'Persia and the Persian Question by the Hon. George Nathaniel Curzon, M.P.' [‎272] (311/714)

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"72 PERSIA
which cover so large a portion of the centre of Persia, and about
which I shall require to particularise later on. The white
patches of sand glittered under a thin saline efflorescence, and
at a little distance might have been mistaken for shallow pools.
Mazman was once a place of considerable size, and was itself tbe
centre of a cluster of fortified villages and towns, but was destroyed
bv Abbas Mirza in 1831, in punishment of a rebel chief. It is
now a most miserable spot, full of tumble-down or abandoned
houses. A relic of bygone days exists in the shape of a big
caravanserai A roadside inn providing accommodation for caravans (groups of travellers). on the outskirts of the village, built by Shah Abbas.
A once far finer structure, the work of Mamun, the son of Harun-
er-Rashid and murderer of the Imam Reza, is now in partial ruin.
All around are the remains of other towns or villages not less
dismal or deserted. As I rode out of Mazinan at 5.30 a.m . on an
icy morning, the caravans of pilgrims in the two big caravanserais
were already astir; and some loud-lunged seyid or haji would be
heard to chant the note of invocation to Allah, which the whole
body would forthwith take up in a responsive volume of sound that
rang far through the crisp chill air. From the other side of the
\ ill age came a chorus of similar cries ; and with plentiful shouting
and discord, another day for the holy wanderers began.
Ihe mention of the pilgrims, or zavjars, of whom I saw so
much on each day's journey, and who all but monopolise the
Pilgrim Meshed road, tempts me to vary the dull recital of my
Jui tilnhs progress by a slight description of the human surroundings
in which it was framed. The stream of progress appeared in the
main to be in the opposite direction to that which I was pursuing.
Sometimes for miles in the distance could be seen the kafilah A train of travellers; a caravan; or any large party of travellers. , or
caravan, slowly crawling at a foot-pace across the vast expanse.
I hen, as it came nearer, would be heard the melancholy monotone
of some devout or musical member of the band, droning out in
quavering tones a verse from the Koran ; sometimes, in less solemn
companies, a more jovial wayfarer trolling some distich from the
Persian classics. As the long cavalcade approached, it would be
seen to consist of every kind of animal and of every species of man.
Horses would carry the more affluent, who would be smoking their
kalians as they paced along; some would affect camels; mules were
very common, and would frequently support hajavehs, 1 a sort of
1 The kajaveh, which is very small and rocks disagreeably, is a most uncom-
foi table and almost impossible vehicle for Europeans, whose nether limbs are not