It is built of large blocks of black and grey stone. It has both round and pointed arches; the western door has a rude cable moulding over it, and much interlaced ornament. But it would take the pen of a Ruskin and numerous photographs to make the stones of this old church as eloquent as the Stones of Venice, although the story they could tell would be far more tragic than any story told beside the murmuring waves of the Adriatic. These ruined Monasteries and Churches tell us of a superior order of architecture for the houses also in the days of prosperity, but now the poverty of the villagers is described by their dwellings which are sometimes large in area, with low stone wall, flat roofs, the living-room raised but a foot or two above the floor of the stables. Here they are obliged to live--during the bitter cold winter--the warmth from the presence of the cattle being necessary to keep themselves from perishing, and for the sake of the heat, the smells and the noises are endured. Another day's travel will bring us through Delibaba pass which is a succession of hills and valleys leading into the plains northward. After many miles of travel across the broad plain through which runs the Araxes eastward, the steep climbing of two extended ridges brings us to the top of the mountain slope that stretches down into the plain of Erzeroum, the city being built on the hillsides before they sweep out into the plain. Erzeroum is the most important place in Armenia. The site is that of an ancient city as it commands the pass on the main line of communication between the Black Sea and Persia and is just on the edge of a wide and fertile plain. The population which was once very large has declined of late years, and is now only about fifty thousand. About two-thirds are Armenians. Owing to its elevation, six thousand feet, and the fact that it lies on the north side of the range hence open to the blasts from the Black Sea it is very cold in winter. About two thousand of the people are Persians, and the great carrying trade is largely in their hands. They enjoy great freedom and consideration.