It consists of two castles opposite to each other on the banks of the Kúr which separates the rocks on which they stand, and which are connected above by a bridge leading from one castle to the other. The great castle is on the south side of the Kúr and the small one on the north of it. This river rises in the mountains of Chaldir, passes Erdehán, Akhiska, and Azgúra and flows into the Caspian Sea; the Persian historiographers say, that its waters are supplied from a thousand and sixty sources; it is the largest river in these countries next to the Euphrates. The circumference of the largest castle is six thousand paces, the wall sixty cubits high, with seventy bulwarks, and three thousand battlements, but no ditch; the water-tower which supplies water to the garrison in time of siege is situated on the Kúr. In the castle are six hundred houses, terraced, some with and some without gardens, the palace of the Khán, a mosque and a bath. The small castle was built by Yezdejerd Sháh, it is of stone, in a square form with only one gate at the head of the bridge, and has no Bezestán or Imáret. Three thousand watchmen light fires every night, and continually cry Khoda Khob (all’s well.) Though it is a Persian town, yet its inhabitants are for the most part Sunnís and Hanefis from the time of the Ottomans. _Products._ The white bread of Tiflís, and the peaches are renowned; the vegetables exquisite; there is no silk, but most excellent grapes: all these productions prosper through the quantity of rain water which falls, and do not require water from the Kúr, this is the case with an hundred and fifty towns and villages, which it passes on its way. _The Hotbath of Tiflís._ On the east side of the large castle a hot-spring boils out of the ground without the assistance of fire; sheep’s heads and feet are cooked therein. There are also several pilgrimages at Tiflís, as those of Imám Hossein Efendí, Rizwán Agha, Jem Alí Efendí, &c. Tiflís is five hours distance from Kiákht, from the Castle of Aras, four journies, and the same from that of Genje. We took from the khán two hundred men to accompany us, and received three tománs for the expenses of the journey. _Description of the Castle Kúsekht._ It stands on a chalk cliff, is of a square form, and belongs to the district of Tiflís. The castle Lorí near Tiflís was seen on our right side in the mountains, but we passed it at a great distance. _Description of Súrán._