Shahrud
Shah-rood, May 14th
― four parasangs ― five hours ― by a level road, sandy and stony at intervals,
and skirting on our left the mountains that separated us from Mazanderan.
Villages were to be seen on our right, and a herd of deer that scampered off at
our approach. Shah-rood contains about nine hundred houses, and ill-constructed
citadel, bazaars with thatched roofs, two or three caravanserais, and baths.
The soil in the neighbourhood of the town is well irrigated by a small river of
excellent water, and, as well as an immense breadth of garden-ground, is well
cultivated. This town, being situated half-way on the road between Teheran and
Meshed, and the point at which all those of Mazanderan and Upper Khorassan
meet, is a place of great commercial and strategical importance. It has been
for some years the entrepôt for every kind of merchandise, and especially for
the rice of Mazanderan. The manufacture of boots and shoes is the most
celebrated in Persia, not only for the elegance of the workmanship, but the
quality of the leather. The population is a mixture of the natives of
Mazanderan, Khorassan, and Turkistan, but the latter are the most numerous. The
climate is temperate and healthy.
Ferrier J.P., Caravan journeys and wanderings in Persia, Afghanistan,
Turkistan and Beloochistan; with historical notices of the countries lying
between Russia and India, translated by William Jesse. ― London: John Murray,
2nd edition, 1857, pp. 75.
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