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CHOOSING A MEAL 73
become awesome. So I thought as I walked slowly
to a hlian on the main street. As I went I had
glimpses of old tekkes, and mosques, and mosqueyards,
and bridges, and river ; on one hand were
precipices and trees and buildings in bright sunlight,
and upon the other hand precipices and trees and
buildings in deep shadow ; and always I was made
conscious of enormous vertical height exhibited above
me. Entering Amasia in the way I did, I thought
that for situation it was the most impressive city I
had ever beheld. It is said that by much the best
time for seeing it is in spring ; I saw it at the end
of October, and was abundantly satisfied.
After taking possession of a room at the khan I
went out again, and wandered in the streets and
hunof over the bridofes till darkness fell—the transparent
darkness of shadow with light around it, for
the hour was early, and the sky overhead still
bright. And now the fancy took me to try the
food of this city rather than prepare a meal myself.
I summoned Achmet, gave him shining aluminium
plates to carry, and bade him take me to the best
cook-shop that he knew. There I would buy food
and he should take it home for me. We went
solemnly along a quarter of a mile of darkening
street filled with people, then he dived through
a low doorway and down steps. Within was a
dim stone -built room where cooking was going on
and customers were seated eating. Along one side
of the room, upon a sort of stone counter with
a hollow down its length for charcoal fires, stood
a row of open shallow copper basins, each with a
different stew simmering in it. In one was halmia,
in another tomatoes, in a third white beans, each
with meat, but little of meat to a monstrous deal
of vegetable. In a greater pan was rice pilctf, with
sheep- tail fat as a thick hot fluid round a sodden
island of rice : and to encourage me as buyer the
cook ladled the rice with fat.
More attractive was the roasting meat. You never