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Kerman, Persia (Capital)

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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Kerman, Persia (Province)

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Capital of the above province, situated in 30 17' N., 5 6 ° 59' E., at an elevation of 6100 ft. Its population is estimated at 60,000, including about 2000 Zoroastrians, 100 Jews, and a few Shikarpuri Indians. Kerman has post and telegraph offices (Indo-European Telegraph Department), British and Russian consulates, and an agency of the Imperial bank of Persia. The neighbouring districts produce little grain and have to get their supplies for four or five months of the year from districts far away. A traveller has stated that it was easier to get a mann (62 lb) of saffron at Kerman than a mann of barley for his horse, and in 1879 Sir A. Houtum-Schindler was ordered by the authorities to curtail his excursions in the province "because his horses and mules ate up all the stock." Kerman manufactures great quantities of carpets and felts, and its carpets are almost unsurpassed for richness of texture and durability. The old name of the city was Guvashir. Adjoining the city on hills rising 400 to 500 ft. above the plain in the east are the ruins of two ancient forts with walls built of sun-dried bricks on stone foundations. Some of the walls are in perfect condition. Among the mosques in the city two deserve special notice, one the Masjid i Jama, a foundation of the Muzaffarid ruler Mubariz ed din Mahommed dating from A.H. 1 349, the other the Masjid i Malik built by Malik Kaverd Seljuk (1041-1072).