'ROUTES IN PERSIA. SECTION III' [‎295r] (594/739)

531
No. 226— contd.
T ehea^n to I seapian, via Post Road.
No.
of
stage.
Names of stages.
Distances
in miles.
r bmabks.
luteme-
diate.
Total.
8
K ashan * (tele
graph station).
3,200'.
✓
25
162
Jcanat close to the road. Thence a barren stony-
plain to camp. The last mentioned Jcdnat is
taken along parallel to the road for 3 miles, then
fills a tank and turns off to the left through an
avenue of young trees to villages, If miles off the
road. The whole of the above march is heavy
with dust and atones, but fit for wheels. At Sin-
sin there are two caravansarais. The hills are at
2J miles south of the caravansarai, and several
streams are brought thence in kanats, one of
which supplies excellent water to a vaulted cis
tern at the caravansairai. Watercourse crosses
road between post-house and village. There are
five or six small villages dotted about the plain at
no great distance, but little cultivation. Water
good during latter part of March. Encamp on
banks of stream or near caravansarai. Supplies
must be got from Kashan.
This stage may be divided into two, by halting^ at
Shorab, 12 miles from Pasangan, where there is a
caravansarai in good repair (Markham), but no
supplies ; water and firewood only procurable.
General direction south-south-east. "Road level and
good until near Kashan, where it becomes diffi
cult from the light sandy soil. The plain is
generally barren, but there are villages and
cultivation along the bottom of the hills to the
right. At 7 miles pass water and cultivation
at the small caravansarai and village of Kasim-
abad. At 11 miles it reaches the small town of
Nasarabad in cultivated country to the left. The
town is said to have a small bazaar, its houses
being of mud, many of them double-storied, wilh
rounded roofs. There is a masonry caravansarai
on the road with halakhanas outside the town,
and two masonry-covered tanks which, however,
rarely contain good water. A better supply can be
got from a spring said to exist outside the town
on the north-east side. All the country up to the
hills, at 3 miles south-west, is irrigated, and
there are several small villages in sight.^ The
road thence passes over a partially cultivated
plain with many villages in sight, and at 13§
miles reaches two contiguous villages, Bahlun and
Aliabad, the latter a large village, in the centre
of which is a small fort with high walls and
towers at the four corners. At 16f miles there
is a village called Nushabad on the left, with a
conspicuous blue domed itnamzada, and a good
deal of cultivation and trees. Beyond this, at 18
• See Note B for Kashan to Isfahan, vid Nathanz,