ARMENIA
TRAVELS AND STUDIES
BY
H. F. B. LYNCH
Nature's vast frame, the web of human things.
Shelley, Alastor.
Who can foretell our future? Spare me the attempt.
We are like a harvest reaped by bad husbandmen
amidst encircling gloom and cloud.
John Katholikos
Armenian historian of the Xth century Ch. CLXXXVII.
IN TWO VOLUMES
WITH 197 ILLUSTRATIONS, REPRODUCED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
AND SKETCHES BY THE AUTHOR,
NUMEROUS MAPS AND PLANS, A BIBLIOGRAPHY
And a Map of Armenia and Adjacent Countries
VOL. II
THE TURKISH PROVINCES
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
LONDON: 39 PATERNOSTER ROW
NEW YORK AND BOMBAY
1901
CONTENTS
PAGE
CHAPTER I
Descend into Turkish Territory 1
CHAPTER II
To Lake Van 11
CHAPTER III
Across Lake Van 25
CHAPTER IV
Van 38
CHAPTER V
From Van to Bitlis 116
CHAPTER VI
Bitlis 145
CHAPTER VII
From Bitlis to Mush--Mush 160
CHAPTER VIII
From Mush to Erzerum 174
CHAPTER IX
Erzerum 198
CHAPTER X
Return to the Border Ranges--Thalatta, thalatta! 225
CHAPTER XI
Revisit Armenia 237
CHAPTER XII
Across the Central Tableland to Khinis 245
CHAPTER XIII
From Khinis to Tutakh 254
CHAPTER XIV
Down the Murad to Melazkert 264
CHAPTER XV
From Melazkert to Akhlat 276
CHAPTER XVI
Akhlat 280
CHAPTER XVII
Our Sojourn in the Crater of Nimrud 298
CHAPTER XVIII
Round Nimrud by Lake Nazik 314
CHAPTER XIX
Ascent of Sipan 326
CHAPTER XX
Back to the Central Tableland 340
CHAPTER XXI
Our Sojourn on Bingöl 359
CHAPTER XXII
Home across the Border Ranges 379
CHAPTER XXIII
Geographical 383
CHAPTER XXIV
Statistical and Political 408
APPENDIX I
National Constitution of the Armenians in the
Turkish Empire 445
APPENDIX II
Chemical Constitution of some Armenian Lakes 468
BIBLIOGRAPHY 471
INDEX 497
LIST OF PLATES
Lake Van with Sipan from Artemid Frontispiece
Plain of Alashkert from the Slopes of Aghri Dagh To face page 2
Group of Kurd Hamidiyeh Cavalry Back to page 4
Group of Karapapakh Hamidiyeh Cavalry 5
The Kuseh Dagh from the Plain of Alashkert To face page 10
Yusuf Bey of Köshk 16
Kurd of Köshk in Gala Dress 17
Sipan from the Plain of Patnotz 19
Van from the Slopes of Mount Varag 53
Van: Interior of the Mosque of Ulu Jami Back to page 106
Van: Frieze in Ulu Jami 107
Van: Cuneiform Inscription of Meher or
Choban Kapusi To face page 112
Van: Mount Varag from the Heights of Toprak Kala 113
Akhtamar: Church from South-East Back to page 130
Akhtamar: Church from North-West 131
Church at Akhtamar: Sculptures on North Wall To face page 132
Crater of Nimrud as seen on the Road from Garzik
to Bitlis 142
Bitlis from Avel Meidan 145
Kerkür Dagh from the South: Nimrud Crater in the background 161
Young Kurd Woman at Gotni, Mush Plain 163
Well-to-do Inhabitant of Khaskeui, Mush Plain 166
Monastery of Surb Karapet from the South Back to page 176
Church of Surb Karapet from South-West 177
View South from the Terrace at Surb Karapet To face page 178
The Two Chapels at Surb Karapet 180
The Akh Dagh and the Plain of Khinis from the South 186
The Central Tableland, Bingöl in the distance,
from near Kulli 191
Kargabazar, across the Plain of Pasin, from the
southern margin of the Central Tableland 193
Erzerum from the Roof of the British Consulate: the
Citadel in the middle distance and Eyerli Dagh
in the background 208
Erzerum: Chifteh Minareh To face page 211
Looking East-South-East from near the Kop Pass 230
Castle of Kalajik, Upper Kharshut 236
Monastery of Sumelas 239
Tekman and the Bingöl Dagh from near Khedonun 247
Khamur from the Pass between Ali Mur and Khinis 252
Melazkert from the North: Sipan in the background 269
Akhlat: Iki Kube--(the Kala, or Ottoman City,
in the background) 285
Akhlat: Isolated Tomb 290
Akhlat: The Kharab-Shehr, or Site of the Ancient City 292
The Nimrud Crater from the Promontory of Kizvag 298
Sipan: View from the Western Summit over the Summit Region 334
Hamidiyeh Cavalry at Gumgum 357
Armenian Village of Gundemir: Bingöl Cliffs in the
background 359
The Bingöl Cliffs with the Head Waters of the Bingöl Su
from the Village of Chaghelik 360
The so-called Crater of Bingöl from about the centre of
the Moraine from Kara Kala 369
View from the Western Summit of Bingöl 373
Panorama from the Hill of Gugoghlan 373
ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT
Caravan on the Black Sea--Tabriz Trade Route 8
Karakilisa from South-West 10
Akantz 26
Ruins of Arjish from the North 28
Ruins of Arjish from the South 29
Our Boat on Lake Van 30
Scene on the Island of Ktutz 33
Doorway of the Church at Ktutz 34
Bronze Shield from Toprak Kala 62
Bronze Fragment from Toprak Kala (British Museum) 63
Ornament from Toprak Kala (British Museum) 63
House of an Armenian Merchant at Van 81
Interior of Haykavank from the East 102
The Rock and Walled City of Van 104
Street in the Walled City 105
The Crag of Ak Köpri 111
Monastery of Yedi Kilisa (Varag) 114
Interior of the Church at Yedi Kilisa 115
Van on the Road to Bitlis 116
Mountain Range along South Coast of Lake Van 119
Island of Akhtamar 130
Promontory of Surb (on the left the back of the Sheikh
Ora Crater; in the distance Nimrud) 140
Bitlis: Fortified Monastery 155
Tunnel of Semiramis 156
Looking down Valley of Bitlis Chai 157
Nimrud Crater from the Volcanic Plateau 161
Armenian Village of Khaskeui, Mush Plain 165
Terrace of Lava resembling Human Fortifications 189
Looking down the Valley of the Upper Araxes from
below Mejitli 192
Erzerum and its Plain from the South 207
Armenian Youths 215
Armenian Maidens 216
Five Generations of an Armenian Family 221
Range North of Ashkala 229
On the Banks of the Chorokh above Baiburt 232
Armenian Cemetery at Varzahan 234
Kurdish Dancing Boy at Gopal 254
Piece of Seljuk Pottery from Akhlat 285
Tombstone at Akhlat 291
The Lake in the Crater of Nimrud 302
Village of Uran Gazi with Sipan 332
Grave on the Summit of Khamur 340
LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS
Plan of Van To face page 81
Bitlis and Environs 147
Plan of the Ancient Fortifications of Melazkert 271
Plan of Akhlat 296
Interior of the Nimrud Crater 305
Nimrud and Surroundings 312
Plan of the Summit Region of Sipan 336
The Bingöl Dagh on the North 366
The Bingöl Dagh on the South 378
CHAPTER I
DESCEND INTO TURKISH TERRITORY
October 24.--The track which we were following winds for some distance
along the spine of the range. You cross and cross again from the one to
the other watershed, overlooking now the open spaces of the southern
landscape, now the narrow and encumbered cañon of the Araxes below
the adjacent cliffs of the tableland. The rocky parapets and gloomy
valleys appear to extend from basin to basin, at right angles to the
axis of the chain. West of the crags about us, and isolated from them,
rose a shapely mass with black but snow-streaked sides. Darkness was
falling when we descended from this lofty position into one of the
valleys of the southern slopes. In its recesses we came upon a little
Kurdish settlement, which seemed to promise shelter during the night.
Kurtler--Kurds! No sooner have we crossed the frontier than we find
ourselves in their midst. The mountains of Kurdistan are more than 100
miles distant; yet these parasites fasten upon the countryside. Still
their presence is appropriate and is not unwelcome, so long as they are
confined to alpine solitudes like those which surround the village of
Chat. Tufts of grass, interspersed with an endless crop of stones, were
the only pasture which we had seen for some time. Yet the shepherds
were in possession of a considerable stock of hay, against the approach
of a winter season which can scarcely lack rigour at an elevation of
6700 feet above the sea. Their habitations just protrude above the
level of the ground; and, once within the doorway, you proceed through
narrow passages into the very bowels of the earth. In the darkness you
stumble upon the forms of cattle or wake a ragged child. We took up
our quarters in one of the largest of the subterranean chambers, lit
our candles, and spread our carpet on the bare soil. We were surprised
to discover that the roof of the apartment was artificial--layers
of mud and straw, held together by laths of wood, and supported by
huge beams. The walls, too, were built up of rough stones, plastered
together; it was evident that the room was only three-parts buried,
and that it communicated directly with the outer air. In fact we could
see an aperture, the rude counterpart of a window, above the opening
to the winding passage through which we had come. On the side opposite
this only entrance a square hole in the face of the wall nourished a
smouldering fire. The smoke wreathed upwards to a vent in the roof,
or was sucked inwards towards the tunnelled approach.
When morning broke we were glad to issue from the fetid atmosphere of
this human burrow into the pure mountain air. A few gaunt figures were
standing upon the higher stages of the eminence which had provided a
suitable site for these underground operations, and which rose like
a large ant-hill from the waste of stone. Women squatted before the
doors of the straggling tenements, weaving the bright rugs for which
their race is famed. We proceeded down the glen, along the banks of a
little stream. It finds an easy exit from the heart of the mountains,
threading the trough of one of the meridional valleys. After riding
for an hour and a half, we opened out the southern landscape from
some high ground above the village of Amat (Fig. 108).
The great plain of Alashkert was outspread before us, bounded on
the further side by the snow-capped mountains of the Ala Dagh,
which stretched across the horizon from the east. Just before us,
this lofty range was seen to recede into the misty background, the
outlines bending away towards south-west. But the barrier was resumed
at no considerable interval by a chain of hills, less distant, although
of humbler proportions, called Kilich Gedik, or the sharp sword. We
could just descry the site of Karakilisa, backed by the recess of
the Ala Dagh. We knew that the Murad must be flowing through that
nebulous passage in the opposite bulwark of the plain. The surface
of the ground below us was level as water; the expanse was greatest
in the west. In that direction the spurs of the range upon which
we stood plunged by a succession of promontories into the floor
of the plain. We were reminded of the valley of the Araxes in the
neighbourhood of Erivan. Both depressions have the appearance of
inland seas at the foot of the mountains, the one on the northern,
the other on the southern side. But that of Alashkert is much more
elevated (5500 feet), and less sheltered; you miss the presence of
those extensive stretches of orchard and verdure which soften the
landscape through which the Araxes flows. The eye wanders out over
dim, ochreous tracts, broken by patches of fallow, and seamed by white
rivulets. Just below the Armenian settlement we reached the margin of
the level ground, and cantered along, almost on a compass course. We
saw several insignificant villages; but the district was wild, the
soil for the most part unreclaimed. Flocks of duck and geese took
wing at our approach; cranes, with their long necks, sailed across
the sky. In the course of an hour and a half we reached the street
of Karakilisa, a distance from Amat, measured direct, of 9 miles.
A motley crowd collected round us as we enquired for the government
quarters; a hundred curious faces were upturned towards us, and our
ears were greeted with the cry of Ferengi! Ferengi! passed like a
shuttlecock from mouth to mouth. The little town was full of stir;
new shops and houses were in course of erection; it was evident that
trade and traffic were on the increase. We had almost crossed it from
end to end, when we were ushered into a modest building, of which the
hall or outer chamber was thronged with people, for the most part
peasants; while an old servitor or usher, with white beard and a
flowing robe, was marshalling the rows of slippers by the threshold
of an inner door. At our approach he drew aside the quilted curtain
which screened this sanctuary, and turned the handle and bade us pass
within. The low divan, which on three sides followed the walls of
the apartment, was already occupied by a full complement of seated
figures; they appeared to be engaged in deliberation when we broke
in upon their séance. A little man with vivacious eyes was directing
the conversation; he sat on the only chair behind a table covered
with faded baize. Although we could scarcely doubt that our arrival
had been announced beforehand, we seemed to take these notables by
surprise. The little man rose from his chair; the assembly huddled
together in order to give us place on the divan. Compliments were
exchanged; coffee and cigarettes were provided; the discussion was
adjourned by tacit consent. One by one, after satisfying without
displaying their curiosity, the councillors stole from the room.
Meanwhile the figure at the table--it was the Kaimakam, or district
governor--had examined our numerous and weighty credentials, and had
directed a billet to be provided and prepared. Our effects, which
arrived later, were not subjected to examination; no excisemen or
policemen dogged our steps. Such officials are almost unknown in this
happy country! so we reflected with a sense of immense relief. The way
they worry the people in the neighbouring empire passes the capacity
of the uninitiated to realise. The Greek poet was certainly wrong when
he gave expression to the sentiment that anarchy is the greatest of
human ills. Here we were, enlightened observers, exchanging order for
disorder with rapturous delight! We were free to wander as we willed,
to enjoy a British liberty without so much as the restraint of roads
and walls. Coming from Russia, the contrast was indeed startling;
independence is far preferable to feeling reasonably certain that
you will not be knocked on the head by a Kurd.
The Kaimakam escorted us to the adjacent barracks, in which a
whitewashed room had been made ready to receive us. It belonged to the
quarters of the superior officer--with the rank of Miralai--a Turk of
great stature and broad shoulders, to whom we were introduced. He wore
a dark blue military tunic of European pattern and material; but he
had forgotten to fasten the lower buttons of this imposing garment,
as well as the upper ones of the trousers beneath. His mouth and
ears and nostrils were of unusual proportions; the expression of the
face was kind, and denoted a childlike, buoyant nature--de bonne bête
humaine, as one might say. In him we found an agreeable and a sensible
companion. He bustled about the place, was accustomed to shave each
Friday; he settled every difficulty with eh, wallah! accompanied by a
hearty laugh. From time to time the troops were visited by the Liva,
or commandant, an aged figure with a beard of snow. He had been at
Plevna, and had made the campaign of Bulgaria; but nothing remained
of him now but a worn-out body, made doubly infirm by an inveterate
habit of getting drunk.
The peculiar care and constant plague of these high officials were the
newly-enrolled regiments which, under the name of Hamidiyeh, flatter
the vanity but sap the throne of the reigning Sultan. Am I guilty of
indiscretion when I say that the prevailing opinion of them in official
circles is one of contempt, not unmixed with alarm? Your high-placed
Turk will quote at their expense his favourite proverb, the fish begins
to stink from the head. The young men are the sons of their fathers,
who are Kurds and brigands; the example of the fathers is transmitted
to the sons. Something might be done, if the process were arrested--if
the recruits were removed from their homes. When I objected that the
Tsar's Cossacks presented in some respects a hopeful analogy, I would
be met by the reply that the Russian autocrat employed strong measures,
the like of which the Turkish Government was too mild to enforce.
Perhaps my reader is already aware that the Hamidiyeh are irregular
cavalry, who owe their origin to the endeavour of the Sultan
Abdul Hamid to emulate the example which gave to Russia her Cossack
troops. They are recruited for the most part among the Kurdish tribes;
the name of yeomanry expresses the nature of their military service,
but cannot be applied to the class to which they belong. The force is
still undergoing the initial process of organisation. At the time of
our journey it afforded the principal topic of conversation. Yuzbashis,
or sergeants, of the regular army were being poured into the country,
and distributed among the villages, to instil into the shepherds
the rudiments of drill. Depots of arms were being established in
convenient centres; and it was the intention of the authorities
to keep the weapons under lock and key, except when they should be
required for the annual trainings in spring. Hundreds and thousands
of suits of uniform were arriving in the principal towns, loaded
on bullock carts. Each regiment had been allowed to exercise its
own fancy upon the choice of a distinctive garb. The result was
an incongruous mixture of the braids and gold lace of Europe with
the Georgian finery of a serried row of silvered cartridge cases,
banded across the breast of a skirted coat. How proud they seemed,
and how insensible of their ridiculous appearance in our eyes--the
long-beaked Kurds, the swarthy Karapapakhs, masquerading down the
street of Karakilisa in these strange creations of the tailors of
Pera or Stambul! They did not require pressing to consent to be
photographed--a group of Kurds (Fig. 109), a group of Karapapakhs
(Fig. 110). Some of the principal officers of either regiment are
represented in my illustrations; and I would beg my reader to observe
the seated Kurd in the Georgian dress--it is Eyub Pasha with his son
and nephew. Behind him stands his principal henchman, who, although
a Kurd, has seen service with regular troops.
In the caza, or administrative subdivision, of Karakilisa three
regiments of Hamidiyeh have been enrolled. Two are recruited from Kurds
of the Zilanli tribe; the third from Karapapakhs. This people--who
take their name from their caps of black lambskin--are found on
either side of the Russo-Turkish frontier, and are no doubt related to
the Tartars of Azerbaijan. The Kaimakam informed me--but I question
whether his statement, even if true, can apply to more than a small
number--that the fathers of those among them who inhabit this district
were followers of the famous Shamyl. According to his account they
were at that time settled in Daghestan, whence they removed to their
present seats. He added that their villages were 8 in number in this
caza; that their regiment had a strength of 800 men; and that they had
branded no less than 650 horses with the military mark. Their chief,
Ali Bey, is a man of hideous features, whom we recognised as the same
individual who had been seated in the place of honour, when we broke
in upon the deliberations of the Kaimakam. I now learnt the purport
of their lively discussion; it had been a question of fixing a price
for grain. Months ago Ali Bey had made a contract with the Kaimakam to
supply the cereal for Government purposes at a stated price. The time
had just arrived for delivering it into the granaries; but the price
had risen, almost to famine rates. In the drawer of the green baize
table was securely buried the precious document, behind a lock of
which alone the Kaimakam possessed the key. How great was the dismay
of the wretched official to find that it had been abstracted, and to
recognise that the robbery might cost him his place! His despoiler
felt quite safe behind his Hamidiyeh uniform and his paper figures
of 800 men-at-arms.
But the Kaimakam was not the man to go to sleep beneath an injury; he
possessed both energy and brains. He and the Miralai would each evening
repair to our quarters, and discuss the events of the day over coffee
and pipes. On one occasion, in company with the Miralai, we had awaited
to a late hour the arrival of the Kaimakam. When at last he made his
appearance, his clothes were covered with dust and he was wearing his
long top-boots. His eyes were bright with excitement as he narrated
in vivid language the story of his day's work. Kurds from Lake Balük
had made a foray into his district, and had plundered the village of
Mangasar, inhabited in equal numbers by Armenians and Mussulmans. He
had proceeded in person to the scene of their depredations, and at
the head of his motley followers had forced them to retire after a
sanguinary fight. What was the origin of this man whose animated face
and supple character contrasted strangely with the wooden figures of
officers and notables who attended his divan? He told me he was an
Albanian; he was, of course, a Mohammedan; but his whole appearance
stamped him a Greek. Compared with Kurds like Eyub Pasha, with their
resemblance to big birds, he stood on the opposite pole of human
development. Although in point of years the youngest of the group,
he led them all by the nose. A situation had scarcely been stated
when he had already discovered the solution; he shared the feelings
as well as the thoughts of the individual to whom he was lending his
ear. I have no doubt that he was far the superior of Ali Bey in the
successful practice of every kind of deceit. He professed himself
my friend; I am sure he took a pleasure in abusing the confidence
which I was obliged to affect. We had almost exhausted our stock of
money when we arrived in Karakilisa; between us and the town of Van,
where we might hope to replenish it, lay the wildest districts of
Asiatic Turkey. Semi-civilised communications are entirely wanting
in those regions; it was even impossible to hire a caravan. It was
necessary to purchase horses; three days were consumed in finding
the animals; having selected four, at an average price of £6 apiece,
we were without funds to defray our expenses in the town. The Kaimakam
might no doubt have advanced the few pounds in perfect safety; but he
had cast longing eyes upon my gun. Alleging that he had already spent
the last instalment of his allowance, he insisted that the usurers,
who would supply him with the money, required that I should leave the
weapon in his charge. It was arranged that, the moment the debt had
been recovered, he would despatch the valuable pledge to Erzerum. No
sooner had we reached Van than I contrived to send him the amount by
way of Bayazid. Weeks later, upon my arrival in the capital of his
provincial government, the gun had not yet come to hand. The Vali, or
Governor-General, was recently dead; no successor had been appointed;
the fact that I was an Englishman was scarcely worth recalling to
the petty authorities, daily witnesses of the feebleness of the
British Government, and full of contempt for the British Power. When
my property was at last restored to me through the good offices of
Mr. Graves, the whole winter and part of the spring had gone by. The
Kaimakam had wreaked his revenge; the weapon came in broken pieces,
and the barrels bore the marks of heavy blows.
I was unable to ascertain with any accuracy the number of the
inhabitants, whether of the district or of the town. The Kaimakam,
although extremely communicative on other subjects, professed to
have been forbidden to make them known. According to the most recent
official statistics, the caza contains no less than 58 villages, and
possesses a population of 5377 Mohammedans and 1902 Armenians. For
the town in particular I have not had access to any information; but
I should judge that the residents might be put down at 1500 to 2000,
of whom the Armenians would be nearly two-thirds. With the exception
of the shops, the houses are in general little better than the usual
village tenements, half buried beneath the ground. But Karakilisa
is increasing in importance day by day, being situated on the great
avenue of communication between Persia and the Black Sea. Strings
of camels, with their finery of coloured tassels, were continually
passing at a stone's throw from our door (Fig. 111). They were bearing
the multitudinous wares of Europe for distribution among the Eastern
bazars. They proceed by way of Trebizond, Erzerum, and Bayazid to
the city of Tabriz. The place has also the advantage of being both
a military and an administrative centre; there is always something
going on. The fashionable amusement of the day were the Hamidiyeh. A
luxurious coffee-house had just been built for their delectation;
their name was on every tongue.
It was whispered in fear and terror by the poor Armenians. I
visited their bishop, and found him in a state of blank despair. He
was afraid to receive me, and sent me excuses--which, however, I
refused to accept. After some parley with intermediaries he made his
appearance--a stout figure, a thick-lipped, common face. He refused
to listen to the simple questions which I addressed to him, and burst
out into abuse. Europe, and especially England, had played the part
of swindlers towards his miserable race. Their hopes had been incited
by delusive professions, which had only served to alarm the Sultan and
let loose the Kurds. Nor could they look to Russia, the arch-offender,
fanning the agitation for ends of her own. The poor man continued in
this strain until he was nearly beside himself; I was obliged to leave
him to his rage. His diocese embraces the districts between Zeidikan
and Bayazid, and extends southwards to the borders of the vilayet,
or Government, of Van. His church at Karakilisa is little better than
four stone walls. An ignorant priest imparts instruction in a wretched
little building which can scarcely be dignified by the name of school.
One afternoon we made an excursion to the point where the Murad changes
direction, and flows through the gap towards the south. Between
the barracks in which we were lodged, on the extreme outskirts
of Karakilisa, and the river, flowing placidly over the plain,
there extends a considerable tract of marshy ground and low covert,
the home of plover and innumerable water-birds. We crossed a stream
which, coming from Aghri Dagh, passes just beneath the barracks to
join the Murad a little further west (Kör Su), and made across the
marsh in the direction of a little Armenian village which stands on
the left bank of the principal body of water, almost due south of
the town. Just below this settlement, called Küp Keran, we forded
the Murad, which was winding at the foot of a gentle eminence of
the southern border through a pebbly and many-channelled bed. Either
shore was quite a museum of living wildfowl; in especial we admired a
beautiful species of golden duck of which the wings were flaked with
white bands. Avoiding the swamp on the opposite margin, we followed
this bank for some distance: and a little later crossed back to the
northern side. About a mile and a half below Küp Keran the river
describes a beautiful curve, and enters the spacious passage of
the hills. It is pushed southwards by rising ground at the base of
the Kilich Gedik barrier; but the higher outlines of that range,
as well as those of the snowy Ala Dagh in the east, are several
miles removed from its shores. It flows towards grassy hills, among
which you lose the silver thread which the eye has followed as far
as a village, named Dombat. The breadth of the Murad at the bend,
where its errant waters had issued from the marsh, did not appear to
us to exceed thirty yards. The intense stillness of the scene was in
harmony with the quiet sunset which shed radiance over mountain, river,
and plain. From the lofty bulwark of the northern chain, beyond the
lake-like surface of the steppe, rose the form of a single summit,
overtowering its neighbours--the shapely dome of the Kuseh Dagh
(Fig. 112). The fantastic profile of the system was drawn across the
horizon in hues of opal to the far east. In that direction we could
clearly see the magnificent bastions of Ararat, mounting the sky behind
these heights. The snowfields were flushed with a delicate madder;
we noticed that from this side they appear to gather to a single
peak, the eminence upon which we had stood. We remarked the convex
modelling of the lower slopes of the system along the opposite margin
of the plain. A shorter way was shown us for the return to Karakilisa
(Fig. 113), which leaves the river and crosses the head of the marsh.