Thus Likewise The Greeks Call Silver Money Aspro[7], The Turks Akeia, And The Kathayans Teugh, All Of Which Words Signify White; And Hence, Both In Venice And In Spain, Certain Silver Coins Are All Called Bianchi, Which Has The Same Signification.

We must now give some account of Georgiana, Georgia, or Gurgistan, which lies opposite to the last mentioned places, and borders on Mingrelia.

The king of Georgia is called Pancratius, and is sovereign of a delightful country, which produces bread, corn, wine, cattle, and all other fruits of the earth in great abundance; and they train up their vines around trees as in Trebisond. The people are very handsome and well made, but they have the most horrid manners, and the worst customs of any people I ever met with. Their heads are shaved, except a few hairs all around, like our rich abbots; and they wear whiskers, six inches long. On their heads they wear a cap of various colours, with a feather on the top. Their bodies are covered by a strait-bodied jacket, having tolerably long skirts, which are cloven behind, quite up to their loins, as otherwise they could not conveniently sit on horseback; but I do not blame them for this fashion, as the French wear the same kind of dress. On their feet and ankles they wear boots, but the soles are so strangely made, that when a man walks, his heels and toes only touch the ground, while the middle of the foot is raised up so high, that one may thrust the fist through below; and thence they walk with great difficulty. I should blame them for this, if I had not known that the same fashion prevails in Persia. At their meals, they have the following custom, which I saw in the house of one of their great men. They use a quadrangular table, about half an ell across, having a projecting rim, on the middle of which they heap up a quantity of boiled millet, which is without salt or fat, or any other seasoning, and this they eat to their meat by way of bread. On another similar table, but having live coals underneath, there was some wild boars flesh, but so little roasted that the blood ran out when it was cut, and of this they are very fond. For my part, I thought it quite disgusting, and was forced to content myself with a little millet, as we had no other provisions. There was wine, however, in abundance, which was handed round the company with great hospitality.

In this country there are a great number of woods and mountains. One of its districts is named Tiflis, in which is a town of the same name, situate on the Kur or Kyrus, which runs into the Caspian. Gori is likewise a fortified place in the same country, and lies nearer to the Black Sea.

Going from Tanna or Asof, by the river Don, and along the sea of Tabache or Asof, quite to Kaffa, and keeping that sea close on the left hand, we come to an isthmus or narrow neck of land, which connects the peninsula of the Crimea; with the mainland, and which is named Zuchala[8]. This is similar to that called Essimilia, formerly the Isthmus of Corinth, which connects the Morea or Peloponnesus with the continent of Greece.

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