'Reconnaissances in Mesopotamia, Kurdistan, North-West Persia, and Luristan from April to October 1888. By Lt F R Maunsell, Intelligence Branch. In Two Volumes. Volume I: narrative report, description of larger towns and routes leading from them. Simla: Intelligence Branch, Quarter Master General's Dept, 1890' [‎120v] (245/312)

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The crest was barely 10 yards wide, and we commenced an equally steep descent on the south
side. These very steep ascents and descents fatigue the baggage animals very much owing to the
constant shifting of the loads.
From the crest of this ridge we saw lake Van for the last time, with the snowy peak of the
Sipan Dagh rising to the north-west beyond it.
The Varak Dagh and many of the crests close by preserved traces of yesterday’s storm in the
snow on their summits.
We descended, leading our horses down the narrow path, and passed the small village of Bijin-
gat, near which is the source of the Semiram Chai, a stream which falls into lake Van.
Some time after we passed a very old monastery called Okotswauk (Ketreat of men), in
which we were told some ancient manuscripts were preserved.
At 11 A.M. we halte'd on the bank of a small stream. Some way to the west was a ruined castle
at the foot of which was a small village, and to the east were some nomad tents.
At 2 o’clock we started again along an easy road over undulating plains covered with dry grass.
At 4-30 we passed a small group of buildings, where the muleteers wished to halt, but we decided
on pushing on to Merwanen, which we thought was only two hours further, but which in reality, was
much further. There was no path, and we ended by losing our way. Night came on rapidly, and
neither moon nor stars were visible. We followed no particular line down a sloping hillside nearly
perpendicular in some places. A mule fell down a cliff, and an hour was expended in pulling him
up, and putting the load to rights again.
Struggling on in the dark we lighted on a Kurd camp, the inhabitants of which were most
inhospitable, and threatened to rob our baggage. Finally a guide was procured, who led us to a
small Armenian village, where we halted after midnight after having been 14 hours on horseback.
27th September .— We arrived today at Merwanen in safety.
28th September .—Left the village, and passed some fields of wheat still green, and reached Dime,
a small Armenian village prettily situated on the slope overlooking a large valley at its junction
with another. This stage was a short one, as there were no villages further on, and the sta^e
to morrow was a long one with a high range of hills to climb.
One portion of the inhabitants of the village lived in tents, and another in the houses. Two
large walnut trees grew on the slope close by.
A party of Kurds attacked us on a hill close by, whither we had gone to take photographs; they
broke all our instruments and apparatus, stripped us of our clothing, and left us to find our way
back enticrement nus,
29th September.—The nights were very cold at this elevation (7,800 / ), and the air extremely
rarefied. We left the village at daybreak, and at sunrise had reached the opposite slope of an
immense basin at the same elevation as when we left the village.
We kept ascending from this point, and had a considerable range in front of us still to
get up. •
Fine rain began to fall, with a high wind, which rendered us numb with cold. The higher we
got, the worse the weather became, and snow and sleet became mingled with the rain, so that it
was almost impossible to see.
The ground became very slippery, and we traversed a narrow ridge having a deep valley on
either side.
At noon we halted, when the weather got clearer and warmer, and we ascended the last rid»e.
Finally from the summit a splendid view broke on us, a vast chaos of mountain peaks, rocks,
and precipices.
We were more than 10,000 feet above sea level, and at a similar elevation Mont Blanc is covered
with snow. We descended sharply among boulders and broken stones, among which grew quanti
ties of enormous thistles.
We were shown some zinc mines that had been exploited superficially by the Kurds, and the soil
seemed rich in minerals, but the difficulty was how to transport material from such an inacces
sible spot.
Kochannis .—To our left, at the bottom of a deep narrow valley, could be seen Kochannis the
residence of Mar Shimun, the Patriarch of the Nestorians.
The hamlet was surrounded by a green patch of trees, and, situated at the bottom of an abrupt
gorge, overlooked on the east by a rocky hill rising nearly 3,000 feet perpendicularly, and on the
other sides by extremely steep slope. We descend by a very stony track, passing several cemeteries.
Julamerk ,—At the foot of the hill was a very steep slope, below which we could see Julamerk
surrounded by some scattered groves of trees. The place is situated at the bottom of an immense
basin, bordered on the south-east by a high perpendicular cliff, and on the other sides by slopes
somewhat less steep.
. Water comes down the hillside in four small torrents, which unite into two branches which
join into one torrent at the south corner of the valley, where it passes through a narrow rift in
the cliffs to flow into the Great Zab.
At the south corner of the valley is the town properly so called, situated on a steep rock 300
yards long and from 80 to 100 yards broad. The Armenian and Nestorian quarter is separate
from the rest, and is built on a small mound in the centre of the valley.
The town itself is half in ruins, and does not contain more than 100 houses. There are the ruins
of a fort on the rock in former times, the stronghold of Nurullah Beg.