Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1916-02-17
'PERSlA'S OLD CAPITAL
TEHERAN A CITY THAT HAS SEEN
MANY vIcIsslTvpEs.
Now the Center Of Warning interests
That Threaten It's Very Existence
Mot an Especially Healthy
Place IN Summer Months.

wv 81 EAR@Nt&ttI tt~NiAtiy
Place IN Summer Months.
The capital OF q small buffer state
between three clashing empires, the
English, Russian and Ottoman empire.
| Teheran in recent years. and more essi
pecially since the outbreak Of the
great war, has had an Importance
thrust upon II OF most embarrassing
kind, begins a war primer OF the Ma
tional Geographic society. Geograph-
ically Of greater interest to each Of the
groups Of contending powers than any
other neutral capital, Persian Teheran
is experiencing insuperabie difficulties
IN keeping its destiny clear OF those OF
the warning giants around it.
TclIeran, according to the Persian,
Is very beautiful, but the praise Of
his country's capital is seldom sup
ported unreservedly by the western
er; for he finds the Persian city Of
Shiraz far more beautiful and Is
fahan the peer of the residence. The
capital lies 10 miles south OF the
Caspian sea, on plateau Of coarse
sand and gravel. which is fringed BY
low. distant hills, and, to the north,
by some higher mountains Mount
Damayand is the key to the city's
setting. towering In the northeast to
magnificent crest OF 10, 400 feet high.
To the southwark stretch level lands.
which lose themselves In waste and
desert
The East and West meet and mingle
as oil and water In the shahs metropo.
lis. Teheran Is, OF course, a purely
Oriental city, but, like all eastern cen.
tiers of Importance. II has suffered
such Entertainments from the West as
street cars, telegrnphs. gas lighting
and severely dyed and tailored
clothes for men II is backward in its
development and uneven In its i'm.
proyement Its Boulevard DIES Ambas.
sadeurs is more or less OF splendid
thoroughfare and II is lined with Eu.
ropean type Of shops, two good hotels
and a nuEiher OF fine native palaces. II
has one of the largest military parade
grounds in the world-b50 by $50 yards
roughly paved with strewn cobble
stones
The modern city Is not so very old,
az Il came into existence less than
geo years ago. about the time that
ancient Ragha. the crumbling suburb
10 the south, began 10 sink into Oh
livion Ragha, known in the time OF
Alexander the Great as Ragae, was
the birthplace OF Haran ai.Rashid, and
at one time the golden capital OF
Parthia. In the days OF it's supremacy
II was as vain and rich and snowy AZ
storied Hamadan, the pride OF earliest
Persia, the city Of seven walls In seven
colors. with palaces wrought In gold
and silver and frescoed with precious
stones Modern Teheran is the in,
heritor OF the traditions aud the pride
Of Ragae and OF Hamadsn ana or the
ancient honors Of Pasargadae and Per
sepolis. With the rise OF Teheran.
Media regained the place that il lost
10 Persia In the time Of Cyfun.
Anarchy has ruled within the capl.
tai In way more or less pronounced
during the last several years. and
the people Of the city have accom-
plished little toward It's modernlza
tor and development Of It's impor,
lance as place of commerce and
manufacture. There Is an important
caravan trade. which passes through
Ieheran toward the Russian borders
ana q certain manufacture og cot.
ton. linen, carpets. shoes and iron
products. It's business is enough Il
give support 10 a population OF about
100000. 10 which are included about
600 Europeans.
The climate OF Teheran is not
favorable one and especially are the
summers unhealthy, when all OF the
people who can get away 20 TO the
foothills In the north. Writing IN
1886. Persian gives pathetic
summary Of a Teheran summer. He
says that the air was too hot and even
smelly, that the water was heavy and
unwholesome and, in short, everything
so bad that the Angel OF Death ran
away from Il. But. then, this author
wrote shortly after a fearful cholera
plague had passed over the city. The
nearby contrast OF the cool summer
gardens 10 the foothills. likely. has
consDired to give the Teheran summer
a bad standing.