We halted in this village for three-quarters of an hour, and then commenced the ascent of the ridge. The pass has an elevation of about 1900 feet above Lake Van; and one can readily appreciate the reasons which have influenced traffic to prefer the easier if somewhat lengthier route by way of Elmali. The actual scaling of the parapet occupied half-an-hour; patches of snow clung to the rocks about the summit. It is called the Pass of Bor, from an Armenian village in the opposite valley. We reached that settlement at three o'clock; it lies in the watershed of the Tigris, to which a stream flowed from the further side of the ridge we had crossed, a tributary of the Bitlis Chai. The people of Bor appeared to us to be on the verge of starvation; the women had for the most part been reduced to mere skeletons. It is a place of some size, and I afterwards heard of some interesting tombstones which were said to belong to this township. This upper portion of the valley has a breadth of three-quarters of a mile, and expands as you proceed. We pursued a westerly course, and arrived at the junction with the road from Tadvan. The telegraph wires are carried across the heights on the north of the valley, which at this point are insignificant. We stopped to visit an ancient khan, built of hewn stone and of considerable size. Beside it is a new bridge, also of finished masonry, recalling the grand old days. I was informed that it had been constructed by the present Vali of Bitlis, though, heaven knows! he has no excuse for such lavishness. The stream which it crosses and which flows in a deep gorge is spanned by a less presumptuous structure which might suffice for all ordinary needs. Further evidence of this childish but truly Oriental habit of embellishing your capital while your kingdom is quaking about you was furnished by a metalled road which commences at this point and puts the traveller in a good mood. After passing a second bridge, traversing the chasm of a torrent which came towards us on our right hand, we turned with the valley to a south-westerly direction, which was maintained for about 1 1/2 miles. We then defiled into the deep recesses of the network of valleys in which repose the castle and town of Bitlis. It was after four o'clock, and I estimate the distance from Garzik at 27 miles. Between Kindirantz and that village we covered about 9 miles, which gives a total of just under 100 miles from Van. CHAPTER VI BITLIS