178 RUINS. 



thing to induce me to proceed further up, or 

 even to the village of Kosetchah. Having 

 crossed the valley descending from the pass of 

 Kosarasee by a bye-path impracticable except on 

 foot, we ascended on the opposite side to a good 

 road, which runs along the flank of the mountain, 

 and is the direct route between Phineka and 

 Adalia. Here wild thickets surrounding occa- 

 sional patches of cultivation, on the terraced sides 

 of the mountain, take the place of the sombre 

 fir-forest, covering the lower ridges of the hills. 

 We occasionally passed a solitary black tent, 

 standing on a small cleared piece of ground in 

 the midst of most delightfully romantic scenery. 

 About noon we reached a spot called Akheer 

 Tash, where there appears to have been a small 

 mountain town. Upon a low rocky peak were 

 some vestiges of a small fortress or building 

 apparently of the middle ages. At the foot of it, 

 on a small plateau or natural terrace on the 

 mountain side, were about a dozen sarcophagi ; 

 some of them were still standing, and in good 

 preservation, with well-preserved inscriptions, 

 which, however, afforded no clue to the ancient 

 name of the site. There were no remains of 

 habitations visible, excepting in an old Turkish 



