Turbet I Haidari
TURBET I HAIDARI, a district of the province of Khorasan in Persia, bounded N. by Meshed, E. by Bakharz, S. by Khaf and W. by Turshiz. It has a population of about 30,000, composed chiefly of members of the Turki Karai tribe and Beluchis. The Karais were settled here by Timur in the 14th century and now provide a battalion of infantry and 150 cavalrymen to the army. The district contains about 150 villages and hamlets, most of them situated in its more fertile eastern part, and pays a yearly revenue of 14,000. Much silk was formerly produced, now very little, but there are large crops of grain.
TURBET I HAIDARI, the capital of the district, is 76 m. nearly S. of Meshed, in 35 17' N., 59 n' E., at an elevation of 4100 ft. The town is picturesquely situated on the bank of a deep and wide ravine in the midst of lofty hills, and surrounded by clusters of villages. Its population amounts to 8000 souls. There is a well-stocked bazaar and a number of Russian traders have established themselves here since 1903, when the place was connected with Meshed on one side and with Seistan on the other side by a telegraph line which, nominally Persian, is worked and maintained by a Russian staff. A British consul has resided here since 1905, and there is alsoa post-office.
The place was formerly known as Zavah and derives its present name from the turbet or tomb of a holy man named Kutb ed din Haidar, the founder of the ascetic sect of dervishes known as the Haidaris. He died c. 1230 and is buried in a large domed building a short distance outside the town.
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
