'Persia and the Persian Question by the Hon. George Nathaniel Curzon, M.P.' [‎290] (331/714)

PERSIA
brick serai was built by Shah Suleiman Sefavi; an older one of
stone, attributed to the Sassanid Nushirwan, is in ruins. The
name Ahuan, which has apparently much perplexed
previous travellers, 1 signifies antelope or gazelle, 2 tra
dition ascribing to this spot one of the astounding miracles by
which the Imam Reza signalised the various stages of his eastward
journey to Tus. Here he found a captive female antelope, which,
detecting his sacred personality, found speech, and invoked the
assistance of the saint on behalf of her motherless young. The
Imam bade the hunter release the animal, and himself went bail
for her reappearance. The antelope, however, found the joys of
home too much for her plighted word, and failed to keep the tryst;
whereupon the prophet, being appealed to, ' willed " her back again
to her captor, with whom she remained a prisoner, or a pet, ever
afterwards. Here the mountain range is entered that separates
the plains of Damghan and Semnan. From the highest point of
the dividing crest the latter city was visible, twelve miles away,
lying like a green splash upon a floor of stones. The descent on
the far side, though easy, is very stony, and cantering down was
no pleasure. Meeting a closed carriage drawn by four horses, with
two postillions, outriders, and a guard, I had a horrible momentary
dread that I was in for an istikhal, or official entry ; but was re
assured by finding that the occupant was the hakim, or Governor,
who presumably was making a tour through his not very extensive
dominions.
Semnan is held remarkable in Persia for its extensive and well-
irrigated gardens, for its ancient trees, for an old minaret which
enables it to compete with Damghan, for a smart and
well-preserved modern mosque, for its local manufactures
of teacakes and blue cotton pyjamas, for the beauty of its women,
and for the unintelligibility of its speech. Perhaps in none ot
these respects does it quite answer to expectation. There is a
great deal of water flowing in rivulets down the smaller streets,
which usually serve as watercourses in Persia as well us roadways;
but the environs of the town did not appear to profit thereby to
the full extent, although a good deal of tobacco is cultivated.
1 Fraser spelt it, Aheaiyoon; Ferrier, Aheeiyon; O'Donovan, Aghivan.
Similarly, Ghushah has been rendered Gosbek, Goocheh, Kushak, and Koshaw.
2 Ahu = an antelope or gazelle. Hence ahiibara (little antelope) is the name
for the elegant Persian bustard.
'Semnan