"عبر بلاد فارس على سرج ركوب جانبي" [‎٢‎٩] (٣٦٠/٥٨)

TEHRAN
29
this latter lake, in one of the Shah's gardens, we spent
several most delightful afternoons. The palace of the
Shah, which is built above it, has been compared by
travelled Persians to Windsor Castle; but considering
that it is merely a huge, white, barrack-looking building,
standing on the summit of several terraces, its claims to
architectural beauty are hardly worth the mention.
The long Elburz Range used to look magnificent as we
returned to Tehran at sunset, its freshly fallen snow being
flooded with a soft rose-light, which gradually became
deeper and deeper, and seemed to throb and flush as it
reached its climax. Then, as the sun sank, chilly green-
grey shadows crept up, chasing away the glory from peak
after peak. But Demavend was always the last to yield,
and when all the rest of the landscape looked cold it kept
a rosy light on its cone, a sort of crown, which gradually
diminished until it, too, was enveloped in gloom.
No other peak is comparable to this semi-extinct vol
cano. It is the great feature of the landscape, and every
traveller to Tehran comes to feel a personal affection for
it, as he sees its clear-cut pyramid defined, day after day,
against a brilliant sky. Or perhaps it may be illumined
with sunlight, while the rest of the mountains are covered
with black clouds, the storm as it breaks seeming to
respect mighty Demavend, around which half the legends
of Persia take their rise.