Historical Reference |
Merv Oasis Vol. II Page 58 | ||
The Merv Oasis: Travels and Adventures
East of the Caspian During the Years 1879-80-81, Page 58 58 FORM OF WELCOME— RACES. Shortly after my arrival, the Khan, Mehemet Ali, invited me to accompany him on a tour of inspection to Lotfabad, the capital of the outlying Turkmen district of the Attock, and situated on the edge of the great plain which stretches away to Khiva. As a necessary protection he was accompanied by three hundred of his feudal cavalry. Crossing, by a pass, the low range of hills separating the Deregez from the level Turkmen country, we descended into the outlying plain near Kairabad, a Turkmen village of eight hundred inhabitants, but fortified in the Persian fashion, like the villages in general throughout Deregez. On the approach of the party, a deputation of the elders of the place came out, and received the Khan with a singular ceremony. An old man carried forward a tray of lighted embers, and threw them under the feet of the Governor's horse, pronouncing the words ‘Khosh geldi ‘(You are welcome). The Governor acknowledged the salute by presenting the old man with a piece of silver. This form of salute is said to be of Guebre origin. Carpets were then spread, and a pilaf was laid before us, which we ate with our. fingers. After dinner there was a review, the men being ordered out to ride races in pairs. A small prize was given to the winner of each match. The horses were really beautiful animals, mostly of the pure Turkmen breed. They are somewhat narrow in the chest, and long in the legs. In general they have little mane, owing perhaps to the friction of then- heavy felt coverings. They are of tolerable speed, and of wonderful endurance. The horsemanship of the riders was superb. The whole force was afterwards inspected in order of battle, with the main body deployed in line, a squadron in front, and flying Chapter 30 - Chapter 31 - Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Page 55 - Page 56 - Page 57 - Page 58 - Page 59 - Page 60 - Page 61 - Page 62 - Page 63 - Page 64 - Page 65 - Page 66 - Page 67 - Page 68 - Page 69 - Page 70 - Chapter 34 |
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are my notes on some important historical works. I have
edited and where possible standardized spellings. The
subject of the works has not and will not change but they
are not word for for word identical with the originals.
For instance in the case of General Mikhail_Dmitrievich
Skobelev I adopted the more common use of Skobelev
rather than Skoboloff. If this presents a problem then
find another source. Barry O'Connell Some other works:
Last count I have over 29,000 web pages in my notes. My main sites are www.SpongoBongo.com and www.PersianCarpetGuide.com
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