198 
ERIVAN. 
Being curious to examine the very singular old tower, 
which Chardin took so much pains to describe, and to 
draw, I went to an Armenian monk, (to whose civilities I 
had been introduced by my kind friends at Eitch-mai-adzen,) 
to request his good offices in directing me to the spot. He 
informed me, the foundation alone was all that now re¬ 
mained. Some years ago, the tower had been struck by 
lightning; and, being greatly damaged, it was pulled down and 
the materials appropriated to repairs in the town. In the 
course of our conversation, he gave me much interesting inform¬ 
ation respecting the many fine monuments of antiquity which 
cover the plains and valleys of Ararat, to an immense extent 
around the base of that stupendous mountain. It is here in¬ 
deed, that we find ourselves touching the earliest ages of the 
world. The dates of some of our most ancient cities in Europe, 
appear but of yesterday, when compared with the ages which 
have passed over the mighty ruins, which still exist in these 
primeval countries. My intelligent informant told me, that 
Erivan was supposed to be about seventy wersts, (or forty-three 
miles,) from the foot of Ararat; and that the remains of many 
noble cities, some as old as Erivan, and others whose origins 
were beyond all trace, were scattered all along the banks of the 
Araxes. Amongst the number, he named the ruins of Ardashir, 
and Kara Kala; which are, the Artaxata, and Armavra of the 
Greek and Homan historians. Ardashir, or Artaxata, lies on 
the north-east side of the river, a short march on the way to 
Nachivan. While Kara Kala, or Armavra, at about fifty wersts 
west of Eitch-mai-adzen, spreads itself over the south-western 
bank; showing the remains of walls and towers of the finest 
masonry, and the ruins of a noble bridge. A few families, of 
