it takes a westerly direction, by Erz-Rum, and onward from
the right bank of the For at into Asia Minor; having, to the
northward, the "great abutments of Aliges-Beg, Keban Tagh
(Mount Tchilder), Kut Tagh, &c. i and forming, in the
direct line, the groups of Uch Kilisa, Kara Kilisa, Deli
Baba, Deveh Boyunu Tagh, Hasan Kal’eh, and Koseh Tagh;
the last of which is 8000 or 9000 feet high, being the most
elevated of these peaks.2 Armenian or Kurdish villages,
with cultivated terraces, hang on the sides of these steep
limestone hills;' the northern sides of which are partially
covered with stunted cedars, junipers, and other shrubs between
the rocks : whilst the southern slopes are wooded with
pines towards the top, and elms, poplars, and walnut trees,
towards the pasture grounds at the bottom of the valleys.
Near Diyadin the southern chain of the Anti-Taurus separates.
The northern branch runs parallel to the Murad as
far as Molla ’Osman, from whence it skirts the northern side
of the valley of the Murad, inclining more southward, until it
enters Asia Minor near Kebban Ma’den, and exhibiting to
the sight, at intervals, the elevated groups of Sheryan Tagh,
Kara Kaya, Bingol Tagh, and Dujik Tagh. There is likewise
a lower range running parallel to the higher, and
between it and the right bank of the Murad. These mountains
are chiefly of limestone, with occasional masses of
gypsum, and are well wooded, especially in the deep valleys
and ravines, which are inhabited by the Kurds and Armenians.
The other portion of the fork incloses the southern side
of the Murad valley; taking a south-westerly direction by the
northern side of lake Van, and onward by Mush, to the
borders of lake Goljik, where one branch, the Dawah Boghaz,
intervenes between the lake and the plain of Kharput; whilst
another, the Azarah Tagh, separates the sources of the Tigris
on its way into Asia Minor near Malatiyah.3 At some little
distance westward of this place it is joined by the northern
' 1 The Paryadres and Mountains of the Moschi.— Strabo, XI., p. 521.
8 Mr. Brant’s Journey: Vol. X. Part III., p. 428, of the Royal Geographical
Journal. 5 Mr. Ainsworth’s MS.
arm, and subsequently traverses Asia Minor by the line of
Ka'isariyeh. Previously to crossing the Euphrates the chain
is more continuous, and has a higher elevation than the preceding
branch; as the lofty groups of Sir Sera and Mut
Khan, the Alá Tágh, Sapán, Nimrúd, and Darkish Tághs
sufficiently indicate. Limestone and gypsum prevail, with
basalt, and other volcanic rocks. Deep valleys separate the
parallel ridges, and also break their continuity by occasional
passes from the northern to the southern sides. The southern
slopes have pines mixed with spruce, fir, oaks, ash, walnut,
and poplars below. Those on the north are scantily covered
with dwarf and valonia oak, with gum tragacanth1 and
shrubs, amongst which rhododendron and hellebore are at
times conspicuous. The lower parts of the valleys afford
pasture; and the sides are cultivated in terraces, with grain,
rhubarb, &c., about the villages. These, notwithstanding
their peculiar construction, are picturesque2 from their situation,
3 and rich in appearance, owing to the fruits and flowers
about them.4
That portion of these chains which runs along the southern
side of the Murad valley appears to answer to the Anti-Taurus
of Strabo and Pliny, and being above the line of perpetual
snow at the peaks of Alá Tágh, Sapán, Nimrúd, and the
peaked glacier of Mut Khán, it is manifestly more elevated
than the Taurus itself. It separates Armenia from Mesopotamia,
6 and likewise Acilisene from Sophene to the south;6
whilst the bare rocky felspar peaks of Kal’at Tágh (on which
is built the town of Arghani) and All Tágh form its abutments
in the latter direction, skirting the northern side of the
basaltic plain of Diyár Bekr,7 which produces three kinds of
jasper.8
1 Mr. Brant’s Journey: Vol. X. Part III., p. 382, of the Journal of the
Royal Geographical Society a Ibid., p. 371.
8 Such as Guzel Dereh, ibid., p. 384.
* Anemones, wild tulips, rhubarb, and southernwood, at a lonely spot.—
Viscount Pollington’s Journey, ibid., p. 448.
6 Strabo, lib. XI., p. 521. ' Ibid > P- 527-
7 Ainsworth’s Assyria and Babylonia, pp. 269, 270, and 271.
8 Ibid., p. 272.