Martinsburg W Va evening journal. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1913-1920, 1918-07-27
TABRIz IS NOTED
CITY OF PERSIA
Founded BY Wife Of Hero Of
the arabian NIGHTS

Washington, u. e., July 25-Tah.
riz, where the Turks are repor,ea
to have committed outrages seai,s,
the American consulate, is Jesc-h
ed in the following war geogrsobv
bulletin issued by the National Geo
graphic Society fromf IT'S Washing.
ton headquarters:
with a population Of 2e0oso
Tabriz is one OF the most Import.
ant cities in Persia, TeheraL. ibs
capital, is the only place in he do.
minions of the Shah whica o..
ceeds it in size. -,
"It is beautifully situated n %
wide valley on the River All. which,
flows into the salt lake of Ufuniab
80 miles to the west. ALTHOUGH an,
, .oarently surrounded by mountains
r; ~. -" an elevation of more
than 1900 feet and the. climate in,
winter is extremely severe. J
Hundreds of springs and fouu.
tains water thousands of beautih,
gardens in this ancient city which,
for centuries has enjoyed deser.
vcd reputation as health re5ort.
Inteed. tradition says thai the
p ace was founded by zebeideb
60 wife of IIa1'un-al-Raskid, hero
of the Arabian Nights According
to this legend, Zobeided came here
to recuperate from fever in the
year 791, andd cure was quickly
affected, thanks to the salubrious
climate, hence the name Tab tfev.
ler) riz (pourer away or fever de-
,stroying.' AS matter OF cold big.
tory, however, Ta,brizs was in exist.
ence four centuries before the birth
of the beautiful Zobeided.
up to the time Of the completion
of railway through the Caucasus
and the Improvement. Of transpor
tation facilities on the Caspian Sea
TaIbr4z was the emporium Of Persian
trade with the West. Now however
. most of its trade has been divert
: ed to Astara, on the Caspian, IN
miles to- the east. and to Resi-,
r 200 miles to the southeast. 4
1.-The Black Sea port of Batun
hes to the northwest distance o
$50 miles. /.
q There are few buildings OF in
x terest in Tabriz, for it has suffer
is ed from the rack OF elements an
A. the ruthlessness OF rnany conquer
ers. 1t has been held at variou
;, times by the Arabs, the Seljuks
i. the Mongols and the Turkomanl
Persia took it from the Turkc
omans, but it is essentially Twi
: ish rather than a Persian city t.
day, and Turkish is THE prevailin
language At the beginning Of til
world war it was occupied by
G Turkish army. but subsequently, II
Russian forces took possession"
Man has not played as sres
;, havoc with THE buildings Of Tabr
:. however, as have earthquakes.
~ has been visited many times
kruakes, the most disastrous bein
, that of 1921 when more than "
y 900 persons are said to have bee
q killed. This disaster occurred
- the. height of the ciy's prosperh
dor at about this TIME the popul
tt; n of the city is said to hay
..eached $4,000.
ION the three hundred mosque
S of which the city boasts, only Oh
deserves special mention. 1t is tn
, famous Blue Mosque, socalled .
r cause it is covered with blue tile
II. 1T dates from the 18th century al
10 is now in ruins. The ark or cltao
IT, is a brick building Of massive wal
"A with a tower 1870 feet high.
I'd more than half of the trade
-. Tabriz Is with Russia. Its chi
I'd. imports are Gotten aud Wooie
I'd tissues, sugar and tea"
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