32.—More about the castle of the sparrow-hawk.
During the time that I and my companions were there, we asked a man to take us to the castle, and gave him money; and when we got to the place, one of my companions wanted to remain and keep watch. He who brought us advised him against it, and said that if he did not carry out the watch, he would be lost, and nobody would know where he went; the castle is also hidden by trees, so that nobody knows the way to it. It is also forbidden by the Greek priests, and they say that the devil has to do with it, and not God. So we went on to a city called Kereson. There is also a country that belongs to the above-named kingdom, called Lasia,[(1)] and it is fertile in vineyards. Greeks are in that country. I have also been in Lesser Armenia; the capital is Ersinggan. There is also a city called Kayburt,[1][(2)] and it has a fertile country. Also a city called Kamach,[(3)] situated on a high mountain, and below the mountain flows a river called the Eufrates; it is one of the rivers that flows out of Paradise. This river also flows through Lesser Armenia, and then courses through a desert ten days’ journey across; then it is lost in a marsh, so that nobody knows where it goes.[(4)] It courses also through Persia. There is also a country called Karasser; it is fertile in vineyards.[(5)] There is also a country called Black Turkey; the capital is called Hamunt, and the people are warlike.[(6)] There is also a country called Churt, the capital of which is Bestan.[(7)] Item, a kingdom called Kursi, where the people hold to the Christian faith, have a distinct language and are a warlike people. There is a country called Abkas, its capital Zuchtun;[(8)] it is an unhealthy country, and men and women wear flat caps on their heads, which they do because the place is unhealthy. There is also a small country called Megral, the capital is Kathon,[2][(9)] and in which country they hold to the Greek faith. Also a country called Merdin;[(10)] this is a kingdom where there are Infidels. I have been in all the above-named countries, and have learnt their peculiarities.
[1]Baiburt. N. Byburt, in edition of 1814.
[2]Possibly Gori in Mingrelia. N.