The Tartars Are Mostly Of The Mahomedan Religion.

The permanent Tartars have very peculiar dwellings, which may be called enormous mole-hills.

Their villages are chiefly situated on declivities, and hills, in which they dig holes of the size of spacious rooms. The light falls only through the entrance, or outlet. This is broader than it is high, and is protected by a long and broad portico of planks, resting either upon beams or the stems of trees. Nothing is more comical than to see such a village, consisting of nothing but these porticoes, and neither windows, doors, nor walls.

Those who dwell in the plains make artificial mounds of earth, and build their huts of stone or wood. They then throw earth over them, which they stamp down tightly, so that the huts themselves cannot be seen at all. Until within the last sixty years, it is said that many such dwellings were to be seen in the town of Tiflis.

29th August. This morning I had still one stage of twenty-four wersti ere I reached Tiflis. The road was, as everywhere else, full of holes, ruts and stones. I was obliged always to tie a handkerchief tightly round my head, to ease the jolting; and still, I was every day attacked with headache. Today, however, I learnt the full nuisance of these carriages. It had rained, not only during the whole night, but still continued so. The wheels threw up such masses of mud, that I soon sat in a thick puddle, I was covered even over the head, and my face did not escape. Small boards hanging over the wheels would have easily remedied this inconvenience; but none trouble themselves in this country about the comfort of travellers.

Tiflis comes in sight during the latter half of the stage. The prospect of the town charmed me much; as, with the exception of a few church towers, it was built in the European style; and, since Valparaiso, I had not seen any town resembling the European. Tiflis contains 50,000 inhabitants, it is the capital of Georgia, {309} and is situated tolerably near the mountains. Many of the houses are built on hills, on high steep rocks. From some of the hills there is a beautiful view of the town and valley. The latter, at the time of my visit, was not very attractive, as the harvest had deprived it of all the charms of colour; there were also but few gardens, etc. On the other hand, the river Kurry (generally called Cyrus) winds in graceful curves through the town and valley, and in the far distance sparkle the snow-crowned summits of the Caucasus. A strong citadel, Naraklea, is situated upon steep rocks, immediately before the town.

The houses are large, and tastefully ornamented with facades and columns, and covered with sheet iron or bricks. The Erivanski Place is very handsome. Among the buildings the Palace of the governor, the Greek and Armenian seminaries, and several barracks are conspicuous. The large theatre, in the centre of the Erivanski Place, was not then finished. It is evident that the old town must give place to the new one. Everywhere houses are being pulled down, and new ones built; the narrow streets will soon only be known by tradition, and the only remains of the Oriental architecture, are the Greek and Armenian houses. The churches are far inferior in splendour and magnitude to the other buildings; the towers are low, round, and generally covered with green glazed tiles. The oldest Christian church stands upon a high rock in the fortress, and is used only for the prisoners.

The bazaars and chan present no features worthy of notice; moreover, there are already here, as in all European towns, shops and stores in all the streets. Several wide bridges are thrown over the Kurry. The town contains numerous warm sulphuretted springs, from which, indeed, it derives its name: Tiflis or Ibilissi, meaning "warm town." Unfortunately, the greater number of the many baths are in the worst condition. The buildings, within which the springs are enclosed, are surmounted by small cupolas with windows. The reservoirs, the floor, and walls, are for the most part covered with large stone slabs; very little marble is to be seen. There are private and public baths, and men are not allowed to enter the buildings where the women assemble; however, they are not nearly so strict here as in the East. The gentleman who was so kind as to accompany me to one of these baths, was permitted to come into the anteroom, although it was separated from the bathing-place only by a simple wooden partition.

Not far from the baths lies the Botanic Garden, which has been laid out, at great expense, on the declivity of a mountain. The terraces, which had to be artificially cut, are supported by masonry and filled with earth. Why such an unsuitable place was chosen I cannot imagine; the less so as I saw only a few rare plants and shrubs, and everywhere nothing but grape-vines; I fancied myself in a vineyard. The most remarkable things in this garden are two vine- stocks, whose stems were each a foot in diameter. They are so extended in groves and long rows that they form pleasant walks. More than a thousand flasks of wine are annually obtained from these two vines.

A large grotto has been excavated in one of the upper terraces whose whole front side is open, and forms a high-arched hall. In the fine summer evenings there is music, dancing, and even theatrical performances.

On Sundays and festivals the pretty gardens of the governor are opened to the public. There are swings and winding-paths, and two bands of music. The music executed by the Russian military was not so good as that which I heard by the blacks in Rio Janeiro.

When I visited the Armenian Church, the corpse of a child had just been laid out.

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