t in height, the central row of all
being the highest of the series. This is a grand place for wonderful
effects of mirage all round us. To the W. spreads a beautiful lake in the
depression of the plain--as complete an optical deception as it is
possible to conceive, for in reality there is no lake at all.

Water is not at all plentiful here. One finds a reservoir made for
caravans along this track. It is a tank 25 feet by 10 feet sunk deep into
the ground and roofed over with a vault. The water is sent to it by means
of a channel from the small village of Vartan north of it.

We gradually rise to 5,550 feet and again we have before us another
beautiful effect of mirage in the shape of a magnificent lake with a
village and cluster of trees apparently suspended in the air. My caravan
man assures me that the village, which appears quite close by, is many
miles off.

Long rows of _kanats_, ancient and modern, to the south-east warn us of
the approach of a small town, and on the road plenty of skeletons of
camels, donkeys, and mules may be seen. Fodder is very scarce upon this
track, and many animals have to die of starvation. Also animals caught
here during the rains cannot proceed in the sinking soft ground, and
eventually die.

CHAPTER XXXVI

Khupah--Sunken well--Caravanserai--Night marching--Kudeshk--The
Fishark and Sara ranges--Lhas--The
pass--Whirlwinds--Robbers--Fezahbad--The dangers of a telegraph
wire--An accident--Six villages--Deposits of sand and
gravel--Bambis--The people--Mosquitoes--A Persian house--Weaving
loom--Type of natives--Clothing--Sayids.

Early in the afternoon Khupah (altitude 5,920 feet) was reached, with its
very large and dirty caravanserai to the west, just outside the town
wall. From the roof--the only clean part of the hostelry--one obtains a
good panoramic view of the town. It is built in a most irregular shape,
and is encircled by a castellated mud wall with round turrets. There is a
humble dome of a mosque rising somewhat higher than all the other little
domes above each dwelling.

Feeble attempts at raising a bazaar have been made on different sites in
the town, where bits of arcades have been erected, but there are no signs
about the place of a flourishing industry or trade. The majority of
houses, especially in the northern part of the city, are in ruins. The
principal thoroughfare is picturesque enough, and on the occasion of my
visit look