We returned to the house of the Kaimakam, where I joined the remainder of my party. All were in the saddle by ten minutes to four o'clock. We mounted the slope of the hill which forms the promontory, and which we found to be a spur of Mount Ardos. It is crossed at a point behind, or on the south of the castle; the ascent is steep and the decline none too short. Nearing the strip of shore on the opposite side of the barrier, we were impressed by the outcrops of red granitic rock and green serpentine, the beds lying side by side. At half-past four we gained the level, and proceeded at the foot of some hills which are interposed between the range and the shore. These recede after some distance, and circle away from the lake, leaving a spacious bay of low and, in places, marshy ground. On the further horn of the shore we were shown a group of trees and slowly-rising wreaths of smoke. It was Akhavank, known to the Turks as Iskele (the port), the residence on the mainland of the Katholikos of Akhtamar. Although the sand on the border of the water was rather powdery, we found it better than the broken ground inland. It was pleasant too to ride by the side of the crystal water, and look down into the blue depths. Several little villages could be seen at the foot of the hills; they appeared more clearly from the lake next day. We reached Akhavank at ten minutes to six, and I estimate the distance from Vostan at about eight miles. A two-storeyed white-faced house, an upper room, built out, like a verandah, with large windows overlooking the lake; stables and appurtenances of various application--the whole relieved against a background of poplars and fruit trees--such is Akhavank, the residence of His Holiness the Katholikos Khachatur (given to the cross) of Akhtamar. The house was full of people, and the stables of horses; it so happened that the Kaimakam of Vostan was on a visit, accompanied by a numerous retinue. The interior of the building was bare and uncomfortable, rooms and passages alike. Full decadence was written large on the squalid furniture and cheerless walls. I was ushered into a long apartment, facing the bay, and composing one side of the first floor. A fetid smell of garlic, and the want of ventilation, almost overpowered me. At the further end of the room, on a Kurdish rug, spread on the floor at the foot of the divan, sat or squatted a fat priest, attired in a black robe edged with sable, and wearing the usual black silk cowl of conical form, to which a cross of dim rose diamonds was attached. His back rested on quite a little nest of cushions; a few papers and a little bag lay at his side. On the adjacent couch beside the wall were seated several persons of various types of physiognomy and styles of dress.