Meshhed

Meshhed ('the place of martyrdom,' also spelt Meshed and Mashhad), the principal city of north-eastern Persia, the capital of Khorassan, and the centre of important trade routes. The city stands on a tributary of the Hari-Rud, 460 miles E. by N. from Teheran and 200 NW. of Herat, and has a beautiful appearance when seen from a distance. Above the walls, which are of great circuit, shine the gilded dome and minarets of one of the most splendid mosques of the East, that built above the tomb of Imam Riza, a follower of Ali, and the eighth imam of the Shiite sect. Meshhed is the sacred city of the Shiites, and is held in as much veneration by them as Mecca is by the Sunnite Moslems; it is visited every year by nearly 100,000 pilgrims. The city is bisected by a wide tree-shaded street, down the middle of which flows a muddy current between low stone walls. There is another handsome mosque, and several colleges and caravanserais. The people make excellent felt-rugs, carpets, swords, turquoise jewellery, velvet, and cotton and silk goods. Opium (£37,200), woollens and cottons, dried fruits, turquoises (£17,200) are exported to Russia, India, and Afghanistan, to the total value of £169,000. The imports consist of textiles, sugar, &c. from Russia (£110,400), textiles, &c. from Britain (£84,300), tea (£142,850), &c. from India (total, £184,600), and miscellaneous goods from Afghanistan (£17,300) and from Turkey (£16,000). The Transcaspian Railway via Merv is giving Russia the predominance in trade with Meshhed. The fixed population is about 50,000. Owing to its elevated situation (3055 feet), the city has a cold climate in winter; the summer temperature ranges from 76° to 92° F. Close by are the ruins of Tus, the old capital of Khorassan, where the celebrated poet Firdausi, Haroun-al-Raschid, and the Imam Riza were buried. See O'Donovan, Merv Oasis (1882), and J. Bassett, Persia (1886).