But
He Would Listen To Nothing I Could Urge, And I Was Forced To Comply With
His Extortion.
He even detained me till the 19th of the month, and even
then I had extreme difficulty to get leave to depart.
The inhabitants of
the city, who deserve rather to be ranked among beasts, looked at us with
as much astonishment as if they had never seen any other men than
ourselves. They told us that, on the top of a high mountain in a
neighbouring forest, there was a great church, in which was an image of
the Virgin, which worked many miracles, and that the church was served by
forty monks, whom they named _Calojeriens_[7]. But our anxiety to get out
of this abominable country, prevented us from paying our devotions at that
famous church. Georgia, indeed, is a somewhat better country than
Mingrelia, but the manners of the people and their way of living is
equally brutal; and such were the distresses and difficulties I
encountered in travelling through both, that it would be tedious to relate
them. On the 20th of July we left the abominable city of Goride, where we
had suffered so many vexations, and continued, our journey through forests
and over mountains, occasionally falling in with villages where we
purchased provisions. We had always to pass the nights on the ground near
some spring or rivulet, during most part of our journey through Mingrelia
and Georgia.
[1] We have already seen that it was the 16th of that month when Contarini
arrived at Kaffa. Much confusion has occurred in the dates of this
journey, which we have no means of correcting, and must, therefore, be
contented with them as they are - E.
[2] The names of places in this journal are so corrupted as to be often
quite unintelligible. Varsi may possibly be Vardon, in the district to
the northwest of Mingrelia, named Abkhas; and Caltichea may perhaps be
Sulhuali, a sea port about 30 miles to the east. Phasis probably
refers to some town on the river of that name, perhaps Subastei. - E.
[3] Probably Cutais in Imeritia, on the river Riene. - E.
[4] Perhaps Sarassan, about forty miles S. E. from Cutais. - E.
[5] Apparently the same prince named Plangion a little before. - E.
[6] Gori in Georgia, on the river Kur. The journey hitherto must have been
through Mingrelia, then apparently subject to the prince or king of
Georgia. - E.
[7] Probably Caloyers. - E.
SECTION III.
_Arrival of Contarini at Tauris or Ecbatana, the royal city of Uzun-
Hassan, and continuation of his journey through Persia to Ispahan, where
the king then resided._
On the 22d of July we began to ascend a mountain of prodigious height,
insomuch, that when night came on we had scarcely reached the top, where
we had to pass the night without water. Resuming our journey in the
morning, we descended the other side of the mountain, and entered the
province of Armenia, which is under the dominion of Uzun-Hassan[1]. In
the evening we were conducted to a fort named Reo, which stands in the
plain, between a deep river and a high mountain, and which is garrisoned
by Turks in the service of Uzun-Hassan, but the neighbouring village is
inhabited by Armenians. We rested in this place till the 25th of July,
waiting the arrival of a guide to direct us in the remainder of the
journey, and being well treated by the inhabitants, we rewarded them to
their satisfaction. The Armenian who had joined us at Kaffa, under
pretence of being an ambassador from Uzun-Hassan to the Pope, was
recognized by the inhabitants of this village as an impostor and a
notorious robber, and many were astonished how we had escaped from his
machinations: I got rid of him therefore immediately, and made him
restore me a horse which I had lent him for the journey; after which I
procured a priest of an honest character to conduct me to Tauris. Leaving
Reo with my new guide on the 26th of July, we ascended a mountain, and
came on the other side to a plain surrounded by hills, where we found a
village inhabited by Turks, near which we had to pass the night in the
open air, though the inhabitants treated us with decent civility. Next
morning we departed before day, having to pass another mountain, on the
side of which was a village inhabited by Turks, among whom we should have
run extreme hazard of our lives if they had seen us; but by using much
diligence we avoided this danger, and got down into an extensive plain,
full of fine pastures, and travelled with great expedition that we might
pass the night at a respectable distance from the lawless inhabitants of
the hills. On the 29th we passed the mountain of Noah, or _Ararat_, which
is so lofty that it is covered with snow the whole year. We were told
that many who had attempted to reach the top of this mountain had never
been more heard of, while others, on making the same attempt, said, on
their return, that it was quite inaccessible.
From this place forwards we travelled through extensive plains intermixed
with hills, and arrived on the 30th of July at a castle named _Chiagri_,
inhabited by Armenians. Finding abundance of bread, wine, and poultry in
this place, we rested here for a day, and then set out with a new guide
for Ecbatana or Tauris. Leaving Chiagri towards evening of the 1st August,
we came next day to an Armenian village at the foot of a mountain, where
we had to cross a river in boats, and were informed that Uzun-Hassan had
formerly gained a great victory near this place over the Tartars, having
hemmed them into a corner, where their army wasted away with famine and
disease. The ruler of these Tartars, named Sultan _Buzech_[2], was made
prisoner, and was afterwards put to death.
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