‘GAZETTEER OF PERSIA VOL. I Comprising the Provinces of ASTARÁBÁD, SHÁHRUD-BÚSTAN, KHÚRÁSÁN, AND SÍSTÁN’ [‎207v] (421/722)

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mountainous districts afford excellent pasture for the flocks of those tribes
by which they are inhabited, the valleys near Shiraz and the other towns
of the province produce almost every kind of grain and fruit in the greatest
abundance.
As we proceed northward into the extensive province of Irak, the
climate improves; and Isfahan, once the capital and still the principal city
of that kingdom, appears to be placed in the happiest temperature that
Persia can boast. Its inhabitants are strangers to that heat which is felt
during some of the summer months at Shiraz; yet their winter is hardly
more severe. Excepting a few weeks in the year, the sky of this favoured
region is unclouded and serene. The rains are never heavy ; and the snow
seldom lies long upon the ground. The air is so pure and dry, that the
brightest polished metal may be exposed to it without being corroded by
rust. The regularity of the seasons in this part of Persia appears quite
extraordinary to a person accustomed to a more uncertain and variable
climate; for they perceptibly change almost to the hour. When spring com
mences, there is perhaps no spot in the world where nature assumes a more
lovely garb than at Isfahan. The clearness of the streams, the shade of its
lofty avenues, the fragrant luxuriance of gardens, and the verdant beauty of
widespreading fields, combine with the finest climate to render it delightful.
And we are almost disposed, when we view this enchanting scene, to admit
that the hyperbole is not excessive which describes it as having an intoxi
cating effect upon the senses.
The northern cities of Irak do not enjoy so favourable a climate as Isfa
han. The country about Hamadan is very mountainous, and the winter
severe; while the cities of Kashan and Kum, which are situated on the
verge of deserts, are exposed almost to as oppressive heat in summer as the
countries on the shores of the gulf. Tihran, which lies immediately under
those ranges of mountains that divide Irak from Mazandaran, is exposed
to great vicissitudes of climate, and is not deemed salubrious.
In Azarbaijan the summer is warm, and the winter very severe ; and in
parts of Kurdistan, though situated more to the southward, so great is
the effect of elevation that the winter may be said to commence with
the autumn of the surrounding country.
The northern provinces of Persia, Gflan and Mazandaran, have, like its
southern, a cold and warm region. The former is the higher and moun
tainous part, which borders on Irak and Azarbaijan; and the latter, those
plains that stretch along the shores of the Caspian. Both these provinces
abound in forests and rivers, which may be said to be rare in almost everv
other part of Persia. Silk is cultivated in Gilan and in some parts of
Mazandaran; but the latter country is most celebrated for its culture of
rice, which is of very superior quality; and its producing this grain in such
abundance is a proof that its soil and climate are essentially different from
that of the other parts of Persia. The rains in both Mazandaran and
Gilan are frequent and heavy; and many tracts of the lower country are
described as very moist and unhealthy.
The great province of Khurasan has within itself every variety of
climate; but all those districts which border upon the desert, that stretches
from Irak to Sistan, are arid and subject to extreme heats ; and in some
parts the inhabitants are, during a few weeks in summer, compelled to avoid
exposure, lest they should be destroyed by the pestilential winds, or buried
in the clouds of sand with which they are often acc mpanied. But,