1«8 ASCENT OF KAZBEK. 



With the great mountain full in view, I may now briefly 

 advert to the position it holds amongst Caucasian summits, 

 and to the legends with which it has been connected. From 

 the earliest times Kazbek has taken a place in history, and 

 has somewhat unfairly robbed its true sovereign, Elbruz, of 

 public attention. Situated beside, and almost overhang- 

 ing, the glen through which for centuries the great high- 

 road from Europe into Asia has passed, it forces itself on 

 the notice of every j)asser-by. The traveller — who, even if 

 blessed with a clear day, sees Elbruz only as a huge white 

 cloud on the southern horizon, as he jolts over the weary 

 steppe — is forced to pass almost within reach of the ava- 

 lanches that fall from his more obtrusive rival. It is not 

 difficult, therefore, to see why Kazbek has become thus 

 famous, why the mass of crag on the face of the moun- 

 tain, so conspicuous from the post-station, is made the 

 scene of Prometheus' torment, or why a later superstition 

 declares that amongst these rocks, a rope, visible only 

 to the Elect, gives access to a holy grot, in which are pre- 

 served the Tent of Abraham, the Cradle of Christ, and 

 other sacred relics. 



We were told by Mons. Kliatissian, an Armenian gentle- 

 man, who has spent many months in examining the vici- 

 nity of the mountain, and in making scientific observa-- 

 tions on its glaciers, that the Ossetes occasionally call 

 Kazbek, Beitlam and Tseristi Tsoub (' Christ's Mountain ') 

 — names which seem connected with these traditions. 

 On the top of Kazbek is said to stand a splendid crystal 

 castle, and near it a temple, in the middle of which hovers 

 a golden dove. The mountain has undoubtedly been 

 held in reverence for many centuries by the neigh- 

 bouring population, and it is not only the native in- 

 habitants who have associated it with superstitious 

 legends. A traveller in 1811 breaks forth, on reaching the 



