for themselves; and so is the
importation of the dreadful disease which in its most virulent form is
pitifully common in a great portion of the population of the present
Kerman city. According to some the city was razed to the ground, but
whether this was so or not, there is no doubt that Kerman has never
recovered from the blow received, and from the subsequent oppression at
the hands of this barbarous conqueror.

In the south-west part of the mountainous crescent are three very low
passes, by which the hill range can be crossed. One pass between the
Kala-i-Dukhtar and the Kala-Ardeshir forts; one between the Kala-Ardeshir
and the ruins south of it along the southern continuation of the range;
and the third at the most southern point of the crescent, where the
precipitous rocky hill-ranges are separated by a narrow gap, level with
the flat plains on either side. One can still see the remains of a ruined
wall on the east side of this entrance, a round, outpost mud turret, with
other buildings and a large walled enclosure directly outside the pass on
the flat to the south; while on the lower slope of the eastern mountain
stands a tall square building, now roofless, erected on a strong
quadrangular base with corner turrets. It has three pointed arch doorways
(east, west, south), almost as tall as the building itself, and by the
side of these are found high and broad windows in couples. This building
appears to be of a much more recent date than the underlying castle
filled up with earth on which it stands. It has rather the appearance of
a fire temple.

On going through the pass we find ourselves in the centre basin formed by
the mountainous crescent, and here we have another deserted settlement
smaller than Farmidan, also to all appearance not more than a century
old, and directly under the lee of the precipitous rocky mountains. A
high building of a rich burnt-sienna colour, with a dome of stone and
mortar--the latter said to have been mixed with camel's milk, which gives
the mortar greater consistency--is to be seen here. This, too, is
supposed to have been a fire temple. Its base is quadrangular, with two
tiers of three windows each. A small lateral wall is next to the
entrance, but nothing is to be seen in the interior except the bare
walls.

East of this, on the face of the cliff and several hundred feet above the
valley, one is shown a gigantic inscription, "Ya Ali," in white
characters depicted on the rock. Th