Account of a Journey io Choy hi Vcrfia. 229 



four cannon : mortars alio are planted on the edge of ttie 

 ditch by which the city is furroiuuled. 'J'he city, has only 

 one gate, and would be a place of ftrength if its fitiialiou 

 were more advantageous. One-half of it is furroundod by 

 mountains within cannon fliot ; but on the fouth fide it is 

 protefted by infuperable rocks, which extend, almoft pcrpen- 

 dicularlv, to the banks of the river Sangin. The houi'cs 

 arc in the fame ftvle of archileolure as thofe of Tcflis. 



The chan, Achmet Mchemet, was about ten years of age, 

 and fucceeded his brother, who had been afTaflinatcd in the 

 llrcets about a year before, Thediltrief belonging to Erivvan 

 forms a great part of Armenia the Lefs : it is exceedingly fer- 

 tile, and brings to the chan a confiderable income; from 

 which, however, he mufl pay a tribute to tlie czar of Georgia. 



On the 27th our colonel paid a vifit to the chan, all of us 

 accompanying him in great parade on horfcback. Whcu 

 we arrived at the court of the palace we all dil'mounted, the 

 colonel excepted, who rode up to the palace, where he was 

 received bv one of the chan's vadals, who conduftcd him 

 into the hall of audience, to which all tlie officers followed 

 him. Chairs covered with red cloth were handed tons; 

 after which we were prefcnted with cotTee, tea, and fvvcet- 

 nieats; and then with the /'<////</;/, a kind of ' machine ufed 

 for fmoking tobacco through water. The audience laiied 

 about half an hour, during which the chan fpokc very little, 

 and of courtc we had no opportunity for much converfation. 

 When the audience was ended, we returned to our lodt;in<xs 

 in the chan's fununcr palace. The ftreets through which we 

 pafl'cd were fo full of people, that it was with dithculty we 

 could get along. 



On the ift of March we continued our journey towards 

 Nachtfchiwan, the capital of Armenia ; but when we arrived 

 at Dcrwifchliir, fixty-nine werfts from Eriwan, we were 

 obliged, on account of the danger of the road, to return to 

 Eriwan, as the C!nrds along the ri\er Aras were in a Hate of 

 infurrection, and had already committed many afts of rob- 

 bery. Thefc Curds are a people nearly in a lavage ftate, who 

 lead a roving life among the mountains. Their haliitations 

 confill ot a kind of Ii.ili" tent made of a fort of hair cloth, 

 and which has a rcfemblance to a piquet tent. Such tents 

 are inhabited bv wJioU: fainilies. They live chiefly on vege- 

 tables, and their drcls is 'i'lukifli. 



On the 4th we arrived again at Eriwan, where we ftaid till 

 the 18th, when we fct out, under the efeort of 150 men, for 

 Jsachlfchiwan, which we reached on the 20th of March. 



P 3 XXXIX. Ac 



