CHAPTER XXXVI. 
AN EXCURSION TO THE MASAR-TAGH 
F ebruary 25th. From Maral-bashi I made an 
excursion to the Masar-tagh, a mountain -range a 
day’s journey to the east of the town. Only one driver, 
Islam Bai, and Yolldash were of the party, and the lightly 
laden arba carried us swiftly along the road. After a 
couple of hours’ driving the mountain became visible 
through the dust-haze, as a somewhat darker background, 
with a serrated crest. We turned off to the right from 
the high-road to Ak-su, and struck across a hard, barren 
steppe, with thinly scattered tussocks of grass. Then 
we passed between two spurs of the mountain. The 
one on the right, which was larger than the other, was 
a wild, rugged highland region, exhibiting proofs of 
severe weathering and of the erosive power of the wind. 
Its rock was a species of light-green crystalline schist. 
At the base of the mountains there was sufficient grass 
for a few small kishlaks (winter pasture). 
Not far from the north-east foot of the mountain stood 
the Ullug-masar (the Great Tomb), surrounded by a grey 
wall of sun-dried bricks. The first place we entered was 
a large square courtyard, in which a ring of long sticks 
were thrust into the ground round a bush. Both sticks 
and bush were hung with flags and pennons, some white 
with red edges, others entirely red or blue, others again 
were three-tongued, with vandyked edges, and so on. 
Thence a door led into a khanekah or prayer-house, the 
floor of which was covered with carpets. At the far end 
there was an open woodwork screen, and behind it the 
tomb of the saint, marked by an ordinary tombstone, 
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