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An aqueduct or canal extends in a direct line from the
palace towards the mountains, a distance of at least a
mile. It is an exceedingly massive work, consisting of
two walls raised perhaps fifteen feet above the level of
the plain, and built of very large blocks of hewn stone.
The intervening space is filled with earth. At present,
a small conduit, a foot or so wide, brings all the water
which is required for the use of the inhabitants of Iskardo;
but a very large quantity might be conveyed along the
aqueduct, and the work is so strong and substantial that
very little repair would be requisite to restore it to its
original condition.
The fortified post of the present rulers of the country
is built on the margin of the platform of alluvium, on the
right bank of the little stream which joins the Indus to
the east of the rock of Iskardo, and is separated by a
hollow from the palace and the principal part of the village.
It is built of unburnt brick, and is extremely
irregular in shape, with rounded bastions at the angles.
The houses of Iskardo are very much scattered over a
large extent of surface, so that there is no appearance of
a town; nor is the population in the immediate neighbourhood
of the rock so extensive as that of some of the
more remote villages in the valley, and especially of those
on the banks of the Shigar river, which are very richly
cultivated. Many of the Iskardo houses, however, are
very good, being often of two stories, and built of unburnt
bricks in a framework of wood. Latticed windows,
covered with paper or small plates of mica, are also common.
The roofs are all flat, and covered with mud
beaten hard.