# The Six Voyages of John Baptista Tavernier/Persian Travels/Book 1/Chapter 6

CHAP. VI.
The ordinary Road from Tauris to Ispahan, through Zangan, Sultanie, and other places.
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 long ​Alley cover'd, which are only of Earth, the Men lying at one end, and the Horses at another.
The next day you travel over an uneven and desert Country, and in eight hours time you come to Miana, a little City situated in a Marsh, where you pay a Toll for Guarding the Highways. In this City is one of the fairest Inns in all Persia.
Two hours after you leave Miana, you must cross a River, over a fair Bridge which runs to decay; the Arches whereof are hollow within; it is built of Brick and Free-stone, being near as long as Pont neuf in Paris. This Bridge stands almost at the foot of a Mountain call'd Kaplenton. Sha-Abas caus'd all the way to be Pav'd, because the Land is so fat and sloughy, that when it thaws, or that the least Rain falls, it is impossible for the Caravan to pass. Besides, there are a sort of Camels in Persia, that when it comes to rain in a deep Soil, are not able to keep their Legs: nay through the weight of the Burthens which they carry, their very Quarters will rive from their Shoulders, and their Bellies will burst. So that before the way was pav'd, they were forc'd to spread Carpets in the most slippery ways where those Camels were to pass: which must be still done in some places, where the Pavement is worn away.
At the lower part of the descent toward Ispahan, upon the knap of a Hill which stands by it self, appears an old forsak'n Fortress: it is near the Highway, and a River, which falls into the Caspian Sea, after it has cross'd the Province of Guilan, where it is cut into several Channels. But generally the Corn and Fruits which grow in Persia by the help of Water forc'd into Channels, are of little esteem, and much cheaper than those that grow in the Provinces whose Fertility is not Artificial. Moreover, that sort of forc'd Grain will not keep above a Year; and if you keep it longer, it breeds a Vermin that eats it. 'Tis the same thing if the Corn be grownd; and more than that, there breeds a Worm in the Flowr, that makes it so bitter that tis impossible to eat it.
On this side the Mountain Kaplenton, appear at a distance two others very high, one toward the North call'd Saveland, another toward the South call'd Sehand: there is a third, which cannot be seen in Ispahan-Road, being too far out of the way, near the City of Hamadan. These three Mountains are full of Springs, from whence most of the Streams do fall that water Persia: And the Persians do say, that formerly there were many more of these Springs, but that about a hundred Years ago several of them have been dry'd up, or otherwise no body can tell what is become of them.
There are several Villages near the Mountain that pay nothing to the King, but are oblig'd to send him a certain quantity of Rice and Butter, for the use of the Mosquee at Ardeüil. They have also one great Priviledge, That if a Man commits a Murther, and flyes to any of these Villages, he cannot be apprehended, nor can the King himself punish him.
Leaving the River that runs at the foot of the Mountain Kaplenton, you come to a fair Inn call'd Tshamalava, built some years ago: and for thirteen hours after, travelling over a very barren Country, you meet with another Inn, which is call'd Sartcham, standing in a very desert place: which makes the Raders, that lye there to secure the Highways, very insolent, finding themselves so far from any Towns or Villages.
From Sartcham you come to a River, by the Banks whereof you travel a good while, till you come to an Inn, which is call'd Digbé, near a large Village. The Structure is very handsom, the lower part being of Free-stone undulated with red and white, and very hard.
The next day you travel a very uneven Country, till you fall into a deep Valley, at the end whereof you meet with Zangan, a great Town and ill built. However, it has a very fair Inn, which when I went last to Ispahan was so full, that I had like to have lain abroad in the Rain, but for the Courtesie of two Armenians. From Zangan you go to an Inn, where you must pay the Duties due to the Kan of Sultanie.
Sultanie is a very large City, which you leave half a Mile from the Road, near to a Mountain. Formerly it had in it very beautiful Mosquees, as may be easily conjectur'd by the Ruines that remain. Many Christian Churches also were con​verted into Mosquees; and if you will beleive the Armenians, they will tell you, that there were in Sultanie near eight hundred Churches and Chappels.
Three Leagues from Sultanie stands an Inn, and a League farther a great Town call'd Ija, where there is another very commodious Inn, and most excellent Wine.
From thence you go to Habar, an ancient City and of a large extent, but very much ruin'd, inhabited by Armenians for the most part: Here, for the good Wines sake the Travellers stay to recruit their Bottles.
From Habar, after seven hours travel you come to a Village call'd Partin. From Zangan to Partin you reach in two days. It stands in a fertil Plain, where there are several other Villages. It is not above three Leagues broad, being enclosed on each side, to the East and West, with a row of high Mountains.
Having pass'd this Plain, you come to a barren Country and ill inhabited, which lasts all the day, till you come to Sexava. You pass by the Ruines of a Village, where there are but two Houses standing, with the Tower of a Mosquee, which is very high and slender. Then you come to a Mud-wall'd-Inn, built some few years since; and near to that a Castle call'd Khiara, upon the peek of a Hill, but very ill built.
Sexava is a little City in a Soil that bears excellent Nuts. The Inns that are there, being built of Earth, and being but little, are very handsom and convenient, their number supplying the defect of their smalness.
From Sexava, after seven hours travel, you come to a great Inn, call'd Idgioup, which was formerly a nobler place than now it is, standing alone in a Field. Three Leagues from thence you meet with another spacious Inn, call'd Cochkeria; and four hours farther you come to the Inn Denghé, where the two Roads meet which I spake of in the foregoing Chapter.
From Denghé to Kom, are three days journey, over a barren, dry, and desert Country, where there is no Water but Cistern-water, except in some very few places, where it is very good. Four Leagues from Denghé is a fair Inn and three Leagues farther stands another, about a Mile from a Village to the South, where there grows excellent good Wine, white and red. From this last Inn to Sava is not above three hours travel with the Caravan.
Sava is a good City in a fertil Plain, where there are several Villages. The greatest Trade of the Town is in little grey Lamb-skins, the curl whereof is very neat, of which they make Furrs. Two or three Leagues beyond Sava the Country is very well manur'd, and after you have forded a River half a League from the City, after two hours travel, you come to one of the fairest Inns in all Persia, which was finish'd when I went last to Ispahan. From thence to Kom it is about seven or eight hours journey, through a dry and sandy Road: but half a League on this side Kom the Land is very good and fruitful.
Kom is one of the great Cities of Persia, in a fat Country abounding in Rice. There grow also excellent Fruits, particularly large and excellent Granates. The Walls are only of Earth, with little Towers close one to another; and the Houses being only of Earth, are never the handsomer within-side. At the entry into the Town you must cross a River, over a stone Bridge, and then turning to the right hand over a fair Key, you come to an Inn very well built and very convenient.
That which is most remarkable in Kom is a large Mosquee, no less in veneration among the Persians, than the Mosquee of Ardeüil. There it is that you may see the Sepulchers of Sha-Sefi and Sha-Abas the Second; as also the Tomb of Sidi-Fatima, the Daughter of Iman-Hocen, who was the Son of Haly and Fatima-Zuhra the Daughter of Mahomet. The great Gate of the Mosquee answers to a Piazza more long than broad, where stands an Inn and certain Shops, which without-side are somewhat beautiful. One of the sides of the Piazza is clos'd up with a low Wall, over which appears the Shore, and a River which you cross at the end of the Piazza. Over the great Portal of the Mosquee stands an Inscription, in Letters of Gold, in the Praise of Sha-Abas the Second. The first place that you enter into is a Court of more length than breadth, which may be term'd a Garden, in regard that on each side of the Alley in the middle, which is pav'd, there are several square Beds of Flowers; yellow Jasmin, and other Plants; which are rail'd in by a Rail that runs all the length of the Alley on each side. It is not an easie thing for the Christians to ​get in to this Court, especially such whose Habits and Aspect they do not like: But as I cloth'd and carry'd my self, I never was deny'd entrance into any place either in Persia or India.
In this first Court, on the left hand as you enter, are little Chambers, where they that receive the Alms which by the Foundation of the Mosquee are to be distributed every day, come and eat their proportion, and then go their ways. Those Chambers serve as an Asylum to those that cannot pay their Debts, as at the Mosquee of Ardeüil. Neither are these Priviledg'd places like ours, where they that retire must live at their own Charge: For in Persia they are fed at the Expence of the Mosquee; and being in that manner freed from Care, their Friends more easily bring their Creditors to Composition.
Out of the first Court you pass into a second, which is larger, and all pav'd; and from that into a third, which is square, and rais'd like a Terrass. You enter into it through a large Gate, at the end of an open Passage, where stand the Lodgings of the Moullah's.
Out of that Court by an ascent of Brickwork of ten or twelve Steps, you enter into a fair Court, which is also rais'd like a Terras; in the midst whereof is a fair Fountain. It is continually fill'd by little Pipes of Water which run into it, and is empty'd by others that carry the Water into several parts of the whole Enclosure. There are some Buildings in this Court, but one of the sides of it is taken up with the Front of the Mosquee, which is no displeasing Structure. There are three large Gates belong to it, very well expanded, according to the mode of the Country; with a Brick-wall before, about the height of a Man, with Holes in it for Light, made like a Lozange. The Threshold of the middle Gate is cover'd with a plate of Silver; and between these three Gates and that of the Duomo, are several Doctors, that hold Books in their hands, and read perpetually.
This Mosquee is Octagonal, and at every angle is a small wooden Door of Walnut-tree, varnish'd with grey and yellow. The Tomb of Sidi-Fatima is at the farther part of the Mosquee, there being only room for one Man to pass between the Wall and the Tomb. It is encompass'd with a large Silver Grate, sixteen Foot square; the Bars whereof are round, and knob'd in those places where they cross each other; it is lighted by several Lamps of Gold and Silver: which altogether is very pleasing to the Eye. The inside of the Mosquee, to the elevation of the Angles that support the Duomo, is compos'd of square Tiles varnish'd over with divers Colours; and the Cupola of the Duomo, as also the Vault of the Portico of the Mosquee, is a Moresco piece of Painting in Or and Azure. Upon each side of the Mosquee, and near the side where the Tomb of Sidi-Fatima stands, appears a great Hall, where the Royal Alms are distributed to the Poor, which consist of Pilaw and other diet, very well drest. From this Tomb you turn to the left hand toward an Ascent, distant five and twenty or thirty Paces; and at the top of this Ascent is a Door, over which there an is Inscription in Honour of Sha-Abas the Second. The Door being open'd, shews you the place where the Body of that King reposes: and through another Door with a Grate in it, you may discover, under a small Duomo, the Tomb of Sha-Sefi his Father; which is cover'd with a Carpet of Cloth of Gold. They were continually at work upon the Tomb of Sha-Abas, which they said, they would make very famous.
I had not been two hours in Kom, but a multitude of People ran by the Inn Gate, all in extraordinary hast. Asking what the matter was, they answer'd me, that it had been a day long design'd for the two Prophets to fight. Thereupon I went to the Piazza, which was so crowded, that I had much ado to get to see. In the first place a sufficient number of Tumblers and Puppet-players, divided into two Bands, kept the middle of the Piazza, and made a sufficient Ring for the Combat. Each Band held a Bull by the Horns, one of which they call'd Mahomet, and the other Haly: and whether it were by accident, or by the cunning of the Bull-Masters, after an obstinate Combat, wherein the Beasts foam'd again with heat and rage; Mahomet at length quit the Field, and yielded Haly the Victory. Then all the People shouted for joy, and all the Piazza was fill'd with the noise of Flutes and Hautboys; and every one coming as if it were to adore Haly, cry'd out, Behold the Works of God, that Haly has made! At length they bring the Bull Haly under a Gate, with his Head turn'd toward the People; where after they ​have rub'd him to refresh him, after a Combat so courageously maintain'd, every one sends him Presents, which are all the Tumblers profit. The Kan or Governour of Kom, who was present with a hundred Horses richly trap'd to behold the Sight, sent the Bull a Present of 50 Tomans, or 750 Crowns. They who accompany'd him, and the chief Inhabitants of Kom, gave him some a Garment, others a Girdle. Neither did the meanest of the People spare to send or carry him Fruits, or other things, according to their abilities.
The Kan was a Lord who was very civil, and there was no Stranger that did not commend his behaviour, in regard he was so obliging.
So soon as I came to the place, whether it was that he perceiv'd me with a Dutchman that I had brought along from Constantinople, or whether any one had inform'd him that there were Strangers near him, he sent for us, and after he had ask'd us some Questions concerning the occasion of our Travelling, he sent for a Seat and caus'd us to sit down. Then he ask'd us whence we came, and what we did at Ispahan; to which when we had answer'd him, that we went to wait upon the King, he approv'd our Intention, complaining that we had not given him advice of our Arrival. In the Evening he sent us several Delicacies, among the rest, six fair Melons, and four Bottles of excellent Wine.
He appear'd to me so brave and generous a Person, that I was very much troubled afterwards for his being in dis-favour with the King, and his death, which ensu'd. For this Kan finding the Walls of the City, which were only of Earth, and the Bridge over the River to be out of repair, without writing to the King, of his own head, laid a slight Imposition upon every Basket of Fruit that was brought into the City. Now there are in all the Cities of Persia, persons who are hir'd to take an account every Week what the Commodities may be worth, and to take care that no more than such a Toll be laid upon any thing, which they tax among themselves, and when they have set the Rate, they cause it to be cry'd at the beginning of every Week. Sha-Sefi then reign'd, it being the year 1632. The King being inform'd by these people of the Impost which the Kan had set upon Fruit without his knowledge, was so enrag'd against him, that he caus'd him to be brought in Chains to Ispahan, where he us'd him with a strange severity. For at that time the Son of the Kan stood at the King's Elbow, it being his Office to give him his Pipe and his Tobacco, which is a very honourable Employment in Persia. When the Kan came, the King caus'd him to be carry'd to the Gate of the Palace, in the presence of all the People, and then commanded his Son to pull the Hair of his Father's Mustaches by the roots from his Skin. After that he commanded him to cut off his Nose and his Ears; after that to put out his Eyes, and lastly to cut off his Head. When he had done the Execution according to the King's pleasure, he commanded him to go and take possession of his Father's Government, and allowing him an experienc'd Old Man for his Lieutenant, he sent him to Kom with these words; If thou goven'st no better than this dead Dog has done, I will put thee to a more cruel death than this.
Leaving Kom, for four hours you travel over a fair Champain Country, after which you come to a fair Village with five or six Inns in it. Beyond that is nothing but Sand, till you come to a place call'd Abschirim, or Fresh-water, where there are three Inns at a distance from any Villages. From Abschirim to Cachan is six hours journey through a Corn Country, and stor'd with great Villages.
Cachan is a large City, well peopl'd, and furnish'd with all things necessary for humane subsistance: There is an old Wall about it which is faln down in many places, so that there is no need of seeking for Gates to get into the City. On that side which looks toward Ispahan the Soil is good, and produces great store of Fruit and Wine, which the Jews take care to make. It is reckon'd that there are in Cachan a thousand Families of Jews; in Ispahan about six hundred but in Kom there are not above nine or ten. Not but that there are many Jews in Persia, but those that live in Ispahan, Cachan and Kom, boast themselves particularly of the Tribe of Judah.
There are an abundance of Silk-Weavers in Cachan that are very good Workmen, which make all the best purfl'd Sattins mix'd with Gold and Silver, that come out of Persia. There they also coyn Money, and make Copper-vessels, which they vend in great quantities at a good distance off. The Market-houses are very fair ​ones, and well vaulted, the Inns large and convenient: but there was one among the rest which was very magnificent, near the King's Gardens, at the entry of the City. As well the Inn as the Gardens were made by the order of Sha- Abas, the first of that Name, who was at a vast charge. The Inn is above a hundred Paces square, built of Brick two Stories high, containing twenty-six vaulted Chambers of a reasonable bigness. It was a Structure too fair to be so little regarded, as now it is, being much faln to decay. In the middle of the Court was a Fountain to receive Water, which is spoil'd. The Persians and Turks are of that bad humor, rather to build new Houses than to repair old Buildings. For which reason they have since built at Cachan four or five Inns, as fair and commodious as that of Sha-Abas. This Custom is grown to that height, that the Children are so far from taking care to repair the old Houses where their Parents liv'd, that they will not so much as live in them after their decease, covetous of the honour of building Houses for themselves.
Before we leave Cachan you must take notice, that as you travel from that City to Guilan you cannot avoid travelling thorough Plains for twelve hours together, which are all pure Salt; and there is nothing to be met with by the way, but one Cistern; nor can the Water which is in it be otherwise than very bad.
Leaving Cachan, you cross a Plain of three Leagues, after which you enter in among the Mountains, where you come to a very fair Inn of Brick. From thence you descend a pleasant Vale, where you travel a long time by the side of a River, over a very narrow way. At the end of the Valley you meet a great Wall, which crosses it, and joyns the two Mountains together. This Wall is above a hundred Paces long, above thirty Foot thick, and fifty high. It was the Work of the Great Sha-Abas, whose design it was to stop the Waters that fall from the Mountain, and to make a Receptacle for Water in that place, to serve his occasions. At the foot of the Wall there is a Sluce, which being let down keeps in the Water but is pull'd up to let out the Water over all the neighbouring Lands to the Plain of Cachan. From this Receptacle to Corou, is about two hours travel.
Corou is a very large Village, and well peopl'd, in a Soil environ'd with high Mountains, and planted with great store of Walnut-trees. The Houses consist but of one low Story, being built of Flint-stones; but the Inn therein is very fair and commodious. This Village consists but of one Street, but it is almost half a League long, and very troublesom in the Winter, by reason of a great River that runs through it, and the great quantity of Stones that lye in the way. All about this Village, as in several other places of Persia, there are a great number of Shacales; which are a kind of Foxes, that in the night time make an ugly noise; for if but one cry, all the rest will make answer, and set up a howling.
From Corou you must travel three Leagues between Mountains, after which you have but twelve Leagues to Ispahan. It is a continued Plain that extends it self beyond the City, and in many places the Soil is very good. At every three Leagues end you meet with Inns. The first is call'd Achaha-Agakamala; the second, which is the half-way between Corou and Ispahan, is call'd Michiacour. This place consists not only of one Inn, for there are many others, so that it resembles a large Village. From Michiacour you come to Aganura, another Inn, but ill built; and from Aganura, after you have travel'd three Leagues through a fat and fertil Country, you come to Ispahan.