acrossasiaminoro00chiluoft

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260 ACROSS ASIA MINOR ON FOOT
All Turkish burying-grounds are mournful spots
they are so utterly neglected, and express so well a
nomad forgetfulness of the dead. If grass grows in
these places it is coarse and rank, if brambles are
anywhere they are here ; seldom is there any wall or
fence ; nearly always the stones are mere shapeless
splinters and fragments standing upright, for the
upright grave-stone is the dead Moslem's sign and
privilege, and permitted to no Christian. Just such
a burying-ground was this at the top of the pass,
but it had marks of age as well. The tough lichens
covering the jagged stones seemed to be the growth
of centuries. It seemed likely, indeed, that under
some of these old stones might lie the bones of Moslems
slain in forgotten battles, for here men would
fight w^ho sought to attack and defend the pass.
While I looked with interest at the scene and
speculated on the influence this pass and route had
had on the country's history, Ighsan examined the
stones with care : he appeared to be looking for a
stone he knew. He found it presently, and pointed
out how it had been chipped by bullets. It had
more than passing interest for him, as behind it,
fifteen years ago, he had fought for his life. Eleven
Kurds had come down the low slope from Ala Dagh
and attacked him, and when he took cover under this
stone, making the best fight he could, they also took
cover among the graves and gradually surrounded
him. It was a fight with " ti7i{s " (Martinis), not
revolvers, he explained. After having been suflSciently
shot, he was stabbed, stripped, and left for
dead, and the enemy went ofi" with his horse and
possessions.
Both the pass and the conditions of its traftic
suited well the adventures of such robber men. No
band of freebooters, no party of brigands, could come
here without recognising the opportunities afforded for
the practice of their calling. The road crossing a
high saddle joining two mountain-ranges ; the traffic
flowing in a busy hour or two of morning and after-