'GAZETTEER OF PERSIA. VOL. III. PART I: A to K' [‎628r] (1260/1278)

KUT—KUT
621
the latter. The ascent commences at 9 miles from Kazarun, is gradual
for about two miles and then steep for miles, rising 1,500 feet. The path
has been carried up a re-entrant, up the steepest face of the rock, and is paved
with irregular blocks of stone, worn smooth, which form difficult stepping-
stones for animals. A low stone parapet-wall guards the road in places.
At the summit of the pass there is a coffee shop, tower, and a reservior which
only holds water after rain. It was here that the 39th Central India Horse
were attacked by road guards on the 24th December 1911. The descent
into the Abdul valley is easy, and only about a mile in length.
The pass is a difficult one to tackle from the south-west, and if the tower
were strongly held by riflemen, it could not be seized without the help of
artillery. The hills on both sides of the path would have to be occupied, and
both are very steep, rocky, and difficult to climb. By moving eastwards,
however, and crossing the Daria-i-Parishan, nearer to the Lake Famur,
where materials for bridging would be necessary, an easier ascent could be
found, up to the tower. Once one the top, the whole hill could easily be
cleared, from the north-east the pass is easy to take. There is another
way of turning the pass, namely, by branching, off the post road at
Rahdar, northwards, and proceeding through the Tangi-Chakan, up the
valley of the Shapur river past Naudan, and thence to the Abdul valley, or
direct to Dasht-i-Arjan over the Mulla Nairu Pass. Th : s road is more
than ten miles longer than the road by Kazarun over the Kutal-i-Dukhtar,
but is sometimes used by caravans.
The path over the Kutal-i-Dukhtar could be much improved by throwing
earth over it, and filling in the crevices between the huge boulders. It is
not known whether the present alignment could be utilized for camels
after improvement.
The road was first made by the mother of Imam Quli Khan, Viceroy of
Pars, under Shah Abbas, when it was called Kutal-i-Ushanak. At the end
of the 18th century it was reconstructed by a merchant, Hap Muhammad
Husain of Bushire. About 1820 it was put in repair by Kalb ’Ali Khan,
Governor of Kazarun, and earned the name of £ the Simplon of Persia.’
It was again repaired in 1834 by the mother of Timur Mirza, and about 1870
by Mushir-ul-Mulk, Vazir of Pars. Since then (to 1912) it does not seem to
have been attended to.— (Thevenot — Rich — Monteith — Deode — Taylor —
Clerk—Hardy—MacGregor—Curzon, 1889—Newcomen, 1905—Douglas,
1912.)
KUTAL-I-GIASH— Lat. Long. Elev.
A pass through which the road runs from Bushire to Kazarun just before
it enters the Kazarun plain. From it a fine view of the Shahpur plain can
be obtained.— {MacGregor.)
KUTAL-I-GULMlRZA— Lat. Long. Elev.
A pass between Du Pulan and Ardal, on the road from Isfahan to Shushtar.
Elevation about 6,350 feet. A steep descent thence down to Du Pulan
Road would require making for carriages. A stream runs below the pass, a
feeder of the Karim river.— {Mackenzie.)