The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-12-21
ATTRACTIVE PERSIA.
4 COUNTRY FOR THE SPORTSMAN,
BOTkNIST AND ARTIST.

a soil Greasy with Saphtha-The Per
sian Water-PIpe - Antiquarian Won
ders-A HowLng Desert-Life in the
Capital
But there Is yet g play ground almost
uutroddeu b. the tourists fo0-. land
where hotels are motor where, Al any
rate. there Is but one land where the
eastern caraTausaTy opens is h0spltaD-e
doors 70 every man rich or poor land
where one can travel IN prince, OF pad
tie ho0f- and live deceutly on niBepenCe
day z country 20 all inJents and purposes
the far east Yet touching Europe, couu-
~ interesting 70 the b0tauist and naru-
raIist for its verdant soil teens with AMI
nal life, It's streams are ful Of fish limo
cent Of the arts Of the angler. a country
OF magnificent forests. abOuullDg with
game large and smaIl-phessanrs, par
tridges wild duck. snips, bears, Wild
sheep, antelope, panthers. tigers-aye, and
lions, a country where a servlceable horse
Is 70 Be had for a 80 note, and whefe feed
never exceeds pence a day. As for eli
mae, perfection.
Is SOETHEBE PERSIA
This Is not a mere land Of dreams-it Is
northern Persia Here peace reigns. the
roads are safe. crimes Of violence are IN
known, the people are tranquil London
20 Berlin. day and q half. Berlin 70 E1-
zelH on the Caspian. ten days total eleven
DAYS and half And this eleven and a
half days Of travel Is very varied From
Berlin 20 wilma well worth a halt;
thence 10 Eydtkhunen: and then Russia
dear old dirty Russia--where they may be
rough. but where they are 50 kind and
hospitabie, charging nothing for the chill
dren On rail OF boat. Orei-Griazi-Tz aTlt-
Yin. Then the river steamer, with its
good living. It's zakcaskas or snacks, its
vodki, and its piver or Russian beer, and
fresh caviare a discretion Il Is almost
worth the journey 70 eat fresh caviare, 70
say nothing Of sterIet. Then Astrakhan
and the Caspian sea And here goodbye
civilization. goodbye tall hats and var
nisbed boots good bye 70 female society;
goodbye 70 Europe and European civIllza-
ton. bat not 70 civilization Of another
kind and hospitality Of a more than even
Russian excellence. A few hours halt Is
made al Derbend- This is an Asiatic not
a European town, in fact. On TO Baku-a
halt Of two days; you land TO ride 10 the
eternal fires, and TO marvel AT the streets,
watered with naphtha water. just out
side the town you scratch the earth, apply
a match, and, 10, flame. The surface OF
the sea may in some spots be igniIed- The
place Is greasy with naphtha; the ruble
ile,7 has become very rich. The inhab-
itauts seem TO do little else but talk Of
naphtha, play at cards, and drink cham
payne.
On the twelfth day, having passed
thickly-wOoded I.enkoran, you arrive at
your destination The shah's tower, with
its bright c0lOrs, looms into sight ike
fairy pagOda. The orange groves Of En-
zelli run down 10 the waters edge. The
IL, ~ IA
paradise, while the distant dim blue
mountains, capped in places with snow,
tower above the dark and many-shaded
greens Of the dense forests. This is Persia;
the land whose customs never change; the
land Of HadU Bahia; the land where a
despot rules patriaTchally, where almost
all religions are tolerated: and be it not
forgotten, where pound goes further
than anywhere else.
Here, then, is the country for the sports
man, the botanist, the entOmolOgist, and
the artist. Also here is change, novelty,
freedom from restraint. Here is the place
for the dreamer of dreams and the smoker
Of pipes For the Persian water pipe OF
hubble bubble is the poetry Of smoking
and a pound OF the best Shiraz tobacco
costs pence
The bric-a-brac hunter VIII 90 on TO
Teheran or Ispahan. The antiquarian or
ancient Rhages-tO the tomb Of Cyrus, 10
the statute of Shahpur; he will visit Per
sepolis and the tOmbs of the kings or he
will cross TO Hamadan and see the ruins
Of Ecbatana, Shushan the palace, and the
tombs Of Esther and MOrdecai. Thence
he viii 20 on 10 Kermanshah, and visit
Basitun f0- the sake of the rock sculp-
lures of Darius the Mede, with the temple
of Diana on the way. Returning home
cd h will ar a
once the Tower Of Babel. As for the man
who journeys for change Of scene, few
stages viii take him out Of the fertile belt
near the Caspian sea, and, after travers-
ing many mountain passes and rocky
river gorges, he enters a bowling desert,
leaving the dense forests and plains OF
pasture. Not a tree, no water, an arid
plain, high mountains on all sides, and in
habitants none, or next 10 none.
In the capital Europeans are few, and
the gorgeous magnihcence Of the shah
and his count is somewhat oppressive.
Yelled beauties with their eunuChs are in
evidence: the crowded bazaars, the loaded
eamels, mules, horses, and asses, all as IN
the picture-books The prodigality Of
dress and Of ornament and the habitual
use of the precious metals astOnish the IN
travelled and even the Travelled European
Here men are bastinadoed and blown from
guns in true eastern manner. The Jew Is
prosecuted by the Mussulman. Wine and
spirits are forbidden; but the court and
the lower classes il the capital indulge in
hearty libatiOns. The deTyish, in his tall
hat and leopard skin, stalks the streets
with his club or huge ak. or stops you and
asks for aims stark naked The palaces
and country seats Of the king and his
mobiles are open 10 all Even the royal
Jewels. the DeTyah-i-Nur, or sea Of Light,
the great diamond: the pigeon 's-egg pearls,
the cofiee-cup followed from huge tur-
quOis. the ruby Ting-hOOp. cOllet, and
all carved from one stone, the heaps and
ske.ns II royal gems-al these VIII be
shown u the inquirins fore!gner.-ot.
James Gazette.
vines wait Was : YounssT-r.