bashi, or " bridge-head," where the bazaar street forms a sharp bend, and the rumble of the wheels is echoed from the low houses and cabins. Here the Ichu-su is crossed. The village Ardasa has a bridge of three arches, and some houses in the Stambul style, with iron balconies and flat roofs. Now the morning clouds are of a deep golden yellow, but the sun is hidden by the mountains, and we drive in deep shadow a few yards above the valley bottom. A caravan of white horses is carrying sheep and goat skins to the coast. The landscape is bare, only a poplar standing here and there on the bank. The valley becomes more contracted, and we mount slowly between thin juniper bushes, briars, and hawthorn. At Demirchi-suyi, " smith's brook," where one or two of the faithful are beginning to rub their eyes, we drive past a caravan of splendid camels, moving sedately at a slow, dignified pace. Most of them are brown, but some light yellow, and their winter wool has begun to grow. On the left opens a large side valley, which affords an extensive view into a labyrinth of mountains. The village street at Ichise is blocked by camels, horses, and mules, and we have to steer gently and carefully through them. Outside the village we meet a large horse caravan. The leader is decked and trimmed with ribands and tassels in yellow, red, and blue, and from his load two rods stand up tied together, which are also fully decorated. Round his neck he bears a bell as large as his head, which beats and rings with every step he takes. He is quite conscious of his responsibility, needs no superintendence, and draws the others in a long string after him. Most of these also carry small bells and rattles, and sometimes three bells are placed one inside the other to serve one another as clappers. 'There is a ringing and tinkling and jingling noise in the valley when these bell-ringers pass by.
At Kharava a bridge in four sections crosses the river. First there is an ordinary stone bridge of two arches with a stone parapet of well-dressed blocks ; then a platform-like span, then a wooden bridge resting on six stone piers, and lastly another span without an arch. The valley becomes after that more and more contracted ; the scenery is
IIIFカラー高解像度
