CHA P. XI.

They leave Ifpahan, and are refused Admission into feveral Villages, A Defcription of the Pafs of Pylas at the Entrance of Ghilan, and a View of that fine Province. They arrive at Scamachie, with an Account of the Ceremonies with which the Khan received from the Sophi a rich Habit, as a mark of the continuance of his Favour. A Defcription of Derbent: Of the Ruins of a Wall 50 Miles in length, and the great number of Tombs near that city.

T

HE Ambaffadors left Ipahan on the 21ft

of December in the evening, and after being treated with a collation, at the distance of a league from the city, proceeded that night three leagues to the village of Reschman; where they ftaid all the following day, when the Augustine Fryars at Ipahan, fome French merchants, and Mr. Mandelo, who had obtained permiffion from the Duke of Holftein to travel into the Indies, took their leave of them, and the latter informed them, that the Sophi's Ambaffador to Holftein was to follow them in a few days, and to carry with him prefents for the Duke to the value of 25,000

They proceeded on their journey without any accident till the 6th of January, 1638; but had fearce left the city of Kom, when the Ambaffador

Ambaffador Brugman having a fall from his orfe, put his right arm out of joint, which obliged them to ftay all the next day at Saba; but they continued their journey on the 8th. They now found the ground covered half a foot deep with fnow, which continued till they reached the mountains of Ghilan.

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On the 9th, they met with an Ambaffador from the King of Poland to the Sophi, whofe train confifted only of 25 perfons, he having been obliged by the Mofcovites to fend back the far greatest part of his retinue from Smolensko. This Ambaffador delivered to them a letter from an Armenian Bishop they had feen at Aftracan, in which they were informed, that a confiderable quantity of provifions were laid up in that city for their ufe. They intended to have lain that might at the village of Arafeng, and fent an harbinger to prepare their Lodgings; but the inhabitants remembring that the Ambaffador Brugman had affronted the Judge of the village, by throwing in his face both the water and bafon, which that Magifrate had brought to Brugman to wash his hands, they refufed them entrance, and the villages of Dovlet, Abath, and Ketzifan, alfo following their example, they were forced to travel three leagues farther through flippery ways, to the village of Kullufkur, by which means their beats were fo tired, that most of their people were forced to travel on foot, and fome were left behind, who were fent for after their arrival the next day at Cafwin, where

they

they were obliged to tay nine days, till fre cattle could be provided for their journey.

On the 20th of January they left Cafwin, and on the 22d paffed feven leagues over mountains of different colours, as yellow, red, green and blue, which afforded a very delightful profpect. Through thefe mountains runs a brook, that has fuch a variety of turnings and windings, that they croffed it above thirty times that day, and in the evening paffed the river Senderuth, over a bridge that joins the two mountains, between which it runs, and at night lodged in a village fituated in a pleasant valley.

The next day they proceeded two leagues by the fide of a foreft of olive-trees, at the extremity of which, they found themselves at a place famous in antiquity, under the name of Fauces Hyrcanie; but in the time of Alexander the Great, and among the modern Perfians, known by that of Pylas. It is a very narrow pafs into the province of Ghilan, where two rapid rivers joining, fall with a most dreadful noife from the rocks. The river formed by this confluence, is called Ifparuth; but before this junction, the largest is named Kifilofein, which running under a ftone bridge, paffes into the province of Ghilan, and by two feveral channels difcharges itself into the Caspian Jea. This bridge has fix large arches, each of which contains a good room and kitchen, befides other conveniences; fo that these arches are fufficient to lodge a whole caravan.

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No fooner had they paffed the bridge than the road dividing into two, one leads through a fine champain country to Ardebil, and the other extends ftrait through the province of Gbilan, over the most dieadful precipices, it being cut out of the rock, and fo fteep and narrow, that it scarcely affords a paffage for one loaded horse or camel; nay, in fome places they have been forced to make up the defects of the rock with mafon's work. The clifts reach on the left hand up to the very clouds, while on the other fide nothing is to be feen but the most dreadful precipices, rendered more terrible by the noife of the river, which runs with great violence at the bottom. The Perfians, as well as the Ambaffadors retinue, were so astonished at the fight, that they were glad to lead their horfes, and even that but loosely, for fear that if they fhould flip, they would draw their mafters after them. The horses, however, proceeded very carefully, and with feeming fear; but the camels made furer steps, putting their feet into places cut in the rock for that purpofe.

At the top of the mountain they found a cuftom-house, the receiver of which made them a prefent of fome fruits. They were now not a little aftonished at difcovering, that though they had fcarcely got out of the fnow on the other fide, the valleys were here full of bloffoms, and they were more and more convinced of the furprizing difference, when they found the defcent of the fame mountain, the afcent to which had appeared fo dreadful, and attended

attended with fuch trouble and fatigue, change into the most delightful profpect, and attend ed with all imaginable eafe; the roads paffing through groves of olives, cyprefs, box, citron and orange-trees; with thefe, that fide of the mountain was intirely covered, and of the last they found fuch plenty, that they flung oranges at one another for diverfion: but what even appeared ftill more furprizing was, that the air which had fufficiently pinched them the fame morning, was before night very hot. They took up their quarters at the village of Pyle-Rubar, upon the banks of the river Iparuth, at the foot of the ountain. The houfes were indeed very fmall, but the inconveniences they fuffered in their lodgings were in fome measure recompenced by the vast number of gardens, vineyards, and fruit-trees, planted all around them.

It must be confeffed that the province of Chilan is a terreftrial paradife abounding in filk, oil, wine, rice, tobacco and a vast variety of fruit, and particularly vines which spread their branches up the trees. The Cafpian Sea, 25 well as the rivers, afford the inhabitants prodigious quantities of fish, their pasture grounds feed vaft herds of cattle, and their forefts fernish them with venifon and wild-fowl. This province ftretches along the Caspian Sea in the form of a crefcent, and is encompaffed like an amphitheatre by a continued ridge of high mountains, the extremities of which extend to that fea, and being covered all over with trees, the whole province appears as if furrounded with

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