In the land of the lion and sun, or, modern Persia

In Short

This narrative record documents fifteen years of life, travel, and medical practice across Qajar-era Persia from 1866 to 1881. Written by a physician serving in the British Telegraph Department, the account moves from overland transit and icy mountain passes to domestic courtyards, crowded bazaars, and royal quarters. Through clinical observations and social interactions, the author details native medical remedies, court intrigues, domestic habits, legal customs, and commercial practices. The narrative preserves its lasting appeal by avoiding sentimental romance, offering instead a grounded, humorous, and precise look at everyday existence in nineteenth-century Persian cities, villages, and desert post-houses.

The Story

The journey begins in the winter of 1866, departing from the theatrical stages and gambling halls of Pera in Constantinople. After obtaining passport photos in Western boots and revolvers, the author embarks on an arduous overland journey across mud, loose stone roads, and freezing temperatures. Traveling by chupper (post-horses), the expedition moves through post-houses infested with vermin, surviving frigid nights until reaching the outskirts of Teheran. There, officials of the English Legation and the director of the Persian telegraph department welcome the traveler at a royal palace in Kerrij with hot meals and egg-flip before leading him into the capital.

Life in Teheran introduces the physician to the stark contrast between plain mud exterior walls and rich indoor living spaces filled with carpets, divans, and attentive servants. He quickly learns the delicate complexities of local etiquette, long water-pipes (kalian), and the omnipresent system of household percentage cuts and New Year presents (vails). His early quarters are besieged by a loud, persistent dervish who pitches a tent outside his window; after a failed attempt to dislodge the nuisance with bathwater, the author and a companion finally send glowing coals from a brazier down through the tent roof, ending the torment.

As his medical service develops, the author encounters both genuine seekers of knowledge and tricky local competitors. In Hamadan, a local head doctor (hakim bashi) visits the dispensary professing an eagerness to learn Western medicine, though his motives prove complicated. Moving south through Kermanshah, the physician becomes tangled in the violent internal disputes of the ruling elite. Following a frantic summons to the country residence of the governor, the Imād-u-dowlet, the doctor inspects the fresh corpse of the governor's criminal son, who has been shot at point-blank range under the thin guise of a hunting accident.

In the suburban enclave of Julfa across the river from Ispahan, the author observes the distinct customs of the Armenian population. He receives initial visits from dozens of local priests who happily consume his supply of brandy, notes the miraculous claims surrounding local church stones, and examines how successful emigrants support idle families left behind. He observes the high skill of local jewelers, watchmenders, and drug-compounders, while noting the grim practice of using old Christian tombstones to pave small bridges over public watercourses.

His medical duties and daily life take him into every corner of Persian commerce and agriculture. He witnesses the delicate, anxious process of processing, packing, and taxing crude opium for local consumption and foreign export. He spends hours in caravanserai lofts chatting with miniature painters, observing the manufacture of counterfeit antiquities, and watching horse-brokers run mounts across the massive central square (maidān).

Further south in Shiraz, the author settles into domestic routines with his wife, taking long evening rides, sampling local cold delicacies, and observing regional food preparation—ranging from complex stuffed dishes (dolma) and steaming mounds of rice (pillaw) to lamb kabob cooked over open charcoal. During the scorching summer months, he travels by night in large mule caravans, documenting the sights and sounds of the road.

The risks of constant travel culminate in a terrifying encounter during a period of severe famine. While posting at high speed to reach a distant patient without a military guard, the doctor is ambushed at night by Bakhtiari foot-thieves. Stripped of his boots, clothes, and government instrument cases, he is marched across frozen ground, witness to the division of stolen loot, before managing a desperate escape. He limps into a nearby village where old women pull thorns from his bare feet, eventually securing help from a local postmaster and returning safely to his post. His long tenure concludes with a lengthy journey back toward Europe via Russian steamers, Berlin hotels, and northern rail lines, leaving behind a comprehensive personal record of a lost era.

How It Unfolds

Leaving Constantinople After attending French theater performances and visiting the open gaming tables of Pera, the traveler packs his gear, poses for a framed portrait in riding boots, and sets out by post-horses for the Persian border in the dead of winter.

Arrival in Teheran Escorted across snowy, muddy plains by telegraph officials and diplomats, the physician settles into comfortable living quarters behind plain mud walls, learning the strict social rules of Persian visits, pipe-smoking, and domestic service fees.

The troublesome dervish Tormented by an unyielding dervish blowing a horn outside his bedroom window, the author first tries dumping a bath-tub of water on the man's tent, then successfully routs the squatter by dropping live charcoal from a room brazier onto the canvas roof.

A tragedy at Kermanshah Summoned in haste to a prince's rural estate, the doctor examines the body of the governor's violent son, recognizing that a fatal gunshot wound attributed to an dropped weapon was actually an execution carried out at close range.

Life among the Julfa Armenians Residing near Ispahan, the author details the habits of the local Christian population, receiving dozens of brandy-seeking priests, examining ancient tombstone bridges, and documenting the work of skilled goldsmiths, watchmakers, and drug compounders.

Processing the opium harvest The narrative examines the precise steps required to dry, roll, paper-wrap, and pack high-grade opium into tarpaulin-covered chests, detailing both fraudulent native adulteration techniques and the widespread daily use of small spiced opium pills among the elderly.

Amusements of the Shiraz bazaar The author explores regional urban life, observing miniature painters decorating paper mache pencil cases, touring a factory dedicated to making fake antiquities, and describing the high-speed testing of cheap horses across the vast public square.

Surviving a night ambush While riding post through famine-stricken territory to reach a sick patient, the doctor is captured by Bakhtiari brigands, stripped of his clothing and instruments, and forced to march barefoot until he escapes to a nearby village post-house.

Return to Europe Concluding fifteen years of service, the physician takes his family on an overland journey across northern borders and railway lines, navigating German hotels and theater performances before adjusting once more to European life.

The People

• C. J. Wills: The narrator and medical officer for Her Majesty's Telegraph Department. Practical, observant, and unflappable, he approaches his years in Persia with clinical curiosity, handling local corruption, heavy medical workloads, and physical danger with a steady hand and a dry sense of humor.
• Major S—: The director of the Persian telegraph department based in Teheran. A welcoming host, he provides comfortable quarters, managing complex local administrative relationships while maintaining a disciplined house.
• The Imād-u-dowlet: The powerful, stern governor of Kermanshah. Burdened by a rebellious and violent youngest son who attempted his life, he maintains absolute authority in his region, eventually ordering a quiet, lethal resolution to his domestic crisis.
• Mirza Zeynal Abdeen: The private physician to the Imād-u-dowlet. Terrified and pale when disaster strikes at the prince's estate, he desperately seeks the English doctor's professional help to evaluate a fatal gunshot wound before the public arrives.
• Abu Seif Khan: A Persian nobleman and avid hunter who leads early morning coursing expeditions for antelope using specialized sight-and-scent hounds across sandy, thorn-filled plains.
• Setrak: An exceptionally skilled Armenian goldsmith and silversmith in Julfa, trusted by local Persian craftsmen to execute the most intricate metalwork and jeweled detailing in the region.
• Houssein Khari: An artisan in the Gulshan caravanserai who runs a workshop producing counterfeit antiquities, hawking obvious reproductions while quietly hoarding genuine historic treasures out of sight.

In Its Own Voice

"Down it came on the head of the dervish, putting out his fire-pot, and producing a very free succession of invocations to saints." — On trying to dislodge an unwelcome squatter outside his bedroom window with a tub of water.

"I have no doubt that the matter was really an execution, for one of the wrists was bruised by finger-marks, and doubtless the unfortunate man had been held down and slain with his own weapon." — Observing the dead body of the governor's violent son after a suspicious shooting.

"Tenderness and digestibility here approach their highest pitch, and the acme of roasts is reached." — Describing the proper preparation of fresh lamb kabobs cooked over open charcoal.

What It's Really About

Beneath its anecdotal travel framework, the narrative examines the mechanics of daily survival, social rank, and governance within nineteenth-century Persia. It explores how formal systems of etiquette (ta'arof), financial percentage cuts, and religious obligations function as practical machinery for maintaining stability across a fractured social landscape.

The text addresses the sharp divide between public facades and private realities. Mud-plastered outer walls hide luxurious interior courtyards; public statements regarding tragic hunting accidents cover up state-sanctioned executions; and fraudulent commercial practices exist right alongside exquisite artisanal dedication. It investigates how foreign influence—represented by British telegraph lines, Russian trade goods, and Western medical techniques—enters a traditional society without entirely altering its underlying values.

Ultimately, the author considers the compromises necessary to live within a foreign culture. Rather than asserting moral superiority, he documents how practical people adjust to extreme climate, sudden lawlessness, administrative bribery, and deep-seated religious traditions.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in middle-eastern history, nineteenth-century travel literature, and social history will find this volume uniquely revealing. Unlike standard Victorian travelogues that rely on brief visits and romantic generalizations, this account comes from a resident medical officer who spent fifteen years living alongside the people he describes. His clinical background brings precision to his descriptions of local diseases, regional diets, market weights, and domestic architecture.

The prose flows with a straightforward, unpretentious voice that treats high diplomatic figures and roadside muleteers with equal curiosity. Modern readers will enjoy vivid descriptions of regional cooking—including ice-cooled tamarind drinks, rich stews, and seasoned skewered lamb—alongside candid accounts of post-house vermin, freezing winter rides, and high-stakes medical calls.

The book does present specific period challenges. The narrative contains mid-nineteenth-century colonial terminology and reflects typical Victorian biases regarding non-Western religions and specific ethnic groups, particularly in its uncritical repeating of regional stereotypes about native traders and minority communities. It also assumes a reader comfortable with occasional untranslated regional terms and historic geographical spellings. However, for those seeking a detailed, firsthand record of daily life in Qajar Persia—from the mechanics of a water-pipe to the inner workings of a governor's court—this account remains an informative and surprisingly lively document.