Chapishli
October 30th, 1874. Chapushlu, 21 miles.―
From Tavil to Chapushlu, in the plain of Darehgaz, is a march of only 21 miles
(roughly calculated), but a whole day’s work. Leaving the village of Tavil and
the valley, the road descends a rocky glen to the Maidankhana Pass, 900 feet;
there is then a descent of 1600 feet to the Kibkan stream, steep and rough, and
thence an ascent of 1100 feet to the Allaho Akbar Pass, the first mile very bad
indeed, and a descent of 3000 feet in 3 miles, and of another 1000 feet before
reaching the plain. This is the road by which the Persian guns are said to have
been taken when Mahomed Shah made one of his spasmodic attempts to subdue his
Turkoman neighbours. I have reason to doubt the legend, though light guns, with
plenty of manual labour, may be taken almost everywhere. The descent from the
Maidankhana plateau at the head of that pass leads into the northern watershed;
a small stream rises in the defile, and flows through a curious natural gap in
the main ridge of the north spur of Alburz, known as the Derband-i-Kibkan.
Beyond the defile is an open valley, in which are the hamlets of Derbend and
Kibkan, the first village in the State of Darehgaz. In this valley the clan of
Afshars, to which belonged Nadir Kuli Beg, shepherd and bandit, afterwards
Nadir Shah of Persia, were settled by Shah Ismail Seffavi, who brought them
from Azerbijan, whither they had emigrated in the track of Tartar hordes from
the banks of the Jaxartes. Nadir’s house in Maulatabad Dastjard, in the plain
of Darehgaz, is still standing, and is known to every peasant in the
neighbourhood. The Kibkan stream, after passing the picturesque little fort of
Kibkan, situated in what must have once been a very strong position on an
isolated hill, flows E.S.E. down a narrow gorge shut in by stupendous precipice
to the meadows of Abivert, the winter-quarters of Nadir’s family. Abivert of
Bavert has a local reputation for surpassing fertility; melons grown there, I was
told, attain a weight of 50 lbs., and wheat returned a hundred fold.
For
many years the valley had been uninhabited. Both Turkomans and Kurds have
settled in it, but found it untenable. Its rich harvests were too great a
temptation for plundering neighbours to withstand. The latest attempt at
settlement was only last year, when 1000 families of Alieli Turkomans,
immigrants from Khiva, after the Russian occupation, pitched their tents there.
They were, however, removed by the Khan of Darehgaz, who, it appears, feared
the alienation of the lands, for the new immigrants came as crown tenants. They
were removed to the lands of Durgana and Kalkhan, in the Atak, beyond Darehgaz,
in which there are now 3000 families of Turkomans, Kurds and Turks paying
tribute to the Khan.
From
the Kibkan stream there is a long, stiff climb to the summit of the spur and
the pass of Allaho Akbar. From the crest of the pass is a fine view of the
plain of Darehgaz, lying 3000 feet below. A line of watch-towers along the
spur, still in good repair, show the precarious tenure on which the fertile
lands are held. The towers guard every foot-path, and the precipitous ridge
forms the last refuge of the villagers when driven out by an attacking force.
Only two years ago, in the spring of 1872, a body of, it is said, 3000 Tekkeh,
gorses and 2000 footmen invaded the valley and “chapoued,” or sacked, the village of Chapushlu, forcing the gates
and carrying off 1500 of the people with all their goods and cattle. The house
of my host the Khan was their headquarters for some days, and still shows signs
of their rude occupation.
The
descent from the pass is steep, but over an unusually good road, evidently made
at some former time, and not the mere ordinary track. There is a noticeable
alteration in the vegetation of the north slopes; grass takes the place of
withered thorny herbage, and shrubs appear in the moist glen. The plain is
green and fertile, and studded with white-walled villages, vineyards, gardens,
and groups of chinars in brilliant autumn foliage. Tall watch-towers, in good
repair, and evidently in daily use, dot the plain in every direction.
The
village of Chapushlu is defended by a good wall and ditch, enclosing a space of
about 500 yards square. The population consists now of 1000 families, mostly of
Turkish origin, brought over by Nadir from Bokhara. Cotton, tobacco, wheat,
barley, lucern, and millet are grown, with every kind of fruit. During the bad
famine years there was little scarcity, and there were no deaths. The people
had crops of grain, though small, and a great store of wheat in their houses.
G. C. Napier, Kazi Syud Ahmad — Extracts from a Diary
of a Tour in Khorassan, and Notes on the Eastern Alburz Tract. With Notes on
the Yomut Tribe (1876)
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