AMASIA TO CONSTANTINOPLE. 
351 
tifully watered. In this charming spot was encamped a hayrack or 
company of soldiers going from Mavcvoan on their road towards Con¬ 
stantinople. The passage of this species of troops is not dreaded by 
the country, as they are composed of respectable men, who go to the 
war through a spirit of religion. 
From an eminence on the road we first discovered the rock of Osman - 
jik, forming a striking point amid the green and lively scenery of the 
plain. On this aspect no part of the town of Osmanjik appears, ex¬ 
cept a few houses on the skirts of the rock. The bridge, indeed, which 
leads out of the place is a conspicuous object in the view. On a nearer 
approach, that which at a distance appeared an immense black mass is 
found to be broken into several detached heights, all of the same 
species of stone, and all originally connected by the art of man into 
one impregnable fortress. The walls and turrets, which still cover the 
various surfaces, appear the remains of Saracenic work. Osmanjik in 
its present state is only a large village; the distance from Marcivan is 
reckoned a march of fourteen hours. The plain around is cultivated 
principally with corn and vines; it is thickly wooded and well watered 
by the Kizzil Irmak, the ancient Halys, in its course to the W. The 
river is a deep yellow bordering on the colour of sand, and very much 
troubled. We crossed it over a well-built bridge of fourteen arches, 
the materials of which (still white and fresh) attest that it was a 
structure of the best times of the Government. Four arches on the 
left are dry, the earth having encroached upon the bed so sub¬ 
stantially, that houses and gardens exist now where the water once 
flowed. 
The passage of the Delhis through this place was marked with 
peculiar acts of hostility. The inhabitants, who found themselves 
outraged by their insolence, actually came to blows with them; and, 
when at length the troops departed, for several days kept closed the 
wooden gate on their bridge, until the soldiers were completely out of 
their neighbourhood. 
