'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOLUME II' [‎32r] (68/706)

ASIA—ASLE
5!
ASllBEG—
A village of 60 houses in the Hazardarreh district, 60 miles from Tehran
on the road to Hamadan. It is a foraging station for the Persian Artil
lery and Cavalry.—(/ScAmdZer.)
ASINGARAN—(Kurdish for Ahangaran.)
A village in Kirmanshah situated in the Bllawar valley about 32 miles
north of Kirmanshah city. It contains about 15 houses inhabited by
Bilawari Kurds. Water from a stream; trees, crops and cultivation.—■
(Vaughan.)
ASK— Lat. 35° 53' 0"; Long. 52° 10' 0" ; Er ev. 5,900'.—(Fafc.)
A village about 50 miles south of Amul, in Mazandaran, and north-east
of Tehran, on the right bank of the Harhaz river. It is the capital of the
mountain chiefship of Larijan, is said to contain about 900 houses and 1,500
to 2,500 inhabitants, and is the chief of 72 villages. It is an extraordinary
place, situated on one side of a great mountain, and, excepting where the
river Harhaz has formed an opening, surrounded by other immense moun
tains, pre-eminent among which is the hoary Damavand. D’Arcy Todd
tays of its situation :—“ Its position is remarkable. The Harhaz runs below
the town through a deep and narrow channel of rock, crossed by a wooden
bridge. From the water’s edge the town is built on natural steps rising
to the height of several hundred feet upon the south-east side of Damavand,
which forms one of the natural impassable bariers of the place. A chain
of lofty mountains shuts in the valley on every side, the only ingress and
egress to which is at the points, where the river enters and leaves the narrow
basin on the south side of which Ask is situated.”
Although the village boasts a governor, it is almost deserted in the winter,
its inhabitants mostly coming from Amul for the summer. The sulphur
bath here is much resorted to by patients suffering from rheumatism. The
pervading stench of sulphuretted hydrogen is at first insupportable, and
travellers are recommended to avoid Ask and camp at Rahna, especially
as Ask has no good camping-ground.— (Skeil; Stuart; D’Arcy Todd; Holmes ;
Na'pier ; Stack Lovett.)
ASKANADI—
A caravansarai, 10 miles from Yazd on road to Kashan.— {Gibbons.) .
ASKARAN or ASKARUN(l)—
A village in Kurdistan situated about 1| miles «ast of the junction of
the Shirwan and Gahvareh rivers, and on the right bank of the latter. It
contains about 10 houses, and has some trees, crops and cultivation. Water
plentiful from the river; good grazing in the vicinity; supplies : 1,000 sheep
and goats.—(F aughan.)
ASLEH—
A village of 120 houses in the Darjazln district, 41 miles north-east of
Hamadan.— {Schindler.)