THE MOUNTAINEERS OF THE EUPHRATES 



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Photo by Ellsworth Huntington 

 AN ISLAND CASTLE IN THE EUPHRATES RIVER NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE CANYON 



The stairways, platforms, and tunnels on this rock and on the fortified cliffs on either 

 side of the river were carved by the Haldis, one of the old races of mountaineers who fought 

 with the Assyrians. The fortifications must have been constructed to guard against enemies 

 coming down the river, probably on rafts of skins such as are represented upon Assyrian 

 monuments and are still in use. 



around the Harput Mountains near 

 Malatia. 



Close to the river lies a great rock, 

 fashioned by an ancient race called 

 Haldis into a castle whose main feature 

 was innumerable platforms, steps, cis- 

 terns, and tunnels carved in the solid 

 limestone. Four hundred feet up the 

 bare brown side of the mountains a rude 

 platform of mud and stones is said to 

 be the grave of a saintly Armenian girl 

 who cared for a ruined church which 

 lies two thousand feet higher, at the very 

 peak of the mountain. Beside the grave 

 stands a scraggly thorn-bush decked with 

 a multitude of fluttering rags of every 

 hue. 



As the writer stopped beside it his 

 Armenian guide lifted the cotton robe 

 which hung half way to his ankles, and 

 from the bottom tore a strip of cloth. 

 This he tied to the bush. "What is that 



for?" I asked. "Are you sick?" "No," 

 was the answer, "I am not sick, but I 

 may have a pain some day, and this will 

 drive it away." He went on to explain 

 that the grave was extremely holy, and 

 that the sainted girl had great power to 

 heal diseases. The Kurds of the neigh- 

 boring village evidently are of the same 

 opinion, for they tie rags to the bush, 

 and their chiefs are brought here for 

 burial, altho the common people must be 

 content with a final resting-place down by 

 the river. 



Five or six hundred feet above the 

 resting-place of the Armenian girl, a 

 limestone cave contains a grave reputed 

 to be that of a Mohammedan saint called 

 Hassan. The supposed grave is of enor- 

 mous size, and is covered by a great mass 

 of dry clay adorned with velvet and tinsel 

 brought by pious worshipers. The back 

 of the cave is partially walled off from the 



