'Military Report on Persia' [‎19v] (43/134)

20
The Aji
Chai and
the
Jaghatu.
The
Hamadan
Hud.
The
Zindah
(Zenda)
Rud.
he Kur.
From Darband to Pul-i-Khatun it is impassable in
winter, but can be forded almost anywhere in
summer. There are three stone bridges, two on
the roads from Meshed to Chacha and l>ushak,
and the third near Kuzkan on the Meshed-J ul-i-
Khatun road. The water, though brackish, is
drinkable, except at Baghbagu.
(3) The rivers that drain into the hamuns of
Sistan belong rather to Afghanistan than to Persia.
Mention may however be made of the Helmand, which
forms the eastern boundary of Persian Sistan (see
page 13).
(4.) Of the rivers that flow into Lake Urumiah the
Aii Chai and the Jagbatu are the largest. The former
rises in Mt. Savalan and flows through the plain, of
Tabriz. Its water is extremely salt. The latter rises
near Sulimania, in Turkish territory, and drains the
country south of the lake. Both are fordable, except
during spring.
(5.) Of the rivers which lose their waters in the great
salt deserts of central Persia, the most noteworthy are
The Hamadan Rud, or Kara Su, which rises a few
miles west of Hamadan, and flows past Kum to the
Dasht-i-Kavir. Thirty-four miles from Hamadan
it is crossed by a three-arched bridge on the
Hamadan-Teheran road.
The Zindah Rud, which rises in the Bakhtiari
Mountains, flows past Isfahan, and loses itself in
a swamp GO miles east of that town. It is crossed
at Isfahan by three stone bridges, and is unford-
able from March to June.
The Kur, or Bandamir, which rises in the Kuh-i-Dina,
and flows into Lake Niris about 10 miles east of
JShiraz. It is crossed near Persepolis by a three-
arched masonry bridge on the Shiraz Isfahan road,
and 8 miles lower down by a dam. It is generally
unfordable.
The lakes of Persia are few in number. Those
which do exist are more of the nature of salt swamps,
Lakes.