A DILETTANTE IN THE CAUCASUS. 221 



of the town, which rise, tier upon tier, to the might}' Elbruz 

 himself. 



A visit to Batum, a dead port while the Black Sea is closed, 

 was too hurried to afYord rhuch material for comment beyond 

 the fact that I was lucky enough to hit upon a really fine day. 

 Past experience and common observation have made me 

 familiar with the remarkable humidity of the climate of this 

 corner of the Black Sea. When the weather is fine, Batum is 

 a very pleasant spot, wdth a luxuriant and exuberant vegeta- 

 tion. 



The district at the back of the coast between Batum and 

 Poti is known as Guria, a little-visited country ; here I spent 

 some days on two separate occasions in June and July. The 

 Gurians are another portion of the Georgian race ; they are tall 

 and slim, active and graceful in their movements, and the women 

 often very handsome. I noticed several cases of a peculiar 

 glow, like burnished copper, in the black hair both of men and 

 women ; they are very swarthy, but a few strikingly fair types 

 are to be seen ; I saw three children with very fair skins and 

 yellow hair, yet their parents were both exceedingly dark. The 

 men often wear a black or dark brown shirt with a sash instead 

 of the rather clumsy cherkess ; the headdress is almost invari- 

 ably the bashlyk ; the papakha, or high Caucasian cap, which is 

 invariably further east, is seldom seen in Guria ; the bashlyk is 

 not often worn as a simple Capucine hood, the Gurians pre- 

 ferring to twist it round the head to form a turban. There is a 

 great art in doing this, and there are several recognised methods, 

 while every man has his own favourite way. The poorest 

 peasant, with a few dexterous twists, will contrive to attain a 

 most picturesque and becoming studied neglige. I practised for 

 hours under a competent teacher, and eventually succeeded in 

 managing one method in a very amateurish manner. The 

 bashlyk is an admirable form of headdress ; when twisted on 

 turban-fashion, as in Guria and the neighbouring districts, it is 

 the cousin of the real turban. The Turks arrange it differently 

 from the orthodox Gurians, having it flat and tight-fitting on the 

 head, with the tails tied in a knot at the back, while the Gurians 

 usually have it more or less carelessly wound, with long tails 

 protruding at a rakish angle. It is a fine protection against the 



