"Nadir Shah besieged this town for seven years," continued the officer, "look at the marks of some of his handiwork." With these words he showed us a few holes in the wall which had apparently been made by artillery fire.
Many ancient Greek and Assyrian coins had been found in the neighbourhood of the citadel, and, according to the doctor, the place abounds with inscriptions in characters which cannot be read by any of the inhabitants.
There is a well of naphtha about fifty yards from the block-house. The commandant, going with me to the spot, made a soldier draw out some of the contents. The well was very deep, and the inhabitants of Van had used the naphtha from time immemorial. The doctor was doubtful as to whether it was a natural well, or merely a large cistern which had been filled many years ago with this liquid, possibly for the use of the garrison.
"Are the guns in the citadel ever discharged?" I inquired.
"No," said the commandant, "they are all useless with the exception of one small piece which we keep for firing salutes during the Bairam. This rock is much too near the town to be used as a fort," he continued. "A hospital ought to be built here, or it would be a good site for a depôt of stores; but as a defensive position it is useless against modern artillery."
We came to a place in the rock where it descends abruptly for several hundred feet. "An Englishman was let down from here by a cord some years ago," observed the doctor. "About 200 feet below this spot there is an inscription cut on the stone. The inscription is about Semiramis. Formerly we all wished to know what was the meaning of the writing; but, no one in Van was bold enough to descend the rock, or, even if some Armenian or Turk had dared to make the attempt, he would have been unable to decipher the characters. Well," continued the speaker, "an Englishman came here and was lowered by cords over the precipice. If he had fallen even from the spot where the inscription is cut, he must have been dashed to pieces, as it is a long way above the rocks. However, your countryman succeeded in taking an impression of the characters, and I believe a translation of them is in the British Museum. You can see the inscription from the town itself," he added. "The letters are very large, they occupy a place about twelve feet long by eight wide."
We returned towards the barrack. On the way I took the opportunity of looking at the characters on the rock. They are cut on four square blocks, each block being placed by the side of its fellow. Imagine four gigantic sheets of the Times, placed one alongside the other, and covered with huge quaintly-formed letters; you will then be able to form an idea of the appearance of the inscription. As you look at the writing from the ground, it appears that in the third square from the right the letters are a little defaced, but in the others the characters stand out as clear as on the day when they were first chiselled. Several Armenian children were playing at soldiers in the street, their fathers and brothers were being instructed in drill in the barrack-yard. Some little military enthusiasm existed in the town even amongst the Christians, and the governor had promulgated the Sultan's edict that every one of his subjects was to be taught the use of arms.
I paid the commandant a visit. His apartments adjoined mine, whilst I was with him several men arrived—some wishing to be soldiers, others desirous of being released from the conscription. A fine-looking Kurd was amongst the last-mentioned applicants. He was dressed in the usual picturesque costume of his race, but, in addition, wore a sort of white muslin shawl, which enveloped him from head to foot.
"You will make a capital soldier," said the commandant. "You had better serve."
"Bey Effendi," replied the man, "I am ruptured."