'Through Persia on a side-saddle' [‎69] (100/360)

TO THE GOAL OF OUR JOURNEY VIA YEZD 69
gay as flower-beds in their brilliant garments. I heard
afterwards that I was the great attraction, as it passed
their comprehension how I could sit on a horse sideways
and not come off when I cantered! It was a cold, windy
day, and as soon as we had left the town, great clouds
of dust arose and blotted out the landscape, half blinding
us and cutting our faces, driven against us with such force
as almost to hurl us from our saddles. The swirling sand
completely covered the track in places, so that we must
have lost our way if the blasts of wind had not swept it
clear at intervals, and we were thankful to arrive at
Kabutarkhan with nothing worse than sore eyes.
A few inhabitants, shivering in their cotton garments,
had struggled to the entrance of the village to receive the
Consul, whom they would have honoured by slaughtering
a sheep in front of our horses if my brother had not
stopped the sacrifice just in time.
We were thankful to be assigned quarters in a house,
although when I mention that my particular room had
no less than ten doors, the top halves of which were filled
in with torn white paper, it will be understood that our
abode was by no means dustproof!
On March 30th my brother made his entrance into
Kerman as Consul. The servants could hardly attend
to any of our wants the day before, so busy were they
getting his uniform into order and smartening themselves
up in preparation for the istakbal, or procession, in which
most of them were to take part. From lowest to highest
Persians have a passion for any kind of show, and their
own proverb, "Fill the eyes of a Persian," serves to
illustrate this love of display.
On Noruz, or New Year's Day, it is customary in Persia