Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - VI. Across the Arax plain and in Erivan
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ACROSS THE ARAK PLAIN AND IN ERIVAN 135
above it, with Little Ararat’s cone farther to the east. The
mighty mountain became more and more dominating the
nearer wc came to it ; the summit, with its great glader, was,
as usual, hidden in a hood of clouds beneath which one could
glimpse the shining surface of the snow. Here most of the
country was cultivated and green from being irrigated ; but
wc saw some dry, desert-like stretches which had not yet been
brought under cultivation.
Farther to the south wc passed through some of the swampy,
sour land which wc had previously seen from the tram, and
which would have to be drained before it could be cultivated.
Wc shall have more to say about this district later.
Wc reached the Arax at a point where a modem iron bridge
crosses the river, which now serves, since the war, as the
frontier between Armenia and Turkey. The river is wide
but rather shallow, and its brownish-yellow water flows
sluggishly along the flat river-bed, with low banks, which it
has made through the plain. On the Turkish side wc could
see long rows of trees, which suggested that the country over
there was fertile.
Outside the village of Markara, close to the road, a crowd
gathered at once—as usual only men—staring curiously at
ourselves and our cars, and, of course, bent upon knowing
our business. It is particularly noticeable in Armenia, as,
indeed, elsewhere in the East, that the men always flock together
to find out the latest news, whereas with us it is generally
the women. This can hardly be because the Armenian women
are less inquisitive than their sisters in the West. Presumably
the explanation is that the men have most leisure there, and
can idle about in the village streets while the women are busy
in the house, garden, or field.
The facial types among these men varied a good deal.
Many had the long, narrow Armenian face with a high
bridged nose slightly turned down at the tip, low cheek-bones,
and rather receding chin ; but there were others with rounder
faces, more prominent cheek-bones, and often firmer chins.
Some of them reminded one of the East Russian or Tatar types.
Their clothing was varied in the extreme, and sometimes
ragged; not particularly Oriental, except for a sheepskin
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