Page:The Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier.djvu/50

descent for two or three hours, till we came to a great Village neatly situated, where there grows excellent Fruit. There we repos'd for an hour or two and from thence we came to a great Stone-Bridge on a River where there is no Water but when the Rains fall. It falls into the Lake Roumi; but the Water of the River is so sowr and ill-tasted, especially when it is low, that it is not to be drunk. About a quarter of a League from the Bridge are three long Stones set in the Ground like Pillars: the Natives say that they were plac'd there for a Monument, in the same place where Darius the Son of Hystaspes was elected King by the cunning of the Gentleman of his Horse: from whence to Tauris is but half a League. The Mountains of the Medes which we cross'd in this Road, and those which run along toward the ancient Parthians, are the most fertil in all Persia. They bear Corn and Fruit in abundance; for upon the high Mountains there are fair Plains sow'd with Wheat, which are extraordinary fertil. The Springs which rise there, and Rains which fall give a fresher beauty and a higher tast to what grows there, more than in any other part of Persia that wants Water; and the products of those Fields are of a higher price.

Now for the great Road. The Caravan having cross'd the Stream where we left it, lodges the next Night upon the Banks of Aras, over which it ferries the next Morning. It does not go thorough Zulfa, though it be so near it; because that on the other side of the City there are three Leagues of Way very bad and unfrequented. For which reason you must leave Zulfa on the right hand, which is not much out of the way. After two hours travel you go by a Bridge which is call'd Sugiac; after which you come upon Heaths encompass'd with high Rocks. All this days journey you meet with no Water, but only one little Fountain, and the Water is so bad that the Beasts will hardly drink it.

The day following you travel through an even Country, but very barren: where you meet with nothing but a forlorn Inn; though it be a place where Cost has been bestow'd, and built all of Free-stone, that was fetch'd a great way off. The next Stage is Marante, famous for the Burying-place of Noah's Wife. The Town is not very big; resembling rather a Thicket than a City: but the situation is very pleasant, in the middle of a fertil Plain adorn'd with several well peopl'd Villages. This Plain does not extend above a League round about Marante, the Country beyond it being all barren. However it is not altogether unprofitable: for being a continual Heath, it affords feeding for the Camels, which are there bred for the Caravans. Which is the reason that there are so many Camel-Masters at Sugiac and Marante, who furnish great part of the Road. At Marante you must pay thirteen Abassi's, or four Crowns for every Camel's Load, for the security of the Road.

Leaving Marante, you lodge the next night a League from Sophiana in a bushy Plain, where the Water is worth nothing; after you have travell'd a mix'd Country, barren enough, where you meet with but one Inn in a Valley: but it is a very fair one. Sophiana is an indifferent large City, which you cannot see till you come within it, by reason of the great number of Trees planted in the Streets and round about it, which makes it look rather like a Forest than a City.

The next day, which is usually the tenth days journey from Erivan, the Caravan, having cross'd fair, large and fertil Plains, arrives at Tauris. Those Plains are water'd with several Streams that fall from the Median Mountains; but the Water is not all of the same goodness, for there is some which cannot be drunk.

In the mid-way between Sophiana and Tauris, lyes a Hill, from whence you have a prospect over those Plains, upon which the Army of Sultan Amurath Encamp'd, when he besieg'd Tauris. The news coming to Sha-Sefi King of Persia, that he had burnt it, and was marching further into the Country with a hundred thousand Men, Let him come, said he, without any disturbance, I know how to make the Turks pay for their invasion without any great trouble. They were then not above fifteen days march from Ispahan, when Sha-Sefi turn'd the course of all the Streams both before and behind, which only run from certain Springs, and are brought in Cutts or Chanels into the Inland parts of Persia, where there are no Rivers: By which means the whole Army of the Turks perish'd for want of Water in those vast unwater'd Countries where they had engag'd themselves too far.

Tauris lyes in 83 Degrees, 30 Minutes of Longitude; and 40 Degrees, 15 Minutes of Latitude, in an open place where there is not a Tree to be seen; andenviron'd