54 BASHAX. 



be read everywliere for ' hill,' and ' crack,' or ' depression,' 

 for ' ravine.' 



We met with, no dangerous characters during the day to 

 justify the bad name the district has acquired — perhaps the 

 rain kept them all at home ; but so easy and unadventurous 

 was our progress that we had some difficulty in realising 

 the fact that, with the exception of Burckhardt and Mr. 

 Cyril Graham, we were the only European travellers who 

 had succeeded in penetrating into the interior of the 

 Lejah. As we neared the edge of the ' black country ' 

 the scenery became wildly picturesque; several villages 

 occupied the knolls before us, their dark towers at a 

 distance reminding us forcibly of feudal castles. Tucker 

 and I turned off, under Khasim's escort, to visit Zebireh, 

 the nearest of these villages, and found it entirely deserted. 

 There were plenty of old stone houses, and in one was an 

 upstairs-room, with a fireplace, and stone window-shutters. 

 The roofs were in some instances supported by quaint 

 pillars, primitively constructed of stones of unequal sizes, 

 piled, like cheeses, one on another. The manner of build- 

 ing the interior walls in these strange dwellings is very 

 curious. A framework is first constructed of large stones, 

 with square pigeon-holes left between them ; these are gene- 

 rally filled up, but sometimes left open, when they look 

 not unlike wine-bins. We found here a stable with a 

 stone manger, and also saw an inscription recording the 

 erection of some monument, ' on account of the safety of 

 the Lord Autocrator Severus Antoninus Csesar, Bri- 

 tannicus.' Having finished our explorations we remounted, 

 and, leaving behind us several mounds covered with towers, 

 rode thi'ough a sort of pass or gap in the high bank of 

 lava which runs along this side of the Lejah. In about 

 an houi' we reached Khubab, situated on the edge of the 

 plain, where our companions had arrived before us. They 



