Page:From Constantinople to the home of Omar Khayyam.djvu/384

222 ern entrance through the city walls, and entered a narrow, crowded street, close to whose beginning the post-station stands.

On alighting we were immediately met by a young Persian, who spoke French quite well, and who handed us two telegrams from English friends at Mashad, extending us a hearty welcome there. This greeting brought us again into touch with the West, after so many days ' on the road,' and was a veritable delight, so we started at once to find the office, which was in charge of Persian operators, in order to wire an answer.

To reach the telegraph headquarters it was necessary to trav- erse almost the entire length of the town, threading our way through the main street, which was lined by the booths of the bazar and roofed over. It was narrow, and jammed with people ; buyers, sellers, and beggars seemed to be hopelessly jumbled together; and the familiar warning cry, ''Khabardār! Khabardādr!'' to force the crowd to make room to pass, was incessant. All this gave an idea that Sabzavar, with its ten or fifteen thousand inhabitants, is a place of considerable commer- cial activity, and it is certainly true that business has greatly revived in recent years ; yet, on the whole, the impression was not altogether a favorable one, although European enterprise, especially Russian, is finding its way into the city, particularly as it is the capital of the district. Cotton and fruits are ex- ported abroad, as well as shipped for consumption in the region round about, and our young guide spoke with manifest pride of the establishment of a cotton manufactory shortly before our visit.