Before entering upon the description of Tabriz, it may not be out of place to make a few general remarks about the province of Persia through which the road from Julfa to that city passes, and of which Tabriz itself is the capital. From a geographical point of view this north-west corner of Persia belongs rather to the system of mountain ranges and elevated plateaux that form so distinct a feature in what is known as Turkish Armenia and the Russian province of Transcaucasia. The country to the north of Tabriz and of Lake Urmiyah consists of parallel ranges of mountains split up into deep ravines, and here and there wide fertile valleys, the whole gradually sloping away to the great plain which surrounds the northern, and practically the eastern, side of the above-mentioned lake. The general direction that these mountains take is north-east and south-west, so that their ridges have more than once to be crossed by the traveller between Julfa and Tabriz. It is almost impossible to obtain any correct estimate of the size or population of the province of Azerbaijan, for its boundaries are uncertain, owing not a little to the fact that in oriental countries it is a common occurrence for the sovereign to tack a portion of a province on to the next district, in order to increase the territory of some governor, and diminish that of another less popular one.

But Mr Curzon, whose book is cer

tainly the highest authority upon all matters relating to Persia, estimates the extent of Azerbaijan at about 40,000 square miles, with a population of 2,000,000 people, including the following:—

However, though this is probably the most correct estimate to be found, it is impossible to place absolute reliance on the figures, as a large portion of Kurdistan has never been travelled over, much less the population counted. Personally, from my experiences in Persian Kurdistan, I venture to think the number of the Kurds given above as excessive; for during my journey through their lands I found the country very much more thinly populated than was generally supposed, and not by any means in the same ratio as on the rich plains of Lahijan and in the district of Solduz, where the Kurds are more thickly settled; for near Serdasht and in the entire length of the Kalu valley the mountains are covered with forest, and the villages comparatively few and far between.

With these few general facts as to the province through which the road from Julfa lies, and of which I was to see more on my further travels, I can revert to my personal experiences.

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Near the city one crosses a fine brick bridge of many arches, which spans the Aji-chai, and enters immediately amongst the walled gardens which surround the town. Then on along a wide dusty road, with orchards first, and afterwards houses, on both sides. Then again amongst caravanserais and shops, in and out, here, there, and everywhere, until the gaping arches of the gloomy bazaars open out in front, and one passes from the bright sunlight into the dusk, to emerge, after wondering at the many sights that meet the eyes, in the quarter called Arministan, where are the residences of the Europeans. And there at the British Consulate-General I met my old friends Mr and Mrs Cecil Wood, and was received with all the kindness and hospitality which none know better how to bestow than our able Consul-General and his charming wife.

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CHAPTER V.

TABRIZ.

TABRIZ, which is the capital of the large province of Azerbaijan, is the first commercial city of Persia, and boasts a population of close upon 200,000 inhabitants. But few Persians are to be found within its walls, and it may be said to be a Turki city. Though no doubt the inhabitants of Azerbaijan come of a finer and hardier race than the Persians, the city-people seem to have sunk even to a lower grade, and no race can compare with the mean, low, and fanatical standard of the Tabrizis.

More even than most oriental cities has the fate of Tabriz been a checkered one; for not only does nature seem to be bent upon its destruction by periodical earthquakes of most severe nature, but man also has done much towards her destruction upon more than one occasion. The town does not to-day stand upon the site that the original city held, for a few miles