328 
ARZ-ROUM TO AMASIA, 
be considered generally in very good preservation. The mosque is 
situated to the right. It is entered by a small court yard, from which 
a vaulted Peris tyle leads under the dome, into the principal chamber, 
where is a stone pulpit Though the dome is covered with weeds, 
and though of the single minaret the upper part has fallen, the main 
structure is still entire; and its fine materials, and its admirable 
masonry, are very strikingly and advantageously opposed to the more 
modern works of the country. Close to the caravanserai is the bath, 
and on the other side the remains of a building; the use of which I 
could not ascertain. Nearly lacing the caravanserai , is a kind of 
small round temple, probably a tomb, enclosed by a circular wall, 
which is entered by a gate way of Saracenic architecture. On the 
exterior of the arch is an inscription in Cufic . The small building 
inside is covered by a shelving roof, of the same construction as 
many of the buildings at Arz-roum. The interior is arched, and 
carved in a variety of ornaments, and under it is a subterraneous 
chamber. The court is full of fragments, which may perhaps suggest 
the supposition, that the whole was originally covered. Around are 
many tomb-stones, inscribed with Cufic characters. 
The popular story of the erection of those different buildings is as 
follows : a wealthy Turk fell in love with an Armenian woman of this 
village, but as she doubted the extent of his affections, she required as 
a proof before she yielded her consent to marry him, that he should 
build a caravanserai, mosque, &c. at the place of her birth. The Turk 
immediately accepted the conditions; and, proving that his love was 
equal to his wealth, raised these structures, and called them by her 
name, Mama Khatoun. The people add, that a treasure is concealed 
in a part of the caravanserai ; which, according to an inscription, is 
destined for the reconstruction of the whole, after the decay of the 
present buildings. In one of the corners of the caravanserai we luckily 
found a stray Calf, of which we took possession, and of which the 
Persians, in disregard of their scruples and distaste of ox-flesh, eat with 
great appetite. 
