Most of the new buildings in Tiflis were built by Persians, and thousands were engaged in the construction of the Trans-Caspian Railway.

The permanent workmen now employed on it are largely Persians, and Askhabad has a resident population of over twelve thousand.

There were said to be twenty thousand Persians, from the provinces of Azerbaijan and Hamadan, working last summer on the new railway from Tiflis to Alexandropol and Kars, now being built, and doubtless many of them will permanently settle on the line.
It is said that there are half a million thus located and working out of Persia, but I think that this is an exaggerated estimate.

Most of them retain their nationality, for while they grumble loudly in their own country, yet when away they swear by it, and save money steadily to enable them to return home.

Their nomadic character is the cause of this readiness to seek employment abroad.