'Report on Sistan and the Country Between It and Mashad' [‎31r] (66/118)

33
sparsely populated tliat mule caravans will not cross it, but prefer the round-*
about route to Kain vid Gunabad.
The district is administered by a Persian official under the Governor
Government. Khorasan, aD d ^ as no hereditary ruler; consequently
the Governor of Turbat-i-Haidari changes with every
new Governor of Khorasan, or whenever any one else is found to offer more
money for the post.
There are about 100 inhabited villages in the district, and its grain
assessment is now 2,000 kharwars.
BaJcharz,
Bakliarz.
I did not visit tlie Bakharz valley, and have no information about it
Bell remarks that the valley is fertile about Shahr-i-nao,
and that near Chakmak there is splendid grazing, and
crops are cultivated in the sandy soil without irrigation. MacGregor also
notices the excellent grazing in the valley in the spring and early summer.
Turbat-i-Sheikh Jam.
The village of Turbat-i-Sheikh Jam is situated in the centre of a gently
rr -u 4 . • d mi T sloping- plain about 2 miles above the brook known as
the Jam river, and between it and the i\uk-i-Bizg.
It presents but a sorry appearance with its tumble down fort, squalid
M houses, and dirty narrow streets. The only thing that
distinguishes it from an ordinary village is the ruin of
the mosque of Sheikh Jam, which can be seen for many miles.
It has been a fine piece of architecture, and the exquisite colouring of
the mosaic work in the main archway is still in fair preservation. In the
village are some shops which, though they make no show, are well suj)plied
with Russian goods. Tea is the only Indian produce.
The valley contains some good grazing in the spring, and the district,
which is under the Nasrat-ul-Mulk, hereditary chief of
mprovemeru. fcPg Taimuris, contains 52 villages. In the last few
years, thanks to the energy of the Nasrat-ul-Mulk, this district has consider
ably improved. Several new hamlets have sprung up and some are now
being built between Turbat and Mashad, all enclosed by four low, but
strongly built, mud walls, with the houses built along the inside of the
walls, and an empty square in the centre. There seems to be plenty of
water; in the winter the centre of the valley near the village of Langar
forms a marsh, about 2 miles long, and in the summer, at a time when
the Hari End at Kama n-i-Bi hi slit was dry, I noticed a good flow of water
in the Jam river. The lower part of the valley east of Turbat-i-Sheikh
Jam is also now being opened up, and will soon become fairly populous.
The number of abandoned forts in this part, especially north of the river, is
very remarkable. The Turkomans are probably responsible for this desolation.