'The Expedition for the survey of the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, carried on by order of the British government, in the years 1835, 1836, and 1837; preceded by geographical and historical notices of the regions situated between the rivers Nile and Indus. In four volumes. With fourteen maps and charts, and embellished with ninety-seven plates, besides numerous wood-cuts. Volume the first.' [‎242] (307/905)

242
TOWNS, VILLAGES, AND CAMPS. [CHAP. XI.
contain ponds or fountains. These apartments are appropri
ated to various purposes : some of them constitute the harem
khanah, and others, the public rooms for company; the rest
are occupied by servants, or are used as stables. The diwan
khanah, or reception hall, like that of the Turks, is supported
by tall wooden pillars, with light and ornamented arches.
It is generally open at one extremity, and the host is seated
at the other, near the entrance of an inner and more private
apartment. The Persian rooms are extremely simple, having
neither tables, drawers, chairs, nor stools ; a rich carpet at the
upper extremity* and some thick namads at the lower, with a
few ornamented lamps, being all that appears till the meals
are brought from the harem to be placed before the guests.
With the exception of the busy bazars, khans, and mosques,
a Persian town presents only a succession of narrow streets
between dead walls, and generally encumbered with filth and
the ruins of houses. The villages are in a great degree simi
lar to the towns; and from the necessity of obtaining pro
tection for the inhabitants, the cattle and the grain, they are
almost invariably walled ; gardens or orchards surround
them, and beyond these is the cultivated ground.
But though towns and permanent villages are numerous, a
large portion of the people constantly live in tents; and to
tents the inhabitants of the towns also resort during their
frequent and distant pilgrimages. The tents used by the
better classes on such occasions are spacious, lofty, and much
ornamented with bright and gaudy colours. They are of
canvas or thick cotton, with high walls, which, as well as
the top, are generally lined; and the former is usually stif
fened with spreaders at short intervals. There are separate
inclosures for the servants and the harem, and the latter is
surrounded by an outer inclosure of the same materials. The
details of pitching and striking the tents are, from frequent
practice, performed with order and facility.
The erratic tribes use tents covered with a kind of coarse
black cloth, chiefly of goat's or camel's hair. They are some
times single, but more frequently double, and they afford an
excellent shelter from the weather, as the threads swell when