DESERT DELIGHTS
Songs of the desert--Sunsets, sunrises, mirages--Illness in the
desert--Mehman khanehs, caravanserais--Chappa khanehs--Lost in
the desert--Its cruelties, and sadness.
"The desert wide
Lies round thee like a trackless tide
In waves of sand forlornly multiplied."
F. W. Faber.
To a lover of the desert a journey across its boundless tracts is
always full of interest and delight. It is strange what an attraction
the desert has for some people, and stranger still is the fact that
this magnetic power increases as time passes, and instead of wearying
of the wilderness, they love it more and more. And any one who has once
heard the call of the desert is always longing to answer that call, and
to fly once more, as a needle to its magnet, to that great, wondrous
world. For it is a world of its own, this great, boundless ocean of
sand--a world altogether different from any other part of God's earth.
I once heard an address on "The Desert," and the speaker said that
he did not think it possible for any one with an uneasy conscience
to bear the solitariness of the desert. Be this as it may, one thing
is sure: no one can live and travel in the desert without feeling
the majestic Presence of God. Everything speaks of Him, the great
sea of sand, the flowers springing into blossom at His word, the
tiny lizard darting across your path, and other countless creatures,
all finding life and sustenance in the desert, each telling of the
wonderful Creator who watches over and cares for all.
The songs of the desert, too, are fascinating; songs which, heard
elsewhere, would seem incongruous and lacking in harmony. The camel
or mule bells, booming out in the silence of the night, remind one
of home and loved ones. Often have I been awakened in the night
by the sound of the caravan bells, and for a moment thought they
were the bells of the dear old church in Devonshire. Then, again,
the crooning songs of the muleteer, as he trudges along hour after
hour, have a peculiar charm, which grows on one wondrously after a
while. And what can be said of the marvellous mirages--visions which
come as messengers of hope and leave us victims of despair? For who
has not experienced relief and joy at the sight of some beautiful
mirage, resembling the welcome sight of a village with trees and
water, all apparently within easy reach of the weary traveller,
but which in a moment of time vanish, leaving blank disappointment
behind. And where can be seen such glorious sunset effects as in
the desert? especially when, as is so often the case in Persia, the
desert is surrounded by mountains and hills, which catch the after
glow, and reflect all those indescribable shades of crimson, gold,
and blue, all merging into a beatific and not easily forgotten vision.
But to come to the more practical side of desert life. Travelling in
the desert is not all a path of roses, but, given good health, fine
weather, and pleasant company, it is a very enjoyable way of passing
two or three weeks. On the other hand, I know of nothing more wretched
than being overtaken by illness when far away in the desert. Then you
feel how utterly alone and helpless you are, for it is impossible to
travel on, and at the same time well-nigh impossible to stay where
you are! We have had this experience more than once during our many
travels, and found it not at all pleasant. Once I was taken ill in this
way, and the only place to be found as shelter was a filthy stable,
full of rats, cockroaches, and other horrible creatures.
If you wish thoroughly to enjoy a journey across the desert, you must
choose your time well and wisely. The best time is the early spring,
before the great heat begins. If it is essential to travel during
the summer, all the stages have to be done by night, and this is much
more tiring, as it is seldom possible to sleep during the day owing
to the pest of flies, mosquitoes, and other lively companions.
The rest-houses of Persia are of three grades or kinds, viz. "mehman
khanehs," "chappa khanehs," and caravanserais. The first of these
three are found between Resht and Teheran. They are supposed to
be run after the plan of a European hotel! Beds are supplied, and
sometimes a tooth-brush and comb! The traveller is shown into a room
in which the beds are kept ready for all passers-by: it is not thought
necessary to change the bedding too often! The furniture consists of a
washstand, table, and couple of chairs, and everything is as dirty as
can be. I much prefer the ordinary caravanserai, which is found all
over Persia. These are generally built by a wealthy man who wishes
to do some "good deed," to make a name for himself, and gain merit
in Paradise. A caravanserai is not the cleanest spot on earth! But
after travelling a little you get used to a certain amount of dirt,
and are very much surprised if by chance you come across a fairly
clean rest-house. These caravanserais are built, as a rule, in the
form of a square, the sides of which are occupied by rooms leading off
the courtyard, the centre being the resting-place of mules, donkeys,
horses, and all other kinds of animals. At the end of the stage you
fix on the cleanest of these rooms, and your servant sweeps all the
accumulated dirt and dust of ages into one corner, thus raising a
cloud of dust and disturbing the peace of myriads of "pilgrims of the
desert." After waiting a few minutes to allow the dust to settle a
little, you then furnish your room for the night by spreading a rug on
the filthy floor, and setting up your travelling beds, chair, tables,
&c. As likely as not, there will be no door to the room, so you knock
in a couple of nails and fasten a curtain over the doorway to keep
out the prying eyes of your too near and inquisitive neighbours. Then
you begin to think about your evening meal, and your servant goes off
to bargain and wrangle over some unfortunate fowl, the result being
that in about an hour's time your dinner is ready, and shortly after
you very thankfully retire to rest, hoping for the best.
The chappa khanehs, or post-houses, are often a trifle cleaner than
the caravanserai. Here the animals are kept for the post, and any
one travelling "chappa" is supposed to find fresh relays of horses
at each of these places, but very often the number is short, and the
poor, wretched, underfed animal has to do duty for a second stage: a
"stage" is anything from fifteen to thirty miles. My husband once rode
"chappa" from Yezd to Kerman, a distance of 250 miles, in 2 1/2 days,
to attend an English doctor who was very ill with typhoid fever. It
was very hard and rough riding; the roads were bad, the horses worse,
some of the animals being blind, others lame, while the majority of
them were so over-worked and badly fed that it seemed impossible
that they could ever do the stage. A doctor once riding in this
way to visit a European, is said to have arrived at one of these
post-houses, and finding no horse, demanded a mule. On this beast
he made the next stage, to be told on arrival that there was only
a donkey available. Nothing better presenting itself, he accepted
this mount, and in time reached the next stage, where he was met
with the comforting announcement that the only animal at liberty was
a cow! History seems uncertain after this point, so we will draw a
veil over it!
Sometimes these caravanserais and chappa khanehs are the only signs
of life to be seen at the end of a stage. There they stand, alone,
surrounded on all hands by vast stretches of desert, and form a
landmark for miles around. One such I remember very well, as each
time we passed that way it seemed to have become more lonely and
desolate. Visible from a distance of 5 farsakhs (18 miles), it made
the stage seem very long! The atmosphere is so rarefied that distant
objects appear near, and the buildings, which were in reality 15 miles
away, looked quite close at hand. In this chappa khaneh we were once
guilty of inscribing our names on its already well-filled walls. Some
years after a lady was visiting us in Mosul, and told us she had read
our names in that far-distant chappa khaneh.
It is not a very pleasant sensation to be lost in a desert. Only once
did this experience befall us, and then we were glad when it was over.
We were on our way from Yezd to Kerman, and had reached the second
stage out. We had arranged with our muleteer to start at a certain
hour that morning, but when we came down from the "bala khaneh"
(upstairs room) where we had been sleeping, we found no signs of our
caravan being ready to start. After loitering about for some time, we
decided not to wait any longer, but to ride on ahead. This was quite
contrary to our usual custom, as we always found it wiser to see the
caravan off first, otherwise the muleteers dawdled half the morning
away. However, we thought this once we would alter our plans, as the
dawn was even then breaking, and we knew that in a very short time
the sun would be scorchingly hot. So off we went, telling our servant
to follow as soon as possible. We received minute instructions as to
which direction we were to take, and thought we could not possibly
mistake our road.
Outside the town, on the edge of the desert, we came to two roads, one
leading straight ahead, the other branching to the left. We decided
to take the former, thinking it looked more trodden, thereby showing
more signs of traffic. So we went gaily on. My husband occasionally
remarked, "I hope we are on the right road," and I always lightly
answered, "Oh yes, I am sure we are," as I pointed out to him the
fact that we were following the same path along which another caravan
had evidently passed a few hours before. Howbeit we were not on the
right road, as we very soon found to our cost. By this time the sun
was blazing down upon us, and we began to wonder why our servants and
caravan had not caught us up. Time went on, and not a sign of life
was to be seen. Standing in our stirrups, we scanned the horizon, but
nothing could we see but the scorching sand. We then began seriously to
think that we had taken the wrong turning and were lost. Lost in the
desert, without a drop of water or a scrap of food! Pleasant thoughts
these were as companions! We could not go back: to go forward was
worse than useless. After considering a little as to the best thing
to be done, we decided to gallop on till we came to a small hill to
be seen in the distance. This we accordingly did, and as we neared
the summit saw to our great thankfulness a tiny speck on the horizon
in the direction from which we had come. This "speck" soon developed
into a moving object, and by-and-by we could see the figure of a
man and horse galloping hard. As the horse and rider came nearer,
our thankfulness was indeed great to see that the rider was our own
servant, George. If ever we had cause for thankfulness it was then,
and we certainly said, and felt from our very hearts, "Alhamd' llillah"
(Praise be to God!), and vowed we would never stray away again from
our caravan unless we were quite sure of our road.
Our man was so delighted to see us safe and sound that he wept for
joy. After a long delay the caravan had at last started from the chappa
khaneh just as the sun was rising, and set out upon its way. They were
all surprised to think we had gone so far, but concluded at first
that we had galloped on in order to reach the lunching-place before
the great heat. On arriving at the spot, however, great was their
dismay to find we had not yet arrived. Our servant immediately rode
back to the village to make inquiries. On his way he met a man who
told him he had seen us riding off in the opposite direction. George
immediately took the path indicated, with the result already told. By
the time we regained our caravan we were well-nigh worn out with heat
and thirst, having been under the blazing sun without food or water
for most of the hottest hours of the day, but very thankful to be on
the right track once more.
One thing that saddens a European traveller during a journey in
Persia is to see the cruel way in which the muleteer often treats
his animals. The sufferings of these poor beasts are terrible. I
often longed to be able to thrash the muleteer for his cruelty to
a poor, long-suffering little donkey. Bowed down, maybe, under a
load twice his own size, the poor ass does his best to keep up with
the other animals, but only receives kicks and hard knocks for his
pains. The wretched creature is urged on and on by having a steel
or iron instrument run into some horribly sore place by his kind
and compassionate owner. Often have I seen a mule or donkey stumble
and fall beneath its enormous load, unable to raise itself, till its
master with blows and curses comes to lend a hand. Again and again
will this happen, till at last the poor beast can go no further,
and is left to its fate. Death is the kindest master some of these
suffering creatures possess.
I remember once seeing a mule unloaded, and the sight under the
pack-saddle was enough to make one's heart ache. A deep wound about
twelve inches long was exposed to view, just under the arch of the
saddle, where all the heaviest pressure and friction came. The owner
then heated till red hot a long wire rod, passing it through and
through this wound till the poor creature was nearly mad with pain and
agony. The next day a boy was ordered to ride this wretched beast,
but the stench from the wound was so great, and the flies attracted
by it so numerous, that he could not endure it, and asked to be
given another animal. This request was granted, but the poor brute
of a mule had to pay the penalty by receiving an extra load upon his
poor wounded back. At the first town we came to, the muleteer sold
this mule, doubtless to some one who would work the last particle of
strength out of him. Poor burdened beasts of the desert! one can only
hope for them a speedy end to their troubles, and rest hereafter.
Another sad sight to be seen in the desert sometimes, are brick pillars
in which some unfortunate victim has been walled up alive. This is a
horrible method of inflicting capital punishment. The victim is put
into the pillar, which is half built up in readiness; then if the
executioner is merciful he will cement quickly up to the face, and
death comes speedily. But sometimes a small amount of air is allowed
to permeate through the bricks, and in this case the torture is cruel
and the agony prolonged. Men bricked up in this way have been heard
groaning and calling for water at the end of three days. At other
times the victim is placed in the pillar head first, and in this way
he is walled up.
The first time I saw these pillars was in the desert outside Yezd,
and I could hardly believe the awful tales which were told me of the
cruelties perpetrated; but alas, they were all too true! It is sad
that the beauty of the desert should be desecrated by such things.