IIIF Color HighRes
National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| Ruins of Desert Cathay : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
CH. XI FIND-PLACE OF OLD MANUSCRIPT 139
of remains of this kind in Turkestan is as yet beyond the archaeologist's ken, unless indeed they are found together with dated relics, such as coins or ancient documents.
Two long marches on July 5th and 6th brought me to Karghalik. The barren yellow sands of the desert edge remained ever in view as we moved south along the right bank of the Tiznaf River. The holdings of the village of
Kona-Tatar spread out in a narrow belt over a distance of fully seventeen miles, large areas between the patches
of cultivated ground being abandoned to luxuriant reeds
and riverine jungle. Considerable stretches of pebble Sai and barren loess steppe also intervened, and after crossing
one of these it was doubly cheerful to find our quarters
prepared at a substantial farm. Mihman Bai must have done well by the tiny oasis of about 200 acres on which he had grown old. His house with its fine Aiwan and
numerous outbuildings, including a mosque, seemed the very type of a well-to-do ` Dehkan's ' residence, and I did not fail to get a plan made of it by Naik Ram Singh.
In the orchard close to the courtyard the trees were bending low under their fruit. On a single branch a little
over one yard long I counted forty-five luscious apricots
glowing in their glossy amber skins just like small oranges. There was the arbour, too, with its square central area
enclosed by a double row of poplars, to serve as an al fresco
feasting-place, or as a spare bedroom ' in the summer. The mosque not far off looked a spot quite inviting for
rest, with its well-raised hall open on all sides except the south-west, the direction of Mecca, and shaded by a wooden roof with quaintly carved posts of Persian style.
Increasing prettiness in the simple rural scenery marked our approach to Karghalik. More than in any
other Turkestan oasis I have seen, the soil and climate
of Karghalik seem to favour tree growth. All through the thickly populated village areas of Sultan-arik, Shorok,
Dafdar, through which we rode in succession, fine avenues of poplars, mulberries, and willows, often of imposing size, gave shade and coolness. It is true the latter was also provided by a light fall of rain during the night, and by a pleasant breeze from the cloud-hidden mountains.
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