Sabzawar, the town, is enclosed within a high wall, pierced by four gates--the Irak gate on the west, the Nishapur gate on the east, the Herat gate on the north and the Farah gate on the south. The bazaar, in which are nearly 800 shops, stretches between the eastern and western gates across the town. Its breadth is possibly half a mile and the circumference of the town is a little under 2½ miles. The town is only a gathering place for the district which supports a number of villages and, together with the enveloping pasturage and a wide belt of cultivation, is inhabited by Nurzai Duranis. Each village is a small fort in itself and is surrounded by a high mud wall erected for purposes of security. In size these forts are about 60 yards square; in all there may be some 5000 households in the district, which may be apportioned into 4500 in the villages, 400 in the town, 100 in the fort, with a combined population of 12,000 souls. [Illustration: TYPICAL STREET SCENE] Before reaching Farah it is necessary to cross the Farah Rud. This river, rising in the Taimani country, flows past Farah and Lash into the Hamun at its north-west angle, after a southerly course 200 miles in length. Its volume varies with the seasons. The water is usually clear and not quite drinkable for, after the main stream has been exhausted by the fields, the pools which remain in its deeper parts quickly become stagnant. In the spring it is a wide, deep river, always with sufficient water for irrigation in its course: even when nearly dry water is to be found by digging a foot into the river-bed. In the summer it is crossed on inflated skins or rafts of wood and reeds. The banks of the Farah Rud are covered with a jungle growth of tamarisk and mimosa. At the point where it is crossed by the north road from Herat to Kandahar it is fordable, although the bed is very irregular, with alternate rapids and deep pools. The ford is 1000 feet in breadth, but the channel in the dry season contracts to 50 yards, with a depth of 2½ feet. During the flood season caravans are apt to be detained for many weeks. At Farah the banks are 400 yards apart, with a stream in the dry season of 150 yards in breadth and 2 feet of water. At this point it is both clear and rapid.