3o6 The National Geographic Magazine 



The Ancient Mosque at Erivan 



rent among the peasants that Great 

 Ararat has never been ascended since 

 Noah's time, and that no human being 

 can ascend it and live. The summit 

 has been gained, however, b}^ several 

 travelers, and two of our party suc- 

 ceeded, after much exposure and hard- 

 ship, in reaching the highest point. 

 The unfortunate death of another who 

 made the attempt probably served to 

 strengthen the prevailing opinion of the 

 peasants. Little Ararat presents no 

 mountaineering difficulties, and twenty 

 of the men of our party climbed to its 

 top. 



Erivan, the present capital of the 

 province of Russian Armenia, is situ- 

 ated on the Zanga River, about 30 miles 

 from Mt. Ararat. It has belonged to 

 Russia since 1827. Before that time it 

 was the stronghold of the Turks and 

 Persians alternately, and as a result is 

 an extremely interesting place, contain- 

 ing the ruins of the palaces and fortifi- 

 cations of the different nations, while it 

 remains essentially Persian in its char- 

 acteristics. The loft}^ brick and mud 

 vv'alls along the river were built by the 

 Turks, and, although formidable in 

 Medieval times, they would certainly 

 offer very little resistance to the attack 



of modern weapons, even if 

 they were in good repair. The 

 Persian quarter of the city is 

 most interesting, the narrow, 

 crooked streets and lan.es, 

 filled with men, veiled women, 

 camels, and donkeys, present- 

 ing a curious scene. On one 

 side of the street might be seen 

 a barber plying his trade, hold- 

 ing his patient's head against 

 the side of the house while he 

 shaved the narrow strip from 

 forehead to crown or dyed his 

 whiskers that peculiar red color 

 which all Persians affect. Op- 

 posite the barber, or perhaps 

 beside him, one might find a. 

 public stove covered with little 

 pots filled with mutton stew, or a huge 

 frying pan filled with a mixture of fish 

 and tomatoes. Here one stumbles upon 

 an entrance to a caravanserai or khan, 

 there upon a long, dark passage to a 

 public bathing place, where the men 



A Study in Rags 



