'Persia and the Persian Question by the Hon. George Nathaniel Curzon, M.P.' [‎297] (338/714)

FROM MESHED TO TEHEE AN
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mind, conceivably be identified with that of Pliny, nor is it likely
to have been the Caspias Pylte to which so much geographical im
portance was attached by Strabo.
It was soon after emerging upon the plateau beyond the pass
that an isosceles cone of perfect shape and dazzling whiteness rose
Demavend ^ v * ew a ^ ()7e ^ le browns and greys of the nearer ranges,
and disclosed to my enchanted vision the mighty Dema
vend. From that day, for over a month, I never, except in the
mist of early morning, lost sight of the lordly spectacle, which
always overhangs Teheran, and which attended me on my south
ward ride to a distance of 160 miles. What Fujiyama is to the
Japanese, Demavend is to the Persian landscape. Both are ever-
present, aerial, and superb. Both have left an enduring mark upon
the legends of their country; 1 and if the peerless Fuji has played
a far greater part in the art of Nippon than has Demavend in that
of Iran, it is.because the Japanese, while not inferior in ingenuity,
are a vastly more imaginative people.
Traversing a level, uncultivated plain, we reached the village
and posthouse of Aiwan-i-Kaif, 2 fording a rapid but muddy stream
Aiwan-i- which flows over a broad bed outside. The name indicates
Portal, or Hall, of Delight, although other derivations
have been suggested—viz. Aiwan-i-Kai (i.e. Hall of the Kaianians—
tradition interpreting a ruin in the neighbourhood- 3 as a palace of
lopographievon Persien, p. 79 ; and by Schindler, in the publication mentioned at
the end of this chapter. The last-named authority 1ms supplied me with the
following conjectural identification of Alexander's march : first day, from Rhages
to the present Aiwan-i-Kaif, 383 stadia or 44 miles; second day, through the
Caspian Gates (Sirdara Pass) and Choara(Khar) to the present Aradan, 297 stadia
or 34 miles; third day to Lasgird, 331 stadia or 38 miles; fourth day to Alah, or
Germab, 370 stadia or 42 miles ; fifth day to Frat, near Hekatompylos or Dam-
ghan, 417 stadia or 48 miles; sixth day, 400 stadia or 46 miles to Shahrud, where
he found the corpse of Darius.
1 ' According to the local legends, Demavend, or Divband, i.e. " Dwelling of
the Divs or Genii," has been the scene of all the events veiled under the form of
myths. Here, say the Persian Mohammedans, Noah's Ark was stranded; here
dwelt Jemshid and Rustem, heroes of the national epics; here was kindled the
bonfire of Feridun, vanquisher of the giant Zohak ; here the monster himself is
■entombed, and the smoke of the mountain is the breath of his nostrils; here, also,
is chained down the Persian Prometheus, Yasid ben Jigad, whose liver is eternally
devoured by a gigantic bird. The caverns of the volcanoes are full of treasures
guarded by snakes.'—Elisee Eeclus, Universal Geography (English edition), vol.
ix. p. 84.
Ferrier calls it Haivanak or Eiwanee-Keij.
3 Described by Eastwick, vol. ii. pp. 137,138.