Photo from George Kcnnan 



THE i;ntranc£; to a VH,I,AGE 



"In some aouls the streets, or passages, from house to house are dark underground 

 corridors, out of which the inhabitants climb into their dwellings on perpendicular ladders 

 or notched logs" (see text, page 1117). 



height of a thousand feet, running for a 

 quarter of a mile along the brink of a 

 tremendous precipice, climbing again 

 half a dozen more zigzags (see page 

 1 109). crossing a divide, and finally 

 plunging into a gorge equally dark, 

 gloomy, and precipitous on the other side. 

 These canyon-like ravines are the most 

 striking topographical features of central 

 Daghestan (see pages 1089 3-^^ 1 108). 

 They are seldom more than 300 or 400 



feet wide at the bottom, and are shut in 

 by high walls, which are either sheer 

 precipices or steep slopes broken into 

 narrow, step-like terraces by outcropping 

 ledges of sedimentary rock (see page 

 1 134). Some of these gorges are 10 or 

 15 miles long and 2,000 feet deep — im- 

 mense natural galleries, carpeted with 

 alpme grass, frescoed above with drift- 

 ing clouds, and having whole villages 

 hung against their walls for pictures. 



1115 



