'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOLUME II' [‎169v] (343/706)

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KHUM-KHUN
KHUMAIN— Lat. 33° 39' 2(T; Long. 50° 2' 32*.
A town of some size on the left bank of a stream 50' wide, 2' deep (May)
pebbly bottom, flowing in a bed 8 to 10 feet deep ; banks gravelly. It
runs at the southern foot of the Hulwun hills and is a branch of the Qum
River (vide Rudkhaneh-i-Nummawar). Khumain is on the direct
route from Gulpaigan to Sultanabad (Burujird-Qum road). The stages
are Gili 22 miles and Sultanabad 18 miles, total 40 miles ; it is one hund
red and thirty-five miles from Isfahan. It is the principal village of the
Kamareh district and residence of the local Governor. It consists of
four parishes, 800 houses, population 2,000. Water is from the river, and
3 kandts provide for irrigation ; 195,000 lbs. of wheat are sown yearly.
The taxes amount to 450 tumdns. Snow lies here for 3 months in the
year. There are 3 caravansarais, 3 baths and 200 Karlas looms. The
town belongs to peasant proprietors.— (Bell — Preece.)
KHUMIN—
A small village a couple of miles south of Qushehfa to the left of the
road from Tehran to Hamadan, 146 miles from the former.— (Schindler.)
KHUNSAR— Lat. 33° 9 ; Long. 50° 23 ; Elev. 7,770/
Ninety-six and a half miles from Isfahan on the Hamadan road. It is
a long straggling town, built on the two sides of a ravine,' it has many
lovely springs and is very picturesquely situated. The houses are of two
and sometimes three stories, with quaint latticed windows. The ravine
is full of very fine walnut trees. The hills to the west, above the town,
are fine bold cliffs, with a good covering of snow. Down the centre of
the town runs a fine clear stream, about 12 feet wide, turning many miles
on its way. The streets and small bazaars are thronged with Saiyids
and Mullas, the place has an evil reputation for religious fanaticism. It
consists of six parishes, with 2,400 houses, 10,000 people, has five cara
vansarais and three masjids ; 13,000 lbs. of grain are sown yearly ; taxes
5,500 tumdns. It is the residence of a Sub-Governor. In all directions
on the hill sides are a mass of low bushes of a sort of thorn like an umbrella
blown inside out with its stick in the ground. From these “ Manna ” or
“ Gaz ” is got; whether this is the secretion of an insect, or an exudation
of the tree caused by the punctures of an insect has not been definitely
settled. The bush has been indentified by Major Sawyer as the “ Astra
galus Ainsacanthus ”. The flat branches are covered with a secretion
of a sugary nature. When ripe, sheets are placed under the shrubs which
are beaten with sticks and the “ gaz ” falls on the cloth. The best and most
esteemed comes from here, and is chiefly sent to Isfahan, whence it finds
its way all over Persia and even into England.
The Zill-us-Sultan in 1880 started the cultivation of opium, but it has
not proved successful. A kind of cider is made of the apples but it will
not keep above a month. The women of this place are celebrated
for their beauty and vivacity. It is very cool in summer here, but the
cold is probably exceedingly rigorous in winter, on which account perhaps
the ravine was selected as site of the town. The Khunsar stream is
crossed by the Guipaigan road by means of a good stone-bridge of a single
arch.