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 *ner in which, the several ambassadors were to be treated and escorted to Ispahan. This delay was fortunate for Kæmpfer, as it enabled him to visit and examine the most remarkable objects of curiosity in the neighbourhood, more particularly the ancient city of Baku, renowned for its eternal fire; the naphtha springs of Okesra; the burning fountains and mephitic wells; and the other wonders of that extraordinary spot. Upon this excursion he set out from Shamakia on the 4th of January, 1684, accompanied by another member of the legation, two Armenians, and an Abyssinian interpreter. Their road, during the first part of this day's journey, lay over a fine plain abounding in game; having passed which, they arrived about noon at the village of Pyru Resah. Here a storm, attended with a heavy fall of snow, preventing their continuing their journey any farther that day, they took possession of a kind of vaulted stable, which the inhabitants in their simplicity denominated a caravansary; and kindling a blazing fire with dried wormwood and other similar plants, which emitted a most pungent smoke, contrived to thaw their limbs and keep themselves warm until the morning.

Next morning they continued their route, at first through a mountainous and desert country buried in snow, and afterward through a plain of milder temperature, but both equally uninhabited, no living creature making its appearance, excepting a number of eagles perched upon the summits of the heights, and here and there a flock of antelopes browsing upon the plain. Lodging this night also in a caravansary in the desert, and proceeding next day through similar scenes, they arrived in the afternoon at Baku. The aspect of this city, the narrowness of the gate, the strange ornaments of the walls, the peculiarity of the site, the structure of the houses, the squalid countenances of the inhabitants, and the novelty of every object which presented itself, in