_east_ of the usual road, which Khanikoff followed, and parallel to it;
and it is worthy of note that he found circumstances more accordant with
Marco”s description
Abbott travelled from Yezd to Kermn in 1849, by a road through Bfk,
_east_ of the usual road, which Khanikoff followed, and parallel to it;
and it is worthy of note that he found circumstances more accordant with
Marco”s description. Before getting to Bfk he says of the plain that it
‘extends to a great distance north and south, and is probably 20 miles in
breadth;’ whilst Bfk ‘is remarkable for its _groves of date-trees_, in
the midst of which it stands, and which occupy a considerable space.’
Further on he speaks of ‘wild tufts and bushes growing abundantly,’ and
then of ‘thickets of the _Ghez_ tree.’ He heard of the wild asses, but did
not see any. In his report to the Foreign Office, alluding to Marco Polo”s
account, he says: ‘It is still true that wild asses and other game are
found in the _wooded spots_ on the road.’ The ass is the _Asinus Onager_,
the _Gor Khar_ of Persia, or _Kulan_ of the Tartars. (_Khan. Mm._ p. 200;
Id. _sur Marco Polo_, p. 21; _J. R. G. S._ XXV. 20-29; _Mr. Abbott”s MS.
Report in Foreign office_.) [The difficulty has now been explained by
General Houtum-Schindler in a valuable paper published in the _Jour. Roy.
As. Soc._ N.S. XIII., October, 1881, p. 490. He says: ‘Marco Polo
travelled from Yazd to Kermn vi?Bfk. His description of the road, seven
days over great plains, harbour at three places only, is perfectly exact.
The fine woods, producing dates, are at Bfk itself. (The place is
generally called Bft.) Partridges and quails still abound; wild asses I
saw several on the western road, and I was told that there were a great
many on the Bfk road. Travellers and caravans now always go by the
eastern road vi?Anr and Bahrmbd. Before the Sefavehs (i.e. before
A.D. 1500) the Anr road was hardly, if ever, used; travellers always took
the Bfk road. The country from Yazd to Anr, 97 miles, seems to have been
totally uninhabited before the Sefavehs. Anr, as late as A.D. 1340, is
mentioned as the frontier place of Kermn to the north, on the confines of
the Yazd desert. When Shh Abbs had caravanserais built at three places
between Yazd and Anr (Zein ud-dn, Kermn-shhn, and Shamsh), the
eastern road began to be neglected.’ (Cf. Major Sykes” _Persia_, ch.
xxiii.)–H. C.]
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