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towards the N.W. over vast plains as barren as the 
mountains which encompass them on both sides, I ar- 
rived by two o'clock in the afternoon at a salt pit 
formed by a large ditch that surrounds a small isolated 
mountain of earth; the water that enters the ditch eva- 
porates by the heat of the sun, and leaves behind it a 
very white marine salt, which they transport upon their 
camels to the surrounding countries. 
At half past three o'clock I entered the town of 
Carabig-nar where I halted. It is a pretty large place, 
but ill built. At the foot of a small mountain as barren 
as the plain which surrounds it, there is not a single 
garden or tree to be seen, with the exception of two 
poplars which are in the town; this is the more as- 
tonishing, as there is no want of water in the plain. 
The mosque here has a fine appearance on the outside; 
it is composed of a large cupola surrounded by other 
smaller ones, and two slender but lofty minarets. There 
is a fortress upon the mountain. 
In this place, as in other towns of Caramania, is a 
large edifice which may be compared to a temple with 
three naves, round which are several chimneys. It is a 
sort of khan destined to lodge the caravan of Mecca. 
Of the five Tartars whom I met at Diaide, only 
one had gone on before, the others travelled along 
with me. 
As I could not endure the short and uneasy trot, 
which is their customary pace, I was obliged to walk 
my horse, and take a long trot or gallop alternately, 
when I found myself four or five hundred paces behind 
them, which fatigued me much less than the short trot 
of the Tartar horses. 
It is well known that there are relay-posts established 
