'Report on the North-Eastern Frontier of Persia and the Tekeh Turkomans' [‎113r] (17/50)

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Turkoman raiders. In this part of the country these towers are allowed to fall into
decay, being no longer required.
The fortifications of Turhat Hidari are in a very ruinous condition, and can never
have been formidable, a weak curtain wall connecting a few small mud towers being
all the fortification it can boast of. For miles round Turhat Hidari the whole country
is taken up either with mulberry plantations, for feeding silkworms, or else covered by
fruit orchards, peaches, apricots, cherries, pears, apples, nuts, almonds, and walnuts
being produced in great quantities. Nor are the cucurbitous fruits wanting ; melons,
water-melons, and cucumbers, are plentiful, cheap, and good. The melons which
ripen in the autumn, and which can be kept through the winter, are particularly good,
very superior to the variety ripening in the summer. I have never seen this species
of melon in Europe, the European melon being of the summer variety.
I left Turbat Hidari on the 13th November, and marched to Sbor Hissar, distance
19 miles. A large plain is passed over until the tenth mile is reached, when the road
winds about among some hills. At 15 miles an old and dirty caravanserai A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers). is reached,
called Kesh Kuk. After K- sh Kuk is passed the road rapidly ascends, and at 17 miles
the crest of the pass called Godar Baidar is reached, at a height of 6,700 feet. The
road for about a mile would have to be made for guns, and they would have to be
passed over by hand if this road was used ; there is, however, another but longer road,
turning these hills. After leaving Godar Baidar the road rapidly descends, and at
19 miles enters a plain, where is situated a ruinous village, called Shor Hissar, with a
poor caravanserai A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers). .
On the 15th I marched from Shor Hissar to Kafir Kala, distance 24 mile*. At
three miles the caravanserai A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers). of Miandasht is reached, and at five miles the fort of Kala
Shazad i. The fort is a very weak one, but new and in good repair. At eight miles
a ran^e of hills is entered, and 11 miles the crest of the pass called Godar Mahomad
Mirza, which is 6,400 feet in height, it is a low easy pass, but the road would require
making f..r guns in parts, especially near the crest. Alter leaving the crest the road
rapidly descends, there are sever.il places on this road that could be held by an active
enemy. At 16 miles the caravanserai A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers). of Robat Sufid is reached, situated in a plain,
and at 24 miles the fort of Kafir Kala, which is on a steep hill. It is a small mud
fort, not in very good repair, but its position renders it decidedly strong. It is
inhabited by Turks, whose scanty beard and Tartar features proclaim them as being
of pure Turk blood. The fort would be difficult to take without artillery. There is
good grazing near this village, and I found a large camp of Iliats or nomads Tencamped
near it; they were of the Timouri tribe, and had come Irom beyond the Persian
border towards Herat for the,sake of the grazing. The next day I marched to Robat
Turukh, distance 28 miles. At first the road leads through some low raviny ground,
and at six miles the ruinous little caravanserai A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers). of Shah Tuggi is reached ; the road
then passes over a plain, and at 10 miles, near a tower, it meets the main Teheran
road; the road then enters some low hills, and at 12 miles passes the village of
Sharifabad, where there are two large caravanserais and a post horse station. After
passing Sharifabad the road is very bad, a series of low hills and ravines have to be
crossed but at 28 miles the plain on which Mash-had is situated is reached, and here
there is a large caravanserai A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers). called Robat Turukh. The road between Sharifabad
and Turukh, though bad, is passable for guns. The whole road for some 14 miles was
thickly covered with pilgrims, probably to the number of 4,000. I remained a few
days at Robat Turukh, and sent my servant into Mash-had, distance about six miles,
to get some information 1 wanted. On the 19th November l left Robat 1 urukh and
rode toward IVlash-had, and went round two sides of the town, keeping about a mile
from it. Neither of my servants were acquainted with the country, and I took no
guide, as I did not wish any one to know where I w as going. I therefore could not
even make inquiries as to the road. I however steered by compass to where I
believed the Kuchan road to be, and struck it nicely. About ten miles beyond
Ma*h-had I halted for the night at the village of Kazimabad. The population of this
place were Taats. A great part of the population in this part of Khorasan is either
Kurd or Turk, this place was not held by settlers horn outside, but by aborigines.
Many of the villages near here have traditions of having been brought to this part
of the country by Shah Ismail or Abbas the Great, but these people had no such
tradit on. They understood the ordinary Persian language with difficulty; their
tongue is evidently an older form of Persian, though many individuals understood
ordinary Persian.
Alter Khorasan was depopulated by Jenghiz Khan it seems to have been very
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