Full resolution (JPEG) - On this page / på denna sida - VIII. Through north Armenia to Erivan
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
Below is the raw OCR text
from the above scanned image.
Do you see an error? Proofread the page now!
Här nedan syns maskintolkade texten från faksimilbilden ovan.
Ser du något fel? Korrekturläs sidan nu!
This page has never been proofread. / Denna sida har aldrig korrekturlästs.
1 82 ARMENIA AND THE NEAR EAST
It was interesting to see the work which was being done
here to improve the methods of agriculture ; especially the
experimental cultivation of many different kinds of clover,
corn, grass, alfalfa (lucerne), etc, with a view to finding out
which were most suitable for this climate and soil. Wc
should have liked to make a thorough study of these important
matters, but if wc were to reach Erivan before it was too dark
to see the country wc were travelling through there was no
time to be lost ; so after a very pleasant lunch wc set off again.
It was a great pity that wc failed to see the big agricultural
station itself, situated a good deal higher up in the valley,
where, as I have said, a number of the Near East Relief boys
were working as agricultural pupils.
Wc drove back by way of the Russian villages. In one of
them wc stopped for aminute or two. Wc saw several well
dressed women, old and young, including one girl, who was
quite fair, tall, and handsome. In general, they were alto
gether different from the Armenians, being bigger, heavier,
and not so good-looking, well-built, and graceful ; one could
see that this was another race, coming from a harsher northern
climate. The houses were neat, and had substantial, well-kept
outbuildings.
A little way beyond this village was a river with a bridge
which was so ramshackle that wc did not dåre to risk crossing
it in our cars, preferring to drive through the river at a shallow
place. Wc tore up the zigzag road to the top of the ascent
at a great rate. On reaching the summit wc found our friend
awaiting us, well satisfied with the results of his stay there ;
as usual, he had made good use of his time in studying the
flora, and had made a number of interesting finds.
A few minutes later wc reached the beginning of the descent.
Good-bye to the beautiful woods and the ancient realm of
Lori—then down into the bare, barren valley on the other
side ! Down, down, in a never-ending series of hairpin
bends. Soon wc were back on the road to Erivan, speeding
along the valley towards the south-east. For some distance
wc followed the railway—as far as the town of Karaklis,
where it turned north with the river to go by the narrow
gorge of the Borchala-chai down to the valley of the Kura
<< prev. page << föreg. sida << >> nästa sida >> next page >>
