The Taurus system is another such chain trending westward, dividing Asia Minor from the rest of Asia, skirting the southern coast-line, then breaking and scattering as the level falls towards the west until it descends below the sea, where its hilltops, still projecting, form the Ægean archipelago, until drawn together it rises to dry land on the soil of Greece. In the heart of these mountains, the two main sources of the river Euphrates flow in a westerly direction until they unite above Malatia;[4] thence twisting and turning ever, in its search for a passage through the rocky ramparts that oppose it, the great river makes an easterly contour until nearing the plains. Before reaching Gerger, however, its direction is changed once more, turning westward in a long curve past Samsat towards Aintab, and southward to the latitude of Aleppo: from here its course becomes more tranquil and direct towards the Persian Gulf.
The bend of the Euphrates below Malatia marks for the present the boundary of the Hittite country on the east. The whole mountainous region lying to the west of this landmark is divided by the gorges of the Pyramus, comprising the bleak easterly heights of the main Taurus range on the one hand, and the more broken but less barren regions of the Anti-Taurus which lie within. From the Taurus numerous torrents fall southward to join the bend of the Euphrates, while the northern slopes of the same range look down on the deep valley of the Tochma Su. This river, flowing eastward, is another main tributary of the Euphrates, which it joins not far from Malatia, and it forms our present boundary to the north in that direction.[5] Its sources are found high up past Gurun in the main watershed, from which some rivers flow southward to the Cilician plain, others north-west to feed the Halys.
PLATE II
A VALLEY IN THE TAURUS (See [p. 5].)
HEAD-WATERS OF THE HALYS NEAR SIVAS (See [p. 26].)
The routes connecting the north of Syria with Asia Minor make use of these natural channels of approach. Thus the main road from Aintab northwards, after reaching the Pyramus near Marash, follows that river closely to Albistan, whence the bed of a stream leads up to the divide that gives way to the valley of the Tochma Su beyond. Derendeh is thus gained; and up this new valley the road passes by Gurun northward, and so over the watershed to Sivas in the valley of the Halys. From Albistan another route leads eastward to Malatia; and westward a path passing by Izgîn rises over the mountains to the interior.[6] A more direct route, however, from Aintab and Marash leads by the side of streams that feed the Pyramus north-westward up to Shahr (the classical Komana), on the sources of the Cilician Sarus; thence, by one of several passes, among which is the Kuru-Bel, the head-waters of the Zamanti Su are reached, so leading down to Cæsarea at the foot of Mount Argæus. The last-named river is tributary to the Sarus, passing by Ekrek, Tashji, and Fraktin on its course.
It may be judged that a region so broken up by mountain-streams is not altogether barren or inclement. Its very altitude, averaging six thousand feet above the sea, gives respite from the summer heats that make life burdensome upon the Syrian plains. Green patches nestle under the shelter of its heights, protected thereby from the severity of winter blizzards when the mountain-passes may be filled with snow. And in its deeper valleys, though the actual banks are mostly rocky, yet the broad slopes on either side are generally favourable to the cultivation of cereals and other necessaries. The numerous fair towns that have sprung up in favoured spots, mostly upon Hittite sites, with their gardens and vineyards, fruit and olive plantations, their industries in weaving and embroideries, reveal to us something of its attractions and the possibilities of ancient settlement.
Just as the roadways of this region converge upon Marash, so from this centre other lines of communication spread out into the regions of the south. On the one hand the valley of the Pyramus leads down to the Cilician plain; on the other the road to Aintab, which we now follow, brings us to the northernmost parts of Syria, historically the scene of the struggles of the Hittites with the Pharaohs and with Assyria. The whole tract before us as far southward as Aleppo is of twofold character: on the east are the great plains that lie away to the Euphrates, while on the west two mountain-ranges intervene between these and the sea, lying parallel with one another and with the coast.
The plains are really an apex to the Syrian desert, themselves watered sparsely by winter streams flowing to the Euphrates, with some independent rivers which, failing to find an exit, resolve themselves into small salt lakes and swamps. There are no trees or other protection against the withering sun, and the surface is broken only here and there by low ridges and the mounds which mark the sites of ancient settlements.[7] The people are mostly Kurds, mingled with the settled descendants of northern Bedouins, using a primitive Arab speech. Their life is arduous: their crops are parched before they can be reaped; but none the less out of generations of experience they find the means to live and feed their flocks. Except for local routes, the only roads which cross this desolate tract lead from Aleppo and from Aintab to the crossing of the Euphrates now found at Birejik, not far from the site of ancient Carchemish at Jerablus.[8]