I bought a pound or so of the sweetmeat to pacify him, and, if possible, glean some information about the fair one, but my advances were of no avail.
The history of Kashan is closely allied to that of Ispahan.

The former city was founded by Sultana Zobeide, wife of the celebrated Haroun-al-Raschid.

Ransacked and destroyed by the Afghans in the eighteenth century, it was again restored, or rather rebuilt, by Haji Husein Khan.

Perhaps the most interesting thing the city contains is a leaning minaret which dates from the thirteenth century.

It is ascended by a rickety spiral staircase.