'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOLUME II' [‎126v] (257/706)

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ISFAHAN
east to west and 20 miles from north to south enclosed by a range of moun
tains presei ting a singularly serrated outline, and well-watered by the
tortuous Zindeh Rud. There is a large telegraph station of the Indo-
European line here and a Persian line to Kirman. The town of Julfa is
some 4 miles off on the right bank of the river.
Description of city .—Isfahan is one of the largest cities in the Persian Em
pire, and is the emporium of a large trade coming from India* Turkey, and
Afghanistan. _ .
It was formerly surrounded by a wall 24 miles in circumference, but this
was destroyed by the Afghans and now scarce a vestige of it remains.
The city is divided into 37 mahallehs and has 14 gates. All the gate
ways are made of mud, have no outworks to defend them, and are only
secured by clumsy folding-doors.
The streets of Isfahan are n xrrow, dirty, and mean, and not less than one
quarter of the city is in ruins. In the streets nothing of the houses is to be seen,
all that is visible being a uniform dead wall. The entrances from the
street to the houses are generally mean and low, except in the cases of habi
tations of men in power, when the gateways are elevated in proportion to the
vanitv of the owners. , . , , . r
The houses are generally only one story in height, but are composed ol
so many compartments that even the meanest of them occupy a consider
able area. They are built either of earth or brick.
The bazaars are very extensive, and it is possible to walk undercover in
them for 2 or 3 miles together. The traders are here collected in separate
bodies, which makes it very convenient for purchasers. On Fr day the
bazaars are more particularly thronged, and the women on that day are to be
seen in parties, going to the cemeteries on the outskirts of the city to mourn
over the graves of their relations. The bazaars are all laid out on nearly the
same plan as those of Constantinople. In them the confluence of people is
certainly great, and if the crowds here were a fair measure of the general
population of the citv, the whole numbers of Isfahan would swell rapidly,
but as every one in the course of the day has some business on this
spot, the rest of the city is comparatively deserted ; as the traders also
have only their shops here and return to their homes at night, the mixed mul
titude which throngs the bazaars, again scatters over all the quarters of
the town and represents a very small proportion of its numbers. The
women except indeed the very lowest class, generally remain at home, and
during the day form with their children all the population of some parts of
^The Maidan-i-Shah, or Royal Square which Lord Curzon says is undoubt
edly one of the most imposing piazzas in the world, is the centre of the city,
but no longer presents the busy scene it must have displayed in olden times,
i It is now used as a parade ground. The whole of its great extent, 600 pacess
' by 200, was formerly covered with tents, booths, etc., but these are now con
fined to a few stalls at the northern extremity. _
Here still stands the majestic portico known as the Naqareh Khaneh.
On each side of this square is some important building. The Masjid-
i-Shah on the south side is still a noble building and the Masjid-i-Lutfullah
on the eastern side is externally in good repair.