Note 190 — A NARRATIVE OF ITALIAN TRAVELS IN PERSIA.

Bitlis, the Armenian Pangesh, about an equal distance between Diarbekr and Van, the scene of the signal defeat sustained by Solyman the Magnificent in 1535. Kinneir says:—

“The town extends across the greater part of the valley, the houses being built at some distance from each other in the manner of Rutnuz. The castle is situated on the top of a high mountain, which bounds the plain to the west. The inhabitants of the town and the neighbouring villages amount to about twenty-six thousand—Kurds, Turks, Armenians, and Syrians. The Armenians have four churches and four monasteries, and, upon the whole, enjoy more liberty and are treated with greater respect than in most Mahomedan States. The lands around Betlis are highly cultivated, and produce grain of several kinds—cotton, hemp, rice, olives, honey, truffles, and mushrooms. There is abundance of gravel in the neighbourhood, and the mountains are infested by lions, wolves, and bears. Quarries of red and white marble have also been discovered at a short distance from the town.”