'Reconnaissances in Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, North-West Persia, and Luristan from April to October 1888. By Lt F R Maunsell, Intelligence Branch. In Two Volumes. Volume I: narrative report, description of larger towns and routes leading from them. Simla: Intelligence Branch, Quarter Master General's Dept, 1890' [‎129v] (263/312)

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Their summer residence is on the slope of Mount Seir, 5^ miles from
the south gate, and has a church and school also. They have recently started a
technical school, where carpentering and smithes work is taught, and a
printing press.
The English mission have a house in the town, with a small church
schools, and printing press.
The inhabitants of the town are exclusively Shiah Muhammadans, and
have a bitter hatred and fear of their Kurdish neighbours on the Turkish fron
tier, who are Sunnis.
There is a telegraph office, and a line runs from Tabriz through Dilman
along the north side of the lake.
The clerk was unable to read Roman characters, and all telegrams had to
be first translated into Persian. There is a weekly post to Tabriz.
The town is surrounded by a very fertile plain, containing numerous
Environs of Urmia. enclosed vineyards and orchards, which grow fruit in
great profusion. In the town several of the better
houses have courtyards enclosing gardens, and grow some fine chenars and
poplars.
This plain is the delta of the Sahar Chai, and extends eastward to the
shores of the lake and westward along the river, from which all the water
for irrigation is derived.
Roads through these gardens are bordered by mud walls or hedgerows
6 feet high, crossed by numerous canals from one garden to another. The
raisins (kuru uzum) produced here are exceptionally fine, and there are
upwards of thirty different kinds of grape (uzum) cultivated on the plain.
Apples (elma), pear (armud), apricot (kayssi), peach (sheftali), plum
(aiik)^ mulberry (tut), walnut (jeviz), almond (badem), quince (aywa),
and a few pomegiante trees (anar) are the principal fruits, while melon (karpuz),
cucumbers (khiyar), beans (bakla), badinjan (patiljan in Turkish), bamia
potatoes (yer-elmassi) are the vegetables. Lucerne (ionga) is also grown in
considerable quantities for fodder.
Quantities of wheat and barley are grown on the higher ground, but
scaicely any is exported. Raisins, dried plums, and apricots are the principal
exports. Cotton and tobacco are also produced in large quantities.
Hop vines are grown at the American Mission House.
In the midst of all this seeming plenty and fertility, the people, wherever
they were met, looked poor and ground down by excessive extortion.
Last year, when there were threats of famine, the principal merchants
formed a wheat ‘ ring, and bought up most of the corn in the market.
Famine did not come, so they forced the peasants to take back their corn
at the original price, and lost nothing by their speculations.
. Poplar (kawak-aghaji), chenar, elm(kara-aghach), and walnut (ieviz) are the
principal trees. Willow (suglind), mulberry (tut), and ash (dish-budak aghaji)
are also to be seen in numbers on the plain. Poplars are extensively used for
building purposes.
Taxation in North-West Persia.
The following notes by Mr. Abbott, British Consul at Tabriz, show the
system of taxation now in force in North-West Persia.
. T lle P rinci pal tax levied in Persia is called the “ maliat/’ which in Azerbai
jan is assessed at £220,588 a year.
The name is a generic one for all government imports in Persia, and in the
present instance includes the taxes on lands, shops, &c.