Jane McGary wrote: "I doubt that Sackville-West was wandering around in the mountains." No, she was not in the mountains. The site she is describing, Doshan Tapeh, is a hill to the east of Tehran. It was nearly a century ago when she visited, and at that time it was evidently out in the countryside east of the city. It's not in the mountains, but back in those days it was evidently separated from the capital by wilderness. Her description makes it sound as if one looking out from Doshan Tapeh could see Tehran off in the distance down on the plain below. A look at Google maps suggests that it is now surrounded by Tehran, or a 4.8km drive from Tehran. Jim McKenney