'ROUTES IN PERSIA. SECTION II.' [‎42] (67/122)

42
R oute N o. zq—contd.
No.
of
stage.
Names of stages
distaktob iw
miles.
Inter
mediate.
Total.
E bmaees,
Nubetje
m
mahmuditb ..
Shushnamebq
Chttqh
Bashkala
Kilagoen
Husi
C haedeban
4^
11
11
27
3U
43
111 Nurkuk, an Armenian village of 40 houses in the
wide Khushab Valley. The road turns east up this
valley for 7i miles to where it crosses the river
near Zernak by a high single-arched bridge 10
feet wide. The valley has been narrowed and the
route now runs along the hills that rise on the
left bank for 2 miles, then the valley opens some
what ; the route crosses some spurs and reaches
Mahmudiye, or Khushab. An alternative route to
Bashkala runs sonth-east over the hills from
Mahmudiye. Here the road again crosses the
river by a good stone bridge of three arches, 10
to 12 feet wide. At this point the valley of the
Khushab is very narrow. The route, difficult in
places, runs up the valley and recrosses to left
bank by a ford at 4 miles, village of Kasir, a
little further up valley, which the route now
leaves, striking up a minor valley south-east to
Shushnamerg, a Kurdish village : continues risin<*
steeply in places to a pass (9,100 feet), where it
crosses the watershed The boundary between adjacent drainage basins. between the Khushab and
the Zab rivers; the pass is often blocked with
snow. Steep descent to
Chngh (7,000 feet), in a valley running E.N.E, to
the Zab. This valley the track desends 3 miles
to the village of Mirawur, where the route turns
south out of the valley over the hills past the
villages of Helisan, and over some spurs, past
Alalian, to
Bashkala. From here the route runs S.S.E. past
Eesulan over the cultivated plains for 2 miles,
then descends into a ravine, which it follows
down to
Kilagorn, and a mile further it reaches the Zab, or
Albak Su as it is still called here sometimes,
which is crossed by a bridge (5,800 feet) of stone,
two arches, 6 feet wide, which here runs in a
valley southwards, sunk 50 feet to 70 feet below
the sloping plateau of Bashkala. The route runs
S.S.E., receding somewhat from the river o\er
level ground past Arji and Atess to
Husi, a ^ village of 30 houses; these places are
Nestorian, Husi is If miles from the Zab. The
route continues in the same direction, rising some
what to
Charderan. ^ There is another route from Bashkala
to this point* which keeps on the right of the
Zab and crosses that river by a ford east of Char-
deran ; the ford is 2 feet deep in summer and the
river rapid, A little further the route descends
steeply into a ravine, the stream of which is ford
ed after descending it a mile. The Zab 3 miles
off, opposite this turns south-west to near
54
60
66
71