Note 7 — Chapter X · RETURN TO THE BORDER RANGES—ΘΆΛΑΤΤΑ, ΘΆΛΑΤΤΑ!

From such scenes the traveller turns to the contemplation of Nature, not only with a sense of relief, but under an added consciousness of her sublimity, the high exponent of the harmony of things. The pass of Vavuk divides two landscapes of exactly opposite nature, and leads over into a new climate and a new world. The opposite wall of rock is dotted with low fir trees, which, as you proceed, increase in height and shade. The opposite valley to which you descend is already warm by comparison with the bleak highlands from which you have come. By the time the river is approached, the winding reaches of the Kharshut, free, even at this season, of ice, great rolling masses of cloud are sailing over the mountains, distilling into mingled snow and rain. Even at this distance the senses recognise the sea. All the characteristics of the border ranges, aligned in a deep belt upon the coast, are displayed during the successive stages of a ride of two and a half days. If the forests are less luxuriant than on the side of the Rion, the view in places recalls, even during this season, those tree-clad parapets. Valleys of immense depth are overtowered by rocky precipices; it is essentially a land of crest and trough. And just as the scene contrasts with the Armenian landscapes, so the people and the types are new. The familiar features of the Greek take the place of the Armenians, and the ear is greeted by the language of the Greeks.7 Yet another pass must be traversed, the wintry pass of Zigana (6640 feet), and from its further slopes expands a vista of the distant sea. The thermometer has risen to 62° by the time the seaboard is reached. And there, at Trebizond, the roses blossom in the gardens while the Armenian rivers are buried beneath the ice.