Notes Prepared for Reference during Curzon’s Tour of the Persian Gulf, and Other Papers on Persia and the Persian Gulf [‎179r] (357/678)

Oeo.— Sykes—Second Revise. 21
4 miles to the inch, and started work at 8 miles to the inch, to suit
the quicker rate of marching.
Quitting the direct road to Sistan and Neh, we marched south-west
towards the hills, passing some delightful garden villages, and finally
crossed the Bakaran range by an easy pass, at an altitude of 7300 feet.
Hearing of a wonderful cave that was off the road, we determined
to explore it.; so, after a cold night spent at an elevation of some 7000
feet, we started off to find Chinishk. Leaving the main valley at Rask,
we bore almost north, up and down rough torrent beds and along the
edge of steep precipices, until, crossing a pass, we saw Chinishk lying
on the opposite hillside. We entered the little town, with a popula
tion of, perhaps, four thousand inhabitants, built among huge boulders,
and finally emerged above it at a spot where there was a gigantic
chinar, the “ arbre sec ” of the Middle Ages, so often mentioned in poems,
such as the ‘ Roman du comte de Poitiers,’ * which runs—
“ Se PAmiraus ne rent Noiron
Mon onele, qu’il tient en prison,
Jk n’i remanra tor de marbre
Que n’abaee jusc’au Seeh-Arbre.”
The cave lay in the limestone crags above, and after reaching its
ontrance we doffed boots and hats, and descended by some slippery
stones for about 20 or 30 feet: we then reached a lateral passage,
which was almost blocked by a rough box containing human bones.
Crawling past this, the crux came in the shape of a very small hole,
which, personally, I negotiated with difficulty. Beyond it the cave
opened out, and we came to a tank, the presence of which clearly
indicated that the cave was once inhabited. There was then a series of
descents, with skeletons in a perfect state of preservation at each corner,
and the gallery was said to run for miles; but our curiosity was
exhausted, and we were glad to reach the open air once again, the
atmosphere having been most oppressive. The tiny deformed man
who was the guardian of what he termed “ the shrine,” told us that
the skeletons were the mortal remains of a band of pilgrims, who,
hearing that the Imam Reza had been poisoned, renounced the joys of
this world and took up their abode as hermits in the bowels of the
earth; their home struck me as being partly natural and partly arti
ficial. Turning our backs on a most interesting corner of unexplored
Persia, we descended the stony valley on to the open plain, and late
in the day reached Mukhtaran, which lies on the Neh-Khusp road, and
is a great centre for camel-breeding. Continuing our march, the next
range of hills that we crossed was much lower, the climate growing
proportionately warmer, and at the hamlet of Sibcha we found that
we had struck the main caravan route which, running from Neh to
Khusp, crosses into Nimbuluk by the Khabisi pass, after which it
reaches Dasht-i-Piaz and Gunabad. As there are four parallel routes, I
inquired why this one was preferred, and was informed that the
climate was milder and the grazing better, while the hill country was
avoided as far as Nibuluk.
A still lower range with a scarcely perceptible watershed lay before
us, and, crossing it, we marched to Basiran, which, with an elevation
of 4800 feet, is situated on the edge of the Lut. From here we rode
in a south-westerly direction, through a series of low black ranges
that are of exactly the same character as the hills on the north of
the desert when entered from Tun, and at 11 miles we reached Kala
Zarri, or “Golden Fort,” also known as the Kala Gabr,f or “ Par sis
Fort.” This small square structure, built in the same manner as that
at Kain, with an exterior measurement of 60 feet, and with walls
20 feet in height, was evidently designed to guard the spring of
water, round which were clustered the smelting-works. Nowadays a
little smelting is carried on with the most delightfully primitive
appliances, copper being extracted mainly from slag: the annual
output is said to be 6000 lbs., but this must be discounted. Two
* P. 54, vers. 1283-6.
t Gabr originally meant “a man,” whence Gabriel, the man of God : of. Latin vir,
and Welsh gwr. It now signifies “ an infidel,” and is the Giaour of the Crusaders.
In Persia it is especially used to designate a Parsi (cf. Guebre), and in Baluchistan a
Gaur is a Hindu.