The city has declined considerably from its quondam opulence. There is scarcely any trade and the houses are deserted. It is, nevertheless, famous for its fruit and its breed of horses; but the Heratis have endured too many of “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune” to be able to withstand adversity and bad seasons. Wars and sieges, pestilence and famine have had their effect; and the scene, which Vambéry described so brightly, is now sombre and melancholy. No longer is Herat the great central market between India and Persia. It still receives a certain amount of merchandise from Kabul, such as shawls, indigo, sugar, chintz, muslin, bafta, kincob, hides and leather. These are exported to Meshed, Yezd, Teheran, Baghdad and Kirman, and exchanged for tea, sugar-candy, china-ware, broadcloth, chintz, silk, copper, pepper, dates, shawls, numnahs, carpets and all kinds of spices. Silk is obtainable in the vicinity of Herat, and lambs’ fleeces and sheep-skins are made up locally into caps and cloaks. There are, too, a number of native craftsmen who work in silk and metals, leather, iron and wood; but there are few opportunities for their skill and no money with which to pay for it. The carpets of Herat, once so famed for softness and for the brilliance and permanence of their colours, are no longer in demand. At one time they were made in all sizes, ranging in price from 10 to 1000 rupees; but their day is gone. Indeed, in its present impoverished state, the city is eloquent only of a bygone grandeur. Everything is decayed and decrepit. [Illustration: RELIGIOUS FESTIVAL ON THE PERSO-AFGHAN BORDER]