On the one side is the Caspian Sea, the navigation of which is at all times difficult, and in winter impossible; on the other side more than a month's march through the desert; and then on the coast itself there is a total impossibility of Cantoning a reserved force.
"Travels in the Steppes of the Caspian Sea, the Crimea, the Caucasus, &c."
Xavier Hommaire de Hell