_ 294 _ We stopped two hours before sunset at a caravanserai a short distance from a small town, situated to the west-south-west of the road, well supplied with fruits, provisions and livestock of every kind, called Sufian. It was formerly a great and populous city. It is built in wattle and daub and peopled by Persian Moors and Turkomans. On the Thursday we left an hour before dawn. We travelled in the same direction, all the time between very high ranges of mountains and hills some distance from the road. With the snows on them they looked like great mounds of salt. Almost at nightfall we put up in a place inhabited by the same people. It was of reasonable size and [consisted] of the same wattle-and-daub houses, called in Persian hoxque sarai, which in our language means “two- storey palace” after some which the Sophy had there. He often went there from Tabriz to rest, because it is a land of much game. It was situated to the north [of the road], supplied with fruits and provisions. Here I saw a great many watchdogs. The inhabitants regard it an honour to rear them and to keep them in the house. When they die, they have them placed on the graves, which are made of sun-dried and clay bricks and whitewashed all over. From here one of them went with us and accompanied us as far as the city of Van, and did
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