OF COURDISTAN, Oil KURDISTAN. 
447 
beautiful valley, the natural fertility of which is fully honoured 
by the industry of the inhabitants. After winding through its 
smiling scenery for two hours and a half, we found ourselves at 
its extremity near the village of Vyse, and there began to ascend 
the mountains on their eastern side. A narrow, intricate, and 
arduous path, brought us up to Ala-y, our menzil, a village 
situated high in the mountain ; and glad we were to behold its 
humble roofs, to give us rest after a toilsome march of nine 
hours. The nature of the road only allowed us to make sixteen 
miles during that time. Our quarters were in all respects similar 
to those of the preceding night, excepting that the houses, 
which were thirty in number, were built of stone. 
Saturday, Dec. 12th.—The weather still continued delight¬ 
ful ; and my Courdish mehmandar gave me every reason to hope 
that I might be able to compass the most elevated regions of his 
country, before any violence of the elements should render their 
most difficult passes dangerous. We left Ala-y at eight o’clock ; 
proceeding on the ascent, through a similar road to that of 
yesterday, narrow and stony; which also led us along the 
head of the mountain ; whence, by a gentle declivity, we gra¬ 
dually come down into a fine vale, stretching south-east and 
north-west; to the east it was bounded by the towering Shar-i- 
zool, or, as some call it, Zoor mountain. The whole of the vale 
appears in the best state of culture; and I particularly remarked 
large tracks of rice-ground. 
This genial part of Courdistan, like the fabled god of the vine 
rocked in his stone cradle, lies in the very lap of rocks and 
mountains. The Shar-i-zool embraces it in the east, and the 
lofty chain of the Ivara-Dagh hems it in on the south-west. At 
some little distance from their eastern base lies a large town, 
