'Through Persia on a side-saddle' [‎38] (69/360)

38 THROUGH PERSIA ON A SIDE-SADDLE
caravan coming as a welcome distraction to the hundreds
of felt, skull-capped heads.
Outside the bazaar we were obliged to wade through
narrow lanes, fetlock deep in mire, with high mud walls
rising on each side. These roads had originally been
paved, but, as nothing in Persia is ever kept in repair,
many of the stones were displaced, and the horses floun
dered about in the mud holes thus left. We were there
fore glad to reach the shabby arch which forms one of the
entrances to the town, with four tumbledown shrines near
at hand, on the blue-tiled, extinguisher roofs of which the
storks had built their nests.
On leaving Koom our first camp was at Langrun, on a
stony plain, and it was interesting to watch the long pro
cession of mules being unloaded, and to see them roll,
pack-saddles and all, directly the boxes were taken off.
In fact, their desire to have a dust-bath was so strong that
the muleteers had to be very prompt in unloading them,
as, if not, our portmanteaux and other belongings ran a
considerable chance of being crushed.
We usually got into camp about 4 p.m. every afternoon,
and so could have our baths before the sun went down,
after which it became cold, and we needed our thickest
wraps. The evenings, however, were most beautiful when
the moon was at the full, flooding mountains and plain
with a wonderful light, as it rode across the deep purple
sky.
The only part of camp-life that I did not appreciate was
the getting up in the mornings. We were always dressed
by seven o'clock, the tents being uncomfortably airy, espe
cially when a keen wind was blowing, a frequent occur
rence at that time of the year. While camp was being