The gardens of Van which stretch for several miles to the south and southeast were her glory and pride. Copious rivulets and streams with careful irrigation have made these gardens famous throughout the East. Van was the only city which successfully resisted the Kurdish cavalry and the Turkish soldiers. It became the center also of Dr. Kimball's great relief work which was carried on through the generous aid furnished by the Relief Fund of the Christian Herald of New York. The mountains of Ararat, rise about sixty miles north of Lake Van. After crossing the mountain divide which separates the watershed of Van from that of Ararat, a valley opens out to the northeast. It was one of the highways for the armies of the middle ages and the head of the valley was once a strongly fortified city. Here were erected the fortresses that protected the eastern frontier of the Byzantine Empire when it stood at the zenith of its power. Continuing our journey northwards the upland pastures are soon reached and the Kurdish encampments with their black tents begin to be very numerous. But being armed with a firman from the Porte, and with an official escort we pass on without serious trouble. Now we come upon a large encampment with numerous tents stretching along the course of a clear mountain stream. The men are a wild, surly looking set with hair streaming down in long straggling locks. All of course are fully armed. The possessions of these nomad Kurds may be seen about the encampment--sheep, goats, oxen, cows, herds of horses, big mastiff dogs and greyhounds clothed with small coats. A first look at the Kurdish tents gives a person the idea that they are chilly habitations, but there are tents within tents or separate rooms partitioned off, having a plentiful supply of carpets, rugs and pillows that are very comfortable indeed even in the cold nights they have at that elevation of nearly eight thousand feet. Resuming our journey and soon after crossing a ridge a thousand feet higher than the valley where we have rested--the whole mass of Ararat--not merely the snow capped dome--suddenly reveals itself from base to summit--a most splendid sight.