A ride to India across Persia and Baluchistan (1891) (14597753799)

Identifier: ridetoindiaacros00dewirich (find matches)
Title: A ride to India across Persia and Baluchistan
Year: 1891 (1890s)
Authors: De Windt, Harry, 1856-1933
Subjects: India -- Description and travel Iran -- Description and travel Balochistan (Pakistan) -- Description and travel
Publisher: London, Chapman and Hall, limited
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN



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ashing down the side of the mountain, to loseitself in the blue waters of a huge lake just visiblein the plains below. The neighbourhood of thelatter teems with game of all kinds—leopard,gazelle, and wild boar, partridge, duck, snipe, andquail, the latter in thousands. A stiff climb of four hours over the KotalPerizun brought us to the caravanserai ofMeyun Kotal. Over this pass, ten miles inlength, there is no path ; one must find ones wayas best one can through the huge rocks andboulders. Some of the latter were two to threefeet in height. How the mules managed willever be a mystery to me. We dismounted,leaving, by the chalvadars request, our animalsto look after themselves. The summit of themountain is under two thousand feet. Wereached it at four oclock, and saw, to our relief,our resting-place for the night only three or fourhundred feet below us. But it took nearly anhour to do even this short distance. The passageof the Kotal Perizun with a large caravan mustbe terrible v/ork.
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SHIRAZ—B us hire. 199 The caravanserai was crowded. Two largecaravans had arrived that morning, and a thirdwas hourly expected from Bushire. There wasbarely standing-room in the courtyard, which wascrowded with wild-looking men, armed to theteeth, gaily caparisoned mules, and bales of mer-chandise. The caravanserai at Meyun Kotal is one of thefinest in Persia, It was built by Shah Abbas,and is entirely of stone and marble. Surroundedby walls of enormous thickness, the building is inthe shape of a square. Around the latter areseventy or eighty deep arches for the use oftravellers. At the back of each is a little door-way, about three feet by three, leading into a dark,windowless stone chamber, unfurnished, smoke-blackened, and dirty, but dry and weather-proof.Any one may occupy these. Should the beggararrive first, the prince is left out in the cold, andvice versa. Everybody, however, is satisfied asa rule, for there is nearly as much accommodationfor guests as in a large London or P