Page:The Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier.djvu/56

From Ardeüil to Casbin you travel through a good Country; for every three or four Leagues you meet with little Rivers that fall from the Northern Mountains, and water the Earth. The Caravan is usually five days between Ardeüil and Arion, between Arion and Taron two, between Taron and Casbin two more. Half a League on this side Taron you must cross a great River over a stone Bridge, and half a League beyond you come to Kalkal.

Arion is a little City, Taron and Kalkal are two great Towns; and there are but these three places in all Persia where there grow any Olives, or that they make any Oyl. Leaving Kalkal, you travel over a Plain for three hours, at the end whereof is a Way which you cannot get over in less than four hours. The way is so bad that the Horses and Mules can hardly get up; but for the Camels, they must take the lower Road, which is also very tedious, and full of Stones which the Torrents tumble down, and it is three or four Leagues about. When you are up, the Country is level, and you have not above three Leagues to Casbin.

Casbin lyes in 87 Degrees and 30 Minutes of Longitude, and 36 Degrees and 15 Minutes of Latitude. It is a great City, the Houses whereof are low and ill built; except seven or eight, which are next to the King's Gardens. It has no Walls, and indeed the best half of the City is in Gardens. There are three Inns, with Market-places round about; one of the three being large and commodious. It is inhabited altogether by Mahometans; or if there be any Christians, they are very few.

The Soil about Casbin produces Pistaches. The Tree that bears them is never bigger than a Walnut-tree of ten or twelve years old. The great quantity of Pistaches that are exported out of Persia come from Malavert, a little City twelve Leagues from Ispahan, toward the East. These are the best Pistaches in the World, and the Country being of a large extent, produces them in such abundance, that it furnishes all Persia and the Indies.

Leaving Casbin, you come to a little Village where there is but one Inn and you travel that day six Leagues through Countries fertil enough, and well water'd.

The next day you travel through a good Country, and in nine or ten hours you come to Denghé. This is a great Village at the foot of a Hill, through which there runs a fair River. It abounds with excellent both White and Claret Wine, where the Travellers take care to replenish their Bottles. But generally they never lye here; being desirous to go a League farther, for a good Inn's sake, which makes it a handsom Stage.

At this Town of Denghé it is where the two Roads from Tauris to Ispahan meet: the first, through Ardeüil and Casbin, I have already describ'd. Hither also come the Caravans that go for the Indies through Meshehed and Candahar, and where they leave Ispahan Road to take the left-hand Way, which carries them Eastward.

We must now return again to the Lake six Leagues beyond Tauris, where they that will take the ordinary short way through Zangan and Sultanie, leave the left hand way of Ardeüil and Casbin. This Lake is usually full of large red Ducks, which are very good Meat.

From thence, after twelve or thirteen hours travel, in which time you meet with three Inns, you come to Karashima, a large Town in a deep Valley, that seems to be well manur'd. There is in it only a small Inn built of Earth, the Doors whereof are so low, that the People are forc'd to creep upon their knees to get in.

The next day you come to another large Village call'd Turcoma, where the Soil is fertil, though it be very cold. There are several Caravansera's built like a longAlley