mountain, and as the camels were much worn out we were unable to proc...

84. Chapter 84

Captain Webb-Ware having most kindly arranged to "dak" camels for me, I was enabled to remain here one day by sending my own camels with loads ahead, I proposing to catch them u...

28. Chapter 28

There is little to say of interest in connection with Missionary work in Persia, except that a considerable amount of good is being done in the educational and medical line. The...

20. Chapter 20

Persia, they say, is the country of the loveliest women in the world. It probably has that reputation because few foreign male judges have ever seen them. The Persians themselve...

88. Chapter 88

Well for unfaithful women, i. 202 Wheat from Arabistan, i. 342 Whirlwinds, i. 361 White, Captain, ii. 169 White, Dr. Henry, i. 392 Wife, price of a Beluch, ii. 404 Wind, ii. 75,...

29. Chapter 29

Being somewhat of a sportsman myself, this highly-sporting clergyman appealed to me. Extremely gentlemanly, courteous, tactful, sensible and open-minded, he was not a bit like a...