Chapter X: Ibreez. the Great Plain. Devleh

Start for Ibreez—Extreme beauty of Landscape—A Picturesque
Karamanian Lane—Number and Tameness of the Nightingales—The
River of Ibreez—The Mukhtar’s House—Great Source under Red
Precipices—Hamathite Inscriptions and Bas-relief—Our Armenian
Guide—A would-be Soldier—A ruined Christian Hermitage—Ali
Aga’s Unwelcome Guests—Valuing the Dîme—Bitter Complaint
of Peasants—The Ushirjis discuss the Stream with me—Their
Legend of its Origin—Description of the Bas-relief and
Inscriptions—Ibreez visited by Otter in 1737—In 1840 by
Moltke and Fischer—Cruel Oppression of the People—Yet they
submit—Fish of the Ibreez River—A Night Walk through the
Lanes of Eregli—Price of Provisions in Eregli—Prices in
former Days—Baron de Tott—The Asper—Para—Cost of entertaining
Man and Horse at Van two centuries ago—Price of a Horse in
1705—A Cheap Entertainment—Cost of a Ship of War in 1750—in
1657—in 1820—Rent in Khans of Constantinople two Centuries
ago—Visitors—An Armenian Priest—Magnificence of Flowers on
the Great Plain—Dreary District round Devleh—Suffering and
Loss of the Villagers during the Famine 245-269