Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1893-12-29
in TEAERAN.
Novel and Picturesque Sights In q Busy
and Famous City of Asia.

Novel and Picturesque Sights In q Busy
and Famous City of Asia.
When approaching one of the world
famous cities of Asia, one has always
at least moment of faint surprise at
finding it so dwarfed by its environ
ment of giant mountain barriers, often
quite hidden until one is close upon il
by some fold of the ground, and so in
significant speck in the surrounding
desolation. The "Kasbin Gate" by
which we enter, is modern structure
of fanciful but inartistic design, deco.
rated with enameled bricks. Abdul
lah, having been custom-house Of
ficer and knowing how to deal with
his brethren, succeeds admirably in
getting us through the gate without
having our baggage overhauled. We
enter dusty and glaring new quarter
and turn into a crowded market-place
of vast extent, labyrinth of booths
and stalls, shaded by the most ragged,
many -colored, and Enthusiastically con-
trived awnings imaginable Picking
our way through the swarming multi
tude, clothed for -tlle most part in
patched and faded rags, steering the
laden horses of our caravan through
the jam of donkeys and ragged, wealth.
er-beaten camels, among piles of vege-
tables, hanging meat, rubbish-heaps,
flies, dust, and debris, we turn into a
dark corridor leading to the bazars OF
Teheran. How long we were engaged
in slowly threading our way through
the interminable and dimly-lighted
aisles it would be difficult to estimate.
Progress was necessarily slow by rea-
son of the crush, which seemed to ex-
coed even that of Tabreez the contin-
| ual entanglements with camel and
mule trains which we met on the way,
and the disputes with shopl1eepers, as
our projecting chests and tent-poles
constantly threatened the merchandise
hung up in front of their shops, But
every step was full of novelty and
charms. We fingered for moment in
front of fascinating cook-shop, where
great jars were sunk to the brim in a
clay counter after the fashion of the
wine shops in Pompeii. A few old tiles
sparkled like blue and yellow gems
placed irregularly on the wall, in it,
bituminous depths. Further on, YER
table European shop displayed second
hand furniture and brave array o,
! gilded chairs covered with crimson
damask A passage opened into grea'
rooted warehouse, glittering with huge
crystal chandeliers and quantities O.
cut-glass ware from Vienna. Then WI
clatter out into the daylight of an oper
street, and our horses shy at the un
wonted apparition of tramway car
such horse-car as one meets in tn,
streets of Boston in the summer time
with transverse seats, freighted will
Persians, half-hidden by the Tapping
white curtains A high archway, dec
grated with plaques Of modern faienc,
representing the NEUROLOGICAL heroe
of Iran and Persian soldiers of to-day
leads to the great oblong square know
as the Tup- Meidan, and we pass unde
it and cross the square, leaving on on
right the richly decorated palace of tn
Imperial Bank of Persia. From thi
point the different tramway line
start, and there is a veritable cab-stan,
with old and battered fiacres. Thi
square may be said to typify the mod
ern architectural art of the country
and without further detail it might b
characterized as an astonishing med
ley of cheap and Snowy faience, of tint
ed and succeed fasades of German de
scent, and of all that is meretricious
pretentious, and grotesque, recalling
in measure, an Oriental BACKGROUND
at the Opera Comique, where the Ia.
Mahal, Benares Cairo and Constant
nople are huddled together on one car
vas. And yet the whole effect is move
and interesting Edwin Lord Week:
in Harper's Magazine.