CHAPTER XVII
OUR SOJOURN IN THE CRATER OF NIMRUD
July 16.—It was half-past two in the afternoon before our preparations could be completed, the pack-horses having already started with their loads. Our orchard looked untidy, in spite of the care which had been taken to preserve its freshness from the usual litter of a camp. Still the old imam was profuse of gratitude, his wizened face relaxing into a smile which vexed his muscles to produce. Good-bye to our delicious home, and to our two blue-breasted friends! Their loves have already ripened, and their young will soon be fledged. Journeys many, and various homes, and different fates await us—fragments all of universal matter and soul. But when we sink at last upon the lap of Nature, may her bosom reward the constancy of her own devoted lover with the perfume of the memory of this home!
Our course was directed past the iki kube and across the ravine towards Nimrud. Not a ripple awoke the vivid greens and azures of the lake upon the pallor of the surface of pale turquoise. The light was already mellowing as we approached the tomb upon the headland, throwing the proportions into relief with delicate shadows, and enhancing the natural tints of the pink volcanic stone against the background of restful blue. Before us, upon the horizon, the grassy circle of the gigantic crater filled the landscape of the west ([Fig. 185], and plan).
Fig. 185. The Nimrud Crater from the Promontory of Kizvag.
Descending into the delta, we forded the two streams and rose up the opposite cliff side. The more westerly of the pair approaches the alluvial flat by a fine cascade over a ledge of lava. These lavas are seen to have followed the course of the valley, as it expands before you towards the north-west. A similar feature was observed in the ravine of Madavantz. It proves that these valleys are older than the lava, which must have poured down them in a very liquid condition.
From the high land, over which we were again making, and which is here covered with pumice sand, we obtained a view of Bilejan. But our attention was soon diverted by the picturesque situation of a large village on our left hand. A rapid if only momentary change in our surroundings had taken us by surprise. It is due to a bed of dark, glassy lava, perhaps an ancient flow from Nimrud, or from a fissure about its base. A deep stream, which is crossed by a bridge, eats its way through the hard rock, and descends by several waterfalls to a lagoon within the bay. The village is placed at some little distance from the shore of the lake, upon a platform of lava on the right bank of the stream. It possesses two small churches, which are evidently very old. On the outskirts, which we crossed, was a small field, planted with marrows, an unusual luxury in this neighbourhood. The inhabitants are all, I believe, Armenians.
But Karmuch and its black valley, with the willows and the waterfalls, were but an incident—and the last incident—in the scene. An almost uniform plain, of very shallow gradient, stretched from all sides towards the crater in the west. Covered at first by pumice, a brown lava comes to the surface, and extends to the actual wall of the circular mass. Dry watercourses seam the entire region, which, however, is so even in its general character, that it would almost seem to have once been covered, up to the base of the crater, by the waters of the lake. At first the soil is barren, supporting only some burnt herbage; in such surroundings we sank to the trough of an extensive depression, in which is situated a deserted cemetery of some size. But when the lava is reached the vegetation commences, and continues to the foot of the higher seams. The spangled blossoms of atraphaxis, which I had not seen since my first journey, were conspicuous, but only here and there. The prevailing flower was a large forget-me-not, almost the size of a little bush; and, later on, a wild pea, pink and white. The higher we rose the more frequent became patches of standing corn, though by whom planted it was difficult to conceive. Our people said they belonged to a distant Armenian village at the foot of the crater, called Seghurt or Teghurt. The soil, where exposed by the plough, was a rich brown. Small blocks of obsidian, coal-black in hue, were scattered over the grass. Now and again a tortoise waddled over the sand. So we rode for a distance of many miles, until the wall of the crater rose like a rampart above our heads. We had reached an elevation of 6880 feet, or of over 1000 feet above the level of Lake Van.
After a short halt, we led our horses up the slope, which has a gradient of 12°. It was covered with grass, and whole beds of wild pea. These sides of the crater are seamed with deep gullies, which display in section the lava-flows. The dark green obsidian of the uppermost beds was glittering in the sun. A direct ascent of twenty minutes brought us to the surface of a natural terrace, at a height of 7900 feet. We were surprised to find a well-used track, making use of this terrace to reach the summit of the circular wall. Less astonishment was aroused by the presence there of a troop of cavalry; they had come to meet us from their camp within the crater. For more than a week, both cavalry and infantry had been patrolling this strange place, in anticipation of our visit. It is indeed probable that, without these extraordinary precautions, we should have found it impossible to carry on our work. That we were able to go where we pleased, whether in or around the crater, we owe to the kindness of the local authorities, and, in particular, to the late Vali of Bitlis. Our excellent friend, the Kaimakam of Akhlat, personally accompanied us, and remained with us during our stay.