Marco Polo in Central Asia: 33: The Province of Ciarcian [1]

Ciarcian is a province of Great Turkey lying between northeast and east, with a capital city of the same name.
The people adore Mohammed.  The city has a good number of towns and castles.  There is a river bringing jasper and Calcedony, which being of excellent quality, is taken to Cathay. It brings great profit. It is a sandy province; the whole tract from Cotan to here is sandy. The water is generally bad, and bitter but in some spots it is better.  When an enemy passes through the country the inhabitants flee with their wives, children and cattle.  After two or three days journey through the sandy tracts, we arrive at places abounding in fine water and meadows.  No one can tell where those people with their wives, children and cattle took to flight to escape the invader, because the wind blowing always obliterated their footsteps. When a friendly army passes through, they hide their cattles because the army would take them away and eat, and pay them nothing.  After departing from Ciarcian, you go five days through wasteland; the water here bad and bitter, but here and there good and sweet. At the end of these five days you come to a city which lies at the entrance of a great desert, wherein 
good tracts are provided to travellers, and therefore I must tell about it.

Notes:-
1. Ciarcian: Likely, modern day Cankiri, historically known as Gangra, a city in Turkey, 140 kilometres northeast of Ankara.

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