'Military Report on Persia' [‎28v] (61/134)

Kerman.
Persian
Baluchi
stan and
Mekran.
south-east to north-west bv the trade route from Bandar
Abbas to Kashan and Teheran. The principal town
is Yezd, a thriving city with a population of about
45,000, which includes many Jews and Gabrs. It
lies in a sandy plain bounded by mountains on the north
and south. The local industries are the cultivation ot
opium and cotton, and the weaving of carpets.
The province of Kerman is bounded on the east by
part of Sistan and Baluchistan, on the west by the
province of Tars, on the south by parts of Laristan^
Mekran, and the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and on the north by
Khorasan.
The principal towns are :—
Kerman, the capital, situated at the junction of
the trade routes leading from Bandar Abbas and
Baluchistan to Teheran and Meshed. Population
about 75,000, including some 1,500 Gabrs. It
contains both a British and a Russian consulate.
Wheat, barley, and maize are grown in the neigh
bourhood in sufficient quantities for exportation,
but frequent droughts interfere with the regularity
of the crops.
Bam .—The capital of the Bam-Narmashir district.
Population 13,000. An important station on the
Central Persian telegraph line {see p. 65). Supplies
of grain and dried fruits are plentiful, and the
water from the kanats is good.
Bandar Abbas.—{See p. 40.)
Regan .—At the junction of the trade routes from
Bandar Abbas and Chahbar. Population 500.
Supplies and good water are obtainable.
Persian Baluchistan is under the jurisdiction of the
Governor General of Kerman. It is divided into the
following districts :—
(1.) Sarhad, in the north.
(2.) Sarbaz, in the west.
(3.) Bampur, in the east.
(4.) Mekran, in the south.
Sarbaz is further sub-divided into the frontier districts
of Irafshan and Bampusht.