For Nearly A Whole
Hour Silence, Unbroken Save By The Snarling Of Some Pariah Dog, The
Hiss Of The Samovar, And Gurgle Of The Kalyan, Falls Over The Place,
Till 2 P.M., When The Noise Recommences As Suddenly As It Ceased, And
Continues Unbroken Till Sunset.
On the whole, the bazaar is disappointing.
The stalls for the sale of
Persian and Central Asian carpets, old brocades and tapestries, and
other wares dear to the lover of Eastern art, are in the minority,
and must be hunted out. Manchester goods, cheap calicoes and prints,
German cutlery, and Birmingham ware are found readily enough, and form
the stock of two-thirds of the shops in the carpet and silk-mercers'
arcade.
It is by no means easy to find one's way about. No one understands
a word of English, French, or German, and had it not been for my
knowledge of Russian - which, by the way, is the one known European
language among the lower orders - I should more than once have been
hopelessly lost.
Europeans in Teheran lead a pleasant though somewhat monotonous life.
Summer is, as I have said, intolerable, and all who can seek refuge in
the hills, where there are two settlements, or villages, presented by
the Shah to England and Russia. Winter is undoubtedly the pleasantest
season. Scarcely an evening passes without a dance, private
theatricals, or other festivity given by one or other of the
Embassies, entertainments which his Imperial Majesty himself
frequently graces with his presence.
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