Across Coveted Lands by Arnold Henry Savage Landor
Page 1 of 373
[Illustration: His Majesty the Shah of Persia.]
ACROSS COVETED LANDS
OR
A JOURNEY FROM FLUSHING (HOLLAND) TO CALCUTTA, OVERLAND
BY
A. HENRY SAVAGE LANDOR
_WITH 175 ILLUSTRATIONS, DIAGRAMS, PLANS AND MAPS_ _BY AUTHOR_
IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. I
London MACMILLAN AND CO., Limited 1902
_All rights reserved_
Richard Clay and Sons, Limited, LONDON AND BUNGAY
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
_To face page_ His Majesty the Shah of Persia _Frontispiece_ The Baku Oil Wells 20 The Amir of Bokhara leaving Baku to return to his Country 26 Persian Wrestling 38 Fourgons on the Russian Road between Resht and Teheran 50 Making a _Kanat_ 74 The Murderer of Nasr-ed-din Shah 90 Persian Cossacks (Teheran) Drilled by Russian Officers 100 The Eftetahie College, supported by Meftah-el-Mulk 102 H. E. Mushir-ed-Doulet, Minister of Foreign Affairs 106 Persian Soldiers--The Band 112 Recruits learning Music 112 The Arrival of a Caravan of Silver at the Imperial Bank of Persia 126 The Imperial Bank of Persia Decorated on the Shah's Birthday 134 A Typical Persian Window. (Mr. Rabino's House, Teheran.) 140 The First Position in Persian Wrestling 158 Palawans, or Strong Men giving a Display of Feats of Strength 158 Iman Jumeh. Head Priest of Teheran, and Official Sayer of Prayers to the Shah 170 Sahib Divan, who was at various periods Governor of Shiraz and Khorassan 190 Persian Woman and Child 206 A Picturesque Beggar Girl 206 Ruku Sultaneh, Brother of the present Shah 218 The Shah in his Automobile 224 The Sadrazam's (Prime Minister's) Residence, Teheran 224 In the Shah's Palace Grounds, Teheran 230 The Shah and his Suite 240 Rock Sculpture near Shah-Abdul-Azim 244 Author's Diligence between Teheran and Kum
Table of contents (by pages)
- 1: Across Coveted Lands by Arnold Henry Savage Landor
- 2: Kerman 438 Sirkar Agha's Son
- 3: We cannot book further than Warsaw for Russia
- 4: Laid out in the old bed of the Vistula
- 5: Some fifty miles up the Vistula
- 6: Having enjoyed a good wash and a shampoo
- 7: Passed the time away pleasantly until Kiev
- 8: But let us visit the catacombs
- 9: Kharkoff has nothing special to attract the casual visitor
- 10: Illustration The Baku Oil Wells
- 11: There is plenty to interest one in Baku
- 12: On the Caspian between Baku and Enzeli in Persia
- 13: One calls Enzeli a port pour facon de parler
- 14: There is a lighthouse at Enzeli
- 15: With everybody demanding backshish on all sides
- 16: And is the chief Russian import into Ghilan
- 17: He owns a huge house and a great deal of land round Resht
- 18: But there was no other place in Resht
- 19: Resht is an odious place in every way
- 20: And a fourgon a large van without springs
- 21: Enzeli could become quite a possible harbour
- 22: Some miles after passing Rudbar
- 23: And a fourgon with one's servants
- 24: And the splash boards of the old landau ditto
- 25: Silk is even to day one of the chief industries of Ghilan
- 26: French and Italian buyers in Resht
- 27: And those of the fourgon following closely behind
- 28: The imprisoned gases of the soda
- 29: Alamut the old state prisons were formerly to be found
- 30: We are now on a tributary of the Shah rud on the new road
- 31: In the basin was a solitary hut
- 32: Miles of these kanats are thus bored
- 33: Near Kasvin these kanats are innumerable
- 34: All the luggage removed from the fourgon and carriage
- 35: And the proprietress tries hard to make people comfortable
- 36: There are missionaries in Teheran
- 37: As the seat of the Kajar dynasty by Agha Mohammed
- 38: When driving one day in the environs of Teheran
- 39: British Minister in Teheran His talent
- 40: Both in North and Southern Persia
- 41: The Legation house is handsomely furnished
- 42: Was Meftah es Sultaneh Davoud
- 43: Although he had never been out of Persia
- 44: With the black frock coat white with dust
- 45: A convenient geographical position
- 46: A painful sight is the Persian army
- 47: On payment of several hundred tomans
- 48: There were several other excitements before I left Teheran
- 49: Would easily beat Russian sugar
- 50: And savings transformed into capital
- 51: A considerable number of Persians
- 52: The Persian is a dreamer by nature
- 53: And the Imperial Bank of Persia another million tomans
- 54: Is a standard or international currency
- 55: Half toman and two kran pieces
- 56: The pul one fortieth of a kran
- 57: Which had the greatest stock of money in Teheran
- 58: And these remittances amount to very large sums
- 59: In the north by the value of the ruble
- 60: The Societe de Prets de Perse
- 61: They illegally issued bank notes which
- 62: And smashed the kalians before his eyes
- 63: Whereas Hotz and Son import Russian articles
- 64: Such as the vividly coloured Kashan velvets
- 65: It is not out of place to recall the Maclean incident
- 66: Including purchase of the Kasvin Teheran section
- 67: Will save the integrity of Persia
- 68: Not only regarding Persia but including China
- 69: Or Russia which buys from us for L21
- 70: Entirely at the hands of the Mullahs
- 71: Which it principally expounded
- 72: When observation is keenly developed
- 73: But not the Persian agriculturist
- 74: In his dealings with Persians particularly
- 75: South east of Ghilan we find Teheran on a high plateau
- 76: The local trade of Azerbaijan is insignificant
- 77: Where beds of lignite and anthracite exist
- 78: As well as to the possibilities of Farsistan and Laristan
- 79: The arrangement of matrimony is rather a complicated matter
- 80: The priest returns to his charge
- 81: And the women have some fun all to themselves in the harem
- 82: In the house of the bridegroom
- 83: Divorces in Persia are not common
- 84: And softened by eyelashes of abnormal length
- 85: Infanticide after birth is not very common in Persia
- 86: Let us see a Persian lady indoors
- 87: Those who can afford it have a tadji of diamonds
- 88: But with very handsome carpets
- 89: The Shah was standing almost in the centre of the room
- 90: After the Kajars came the Mullahs
- 91: And nearly all the Europeans resident in Teheran
- 92: Gold ornaments inlaid with precious stones
- 93: And a charming red carpet from Sultanabad
- 94: Numerous photographs of the Shah
- 95: They represent the last two Shahs
- 96: And other similar canvases by the same artist
- 97: This room is used when the Shah visits the ladies
- 98: Sadek said I was lucky that it did come so soon
- 99: Illustration Rock Sculpture near Shah Abdul Azim
- 100: It was an almost spherical tumour
- 101: Bumping terribly on the uneven road
- 102: At Khale Mandelha the horses are changed
- 103: CHAPTER XXIV Severe wind Kum
- 104: Cellar like bazaar had afforded none
- 105: The inevitable kalian was called for
- 106: It seemed heavenly to be ambling along at a fairly good pace
- 107: Seventeen farsakhs sixty eight miles from Kum
- 108: And was banished to Kashan to the Fin Palace
- 109: The other important product of Kashan
- 110: The water is then sold to the city of Kashan
- 111: Fresh horses were obtained at the Chappar Khana
- 112: Answered the boisterous brigand
- 113: Illustration Chapparing the Author's Post Horses
- 114: The British Consul General in Isfahan
- 115: There is an Armenian Archbishop at Julfa
- 116: In Julfa the Europeans of whom
- 117: One sees a great many priests about Julfa
- 118: On his arrival in Isfahan he found
- 119: The Jews of Isfahan numbered 15
- 120: With unusually long and supple fingers
- 121: One forces one's way into the crowded bazaar
- 122: Mounted Consulate ghulams preceding and following me
- 123: The height of the arcade is from thirty to sixty feet
- 124: This is the coppersmiths' bazaar
- 125: And who sells his goods spread on a brass tray
- 126: Are intended for the top part of the kalian
- 127: Illustration Boys Weaving a Carpet
- 128: Before buying a Persian carpet
- 129: Are seldom sold in the bazaars nowadays
- 130: And at the two most delightful minarets
- 131: One cannot leave Isfahan without visiting the old Palace
- 132: With the youthful figure of Shah Abbas II
- 133: A spiral staircase inside each minaret
- 134: Illustration The Quivering Minarets near Isfahan
- 135: It cost 18 tomans about L3 9 s
- 136: Nothing was exported from Bandar Abbas to Russia
- 137: So much for Bandar Abbas and Lingah
- 138: Per load from Isfahan to Ahwaz
- 139: 000 in 1900 over the trade of 1899
- 140: I only halted a few days in Isfahan
- 141: Zil es Sultan has no other influence
- 142: Particularly in the neighbourhood of Isfahan
- 143: To the north we have a long line of kanats
- 144: In the courtyard of the caravanserai
- 145: Notwithstanding the remonstrances of Sadek and Haji
- 146: He appeared rather sulky at this unwonted visit
- 147: Which Sadek duly spread upon the floor
- 148: There were a number of Sayids living at Bambis
- 149: Almost in the middle of the Kevir
- 150: Here there was a Chappar khana
- 151: We continued thus for some twelve miles as far as Shamsi
- 152: Our last halt before reaching Yezd
- 153: Exists between Isfahan and Yezd
- 154: Yezd is a great trading centre
- 155: The Yezd people are very forward in educational matters
- 156: And Ustad Baharam his assistant
- 157: One of the leading Parsees of Yezd
- 158: And was followed by the present Yezd
- 159: Continued in Yezd and Kerman when
- 160: These Guebres are manly fellows
- 161: First of the ceremonies comes the navar
- 162: The jazia has been abolished
- 163: There are several naturalised British subjects in Yezd
- 164: I departed from Yezd on October 26th
- 165: Four farsakhs beyond Sar i Yezd
- 166: So the Yezd horses had been taken on
- 167: But quite characteristic of conventionalised Persian art
- 168: Sadek gallops ahead with the horjins
- 169: And thus his English vocabulary was very much curtailed
- 170: And we rode on to Bayas five farsakhs
- 171: Crosses the Kerman Shiraz route at Saidabad
- 172: We came to another Chappar khana
- 173: Was nine farsakhs from Kafter han
- 174: The Consulate was at Zeris or Zirisf
- 175: The Governorship of distant Kerman was given him
- 176: Called inappropriately Kerman shawls
- 177: Stripped and only with a loin cloth
- 178: At one time formed part of ancient Kerman
- 179: Kala Ardeshir on summit of mountain Kerman
- 180: Who were still numerous in Kerman
- 181: The most eastern part of the Kerman province
- 182: The letters are so big that they can be seen from Kerman
- 183: And probably the richest man in the province of Kerman
- 184: Who carried tray after tray full of delicacies
- 185: We were again conveyed back to Kerman
- 186: Henry savage landor with 175 illustrations
- 187: Showing Rustam's House in Citadel
- 188: When the Afghan camels would come over
- 189: I was beginning to despair when Sadek
- 190: Illustration Kerman and Zeris
- 191: For indeed camels are troublesome animals
- 192: The top of the Godar Khorassunih Pass 8
- 193: Where the gorge narrowed again between the mountains
- 194: Pleated blue skirts reaching just below the knee
- 195: With vertical quadrangular columns
- 196: Evidently made when the lava was soft
- 197: For he was keen to know whether camel men
- 198: Do those that come from Yezd or Kerman
- 199: Although I have visited opium dens
- 200: And later the camel men in a body attacked Sadek
- 201: And so did my poor little kittens
- 202: Illustration Camel Men saying their Prayers at Sunset
- 203: When crossing the broiling plains of Arabistan
- 204: Compasses and lengthy computations
- 205: And about half way up the mountain a huge fossil
- 206: The tower is most cleverly loopholed
- 207: Brackish water is not necessarily dirty
- 208: Who was not accustomed to ride camels
- 209: Sadek and the camel men complained of feeling very ill
- 210: Illustration Rock Habitations
- 211: A high mountain lay to 170 deg
- 212: These brigand villagers were most interesting as a type
- 213: The people were not naturally born elongated
- 214: And showed abnormal muscular development
- 215: Eleven camels of our combined caravans had disappeared
- 216: The husband riding the lame donkey
- 217: And much concerned at the chudder having got torn
- 218: And behind them again the flat lut
- 219: Or else when very high up patchy small skiffs
- 220: There were a number of opium dens in the place
- 221: Illustration Fever Stricken Man at Fedeshk
- 222: Were the queries which Sadek had to answer
- 223: Illustration The City of Birjand
- 224: 000 houses in Birjand and its suburbs
- 225: Birjand could not even support its own population
- 226: There is not much local trade in Birjand
- 227: Birjand is the commercial pivot
- 228: These camel men were the first Beluch I had come across
- 229: We have in Birjand an Indian doctor
- 230: In charge of the Nushki Sistan road
- 231: He had left Birjand when I arrived
- 232: We were soon out of Birjand and
- 233: I being fast asleep on my camel
- 234: So unfortunately did Abbas Ali
- 235: While Sadek was busy with his culinary work
- 236: Sadek first disarmed his adversary
- 237: Several caravans passed through going north
- 238: Find a different formation altogether
- 239: My name is Henry Savage Landor
- 240: As the way was very bad among stones and boulders
- 241: And the sky was also whitish and promising real snow
- 242: Are seized with panic and collapse
- 243: Is there a town here called Nasirabad
- 244: Nasr being an abbreviation of Nasr ed din Shah
- 245: And Major Benn stopped his horse
- 246: Which commands a ready sale both in Khorassan and Sistan
- 247: Illustration The British Bazar Husseinabad Sistan
- 248: The firm has branches in Birjand and Meshed
- 249: Better prices than the sea borne tea via Bandar Abbas
- 250: Indigo of medium and good quality
- 251: Have been constructed between Robat and Kerman
- 252: Between Sistanis and Afghans under British protection
- 253: Who was slashing away at the Sistanis near him
- 254: Were a Vice Consulate established at Birjand
- 255: So far the line has been sanctioned to Nushki
- 256: It may be recollected that I reached Sistan in December
- 257: Major Benn having put up a serviceable kiln for the purpose
- 258: Much to the delight and astonishment of the Sistanis
- 259: Is absolutely unknown in Sistan
- 260: Twins and triplets are unknown in Sistan
- 261: Ghul Khan and myself in a row on the opposite side
- 262: For the way justice is administered in Sistan
- 263: Benn went for a ride along the wall of the city
- 264: The next holiest man to the head priest of Sher i Nasrya
- 265: The Kalantar is a large landowner
- 266: The lady was a Suni and Kalantar Mir Abbas was a Shia
- 267: Here instead of the everlasting domes
- 268: The minars seldom rose from the ground
- 269: Illustration Towers of the Citadel
- 270: The western filled by the Farah Rud
- 271: Was a most extensive graveyard
- 272: Under fairly high accumulations
- 273: The photographs given of them facing pages 218
- 274: And portions of Koran inscriptions
- 275: Father of Shah Rukh whose barbarous soldiery
- 276: Are the most extensive in Sistan
- 277: Who visited them during the Perso Afghan Frontier Mission
- 278: At a place called the Band i Sistan
- 279: Is not far from the Rud i Nasru
- 280: Goldsmid describes a fine caravanserai at Kala i Fath
- 281: I was sorry to leave Sistan too
- 282: Occasionally also called Kuh i Rustam
- 283: Illustration Dead Houses and Ziarat on Kuh i Kwajah
- 284: Illustration The Gandun Piran Ziarat on Kuh i Kwajah
- 285: We then proceeded to the Ziarat
- 286: When compared to European skulls
- 287: The door of this Ziarat was to the south of the building
- 288: Maghreb zemin continued Mahommed Azin
- 289: You say your king is greater than the Ruski king
- 290: The dunes were about 200 yards apart
- 291: Carpenter 1 kran a day for 5 days
- 292: The other accommodated the three postal sawars riders
- 293: The domed room was well preserved
- 294: Illustration receptacle for light
- 295: With two high quadrangular towers
- 296: Could not do better than take a trip to this part of Sistan
- 297: Sadek was most unfortunate with animals
- 298: On arriving at Girdi altitude 2
- 299: There were only two sawars and no animals
- 300: The Hamun Halmund is inundated
- 301: Projects west as far as the Kuh i Malek Siah Mountains
- 302: And after an anxious hour Sadek
- 303: A short distance to the east of the Ziarat
- 304: Illustration Plan of Kuh i Malek Siah Ziarat
- 305: Only a few are completed yet between Robat and Nushki
- 306: Only with the Beluch instrument the oscillations are slower
- 307: Barbaric charm in Beluch melodies
- 308: The Beluch possess most soft musical voices
- 309: Illustration Beluch Dance at Sibi
- 310: Beluch dancing was very similar
- 311: We stopped at Mahommed Raza chah
- 312: Twelve miles from Mahommed Raza
- 313: Illustration Beluch Black Tents at Mahommed Raza Chah
- 314: And forming the southern fringe of the Afghan desert
- 315: They are within the same zone of volcanic formation
- 316: They are mostly along the Shela river banks
- 317: Most unlike the gentlemanly Beluch
- 318: Illustration Beluch Prisoners at Saindak
- 319: A thick deposit of salt and gypsum
- 320: My riding camel was taken very ill
- 321: This was one of the worst bits of the Robat Nushki road
- 322: And the photograph of Sahib Chah shelter duly taken
- 323: Above the point where I had left Sadek
- 324: Allah is more right than compass
- 325: We came across some picturesque Beluch
- 326: The Ziarat was of an ovoid shape
- 327: Quite a number of Beluch were settled at Mushki Chah
- 328: Illustration Windmill at Mushki Chah
- 329: And he is the patron saint of Beluch robbers
- 330: The duffadar at Chah Sandan was an Afghan
- 331: Chah Sandan possessed three wells of excellent water
- 332: And the six roomed thana some little distance below
- 333: And in the more elaborate Mesjids
- 334: But worship in the improvised Mesjids which I have described
- 335: And officer in charge of the Nushki Robat road
- 336: And a bi weekly service links Robat with Quetta
- 337: Illustration The Nushki Robat Track
- 338: Benn were peacefully riding along the city wall
- 339: It was agreed that the Kuh i Malek Siah mountains
- 340: In the case of the Afghan Beluch frontier
- 341: And the country of the Beluch tribes
- 342: But the Brahui with whom I came in contact
- 343: Prevented Mehrab from proceeding to Quetta
- 344: Constant risings took place during the rule of Khudadad
- 345: In case of dispute with the Sardars
- 346: The affairs of British Beluchistan Pishin
- 347: Began to be attracted to Nushki
- 348: Illustration Circular Ziarat With Stone
- 349: Near these Ziarats was an extensive Beluch burial ground
- 350: Illustration Beluch Mesjid and Graveyard at Dalbandin
- 351: Beluch wives are said to be quite faithful
- 352: Illustration Old Beluch Mud Fort near Nushki
- 353: There were two tracks here to Nushki
- 354: We reached Nushki at night 31 miles
- 355: The Beluch imbibe no intoxicants
- 356: Beluch children are rather quaint
- 357: Illustration The Salaam of the Beluch Sardars at Nushki
- 358: Then proceeding along the Nushki plain from east to west
- 359: Two caravanserais are found at Nushki
- 360: The transit trade of Nushki is
- 361: Illustration The Track between Nushki and Kishingi
- 362: On the top of the pass we saw a Mesjid
- 363: And we arrived at Morad Khan Kella 5
- 364: We made our last halt at the pagoda like Bungalow of Kanak
- 365: Manly behaviour of the Beluch on one side
- 366: Distances from Quetta to Persian frontier
- 367: Kirri Tamarix articulata vahl
- 368: 91 Carriage fares Resht Teheran
- 369: 233 250 Kuh i Kwajah to Robat
- 370: Russian Vice Consul for Sistan
- 371: 458 expedition against Beluch
- 372: 242 Robat Beluchistan frontier post
- 373: 232 caravanserai at Kala i fath