entry into this desert town. On the right the wall with its round towers and its moat forms a picturesque background.
Now we turn to the left and come out into the meidan of Tebbes, where there is plenty of life. Here goods are bargained for and sold at open stands, there, where the caravans encamp, is a constant coming and going, some of these arriving from neighbouring villages and others loading up to set out from the town. Crowds of inquisitive people flock round us and follow in our train ; there is no need to be told that the arrival of a European in Tebbes is not an everyday occurrence.
A tremendously long straight street, rising very gently towards N. 67° E., enters the meidan ; canals flow on both sides supplying moisture to rows of mulberry trees, weeping willows, and oranges, the latter growing up out of protecting guards of clay. Some of the houses are quite elegant for Persia. The entrance to the Governor's palace is seen on the left. We at once conceive that the town really consists only of this main street, for the quarters on either side, the gardens and the palm groves, are quite narrow. Through the latter run passages and cross lanes, at the bottom of which are seen the open fields with the desert behind.
At last we come to the end, a small square with the façade of a half-ruined house, and through its portal we enter the peaceful garden which is to be our home during the following days. But the gateway is too low for our tall camels, which therefore remain in the square and the baggage is carried in. My tent is pitched on a lawn between two canals rippling pleasantly in this scantily watered land, where the murmur of running brooks is the most delightful music. It is an advantage to be surrounded by water, for then one is pretty safe from scorpions ; and, living on the uppermost edge of the oasis, we have the satisfaction of knowing that we are the first to make use of the canal, which becomes more polluted the farther it descends.
The tent is so placed that the shadow of the surrounding palms makes it fresh all the day long. It seems that one cannot stroll with impunity under the
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