"تقرير عسكري عن جنوب غرب بلاد فارس، بما في ذلك أقاليم خوزستان (عربستان)، لورستان، وجزء من فارس" [و‎‎١‎٢‎٦] (٤٧٠/٢٥٦)

Route No. 1.— eontd.
From Muhammerah to Tehran, fyc .—contd
o
Distances in
miles.
Numbe
Stage
Time.
Names oi towns, villages, &c.
Interme
diate.
Total.
Remarks.
P.M.
12-30
...
Crosses an undulation of white clay, and
immediately afterwards a narrow canal
1-15
1-35
Kum, on left bank
of the Ab-i-Khonsar
(elevation 3,470').
is
535
Long. 50° 54'E.
Lat. 34° 41'N.
A i- J-t
spaimed by a narrow oriage oi one area ^masunryy.
The road, stony and wide, is bordered by natural clay mounds 6 ' to 10' high. After cross-
in" another narrow canal sunk 12 ', with uneven ground on both banks, it skirts the river.
"The country is well irrigated and grows good barley, now 18" to 2 ' high and yellowing.
Numerous small canals, taken from the river, border the road.
27 1.15 ... ... Passes a large walled garden.
27 1-35 Kum, on left bank 18 535 Barometer 2(5 , 5"; temperature 80°. Op
posite Kum the river is 200' wide ; it is
spanned by a substantial masonry bridge
of 9 arches, the centre arch of 45', the
others of 20 ' span ; its length is about
225' and its width 18.' The river banks
r , . . At this season of the year it is unfordable ; a
month or two later it is said to dry up altogether.
The town, noted for its fanaticism, contains about 7,000 inhabitants ; some say 20,000 (P)
its streets are narrow, and along them run watercourses, in which the filth of the town collects,
and in which also the people wash their cooking pots, ami from which they draw their conta
minated supply of drinking-water; its bazars are arched in and of some extent; trade seemed
active; provisions are plentiful and tradesmen numerous; it is said that, besides the mer
chants trades-people, artisans, and others associated with them, all the other inhabitants are
eno-ao-ed in offices connected with the burial of the dead. It is counted to be a holy city, its
Inmmzada being held in great veneration, it containing the tomb of Fatimeh, the sister of
Imam Rezza. . , . . , , .
It is surrounded by a mud wall of no military importance, and is entered by gates,
the chief of which are ornamented with variegated blue and green glazed bricks. The wall is
fronted by a partial ditch, and in places by ponds of stagnant water. The houses of the town
are built some of brick, some of mud; some are two-storied. 1 hey are surrounded by high
walls enclosing a courtyard. Most of those fronting the river are two-storied, and provided
with balconies; roofs, both domed and flat. _ . , , no0 ,
The average day temperature (in-doors) in the beginning of May is about 73 {see
Gazetteer of Persia and page 69). ... , , , ,,
In July the day temperature at Kum rises to 94° F. The nights are always cool, and the
day temperature less oppressive and exhausting than that of India.
Klim was destroyed by the Afghans, and much ot the town still lies in ruins.
The water from the river is said to be unwholesome.
The river Kiim from its sources in the hills about (Jhaman-i-Sultan ysee page passes
through a more or’less waste district, receiving in its course many brackish streams. It is
liable to freshets after heavy rain in the hills. Northward of Kum it is lost in the Kawn or
desert waste of sand.
Telegraph station and post office {see pages 110-111).
General Ecmarks.-The road to Sultanabdd could readily be made passable to wheels; the
country traversed is of the nature, more or less, of an upland barren plateau, subject to greater
extremes of climate than are experienced to the south of Sultanabad and north of Kum.
Water is scarce in places; where plentiful, good crops of cereals, grapes, &c., are produced.
Wells are most rare, and the kanats in ruins. If irrigated, the soil would produce excellent
€rOP Of the villages met with between Khoramdbad and Kdm, the small contain under 50
families; the average sized, 50 to 80 families; and the large, 80 to 200 families.