The Bingöl Dagh consists in the main of a narrow and almost latitudinal ridge, with an axis which is inclined towards west-north-west and east-south-east. The little relative elevation of this rampart above the plateau, which supports it as a pedestal or base, is the cause of the insignificant appearance of the mountain, which, in winter, is almost concealed or merged into its surroundings by the continuous sheet of snow ([Fig. 161], p. 191, and [Fig. 176], p. 247). The fact that it is highest at its eastern and western extremities, and that from those peaks horn-shaped eminences project towards the north, with a curvature convex to the inner area, and with a rapidly decreasing elevation—this fact, together with the abruptness of the face of the ridge on the side of the north, give it the semblance of the standing southern wall of a huge broken-down crater when seen from a distance on that side. A nearer view from the same side destroys the unity of this conception; the crateral area is broken into two. It is seen to consist of a somewhat smaller basin upon the east, and of one rather larger on the west. The two basins, which are both perfectly open towards the north, are divided by a meridional ridge, which is joined to the main rampart at a third eminence, intermediate between the western and eastern summits, and resembling them in character, although not so high. This medial ridge, like the two horns, dies rapidly away into the plateau. From the extremity of the western horn, which opens out in a north-westerly direction, to the recess of the bay formed by its companion on the east is a distance of about 4½ miles. While the western and eastern summits—the highest points on the entire ridge—attain an altitude of 10,750 feet, the level ground just north of the main slope of the detrital fan has an elevation of 9000 feet. On the other hand, the line of cliffs on the south of the rampart by which the plateau breaks away to the valley of Gumgum are over 9000 feet high along their edge. These measurements may serve to define in figures some of the characteristics which I have endeavoured to describe.
Before pursuing a more intimate and detailed study, it may be well to fix in our mind some of the leading positions, and to assign to them convenient names. Our predecessors have given three such names to the principal eminences. The western summit is called by them Bingöl Kala (the Bingöl castle), that on the east Demir or Timur Kala (the iron castle or the castle of Timur), and the intermediate hump, which is joined to the meridional ridge, Kara Kala (the black castle). I took some pains to ascertain whether these names were known to the Kurds, for none of my escort had ever heard of them. The yaila from which we drew supplies was the most considerable in the district, and belonged to one Mahmud Bey. This Kurdish chieftain was absent from his encampment, scared by the presence of Suleyman Pasha, with his demands for Hamidiyeh, in the close neighbourhood of his lair. But his son came to our camp, and one of his near relations, a middle-aged and unusually intelligent man. He said that they knew the mountain under the name of Bingöl Koch, or, translated, the Bingöl caldron. They had no particular designation of the highest parts. When I mentioned the three castles he reflected a little, and then answered that the western eminence was known in old times as Bingöl Kala; but with the other names he was quite unfamiliar. I see no reason on that account to reject these designations. Kara Kala is well adapted to express the prevailing sombreness of that peak with its dark and broken ridge. Demir Kala may serve to remind us of what is probably a historical fact, that the Great Timur, or Cold Steel, marshalled his armies among these congenial surroundings, and here celebrated his victories with women and wine and song. The statement, however, of one traveller that the eastern summit consists of several storeys of walls, put together by a human hand, must be regarded as fabulous. He vouches for the fact, and adds that, according to what he learnt, an iron door had been removed from the castle and taken to Khinis some forty years previous to his visit.[3] He supposes the fortress to have been erected by Timur. The manner in which the lavas have cooled upon the rampart suggests the appearance of such a human structure at certain points. But the feature is most noticeable just west of Kara Kala, where the outline assumes the shape of two round towers.
To these names I should like to add one other, for which I have no authority. Just below the western summit a bold, talus-strewn ridge extends from the face of the cliff in a northerly direction, rising as it proceeds into a tumbling mass of lava, and ending in a conical eminence of the same material. Indeed it constitutes an inner wall of the western basin. It may not be inappropriate to call this rampart Aghri Kala, the rough or rugged castle.
The only eminence along the main ridge of a pointed and peak-like character is the western summit, or Bingöl Kala (10,757 feet). Its effect is heightened by the rapid decline and termination of the parapet just west of this position, as well as by the increasing flatness of the ridge as it extends towards the east after a gentle descent. At the time of our visit this summit was completely free of snow. On the north it breaks away with great abruptness to the basin; but on the south it slopes off into that vaulted meridional ridge which has been already mentioned during our passage across it to our camp. The western summit can be reached with great ease from the south or south-east, or along the edge of the main rampart. The average gradient will not be more than 15°. It is strewn with talus, like all these slopes; the actual summit is fairly level, and is partially covered with blocks of lava. Following the top of the rampart eastwards from Bingöl Kala, its general character is the first feature which seizes the eye. On the south it presents an evenly-vaulted slope, which is continued in an east-south-easterly direction, almost in a straight line. On the north it is hollowed out in the form of a cirque, which, bounded on the west by Aghri Kala, and by Kara Kala on the east, has the appearance of a crater with three standing sides. The particular feature of the rampart in the direction of Kara Kala and beyond that eminence is the breadth of the platform which it presents. At no other part is it so easy to ride along it, as well as to scale it from the south. The northerly slope of the shallow vaulting is always covered by a sheet of snow, which descends into the cirque. The passage from the south into the western basin lies west of Kara Kala, and is not difficult for unloaded animals. Indeed it is the only pass across the Bingöl rampart, which, further east, increases in the steepness of its northern face.
PLAN OF THE BINGÖL DAGH, OR MOUNTAIN OF THE THOUSAND POOLS
(ALSO CALLED THE BINGÖL KOCH, OR CALDRON OF A THOUSAND POOLS)
ON THE NORTH
measured and drawn out by H. F. B. Lynch and F. Oswald in August 1898
Engraved and printed by Wagner & Debes, Leipzig