It is situated on a high and steep rock, the base of which is thin and narrow, and towers into the skies, being inaccessible on all sides. There is but one gate to which you ascend by a small staircase cut in the rock like a minareh. Seven hundred houses afford lodgings to two thousand musketeers of Mazenderán, commanded by a Sultán (Beg) subordinate to the Khán (Páshá, governor) of Eriván. The drawbridge which leads over the river, to the Castle, is raised every night, and it thus becomes entirely isolated; the water is raised by ropes of one hundred fathoms length. The Khán descended with one thousand of his serving men (Dízchoken Túlúnkí), and gave a grand entertainment to Bákí Páshá, who, after dinner, requested that the Beg of Shúshík might be given up to him: this was done accordingly, and he was carried to Sídí Ahmed Páshá, who came on the seventh day to Khinis, and delivered him to Mohammed Páshá the governor of Erzerúm, who spared his life, but put him into prison. Forty thousand sheep, forty horses, seventeen strings of mules, twenty Georgian slaves, and fifty purses were taken from him, he was afterwards released, but his castle was given to Mohammed the Beg of Melázjerd, who furnished twenty purses, twenty strings of mules, a great number of furs and skins of lynxes and leopards; the Moslím victors returned in safety with their booty to Erzerúm. On the same day after seven hours, we reached the village of Alajalar; it is situated on the border of Aras, under the command of the castle of Bayazíd, and consists of three hundred Armenian houses. Here our gracious Lord gave a grand entertainment to the Persian Envoys of the Kháns of Eriván, Nakhshiván and Tabríz, and gave each of them letters of amity, with a couple of Arabian horses, beads of coral, bow and arrows, and Genoese and Venetian cloth. He told them in his speech, that in order to satisfy the Khán of Eriván he had reduced the Beg of Shúshík, but that he hoped now that the Persians on their side would fulfil with equal faithfulness the conditions of the peace, and therefore evacuate the castle of Shúshík, and give it back to the Ottomans, if not, that he as Commander-in-Chief would ravage the districts of Eriván and Nakhshiván. The three envoys kissed the ground and were invested with Persian sable pelisses. The Kelárjí Velí Agha was sent with the Envoy to Eriván; Alaja Atlí Hassan with the second to Nakhshiván, and I poor Evliyá in quality of Clerk of the Custom-house was named to go with letters and presents in the third Envoy’s company to Tabríz, to arrange the commercial affairs. I took two horses richly caparisoned to the Khán, handkerchiefs, beads of pearl, and a magnificent quiver. I received myself, on setting out on my journey, a purse of money, and a robe of honour, and was accompanied by ten servants, and ten men of all arms, altogether forty-five men. I took leave of the Páshá, and set out trusting in the Lord for Nakhshiván and Eriván.
Description of our journey along the Aras to Persia.
On the first day, we travelled for the space of eight hours along the Aras, towards the east, and arrived at the village Yailajak, partly Armenian and partly Moslím, subordinate to the Castle of Anek. Further eastward we came to Barúd Kháneh belonging to the Castle Shúshík, consisting of three hundred houses; saltpetre is produced here. Sixteen hours further is the station of Kendúsh Kia, on the banks of a torrent called Okhdere; we pitched our tents here in a flowery meadow amidst beds of tulips. Twelve hours further on is the station of Chághla-ghúrna, the inhabitants are Kurds. We saw the castle of Shúshík, on our left on high rocks, and were saluted by it with seven guns. The new Beg also sent us a quantity of provisions. Here we parted company with Kássim Khán, the Envoy of Eriván, who went to the left, while I poor Evliyá took the road on the right to Nakhshiván. After having travelled thirteen hours through a mountainous tract, we came to Karish, the first town in Persia. It was built by Shárokh, the son of Timúr, and then came into the power of Uzún Hassan the Prince of Azerbeiján. Its castle is situated on a high peak, is square and built of stone, an elegant yet strong fortress, garrisoned by one thousand Dizchoken Túlúnkí. They saluted us contrary to our wishes, by firing eighteen guns, the report of which was re-echoed among the neighbouring hills. We encamped at the foot of the castle, and visited the town at our leisure. It was formerly a large town, but is now in ruins, in consequence of the pillage it suffered at the time of the expedition to Eriván by Sultán Murad IV. when the troops of Erzerúm, Achika and Karrs revolted, and plundered this town of Karish. There are seven mosques with minarehs, three baths, and gardens and vineyards in abundance. The town is situated on the banks of the river Karish, which issues from Mount Súkún, and flows to the Aras. The Agha of the Castle invited me with the envoy to a feast, and our horses with difficulty ascended to the castle in half an hour. The Agha of the garrison dressed in an odd way, and giving us welcome, invited us to his house, from which a beautiful view may be enjoyed. He treated us to eleven sorts of pilaw and a great number of other good dishes; he presented me, the envoy, and Alaja Atlí Hassan, with leopard skins, and sent after us when we had returned to our tents, a present of fifty sheep, one thousand loaves of white bread, and from seven to eight mule-loads of delicious fruits, with several sorts of sherbet. We kept the great feast (Bairám) here, remained a couple of days, and were then entertained with a sumptuous dinner in a garden. Returning from the garden we took a view of the outside of the mosque of Evhad Allah, it is an incomparable mosque with a well-proportioned minareh; near it is the bath of Táj-ud-dín Munshí, and seven Kháns. The beautiful women of the place have such fine and brilliant eyes, that one glance from them delights the heart more than a thousand from others. The next morning three hundred Persian horsemen joined us, and accompanied us on our way, which led through a mountainous tract, thirteen hours towards the east, to the station of the village of Kend Massír; Kend is the Persian word signifying the same as the Turkish Kassaba (small town). It is situated on the border of Mount Massír, and consists of one thousand houses with earthen roofs, surrounded with gardens, seven mosques, three baths, and three hundred shops. It is the seat of a Kelenter (provost) subordinate to Eriván. We advanced fourteen hours to Kend Zúh Khán, on the frontier of Nakhshiván belonging to its khass, it is a flourishing small town. Here we took two Persian boys, who delighted us with their songs. We now proceeded for seven hours through a wide valley, where we saw immense trees, to Uch Kilisse. On the top of a mountain are three great convents, in each of which lodge a couple of hundred priests and monks. Fine youths serve the strangers who divert themselves here. One of these three convents was built by Núrshirván, the second by the Greek Emperor, the third by an Armenian lady, which is now inhabited by more than five hundred nuns, who eat nothing but dry roots; but they serve milk, dates and sweetmeats to stranger’s, and take care of their goods and horses. These three Armenian convents are celebrated amongst all Christians, and are therefore well endowed. In each of them are from five to ten guest-masters, and from forty to fifty cooks. The Abbot of these convents gave to me and the envoys, a grand entertainment, and presents after dinner.
Curiosities of Uch Kilisse.
At the grand convent built by Núrshirván, every year forty or fifty thousand Infidels assemble from all countries of Christianity, to witness the solemnity of an old carpet being spread on the top of the mountain. They collect all useful and medical herbs growing on these mountains, and throw them into a boiling kettle which stands upon this carpet; these herbs remain boiling more than an hour in the kettle on the carpet, which receives no harm, to the great astonishment of many thousand spectators. The herbs are then distributed amongst the people, some of whom carry them to their own countries, others eat them on the spot. I talked with the monks about this, who assured me that the carpet was the same on which Jesus fell when issuing from Mary’s womb; when shut up in a cave with his twelve disciples for fear of the Israelites, they cooked their herbs on this carpet, which to witness the miraculous power of Jesus, restored a dead man to life. It is the same carpet on which Jesus gave a dinner to the Israelites. The carpet then passed into the hands of Núrshirván, who when building the Convent gave it to it as an endowment. When Sultán Súleimán went to the siege of Eriván he performed a double prayer on this carpet. It is neither cotton nor silk, but of variegated colours and very heavy. I, poor Evliyá, am of opinion that it is of asbestos, a stone which is found in the island of Cyprus, and worked into linen and paper, handkerchiefs, shirts, &c., which are brought as presents to the great men of Constantinople. Sultán Murád said to his sister Kia Sultán (Kia signifies rock) the Lady of my gracious Lord, Melek Ahmed Páshá. “Lady Rockby! as your name is rocky, I’ll give you a shirt of stone,” and really gave her a shirt, which, when dirty, was cleansed by throwing it into the fire. Great men have abundance of asbestos linen; Captain Hassám-zadeh gave me such a handkerchief, which having become dirty, in the presence of Melek Páshá, I threw into the fire, when it became as pure as a white rose. God knows whether this carpet is not also made of this Cyprian stone. We left Uch Kilisse and passed towards the east through cultivated fields and populous villages, so that we did not see a cubit of ground which was not productive or cultivated, and arrived after eight hours march at a well cultivated village on the border of Mount Sokún, like a small town. We counted no less than eleven minarehs, but as I was indisposed I did not examine it well.
Pilgrimage to Mohammed Sháh’s Tomb.
It is a great Convent of Begtáshís; more than three hundred came with drums beating and banners flying to give us welcome: a crowd of poor fellows all in raptures of divine love, by the prayers of whom I was restored to health. Next day we crossed a plain for thirteen hours, and halted three times on it. At the southern end of this field we pitched our tents on the bank of the great river Zengí, where the people of all the Kents of the neighbourhood, flocking together, brought us abundance of provisions as presents, so that our servants feasted as if they were as many Ma’adí Karbs, and our horses feasted on trefoil and other luxuriant herbs, so that their bellies swelled like wine-skins. The river Zengí issues on the south from the mountains of Khárán, flows to the North, supplying water to many thousand Kents, and then joins the Aras, which falling into the Kúr (Cyrus) runs into the Caspian sea. We continued our journey hunting hares, and came at the end of ten hours to the Kent Sídreghí, a Wakf of Imám Riza in the territory of Nakhshiván. It is a flourishing Kent of about one thousand houses surrounded with gardens. The inhabitants are all Shi’ís. The hot-spring of Sídreghí is outside of the town close to the vineyards; this hot-spring is covered with a large cupola, and in the large basin the Persian youths swim like silver fishes; they amuse themselves by disporting in the water, and singing with melodious voices. Fourteen hours further to the east, we came to Zavieí Ahmed Beg, consisting of five hundred houses, in the territory of Nakhshiván. Here are three mosques, one of which was built by Zál Páshá-zadeh Ahmed, when governor of Nakhshiván, in the style of the mosques at Constantinople. This is the reason why the Persians called this Kent (borough) the cell (zavie) of Ahmed Páshá; the whole borough is appropriated to the endowment of this mosque. We passed during sixteen hours through many cultivated Kents (boroughs) until we reached the large town Kara-bághlar, first built by Menúchehr, it is the seat of a Sultán (Beg) in the territory of Nakhshiván, it was wrested from the Ottomans by the Persians in the time of Mohammed III. and laid waste by the army of Sultán Murád IV., so that now ruins are only to be seen. Timúr passed a winter in perfect quietness at Karabághlar; Suleimán Khán and other commanders-in-chief were stationed here at different times for five or six months in the greatest affluence. This place is now recovering from the havoc made by Sultán Murad IV., but in comparison with its former state, it is not as an atom in the sun, nor a drop in the ocean. Our servants counted forty minarehs, and according to the report of our Mihmándár it consisted of ten thousand houses with gardens and vineyards, and seventy mosques (forty of which have minarehs), a great number of Kháns, baths and markets. The mildness of the air contributes to the beauty of the inhabitants; the variety of fruits which abound here, is no where else to be met with. Taking a walk with the Envoy in a garden, the gardener brought us twenty-six different kinds of pears, the best are the Meleje, Abbássí, Ordúbaí, which when eaten, inundates the mouth and hands with rich juice, like jelly or sirup; there are also ruby-coloured pomegranates. In the cleanly cookshops you find pilaw of Eriván, with excellent herísse (fricassee). The cooks are extremely clean because they are all Moslíms, and in the whole of Persia eatables are never sold by Armenians or Greeks; indeed there are no Greeks at all in Persia, except a few travelling merchants, but there are a great many Shi’ítes and Jews being the sect of the Teberraites and Karaites. There are also Mulhads (impious); Zindíks, (atheists); Ja’aferites, Jeberites, Kadrites, Húrúfites, Zimínites, and other such heretics. After having taken a good view of the gardens at Karabágh we departed, and in seven hours reached the fortress of Nakhshiván, which by some is spelt Nakhjíván, (the cosmetic water of all the towns of Irán;) it is the seat of a Khán (answering to the Turkish Páshá) on the frontier of Azerbeiján and Avján. Its officers are an Itimád-ud-devlet (minister); Kelenter, (provost, in Turkish Súbashí); a Múnshí, (secretary, otherwise Kiatib); a Dárogha, an Agha of the Dízchoken (the troops) a judge and a muftí. It was originally built by Sháh Efrasiáb, and the cupolas are shewn where his ancestors are said to be buried; in their times it was extremely populous and cultivated: it was then pillaged by the Moghols, who levelled the castle with the dust; Sháh Ismaíl rebuilt it, and in the reign of Mohammed III. it was taken possession of by Zúltakár Khán, and again conquered in the time of Sultán Murad IV. by Tabán Yassí Mohammed Páshá. Such is the state of the world where nothing remains unchanged, but every thing perishes except His (God’s) face. After Sultán Murad’s conquest it consisted of twelve thousand houses with terraces, seventy mosques, forty mesjíds, twenty kháns, seven baths, and one thousand shops. The air is mild, but as it has few gardens, it has also but few fruits, one of its best products, is cotton of seven colours, black, yellow, ruby-coloured and of the purest white. The corn and wheat of Nakshiván is praised every where. Above all its painted linen and its Chít (chintz) deserve to be recommended. Its barley is so rich, that if a horse eats four grains of it, it is satiated; its gardens are repositories of melons and water-melons. The youth are all fair and white on account of its excellent air, they wear the Persian turban, Táj, and robes of painted cotton and Chít (chintz) breeches of different colours, and green, red and orange-coloured papúshes. The women wear pointed caps on which they wrap white muslin, and boots of various colours. The fashionable young men wear pelisses of Isfahán, and walk with great pomp and dignity, but they are wholly attached to women. The people pretend to be of the orthodox sect of Sháfií although they are Persians, but this is a foul lie, they are Ja’aferites, who, however, keep the regular prayer hours five times a day, but never in company. They have some very fine mosques, every one of which may be compared to Eden, they are lined with painted pottery, and at some, the cupolas are covered in the same manner, there are thirty-three minarehs in the style of those of Constantinople; that of Ahmed Páshá exactly resembles that of Rostán Páshá at Constantinople. The bath of Jenání is very pleasant, the walls are faced with porcelain, and the floor is paved; the waiters are black-eyed youths from Khoten, whose crystal white bodies are set off by the dark blue of their aprons. Near the house where we lodged, as guests, is the bath of Zál Páshá, which is also a soul-delighting bath, owing to its fine water and excellent attendance; the walls are faced with porcelain, and the floor paved with jasper, marble, and granite of various hues. In the large basin ten feet square, which is underneath the cupola, the young people swim like angels of the sea: the bath-keeper every day pours into the basin, a basket of rose-leaves, which attaching themselves to the bodies of the bathers forms a kind of veil which is very becoming; thus they sport and play like peacocks and doves, their nakedness being covered by rose-leaves; in short this bath is so delightful that such poets as Hassán and Selmán could not sufficiently praise it, how then could it be possible for me, poor Evliyá, to succeed.
Rich merchants are established in the market, who trade by land and sea, each of whom is as rich as Karún; the inhabitants are all given to pleasure, and pass part of every day in each other’s gardens. The Khán of Nakhshiván, Rísa-ud-din, after having met us, carried us directly to one of his gardens, where he read our letters to the principal men of Nakhshiván, and gave us an entertainment, attended by so many singers and musicians, that it was equal to the feast of Hossein Bikara. The Khán, a person of great repute, had been the treasurer of Sultán Sifí, who had delivered the castle of Baghdád to Sultán Murad; he was a man of great judgment, of Georgian extraction, and his name was Devlet Murád Khán. After dinner he gave to Alaja Atlí Hassan, who came as envoy from the Páshá, and to me, brilliant robes of honour, ten tománs of Abbássí, and a horse, investing his own envoy also with a caftán. He has from forty to fifty delightful companions excelling in various arts. The inhabitants of this town generally speak the dialect Dihkáni, or of peasants, but they have poets who speak the Pehleví and Moghol languages with elegance. The languages that are spoken here, are the Dihkání or rough Persian; the Derí, or court language; the Farsí, or pure but less elegant Persian; the Ghází and the Pehleví, two ancient dialects.
In the commentary of Dilemí, it is reported that the Prophet asked Michael “whether God ever spoke any thing in Persian;” and Michael replied, “yes, that there were some passages in the books which Abraham received from Heaven:” and the Prophet answered, “whoever ridicules the Ghází dialect is an Infidel”.
The Turkomans, Gokdúlák and Moghols, who are settled in the different districts, again speak other dialects. All these districts are defended by strong castles, some of which I passed on hunting parties, without having leisure to examine them properly. The names of these castles are:—Alánjak Ván, built by Molla Kotb-ud-dín; Serán, Sersú, and Semaraván, built by Merván Ibn-al-himár. The names of Persian towns almost all terminate as follows:—in Tartary the castles are named, Cherkers Kermán, Kiresh Kermán, Sháhin Kermán, Irbát Kermán, In Kermán, Ghází Kermán, Uzí Kermán, and Ak Kermán. The names of Polish fortresses are Kamanija (Kaminiuk), and Alúnjissa. The names of fortresses in Transylvania terminate in ár, as Sakmár, Sakswár, Oivár, &c. The German fortresses are Iran, Comoin, Tata, Papa, Santmarton, Posonium, Bedj (Vienna), the latter is the residence of the German Emperor. Amongst the names of Ottoman towns, those of the Holy land are the most sounding. The whole Ottoman Empire consists of seventy seats of Begler-Begs, three hundred and sixty sanjak Begs, and thirteen hundred and eighty strong castles. May they all remain in the power of the Ottoman family until the end of the World. Amen! The names of Persian castles will be given in the course of our travels.