454 
THROUGH ASIA 
of its projecting spurs crowned with the masar Hazrett- 
Ali. There had been some wind in the morning from 
the east ; but towards midday it came on to blow rather 
strongly, enveloping everything in an impenetrable dust- 
haze, while clouds of dust hung along the road in the 
track of our arbas. Every now and then w'e caught a 
glimpse of trees and bushes, of houses and villages, 
looking as though they were covered with dirty water. 
There were but few travellers on the road in such 
weather. 
Mount Tumshuk, which sent out four spurs towards 
the north, now came into view. On its steep slopes, 
built up like the seats in an amphitheatre, but clinging 
to the naked rock like swallows’ nests, were a number 
of ruined houses and walls, ascending as high as 6o to 
8o feet above the level ground. Two different periods 
of architecture were plainly distinguishable. The houses 
of the older period were built of burnt bricks, while those 
of the later period were constructed of sun-dried clay. 
On the level ground, at the foot of the mountain, there 
were also a great many ruins. All these are the remains 
of an old city, which was no doubt protected by a citadel 
crowninp' the mountain behind. The region is now sterile 
and uninhabited ; changes in the channel of the Kashgar- 
daria having in all probability led to the desertion of the 
town. 
February 28th. One hour north-west of the station 
Tumshuk lay another collection of ruins known as Eski- 
shahr (the Old City). These too I visited. The best- 
preserved building was a square structure, each of its sides 
ten yards long, built true to the four cardinal points, and 
with a doorway to the east. It was constructed of hard 
burnt bricks, and had probably been a mosque. The 
corners in the interior were decorated with friezes in relief. 
The doorway too was embellished with ornamental brick- 
work, and perhaps in its day had been covered with 
tiles. 
There was a hill in the vicinity, from which two parallel 
ridges projected towards the north-west; there we dis- 
