Farah, 2460 feet above sea-level, lies 170 miles south of Herat, 71 miles from Sabzawar on the south Kandahar road, 150 miles from Girishk and 225 miles from Kandahar. It is a square, walled town; lying north and south and standing well out in the plain it has a diameter of one mile and is in ruins. The wall by which it is surrounded is strongly reminiscent of Herat and comprises an enormous embankment of earth, mixed with chopped straw. A covered way entirely surrounds it on the outside, and its original height was between 35 and 40 feet. Towers rested on the ramparts at one time but, deserted by its inhabitants and neglected by the garrison which is its sole population, it has fallen altogether from its high estate. The town has two gates, that of Herat in the centre of the north face and that of Kandahar exactly opposite on the south side, the citadel occupying the north angle of the wall. Farah is no longer a city. Desolate, ruined and abandoned, its position still is of extreme importance, as it commands the Herat and Kandahar road and the northern entrance into Seistan. But the water in the fort is bad and the place is unhealthy. A general bonfire of the remains should complete the wreck which time has so nearly accomplished. Nowadays it does not contain more than fifty houses, yet it could easily hold several thousand. Those still standing are concealed by the ruins; and scattered jets of smoke, rising from heaps of _débris_, are the only indications of actual life. Formerly a bazaar crossed the town from the Kandahar Gate to the Herat Gate; but the few shops which remain are now congregated near the Herat Gate, the sole industry of the people being the manufacture of gunpowder from saltpetre. This is collected from the numerous water-pits which go to make up the general character of the scene within the walls. Between Farah and Kandahar there is the Bakwa plain, which is associated in the minds of the Afghans with a tradition that identifies it with the scene of some future battle between the Russian and British forces. The plain is a dead level stretch without trees or growth of any kind to vary its monotony and it is to its western end that the scene of the prophecy refers. The usual version of the story mentions as a concluding detail that, after the fight, no less than 12,000 riderless horses will be found wandering over it.[15] The Afghans attach considerable belief to this prophecy which, according to Colonel Yate who went to the pains of unearthing its origin, may be attributed to a native of Kuchan, Shah Ni’-Amat Ulla Wani of Kirman, who died in the year 1400 at the age of ninety-seven, having attained considerable reputation as an author, philosopher and sage.