About seven miles to the south from Great Mountain, rises the singularly elegant peak of Little Ararat, which in the autumn is free from snow.
Armenian Types and Costumes.—Page 38. The costumes of the better class of Armenian women, before these terrible days, were very picturesque and some quite costly.
They are fond of personal adornment, and wear silver coins about the head and neck; sometimes the ornaments are of gold, very handsome and expensive. The costume of the men varies considerably according to the province and occupation. Many of the merchant class have adopted the European dress almost entirely.
Monastic Rock-Chambers at Gueremeh.—Page 55. The mountains in this neighborhood of Kaiserieh are remarkable for the numerous rock-chambers and caves, which were filled with hermits in the early days of Christianity.
In one valley, about one mile in length and one thousand feet across, a gorge opens out about five hundred feet deep. The cliffs fall steeply away, sometimes with a sheer descent; sometimes in a succession of terraces, and from them rise up pyramids and pinnacles of rock; the wonders of the valley. On both the face of the cliffs, and in these detached masses there are caves and niches, all the work of human hands. At one time the whole valley was the abode of a vast monastic community.
The Sultan in the Park of the Yildiz Palace.—Page 74. The Sultan rises at six o’clock, and labors with clerks and secretaries until noon, when he breakfasts. Then he goes for a drive, or a row on the lake in the palace park, and returning gives audience until eight. At that hour he dines as a rule, alone.
The Sultan’s food is prepared by chosen persons, cooked in sealed vessels, within locked rooms, and tasted before it is served to him. The water he drinks is brought from a distance in sealed barrels.
Sometimes the Sultan, who is fond of light operatic music, plays duets on the piano with his younger children. For other recreations, he studies odd machines and novelties of inventions.
He never sleeps two successive nights in the same room, and when the fear of death is strongest upon him, he goes to a chamber reached by a ladder, which he draws up after him.
Types of Softas.—Page 91. At Cairo, in Egypt, are the most famous universities of Islam. To these schools, students flock from all quarters of the Mahommedan world.