'The Middle Eastern question or some political problems of Indian defence' [‎23r] (50/616)

CHAPTER III
THROUGH " THE GATES OF THE CASPIAN"
THE shortest and most convenient route for the
traveller proceeding from Western Europe to the
Persian capital is by rail through Russia to Baku and
thence by steamer across the Caspian to Enzeli and
Resht. He will find it also in many ways the most
instructive, for it will afford him an opportunity of
noting the energy and enterprise with which Russia
has not only developed her means of communication in
that direction, but has practically secured to herself the
monopoly of access to Northern Persia. Less than twenty
years ago, when I was first in Persia, the main railway
system of Russia was entirely cut off from the line,
which had then only been quite recently completed
between Batum and Baku, by the great mountain range
of the Caucasus, across which there was only the old
military road from Vladikavkas to Tiflis over the Dariel
Pass. Russia still considered herself bound by Article 59
of the Treaty of Berlin, under which she had under
taken to make Batum, which had been ceded to her
under that instrument by Turkey, "a free port essen
tially commercial," and, by way of Batum, goods for
Persia and Central Asia could still be imported from
Europe under a transit pass which exempted them from
the payment of Russian import duties. At that time,
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