The Rashīdī History 155.2.11

155.2.11

But [Káshghar] has also many defects. For example, although the climate is very healthy, there are continual storms of dust and sand, and violent winds charged with black dust. Although Hindustán is notorious for this phenomenon [tufán], yet in Káshghar it is still more prevalent. The cultivation of the ground is very laborious and yields but little profit. In Káshghar it is impossible to support an army upon the produce of the country. Compared with the Dasht-i-Kipchák, the Kálmák country and Moghulistán, it has the semblance of a town, but with regard to productiveness and its capacity to support an army, it cannot be compared to those steppes. The inhabitants of towns who go there regard Káshghar as a wild country [sahrá], while the people of the steppes consider it a refined city. It is a sort of Purgatory between the Paradise of Towns and the Hell of Deserts. "Ask those from Hell of Purgatory, and they will call it Paradise." In a word, it is free from the discord of men and the trampling of hoofs, and it is a safe retreat for the contented and the rich. Great blessings accrue to the pious, now, from the blessed saints who lived there in time past. From two pious persons, out of many I have seen, I have heard that when people migrate from that country to some other, they cannot find the same peace of mind, and they remember Káshghar [with regret]. This is the highest praise.