Note 4 — Chapter XIV · DOWN THE MURAD TO MELAZKERT1

We passed through several villages; but they are, for the most part, mere hamlets. One of the largest was Gargalik. With the exception of Baïndir, a Karapapakh settlement, they are inhabited by Sipkanli and Hasananli Kurds. We did not meet a caravan; there were few wayfarers; but from time to time an ill-miened Kurd, armed with a muzzle-loader, rode by, taking stock of us as he passed. At Gargalik, where there is a ford between two villages of this name, we were ushered into the largest of the ant-hill tenements. A burly figure, richly dressed, could just be discerned in the dim light, suffused over the cavernous chamber from an aperture in the roof. The figure was seated on the little daïs which, in such dwellings, divides the chamber from the stable, and from which rise the wooden pillars that support the roof. A strong odour from the horses and cattle, almost beside him, vitiated the air. We waited for some little time while the devotee bowed and muttered, or, with head upraised and lifted voice, uttered the climax of his profession of faith. Then, after a brief silence, he approached us, and received our hands, and welcomed us to his abode. It was Ali Bey, son of the defunct Yusuf Pasha, and chief of all Sipkanli Kurds.4 It was evident that he had been apprised of our approach, for he displayed three imperial decorations on his breast. And he showed us a cigarette-case, of gold encrusted with jewels, the gift of the Sultan, accompanied by an autograph letter. As far as the Kartevin the inhabitants are Sipkanli; lower down the villages are peopled by Hasananli Kurds.