GREAT RUINED CITY. 19 



ficent city on the top of this hill, possibly more 

 strong than decorated ; but the enormous labour 

 which must have been expended in cutting the 

 solid rock into a natural rampart almost along 

 the whole south side of the summit, — so that 

 they seem to have lowered the surface of the 

 city with a view to its defence, — and the immense 

 number of enormous cisterns for water hewn 

 in the same way, as well as a long series of 

 hewn steps apparently forming the ancient grand 

 entrance to the upper town, with the remains 

 of temples and gateways cut in the same way, 

 prove that its inhabitants must have been very 

 numerous and very powerful. 



" The north-eastern corner of the upper city is 

 capped by a mixture of ancient and middle-age 

 architecture ; the ancient, of the same structure 

 and date as the great square hall of Termessus. 

 It seems to have been the palace. In one re- 

 markable building connected with it, which, 

 during the middle ages, had been converted into 

 a Christian church, there is a very beautiful 

 doorway, and two windows. On one of the side- 

 posts of the doorway I found a long and closely 

 cut inscription in a language utterly unintelli- 

 gible to me, formed in part of Greek, with the 



c 2 



