The Memoirs of Bābur 903.1.7

903.1.7

The Kohik Water flows along the north of Samarkand, at the distance of some 4 miles (2 _kuroh_); it is so-called because it comes out from under the upland of the Little Hill (_Kohik_)[357] lying between it and the town. The Dar-i-gham Water (canal) flows along the south, at the distance of some two miles (1 _sharī`_). This is a large and swift torrent,[358] indeed it is like a large river, cut off from the Kohik Water. All the gardens and suburbs and some of the _tūmāns_ of Samarkand are cultivated by it. By the Kohik Water a stretch of from 30 to 40 _yīghāch_,[359] by road, is made habitable and cultivated, as far as Bukhārā and Qarā-kūl. Large as the river is, it is not too large for its dwellings and its culture; during three or four months of the [Sidenote: Fol. 45b.] year, indeed, its waters do not reach Bukhārā.[360] Grapes, melons, apples and pomegranates, all fruits indeed, are good in Samarkand; two are famous, its apple and its _ṣāḥibī_ (grape).[361] Its winter is mightily cold; snow falls but not so much as in Kābul; in the heats its climate is good but not so good as Kābul's. In the town and suburbs of Samarkand are many fine buildings and gardens of Tīmur Beg and Aūlūgh Beg Mīrzā.[362]