458 
COURDISH VILLAGES. 
their language appears to have undergone considerable mu¬ 
tations. It varies a good deal, according to the frontier nearest 
to which the different districts run ; Turkish, Persian, Arabic, 
and I know not what besides, mingling with the original dialects, 
and producing the most discordant jargons imagination can 
conceive. The purest Courdish is spoken by the Bitlissi and 
Rewandoozi, and their minor tribes, in that part of Courdistan 
which lies south and south-west of the Lake Van. In pro¬ 
portion as we penetrated farther into the heart of the country, 
though it began to assume more rugged and savage acclivities, 
it also exhibited increasing marks of the industry of the inhabit¬ 
ants, and the prosperity that was its consequence; but that 
prosperity was in a state as simple as the wishes of the people. 
The villages became more numerous, clustering their houses 
together, much in the manner of the Caucasian hamlets in 
Georgia; here they are generally placed on the sloping sides 
of hills rising from the bosoms of rich valleys, or on the ac¬ 
clivities of the mountains, sheltered by projecting rocks. Mud 
or stone, according to circumstances, compose their walls, the 
foundation being dug into the deep clay of the hill. The roofs 
are flat, with a small round aperture made in each, to admit 
light when the door is shut. Every cottage has its commodious 
hearth, round which the whole family gather in the colder 
season, entertaining themselves with old hereditary stories of the 
brave acts of their forefathers. It may appear a savage choice, 
yet in such scenes the heart is more likely to find a home, than 
in crowded drawing-rooms, where fashion hardly allows it to be 
remembered that a man had a father. In front of these little 
dwellings, a square inclosure generally presents itself, bounded 
by low walls, or a fence of wicker-work ; which is closed in every 
