'Report on Sistan and the Country Between It and Mashad' [‎30v] (65/118)

range form an undulating stretch of downs. Further to the east are lo w hills.
These merge into the Kat-i-Shamshir range, some 7,000 feet in altitude,
Meshed itself being about 3,100. This range forms the watershed The boundary between adjacent drainage basins. between the
Jam and Kashaf streams which, flowing m a s 'L uth - east ® rl 3 r ^ ,ld ® aste . rly
tion respectively, empty themselves into the Han Hud. Ihe Jam is qu te a
small stream being only about 20 feet broad and from one to two feet deep,
near where it joins the Hari Rud, which forms the Afghan boundary from about
the latitude of Karez northwards. The Jam valley, about lo miles bioad, is
bounded on the south-west by another range, of which the most prominent
point is the Kuh-i-Bizg, 9,330 feet, the southern limit of the range This is a
conspicuous landmark, overlooking a barren and almost uninhabited waste that
slopes down from Turbat-i-Sheikb Jam to the plain of Hashtadan and the
frontier of Afghanistan.
To the north-west the range breaks up into two branches : the Kuh-i.
Muhammad Mirza and the Kuh-i-Baidar. South of these is the plain of Turbat-
i-Haidari. The western portion of this tableland drains into the Ravn.
The almost dry riverbed, on the left bank of which is situated the town ot
Turbat-i-Haidari, takes a southerly course and joins the Shur Rud or salt river,
which flows into the Namaksar, a large salt lake south of Hashtadan.
Four or five miles to the south-east of Turbat-i-Haidan low hills lea
up to the Bakharz range, which runs parallel to that of _ the ivuh-i-Bizg
enclosing the Bakharz valley,' 12 miles in breath, and separating It from K a\
Khaf is bounded on the south by the Kuh-i-Kaibar and the Namaksar, on
the east by Hashtadan and the undefined Afghan boundary, and on the west
by a barren plain stretching from Turbat-i-Haidari to the Kaibar Kuh. W est
of this again lies the fertile valley of Gunabad, situated in the re-entering
ano-le of the range that stretches across from the Kuh-i-Kaibar, and separates
Birjand from the northern part of Khorasan. The whole of this section is
roughly 12,000 square miles.
Turlat-i-Haidari,
Is the chief town of a district containing seven buluks. It lies at the
foot of a low hill, and is surrounded by a weak mud
Turbat-i-Haidari. wall} b as ti 0 ns every 70 yards, now in a ruinous
condition, and completely broken down in several places. A considerable portion
of the space enclosed by the walls is now covered by bouses falling into rum
and uninhabited. There is still an excellent bazar, quite the best ot any
place between Mashad and Sistan. It is evidently a great trading centre.
I noticed several bales of goods, pepper, and spices lying by the caravansarai,
■which had last arrived from India vtd Bandar Abbas. In the bazar were
some cloth goods from Constantinople and a great number ot Kussian
articles, notably chintz, sugar, and candles.
The silk industry noticed by Bellew as having declined lias never really
revived. A species of blight seems to fall on the mul-
Decline of silk in- trees< town is still surrounded by mulberry
dustry - plantations, but they do not prosper. The “ maliyat"
of the town is only 700 tomans 10,000 Persian dinars, or a gold coin of that value. .
A great number of villages are said to be deserted in consequence of
this blight. The plain of Turbat-i-Haidari consists of a light sandy soil,
which yields some pasture where not cultivated. To the east it is thickly
dotted with villages and well cultivated ; to the west it is bounded by sand
hills; while southwards stretches a barren waste as far as Buznabad, so