ARMENIAN SCENERY. 169 



of mist, and our last hope of Alagoz — tlie summit of which 

 (13,436 feet), a rock-peak of the Piz Languard type, had 

 shown for a moment the previous evening — was ex- 

 tinguished. We rode on over intensely green upland 

 pastures, surrounded by, if possible, greener hills. Mists 

 swept over all their tops, and rain fell pretty steadily. 

 We forded the stream three times before reaching Kon- 

 daksaz, a small village inhabited by Mahommedan Kurds, 

 where we halted for lunch in a stable, a shade better than 

 our sleeping-quarters. Alagoz now lay well in the rear, 

 and the track leading over to Alexandrapol turned off on 

 the left. A plain, on which large herds of horses were 

 pasturing, was soon crossed, and we entered a long and 

 narrow glen ; the scenery and the weather were both bad 

 Scotch, and we could not look forward with any pleasure 

 to the i^assage of the watershed between the Xur and 

 Araxes, which we were now approaching. After passing 

 two villages, one on either hand, the glen narrowed, and 

 the track finally made a sudden dash up the hillside on 

 the right, bringing us very quickly to a grassy ridge 

 7,828 feet above the sea. We were surprised to see a rapid 

 and long descent before us on the northern side. 



The valleys of the tributaries of the Kur are everywhere 

 much deeper cut than those of the Araxes, and the Georgian 

 highlands are consequently more picturesque than those of 

 Armenia. Snow lay heavily on the pass, and we had 

 some little trouble with our animals. The wild flowers 

 were lovely, many of them old English friends — such as 

 cowslips, primroses, and violets. We also found a gentian, 

 and saw again the dwarf hyacinths of Ararat. Two hours 

 below the pass we came to Hammamly, situated on the 

 banks of a torrent, at the junction of three valleys. It is 

 on the road from Delidschan to Alexandrapol, and there is 

 a post-station in the village, to which we of course went. 



