We accepted an invitation to dine and pass the night at Assanaza, an arrangement that suited us well; and leaving the ladies with their novel hosts, I remounted my horse, and proceeded witii Said to Mangoup-Kaleh, through the villages of Youkiry Karaless, ' upper Karaless,' and Kodja-sali, At the last village we commenced the ascent of the Baba mountain by a steep and difficult path up the Tabana-deri, ' tanner's valley,' through a dense undergrowth of the dt^-berry and barberry, juniper and wild vine, the ground being thickly strewn with tombstones similar to those at Jehoshaphat, but here overturned and neglected. A hot twentyfive minutes' ride, for the thermometer was at 95°, brought us to the top of the glen, where we dismounted near the ruins of a square tower of the old fortifications, a spring of the purest water bubbling at our feet. Around us were the remains of small habitations, and some ancient crypts in the rocks.
To the north-east of Tabani-der^ is Orta-deri, ' middle valley,' and beyond it Kapou-der^, ' gateway valley,' so called from the gate of entrance in the wall that was raised for the defence of the three valleys; ' the wall has almost entirely disappeared at the Tabani-der^, but extends across the Orta-deri to Kipou-dere, where it continues in fair preservation.
On the plateau of Mount Baba we passed some old Tatar grave-stones, and went on to Kylysse,' a small church in the last stage of decay, parts only of the east and west walls being left standing; near it are a few monuments similar to those at Byasali, but smaller, and, like them, without inscriptions. Following in an easterly direction, we came to the remains of a mosque
' Dubois observed Iwa villeys only, Ihe Tabanil-deri and Kipou^ler^ vi. p. 173. whereas Kccppen describes tliree valleys, A'rymsiy Sbornyk, p. 178. ' The Tatar for ' church.'
t, Google almost abreast of Kipou-deri, and close to the brim of a precipice, at the bottom of which is Adym- tchokrak valley, that separates Baba from the Tchamly-ouzynbastchyk hills. The peak of Altodor is seen in the distance, and the Tchadyr-dagh is due east.
Farther on is the formidable wall, 12 feet in thickness, of the Acropolis or citadel, and immediately inside it, facing to the cast, is a palatial facade that was reached by steps which led to a
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
terrace along its front. It is the sole relic of the days of Mangoup, and was perhaps the residence of the princes of Gothia.
When Dubois visited Mangoup, he found four windows on the first floor, where we now see one window only and two large apertures, for the wall has crumbled away considerably. The three windows of an upper storey remain uninjured, and below them are portions of the corbels that supported a balcony. The entire by Google
[fragment illegible in the scan of the first edition]
window on the first floor, is ornamented with the sculptured designs seen chiefly in Armenia, a style probably introduced by the Armenians who flocked to the Crimea in the early part of the fourteenth century, after the destruction by earthquake of the great city of Ani, The inside dimensions of what is left of this edifice, are — length 41 feet, depth 19 feet
To the north-west extreme of the Acropolis, and immediately below the surface of the rock, there is a crypt from which two flights of steps lead to a laiger crypt chamber, measuring 21 feet by 17 feet, and 8 feet 4 inches from floor to ceiling, the roof being supported by a pillar of one piece with the rock; seven doorways lead out of this lower chamber to six separate closets, each from 7 feet to 8 feet square, and it also communicates by another opening with a shelf in the rock outside, which overlooks the valley of Kodja-sali at a depth of about I,OCX3 feet. We here have a remarkable and unique suite of rock-cut dwellings, which, con»dering its disposition and accessories, may have been, as Dubois su^ests, the residence of a king of the Tauri. There are numerous other crypts at the southern aspect of the mountain, excavated with equal skill, and communicating with each other by narrow and perilous paths cut in the face of the rock; these are provided with reclining niches, water-tanks, pits for holding supplies, and in some instances with fire-places.