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ARMENIA AND THE NEAR EAST
70
winds up the high, steep mountain-side on the south-west of
the town. On our left as wc drove up there was an almost
sheer precipice down into a narrow, deep gorge or canyon,
with a little half-dried-up stream far below us. A deep and
narrow canyon like this, with such precipitous sides, bears
witness to a comparatively dry climate, varied by occasional
violent deluges of ram in the mountains, which would swell
the river to a foaming torrent that would dig deeper and
deeper down into the loose rock of the mountain-side.
Arrived at the top, wc enjoyed a wide prospect over the
valley and the town. Long and narrow, it extends on both
sides of the Kura, which winds peacefully along the bottom
of the valley. The situation would be fine, were it not for
the fact that the mountain slopes on either side are completely
bare and treeless, presenting a dry and stony appearance.
How different it would look if the slopes were clothed with
shady woods, vineyards, and orchards. The town may have
been founded as long ago as the fourth century a.d., perhaps
even earlier. Its Georgian nåme, Tbilis, comes from the hot
sulphur springs {fbili = warm), which are still used for baths.
North of us lay Mount Ploskaya (1,000 metres) ; a
funicular railway goes from the town to its summit, where
there is a restaurant with a wide view over the town and
towards the mountains. Half-way up this funicular railway
is the Georgian monastery of St. David.
Considering Tiflis has pretensions to being a large town,
with a population of about 275,000 according to the last
census, it covers remarkably little ground. Judging from its
appearance as seen from above, I should say that it hardly
stretches farther along the river than, for instance, Drammen
in Norway, a town of only 26,000 inhabitants. No doubt
the explanation is that the houses are very close together,
especially in the old part of the town, and that the streets and
alleys are narrow. Further, there is now a house famine
there, as in all large towns, and the inhabitants are packed
together in comparatively few rooms. Most of the houses
are low, but for all that they contain a surprising number of
people.
There was plenty of traffic on the road, chiefly peasants with
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