DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5541#0444
Chap, xxiir.]
KALAIJIK.
411
sandstone, I found myself surrounded by a great variety of
igneous rocks—domite, trap, trachytes, porphyry, &c., with
trachytic conglomerates, which rose up in wild confusion,
and by their dark and sombre colours added to the wild
appearance of this remarkable ravine.
After emerging from the pass the igneous rocks still con-
tinued, and as we approached the Halys several trap dykes
were seen stretching across the road from E.N.E. to W.S.W.
One of these stood four feet above the ground, with altered
marls attached to it on either side, for above a foot
in thickness, rather resembling the production of human
hands than the elfect of igneous agency. After reaching
the Halys, and as we ascended its right bank in a W.S.W.
direction, more trap dykes appeared traversing the hills and
country in various ways, but chiefly penetrating the igneous
rocks, which rose precipitously on the left, while the deep
and muddy river flowed rapidly on our right. A few vine-
yards have been planted here on both sides of the river,
and the grapes were nearly ripe. After proceeding up the
valley for two miles we crossed the river a little before
three by a wooden bridge, formed of planks laid across a few
slender beams, in many of which large holes had been worn;
these were filled up with loose stones, but there was no
parapet. Soon after leaving the bridge we crossed a low
range of hills extending from N.E. to S.W., and then conti-
nued for two miles in a westerly direction over the stony
plain, traversed by a wide but now dry bed of an extensive
torrent, which in winter must cause considerable damage; we
crossed it near the striking and picturesque walls of Kalaijik;
in the midst of the mud-built houses and the deserted
tenements of a reduced population, a lofty and insulated
hill of red trachyte, crowned with the ruined battlements
of a castle, rises far above the plain, and above the
semicircular amphitheatre of barren hills behind it. We
entered Kalaijik at fifty minutes past three, and found
a comfortable konak in a clean Armenian house. The win-
dows to the N.W. overlooked the flat roofs of the dwellings
KALAIJIK.
411
sandstone, I found myself surrounded by a great variety of
igneous rocks—domite, trap, trachytes, porphyry, &c., with
trachytic conglomerates, which rose up in wild confusion,
and by their dark and sombre colours added to the wild
appearance of this remarkable ravine.
After emerging from the pass the igneous rocks still con-
tinued, and as we approached the Halys several trap dykes
were seen stretching across the road from E.N.E. to W.S.W.
One of these stood four feet above the ground, with altered
marls attached to it on either side, for above a foot
in thickness, rather resembling the production of human
hands than the elfect of igneous agency. After reaching
the Halys, and as we ascended its right bank in a W.S.W.
direction, more trap dykes appeared traversing the hills and
country in various ways, but chiefly penetrating the igneous
rocks, which rose precipitously on the left, while the deep
and muddy river flowed rapidly on our right. A few vine-
yards have been planted here on both sides of the river,
and the grapes were nearly ripe. After proceeding up the
valley for two miles we crossed the river a little before
three by a wooden bridge, formed of planks laid across a few
slender beams, in many of which large holes had been worn;
these were filled up with loose stones, but there was no
parapet. Soon after leaving the bridge we crossed a low
range of hills extending from N.E. to S.W., and then conti-
nued for two miles in a westerly direction over the stony
plain, traversed by a wide but now dry bed of an extensive
torrent, which in winter must cause considerable damage; we
crossed it near the striking and picturesque walls of Kalaijik;
in the midst of the mud-built houses and the deserted
tenements of a reduced population, a lofty and insulated
hill of red trachyte, crowned with the ruined battlements
of a castle, rises far above the plain, and above the
semicircular amphitheatre of barren hills behind it. We
entered Kalaijik at fifty minutes past three, and found
a comfortable konak in a clean Armenian house. The win-
dows to the N.W. overlooked the flat roofs of the dwellings