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217 converge the important routes from the Caspian, Merve, Bokhara, Maimanah, Kandahar and Meshed. The old city is still surrounded by massive mudwalls, and is guarded by a grim-looking citadel. Inside the walls Herat has changed a good deal, and the hand of progress is clearly felt. The old caravan bazaar has been replaced by neat rows of shops on both sides of long straight avenues. Modern buildings have sprung up everywhere, and the New Town (Shahr-i-Nao), outside the city, is progressing steadily. The most important place in the old city is the citadel, standing in the centre of the town on a height towering over the rest of the city. From here a capital view is obtained of the country beyond. Of the original buildings of Iftikharuddin probably only the north-west corner tower remains. In later Timurid times it was covered with glazed tiles of which a few remain on the lower belt. The rest of the castle was rebuilt at the end of the 17th century. The only other building in the city noticeable for its size and height is the Jama Masjid, a large, lofty, arched structure in the north-eastern portion of the city. Its original plan is very old; it was laid down by Ghiasuddin of Ghor. It was then one of the most beautiful mosques ever built in Asia, adorned as it was with most magnificent carvings, precious mosaics, and other elaborate and costly embellishments. Later repairs have not very much altered its austere lines. On the sides of the four "aiwans" gorgeous panellings of glazed tiles of the best Timurid workmanship, predominantly green and blue with the grandeur of their Arabic inscriptions, are still to be seen. In the corner of the central aiwan stands one of the treasures of Herat—a huge bronze cauldron of exquisite Timurid workmanship. Its shape,