214 
THE RIVER ARAXES. 
cliffs of the gorge. We rode between them for nearly a mile, 
and then came forth on a small plain, which appeared to be 
completely surrounded by mountains. Through an enormous 
chasm to the west, as if the opening scene of this great theatre, 
I had a distinct view of the magnificent windings of the Araxes, 
with the ruins of Eski Julpha on its banks. That city was not, 
like that of Nackshivan, merely sacked and dismantled, by the 
victorious arms of Shah Abbas, but absolutely battered into 
ruin ; and its surviving inhabitants transported to Ispahan, the 
victor’s capital, where they formed a suburb to that city, which 
still bears the name of Julpha. Extensive remains of fortifica¬ 
tions, on various points, close to the town, and on each side oi 
the river, still show what must have been its former consequence. 
The piers of a bridge may also be traced, which, probably, was 
the very same that Augustus ordered to be erected, on some 
part of the Araxes, in this neighbourhood. 
This noble river flows in a bending direction, almost in the 
shape of a sickle, from its rise in the west, to the point of its 
junction with the Kur, in the east. Its source, is said to be 
near Hassan Kala, about eight agatches (or eight hours’ journey) 
east from Arzerum; and thence it flows onward, in a waving 
course, till, in traversing the plains of Ararat, it takes a deep 
curve southward; which, according to its convex sweep, em¬ 
bracing the provinces of Erivan, Nackshivan, and Kara-Bagh, 
finishes its point in the north-east, near the castle of Kalagan ; 
where it meets the Kur, or Cyrus; and immerses its own cele¬ 
brated name, in that of the more famous flood to which it has 
united its waters. 
A very short ride brought us from the mountain-plain, to the 
verge of the river. We were to cross it, at almost the most 
