To Reach Djulfa, The Armenian And European Quarter Of Ispahan, The
Latter City Must Be Crossed, Also The Great Stone
Bridge spanning the
"Zandarood," or "Living River," so called from the supposed excellence
of its water for drinking purposes, and
Its powers of prolonging life.
Nearing the bridge, we met a large funeral, evidently that of a person
of high position, from the costly shawls which covered the bier.
[Illustration: A FAMILY PARTY]
As in many Eastern countries, a man is never allowed to die in peace
in Persia. It is a ceremony like marriage or burial, and as soon as
the doctors have pronounced a case hopeless, the friends and relations
of the sick man crowd into his chamber and make themselves thoroughly
at home, drinking tea and sherbet, and watching, through the smoke of
many hubble-bubbles, the dying agonies of their friend. The wife of
the dying man sits at his side, occasionally holding to the nostrils
the Persian substitute for smelling-salts, i. e. a piece of mud torn
from the wall of the dwelling and moistened with cold water. As a last
resource, a fowl is often killed and placed, warm and bleeding, on the
patient's feet. This being of no avail, and death having taken place,
the wife is led from the apartment, and the preparations for interment
are commenced. Wet cotton-wool is stuffed into the mouth, nose, and
ears of the corpse, while all present witness aloud that the dead man
was a good and true Mohammedan. The body is laid out, a cup of water
is placed at its head, and a moollah, ascending to the roof of the
house, reads in a shrill nasal tone verses from the Koran. The
professional mourners then arrive, and night or day is made hideous
with their cries, while the "washers of the dead" proceed with their
work. The coffin, [I] in Persia, is made of very thin wood; in the case
of a poor man it is often dispensed with altogether, the corpse being
buried in a shroud. Interment in most cases takes place forty-eight
hours at most after death.
We found the house of Mr. P - , the Telegraph Superintendent of the
Indo-European Company, with some difficulty, for the roads or rather
lanes of Djulfa are tortuous and confusing. Mr. P - was out, but
had left ample directions for our entertainment. A refreshing tub,
followed by a delicious curry, washed down with iced pale ale,
prepared one for the good cigar and siesta that followed, though
an unlimited supply of English newspapers, the _Times, Truth_, and
_Punch_, kept me well awake till the return of my host at sunset.
[Footnote A: A farsakh is about four miles.]
[Footnote B: "Hurrah!"]
[Footnote C: "Please God!"]
[Footnote D: _Koom_ signifies "sand."]
[Footnote E: Muleteer.]
[Footnote F: Kashan silk, noted throughout Persia, is of two kinds:
the one thin and light for lining garments, the other thick and heavy
for divans, etc. The patterns are generally white, yellow, and green
on a red ground.]
[Footnote G:
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