'Through Persia on a side-saddle' [‎56] (87/360)

mrnm
THROUGH PERSIA ON A SIDE-SADDLE
hideous shrieking of the hyaena, half a scream, and half a
blood-curdling laugh.
Persians much appreciate these spring gales, as they say
that they ' awaken the leaves'; but Nodosham did not
appear to require much rousing, as its masses of fruit
trees, which supply the Yezd markets, were all in full
blossom. Here I saw the lofty badgir, or wind-towers,
such a characteristic feature of Yezd. They somewhat
resemble Italian campaniles, and are built of brick with a
shaft which continually sends a current of cold air down
to an underground chamber where the owners sit during
the hot weather.
Taft was our last day among the hills, and we rode
through a grand pass to reach it. On the one side the
limestone mountains were exactly like the bastions of a
great fortification extending for miles, and the nearer we
got to this enormous scarped mass, the more closely it
resembled fortified outworks, shutting in the valley entirely,
save at one end, where an abrupt fissure revealed Yezd,
enveloped in a soft mauve haze. The pretty village of Taft,
the summer resort of the Yezdis, was a mass of gardens,
and we wound in and out among its narrow lanes beside
running streams and fine trees, until we reached our camp,
which was pitched in what Persians call a garden, anglici
an orchard with a crop of lucerne covering the ground.
Here, for the first time, I saw that persecuted people,
the Parsees, who still keep their ancient faith, and are a
handsome and manly-looking race. They are chiefly to
be found at Yezd and Kerman, intermarry among them
selves, wear a distinctive dress, and their good-looking
women do not cover their faces.
Yezd looked an extremely dreary city as we approached