The situation of old Akhlat resembles that of Bitlis; but it is Bitlis shorn of its castle, and without the lofty mountains towering above it on every side. It is nothing more than a valley, cut by water deep into the lava, with a long spit of columnar lava rising up from the valley floor. The direction of this valley is roughly north and south. Of its two branches, that on the east of the citadel is wider but less deep; while that on the west is narrower but more profoundly carved. These side ravines unite at both ends of the citadel; although on the north the junction is less obvious. There is no stream in the eastern ravine. The platform, which supported the citadel, is both highest and most broad towards its northerly end. Its greatest width is about 100 yards, and its length, from end to end, less than 500 yards. Its height above the stream is some 200 feet. The top of the platform is flat; all buildings have been razed; the tread sinks in the powdery soil. It is crossed by two depressions, which must have always been a source of weakness. The almost demolished remains of immensely thick walls still rise in some places from the upper sides. The ascent to the platform is from the valley on the east; on our way we pass a line of miserable shops and a cluster of houses, built of stone. Caves in the side of the basaltic lava have probably been utilised in the construction of these tenements. The inhabitants have an emaciated and sickly appearance, being in fact extremely poor. A track leads up the cliff to the head of the platform, whence a fine view over the adjacent ravines is obtained. That on the east is almost treeless, but the higher levels of the western ravine are thickly clothed with trees. The verdure descends the clefts in that opposite parapet, which towers above the citadel. Stone houses nestle among the foliage. It is surprising how little remains of the ancient city. On the slope of the eastern valley, which is, comparatively, a low gradient, a portion of the wall of some considerable edifice is still erect, and fairly well preserved. It is an extremely lofty wall, being flanked by buttresses; the masonry is of jointed and faced stone. Below it are observed some remnants of a vaulted edifice, possibly a bath. Beyond the fragment of a wall, and on the surface of the high ground, rises a ruinous round tower. In that direction we notice traces of a rampart. In the opposite quarter, beyond the western ravine, the standing portion of a ruinous kumbet emerges from the trees on the summit of the cliff, and forms a landmark from afar (No. 9). It is the tomb of the "lord of Emirs"--so runs the inscription--Hasan Agha, son of Mahmud. The date of his death is given as A.H. 672 or A.D. 1273. On the same summit the bases of two large and similar buildings may be discovered among the orchards.