They Also Prepare Both Tutia (A Thing Very Good For The
Eyes) And Spodium; And I Will Tell You The Process.
They have a vein of a certain earth which has the required quality, and
this they put into a great flaming furnace, whilst over the furnace there
is an iron grating.
The smoke and moisture, expelled from the earth of
which I speak, adhere to the iron grating, and thus form Tutia, whilst
the slag that is left after burning is the Spodium.[NOTE 2]
NOTE 1. - KUH-BANAN is mentioned by Mokaddasi (A.D. 985) as one of the
cities of Bardesir, the most northerly of the five circles into which he
divides Kerman. (See Sprenger, Post- und Reise-routen des Orients, p.
77.) It is the subject of an article in the Geog. Dictionary of Yakut,
though it has been there mistranscribed into Kubiyan and Kukiyan. (See
Leipzig ed. 1869, iv. p. 316, and Barbier de Meynard, Dict. de la
Perse, p. 498.) And it is also indicated by Mr. Abbott (J. R. G. S.
XXV. 25) as the name of a district of Kerman, lying some distance to the
east of his route when somewhat less than half-way between Yezd and
Kerman. It would thus, I apprehend, be on or near the route between Kerman
and Tabbas; one which I believe has been traced by no modern traveller. We
may be certain that there is now no place at Kuh-Banan deserving the title
of une cite grant, nor is it easy to believe that there was in Polo's
time; he applies such terms too profusely.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 608 of 1256
Words from 165195 to 165465
of 342071
