Page:The Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier.djvu/51

environ'd with Mountains on every side, but only upon the West. The furthest Mountain is not above a League from the City, but there is one which almost touches it, being only separated from it by the River. 'Tis a good Country, and fruitful in Corn; there is good Pasturage, and great store of Pulse. Some think that Tauris was the ancient Ecbatane, the Metropolis of the Empire of the Medes. It is at this day a great City and well peopl'd, as being the Mart for Turkie, Muscovy, the Indies, and Persia. There are an infinite number of Merchants, and vast quantities of all sorts of Merchandize: particularly of Silk, which is brought out of the Province of Guilan, and other places. There is also a great Trade for Horses, which are handsom and cheap. Wine, Aqua-vitæ, and indeed all sorts of Provisions are cheap enough; and Money trolls about in that place more than in any other part of Asia. Many Armenian Families have got great Estates there by Trade, and understand it better than the Persians. A little River, the Water whereof is very good, runs through the middle of Tauris; it's call'd Scheinkaïe, over which there are three Bridges to cross from one part of the City to the other.

The most part of the Buildings in Tauris are of Bricks bak'd in the Sun; the Houses not being above one or two Stories high at most. The tops of the Houses are terrass'd; the Roofs within are vaulted, and plaister'd with Earth mix'd with chopt Straw, which they whiten afterwards with Lime. In the year 1638 the City was almost ruin'd by Sultan Amurath; but it is almost all rebuilt again. There are in it Bazars, or Market-houses, which are well built, and many Inns very commodious, two Stories high. The fairest is that of Mirza-Sadé, Governour of the Province, who caus'd it to be built with a Market-house adjoyning, to which he has added a Mosquee and a Colledge, with good Revenues.

The great Trade of Tauris renders it renown'd over all Asia: for it has a continual Traffick with Turks, Arabians, Georgians, Mengrelians, Persians, Indians, Muscovites, and Tartars. The Bazars or Market-houses, which are cover'd, are always full of Goods: for there are some which are peculiar to the Handicraft-Trades; the most part whereof are Smiths, such as make Saws, Axes, Files, and Steels to strike Fire, with Tobacco-stoppers belonging to them. Some there are that make Pad-locks: for the Eastern People fasten their Doors only with wooden Bolts. There are also Turners, that furnish the neighbouring Parts with Spinning-Wheels and Cradles: and some Goldsmiths, that make trifles of Silver. But there is abundance of Silk-weavers that are Artists, and work very neatly, and indeed there are more of those than of any other Trade. Here it is that they dress the greatest part of the Shagrin-Skins that are vended so plentifully all over Persia; for there are none unless it be the Country-people, but wear Boots or Shooes of Shagrin-Leather. This Leather is made either of the Hides of Horses, Asses, or Mules, and only of the hinder part of the Hide: but the Asses Hide has the best grain.

There are to be seen at Tauris, Ruines of the stately Edifices round about the great Piazza, and the neighbouring Parts: they have also let run to ruine four or five Mosquees of a prodigious height and bigness. The most magnificent and the biggest stands as you go out of the Town, in the Road to Ispahan. The Persians will not come near it, but look upon it as defil'd, and a Mosquee of Hereticks, in regard it was built by the Sounnis, or the followers of Omar. 'Tis a vast Structure fairly built, the Front whereof is fifty Paces broad, with an ascent of eight Steps. It is lin'd without with Brick-work varnish'd with different Colours; and adorn'd within with very fair Painting A Pantique, and abundance of Cifers and Arabian Letters in Gold and Azure. Upon two sides of the Fore-front are rear'd two Minarets or Towers very high, but not very wide, yet with Stairs to go up to the top. They are lin'd with varnish'd Brick-work, which is the usual Ornament of the Persian Buildings: and at the top stand two Cupola's, form'd like the Turbants which the Persians wear. The Gate of the Mosquee is not above four Foot wide, cut out of a great transparent white Stone, four and twenty Foot high, and twelve broad. Entring at the Door of the Mosquee, you come into a spacious Duomo, thirty six Paces in Diameter, rais'd upon twelve Pillars within, and supported by sixteen without, which Pillars are very high, and six Foot square. Below there is a Balustrade or Rails that run round about the Building, with Doors to gofrom