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| 0170 |
Sand-Buried Ruins of Khotan : vol.1 |
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lanes shaded by willows and poplars was a delightful change
after the dreary wilderness of stone and sand we had lately
passed through. In the fields the melons were ripening, and
richly cultivated gardens displayed a profusion of vegetables.
Everywhere was the welcome presence of water, irrigation cuts
of all sizes following and intersecting the roads. The
quantity of reddish mud deposited by these little streams
was a notable feature. By the side of one I made a brief
halt to refresh myself with a modest "Tiffin" carried in a
saddle-bag and some apples and plums I had bought from a
wayside stall. It was the first fruit I had tasted for months.
After an hour and a half we had passed through the whole
breadth of the oasis of Opal. On the stretch of sterile sandy
plain to be crossed eastwards I gathered my first impressions
of the Turkestan desert. Here its look of barren desolation
was mitigated by tamarisks and other low scrub growing
profusely along the now dry ravines that intersect it. To my
surprise the temperature kept comparatively cool even after
midday; 93° F. in the sun, with a refreshing breeze from the
east, was nothing to complain of. But the glare was trying
and soon forced me to protect my eyes with goggles of neutral-
coloured glass. As we passed one low sandy dune after the
other the pony-men struck up singing, and their tunes,
surprisingly melodious, brought life and a feeling of cheeriness
into the solitude. By 3 p.m. we left the desert track behind
and emerged on the edge of the cultivated lands of Tokuzak.
Here by the side of the little Sarai of Saibagh several parties
of travellers, with ponies and rude carts, were resting in the
shade of a small poplar grove. Water kept ready in big jars
and a stock of melons were the refreshments provided at this
Turkestan edition of a roadside inn.
The hours of a pleasant ride which followed will long
keep fresh in my memory. Hamlet after hamlet was passed,
ensconced among green avenues of poplars, mulberry-, apricot-,
and other fruit trees. The mud walls of the houses with their
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