'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III. PART I: A to K' [‎262v] (529/1278)

256
DAR—DAR
DARISTAN— Lat. 29° 16' ; Long. 55° 48' E.; Elev. 5,450'.
A village of about 40 houses, 19 miles south of Saidabad in Kirman,
It lies in a plain in which wheat, barley, and cotton are cultivated, while
the wardens contain grapes, figs, apricots, and peaches. Supplies of all
kinds are abundant, and water is plentiful and good.—(Gill, 1880.)
DARKASH WARKASH, TANG-I-Lat. 29° 32' 5" N.; Long. 50° 40' E.;
Elev. 8,300'.
A gorge in the Bakhtiari country, through which the whole drainage of
the Chehar Mahal carried off by the Ab-I-Behishtabad (vide this Gazetteer)
from its south-western extremity. Its name may be translated into
English as “ the gorge of ingress and egress ”. It is a remarkable defile,
with a width hardly exceeding a mile at its widest point, and narrowing
down to half that distance at others. Its mountain walls rise precipitoiiely
to a height of from 1,000 to 4,000 feet on each side above the bed of the
torrent, and throw into perpetual shade the sea-green riband below. The
whole length of the defile ,from its northern exit on the Chehar Mahal to its
southern outlet on to the small plain near the village of Behishtabad, is 7
miles. The track, which runs through it, may, at its best, be described as a
difficult mule-track ” and in the winter months a dangerous one ; it is one
of the alternative routes taken by the Bakhtiari caravan road between
Kharaii (4th stage), and Du Bulan ( 6 th stage) from Isfahan Its passage
through this gorge is marked by a combination practically of a defile and
three ^passes. At its entrance from the Chehar Mahal the track runs
alongside the stream for about 1 mile, when it crosses by a ford the Ab-
i-Junaqan, which enters the gorge by another opening from the north,
and just before its junction with the main stream. This ford is negotiable
with some difficulty by laden animals when the waters are high in the
sprinm The track now scends and crosses a pass of some 500 feet m
height, when it descends and follows the course of the river on its right bank
and about 100 feet above it. An ascent of some 1,200 feet then takes place
over a second pass, the gradients of which are very steep and the pathway
very narrow in places. A less steep descent again brings the track nearer
to the level of the river for about | mile, when a final ascent of some
2,000 feet to the highest point in its course through the tang is reached a
about 8,000 feet. The road then winds along the contour of the mountain
for some distance, and eventually descends by a series of steep zig-zags on to
the plain of Behishtabad.—(Preece, 1902—Arbuthnot, 1905.)
DARKHUR—
A village situated on the side of the hills to the north of the vaIle T
Zubaideh on a stream called Hajigah (?), between Harunabad and Mahi
Dasht, in the province of Kirmanshah.— (Jones.)
DiRLAKEH— Lat. 30° 13' N. ; Long. 99° 43' E. ; (?) ; Elev.
A village in southern ’Arabistan, on the left bank of the river Hindian
| mile south-west of Malikl. It is inhabited by 100 Agha Jans, u w
cultivate grain and own 150 cattle, 250 donkeys, and 2,000 sheep.
( Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. Gazetteer, 1908.)