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horses. I profited by this delay, and went to see the 
great mosque, a vast and ancient monument of a singu- 
lar construction. Its form is a square, divided into two 
equal naves, by a row of columns extending from the 
door to the opposite end. They were rebuilding it at 
this period, and were adding a row of high tribunes 
round its circumference. This singularity, together 
*with the paintings with which the interior of the edi- 
fice is adorned, struck me to such a degree, that I 
thought myself all at once transported into an European 
theatre. 
The streams which run in the streets are really tor- 
rents, over which the necessity of communication has 
caused the inhabitants to erect a great number of 
wooden bridges. 
The town is filled with large flocks of geese and 
ducks, as also a great number of dogs. 
Saturday, 17 th October. 
I set out at half past nine in the morning. After 
having traversed the plain to the north, I found myself 
a little after ten o'clock in a country intersected with 
hills. We were obliged to cross the river Poursak 
twice. At the first ford, its current was to the west, 
and at the second to the north-east. We passed through 
a fine forest, which crossed our road, and upon quitting 
it proceeded in the midst of mountains in a N.W. di- 
rection. We descended after sun- set into the plain by 
a long and steep hill, which led us to a village named 
Yea Ouglou, the houses of which are almost all built 
of wood. 
