rugged, and a great part of their surface is
more than a mile above sea-level. The climate is one of great extremes;
the summer hot-waves and the winter hurricanes are probably unknown
elsewhere in severity. The greater part of Arabia is an unhabitable
desert.

[Illustration: THE RUG-MAKING COUNTRIES]

The rigorous conditions of surface and climate have placed their stamp
upon the population of the region. They are full of the intelligent
cunning and ferocity that mark people living under such conditions of
environment. In many parts the sterile soil and arid climate force the
sparse population into nomadic habits of life and predatory pursuits.
For the greater part, the land hardly yields enough food-stuffs for the
population, and any great development of agriculture is out of the
question. The flood-plain of the Tigris and Euphrates, and a few of the
river-valleys are highly productive.

[Illustration: AN ANTIQUE TREE-OF-LIFE, KERMANSHAH (PERSIAN) RUG]

Before the Christian era several trade-routes between Europe and the
Orient lay across this region, and along the caravan routes there were
the usual industries pertaining to commercial peoples. The cities of
Sinope, Trebizond, Astrabad, Phasis, Mashad, and Bactra (now Balkh) grew
into existence along one of the northern routes. Tyre, Nineveh, Tarsus,
Palmyra, Babylon, and Persepolis were founded along one or another of
the southern routes. Of these, Trebizond only retains its importance,
being a seaport with a considerable trade. The commerce that once passed
over this route was crushed out of existence during the invasions by
Jenghis Khan.

[Illustration: A KABISTAN RUG--CAUCASUS DISTRICT]

Of the various industries of the Iran plateau, practically but one
extends beyond its borders, namely, the manufacture of the textile
fabrics known as Oriental rugs. These are unique; they are made of
materials, colored with dyes, and are ornamented with designs that
cannot be successfully imitated anywhere else in the world. The filling
of the rugs consists of fine wool, selected not only from particular
localities, but also from certain parts of the fleece. The dye-stuffs
are common to other parts of the world, and their names--indigo,
saffron, coccus, madder, and orchil--are familiar. But both the wool and
the dye-stuffs possess qualities imparted to them by soil and climate
that are not found elsewhere.

The absence of floors, and of the furniture found in European dw