Yezdikhast is situated in a valley through which runs a small river, and on each side are precipitous cliffs and a bad road, unpleasant to scramble up or down by day, and dangerous on a dark night. The town itself is built on a perpendicular island-like cliff, which stands in the middle of the deep ravine thus formed; it presents a sufficiently striking appearance as viewed from either the cliffs or the valley, impregnable to attack save from artillery; the perpendicular cliff on which it is perched shows up a bright yellow, against what is generally a verdant valley, teeming with corn and grass, though just at the time I was travelling quite bare, save just by the river. There is only one small entrance to the town at one end of the razor-backed cliff; this is a doorway just big enough to admit a horseman stooping in his saddle, or a loaded mule. This doorway is reached by a small bridge of a few poles, which can be knocked away at once: the cliff, which appears to be of sandstone, is honeycombed with underground granaries and shelters for sheep and goats, as are the cliffs on either side. On one side of the town, in the ravine, is the caravanserai; on the other the chupperkhana or post-house. The night was pitch dark, the guide couldn’t even see the road, and I had to light my road lantern to enable us to get out of the ravine up the rocky track that leads to the high-road; when we did get on the road it was so dark, that I was unfortunately still obliged to keep my light burning, to enable us to keep on the track. And to this I suppose I owe my subsequent misfortunes. I was coming now to a notorious “doz-gah,” or robbing place, Aminabad. Here is a magnificent caravanserai; but no one can live here, for, being the frontier of two provinces, one ruled by the Governor of Shiraz, the other by that of Ispahan, it was a sort of debatable land. A few hours’ march, too, brings one to the Bakhtiari country, governed by Houssein Kūli Khan,[22] who ruled with a rod of iron the turbulent tribes of these wild men. All wanderers, they are a brave and untamable people, their customs quite different from the inhabitants of the towns, upon whom they look with contempt. They are practically independent, merely furnishing a large contingent of irregular cavalry. The illustration gives a good idea of the tent-life of the wandering tribes of Persia. The tents are very portable, impervious to rain, wind, and sun, and are woven by the women from the hair of the black goats. They are very durable. The Shah is here of little authority, the whole government being vested in Houssein Kūli Khan, whose eldest son remains with the king in honourable captivity in Teheran as hostage for his father’s good conduct.