There is a curious tradition connected with the Armenian faith. It is to the effect that, at the beginning of our era, some envoys from Abgar, King of Armenia, happened to be in Jerusalem. Whilst they were in the city they saw Jesus Christ, and afterwards informed their sovereign of the miracles which our Saviour was performing throughout Syria. The monarch was a leper, and, thinking that the same supernatural being who had saved so many lives in Jerusalem might be able to do something for him, the king wrote, say the Armenians, the following letter to the Saviour:—
"Abgar, son of Arsham, Prince of this land, to Jesus the Saviour and benefactor of man. Greeting. I have heard of Thee, and of the cures wrought by Thy hands without remedies and without plants. For it is said that Thou makest the blind to see, the lame to walk. The lepers are healed, and spirits are cast out. Thou healest the unfortunate afflicted with long and inveterate diseases. Thou dost raise the dead. As I have heard of all the wonders done by Thee, I have concluded that Thou art either God come down from heaven, or the Son of God, to do such things. I therefore have written beseeching Thee to deign to come to me and cure my disease. I have also heard that the Jews use Thee ill, and lay snares to destroy Thee. I have here a little city pleasantly situated, and sufficient for us both."
Jesus replied: "After I have gone I will send one of My disciples, who shall cure thy malady, and give life to thee and thine."
Some Armenians say that Christ caused the imprint of His face to be left on a handkerchief, and gave it to the envoys, telling them that it would cure their master. This is cited to justify the adoration of pictures, which is part of the Armenian faith. According to another tradition, the handkerchief never reached the leprous king; for the envoys who were carrying it to their master were attacked by brigands, and it was stolen on the way. This version tells us that Thaddeus subsequently healed the leprous sovereign.
It was the 7th of March. I had already spent several days in Van, and, contrary to my hopes, had not benefited by the rest. I was still suffering from dysentery; instead of the complaint getting better, it had become worse. By all account we should be able to find milk in most of the Kurd and Yezeed villages between Van and Kars; so I determined to start for the latter place and try what a milk and rice diet would do towards restoring my health and strength. We rode for two hours by the side of the lake; then, leaving the blue water, ascended a low range of hills. The sun's rays were very powerful; a mirage was formed before us. Miles upon miles of water were reflected in the sky. Presently we crossed a little stream known as the Mahmod Tchai, and after a short march halted at Gull—a small village with thirty houses, half belonging to Armenians, half to Mohammedans.
The morn breaks. We ride over some high table-land, and then return to the lake. Our route lies along its shores. Sand-hills slope down to the water's edge; myriads of starlings flit about the beach; pelicans and other wild fowl sail along the surface of the deep. After a six hours' journey we rest at Paz—a small Kurd village with only ten houses.
The following day we marched along a good track to Tishikoomlekui, a devil-worshippers' village. Then crossing the Bendimah river—here about thirty yards wide—on a stone bridge, we continued to Karahana, and so on to Ardisch, an Armenian village with 200 houses and a resident Caimacan.
A pretty Kurdish girl, whom I had seen at Paz, accompanied us to the latter place. I now learnt that the females in some parts of Kurdistan have a strange custom. This is to beset any stranger who is about to enter or quit their village. The girls dance round the wayfarer, and take the opportunity to divest him of his apparel. When he is in a nude state, they seize their victim and carry him with them before some old matron,[18] complaining to her that their prisoner has grossly insulted them. The man is lucky if he escapes with his clothes minus the cash in the pockets.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
Akserai—The Kurds—Raids upon the villages—Five females ravished—The Pacha at Van is powerless to help the villagers—The hot springs in Lake Van—Fish—How to catch them—Zerekli—Starlings—Patnos—We cross the Murad river—Dotah—The Caimacan—The devil-worshipper—His house—A Yezeed sheik—Scarcity of accommodation.