The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1922-04-19
Telseran: A
Khaki Capital

! Nent s reported request lot dIi Opctl
door policy in Persia Will command
attention. Persia inevitably. because
OF its physical geography. presents
q closed door to many modern
forms Of communication and COM
meree." says :. bulletin from the
Washington, -. c. headquarters OF
the National Geographic Society.
'"Teheran. its capital represents
q compromise. II IS set Ear enough
back fro,n the Caspian Sea TO rem
d er it difficult of approach. but 1t
is on the rim Of the Iranian pla-
teau so that it may not be too in
accessible.
Wear Vcil and Ballet Costume.
an oriental city where women
adhere rig;dly to the veil in the
streets. but have adopted the cos
/ tune of the ballet girl in their
homes promises medley OF the
West and the East Ep keys and
! trans. snake charmers and auto
mobiles. ragged beggars and ladies
! Of Partisan fashion from the for
eien quarters. allcy-like thorough
! fares OF mud houses and broad
shaded streets of European resi-
denccs. vendors sitting cross-lcg-
ced. chewing melon seeds. who
would resent Your paying the first
! price they asked. and modern drug
stores where ii would seem You
might buy anything lat drugs
such is composite Tcheran.
"Teheran is Khaki. Khaki is a
Persian word meaning muddy AS
! you approach. its houses of mud
blend into the treeless landscape,
/ when YOU are in ii the tan Of face
and costume Of its people. the
/ non -descript hues OF its myriad
/ donkeys. blend into the khaki pic
/ ture
Donkcys. Donkcys. Donkeys
.'-Vhe donheys Of Tcheran deserve
! a paragraph of their own. In the
! older quarters of the city they take
most of the street \ pedestrian
often has TO press against the wall
TO let by the dcnileys which are
! envelopcd down 10 their scrawny
knees with brush wood. the don
! keys with their equally nonchalant
riders. the donheys with carcasses
of iacat animals being driven to
markets. and just donkeys
Many of the occidental features
/ of Teheran represent the normal
! penetration Of trade activities: some
| Of the more incongruous aspects
/ resulted from the efforts Of the late
shah Nase-ed-din to introduce
/ wholesale the practices he observed
upon visit to Paris. His High
ness SO the story goes. was at
tracted by the ballet at an opera
! and ordered the front row pur-
/ chased for his harc,n. Finding
! that impossible he commanded all
thc ladies Of his very considerable
establishment to adopt the ballet
/ costume. Other harems followed
the fashion hint of the royal resi-
! dence.
Built OF Mud
While the beauty OF the coun-
try around I'eleran is different
! from the natural beauties of an
American landscape. it has an ap-
! peal Of lis own. The city is near
F.! ly 1000 feet above sea level. with
! in sigh: Of snoH.-capped mountains.
For tho r;cst part it literally is
/ built Of the mud on which it
stands. The palace Of the Shah.
from a distance strongly suggestive
! in its outline of cur L. s. Weather
/ Bureau building. in Washington.
ard other government structures
are grouped IN the square. In the
! palace is tho famous throne Of in
i laid sold and dazzling crown jew
els. purchased in the years before
! 1895 when the shah Of Persia was
/ as complct" an aUtocrat as the Sui
! tan of Turkey. and had an untram-
mcled sway with public money.
You can ride out OF Teheran
on . railway train for only six
miles. to Shah Abdul-azin., Persia
has been called the most uncom
Portable country in the world for
( travellers. The carriers are limited
to donllcys and camcls in most
+ places yet. though Tcheran may
now be reached hy motor oyer OK
iceHeni roads constructed by the
Jsar when Russia was competing
with Great Britain for the balance
of influence there"
-@eN
Isn't it funny how human geese
: Will fall for a quack ?-Asheville