PASS, OR GATE OF COURDISTAN. 
445 
hence I should calculate, to the best of my judgment, that we 
completed to-day only twelve miles and a half in five hours. 
December 11th. —- We set forth this morning at 8 o’clock, 
and after crossing a few short valleys, came out into the regular 
road near the mins of a khaun called Gesha Ivhani. Having 
ridden forward about an hour, we descended into a hilly tract, 
bounded to the east by a chain of mountains, which contain the 
pass (or Derbent) into the Sulimania district, stretching in a line 
north and south. To the south, the undulating surface of the 
country seemed to dissolve away into a dead level, tinged along 
its horizon by the faint outline of the Zagros mountains. To 
the north-west, all was a confusion of hills piled on one another, 
resembling, both in form and colour, the sulphuric regions we 
had passed in approaching Kirkook. This extensive sweep of 
the country they call Choo-an. Its glens and valleys are dili¬ 
gently cultivated by the natives ; and, if I may credit the in¬ 
formation of my Courdish mehmandar, it contains 100 populous 
villages. As we advanced, the aspect of this rugged district 
became additionally furrowed by the near view of enormous 
chasms that rent it in all directions, the yawning sides of which 
showed its whole earth to be of a bright red colour. After a 
march of four hours and a half, we arrived at a line of stones, 
which marked the boundary of the Pasha of Bagdad’s dominions 
on this side. Until reaching this point, for two days we had 
proceeded on a course about N. 70° E., we now took a direction 
S. 70° E., and two miles brought us to the gate of Courdistan, 
or the West Derbent. It consists of a narrow opening, measuring 
fifty yards, between the chain of mountains just described as 
running north and south. From the rocky summit of each 
mountain flanking the entrance runs a gradual slope, showing 
