The total distance from the coast to the capital is two hundred miles.

There is an old-established caravan track over easy country, from Kasvin to Hamadan in the south--west, distant about one hundred and fifty miles.

It has lately been announced that the Russian Road Company has obtained a concession to convert this track into a cart-road in continuation of that from Resht.

It is seen that with improved communication Russian trade may be made to compete successfully at Hamadan, which is only about fifty miles further from the Caspian Sea base than Tehran, and there will also be the advantage of a return trade in cotton from Central Persia, as Armenian merchants now export it to Russia from as far South as Isfahan and Yezd.

The German road from Baghdad to Tehran will be met at Hamadan.
Kermanshah and Hamadan, through which the German road will pass, are both busy centres of trade in districts rich in corn, wool, and wine.
They are also meeting-points of the great and ever-flowing streams of pilgrims to Kerbela _via_ Baghdad, said to number annually about one hundred thousand.