HCREGYET POTENTIS VIRI DNI lACOBI GORSEVI HONOR
ABILIS CONSULTS ET CASTELDANI SOLDAYE.*
-f- 1385 THE FIRST DAY OF AUGUST DURING THE ADHINISTRATION
or THE NORLE AND POWERFUL LORD JACOB GORSEV
THE HONOURABLE CONSUL AND CASTELLAN Of SOLDAVA.
Within the works are shapeless masses of stone and brick, the ruins of barracks that were built by the Russians for temporary service upon the annexation of the Crimea, when ancient structures and picturesque battlemented walls, that had stood the havoc of war, and the wear of time for nearly five centuries, were wantonly pulled down for the purpose. Near them are the cisterns that supplied the mediaeval warriors, kept filled from a spring outside the gate, which may have suggested the name of Sou-dagh, ' water mountain,' given by the Turk tribes. Over the
' Heyd, Le Cidonit, &c. ii. p. 16a,
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
by Google basin at this spring is a figure in relief of St. Geot^e and the Dragon, a shield with the arms of the Adorno family, and an inscription scarcely legible.
The towers on the lines of defence are in a tottering state; an inscription upon each in Gothic characters, but too high above the ground to be easily deciphered, records the time of its erection, the various dates being 1385-86-88-89-90-92-94, 1404-09-14-22. No steps are taken to preserve these interesting records, and as some are in great Jeopardy, they must soon fall into destruction.
The central tower at the summit, with battlemented parapet, is a massive and noble structure of the fifteenth century, the walls.
4 feet 10 inches in thickness, being somewhat in excess of the remainder of the fortifications. Beneath the arch that admits to the court is a fresco, in which a central figure with nimbus is seated within an aureola, as it is usual to see the Saviour represented in Greek rather than in Latin churches. Another fresco inside a recess 10 feet high, on the east side of the adjoining tower to the west, has in like manner a figure with the nimbus, and on a marble slab at the apex of the recess are the three legs of a horse, passant, in relief; the rest of the figure has been knocked off by mischievous hands at no very distant period. The frescoes are thickly spread with whitewash, which unhappily brings away the by Google
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
colouring as it peels off. Sculptured crosses of various designs are over the loop-holes on the outside walls of both towers.
The ' look-out ' tower on the highest pinnacle of the rocky mountain, called by the Tatars, KyzKoule, ' maiden's tower.' commands a glorious view to seaward, and along the coast far away to Ayou-dagh in the west.
One edifice only, an ancient mosque that was converted into a Christian church by the Genoese, and afterwards restored to its primitive use by the Turks, has survived the general ruin. It is a square building surmounted by a dome, and having a portico at the entrance on the east side; within, at the south wall, is the altnghrah or recess seen in Mahomedan places of worship, ornamented with sculptured arabesques of the rose pattern, in which have been adapted armorial bearings and an inscription, of by Google the fifteenth century in Gothic letters, rendered indistinct, however, by thick encrustations of whitett-ash. According to Professor Jurgievitz,' the correct reading is as follows;
IN CHRISTI NOMINE FIERI
Two lateral windows near the portico, are curiously enough ornamented in the style peculiar to Armenia and Georgia, and
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
' M. Desimonc, member of Ihc Ligurian Society at Genoa, suggests, thai the sign t should be leplaced by Ihe letter L, because the sign I in the date MCcccixxlll, cannot have been inserted without an object. In Oderico, Tab. iii. 1, ihe date b given as
MCCCLXXXII (13S1) } but M. Desiimne, who believes it to be 147J, states that allhough by Google
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
over the door of entrance are traces of an inscription, of which the four last letters In the first line are edeo; the ya of Soldaya, noted by Dubois, has disappeared, as has also the inscription he saw at the east corner of the edifice.
The descent to the bottom of the ravine on the west side of the fortress, and the ascent of the cliff to the opposite height, is a work of labour; but the superb and comprehensive view obtained of the fortifications in general and of the anchorage, from that elevated position, richly repays the time and toil expended.
At Soudak I was the guest of Monsieur and Madame Bcrtin, of whose hospitality and attentions I shall ever retain a grateful recollection.