Arzrum (incorrectly referred Arzerum, Erzrum, Erzron) It is based around 415 year, during Theodosius II, and named Theodosiopolis. No historical memories are not connected with his name. I knew about it only, here, According to Haji Baba *, were offered to have the Persian Ambassador, to meeting some resentment, veal ears instead of a human.
Arzrum revered main city in Asiatic Turkey. It was believed to 100 000 residents, but, it seems, increased the number of these things too. Houses in stone him, roof covered with turf, that gives the city a very strange kind, If you look at it from a height.
The main overland trade between Europe and the East is made through Arzrum. But the goods it sold little; they are not spread, noticed and Turnfor *, recording, Arzrum that the patient can die for it is impossible to get a spoonful of rhubarb, Meanwhile, as a whole thereof, the bags are in the city.
I do not know the expression, which would be meaningless word: Asian luxury. This saying, probably, I was born during the Crusades, when the poor Knights, Leaving bare walls and oak chairs its castles, We saw for the first time the red sofas, colorful carpets and daggers with colored stones on the handle. Now we can say: Asian poverty, Asian disgusting and so on., but have the luxury of, of course, European affiliation. In Arzrum no amount of money can not buy that, that you will find in the convenience store of the first provincial town Pskov province.
Climate arzrumskiy crude. The town is built in a ravine, towering over the sea 7000 feet. The mountains, surrounding, covered with snow most of the year. Earth bezlesna, but fruitful seasons. It is irrigated by a variety of sources and is crossed by water pipes everywhere. Arzrum famous for his water. The Euphrates flows three miles from the city. But many fountains everywhere. Each tin dipper hanging on the chain, and good Muslims drink and do not praise enough. Wood is delivered from Sagan-lu.
In Arzrumskom arsenal found a lot of old weapons, hats, lat, sabers, rusting, probably, since the days of Godfred. Mosques are low and dark. Outside the city, there is a cemetery. Monuments are made usually in columns, harvested stone turban. The tombs of two or three pashas are more intricately, but there is nothing graceful: any taste, no thought ... One traveler wrote, that of all Asian cities in one Arzrum he found a clock tower, and those were spoiled.
innovations, Sultan zatevaemыe, not entered yet in Erzerum. The army is still a beautiful oriental outfit. Arzrum between Constantinople and there is rivalry, both between Kazan and Moscow. Here is the beginning of a satirical poem, Janissaries composed amino-Oglu *.
Istanbul Giaours now glorify,
Tomorrow forged fifth,
As the serpent sleeping, DEAL,
And go away - and so leave.
Istanbul fell asleep before the disaster.
Istanbul renounced the prophet;
In it the truth of the ancient East
Lukavыy West omrachil.
Istanbul to blemish sweets
Supplication and saber changed.
Istanbul weaned from the sweat of battle
And wine drinkers in the hours of prayer.
It faith pure fire extinguished,
It wife walking in cemeteries,
At the crossroads of the old women send,
And those men administered Harem,
And sleeping bribed the eunuch.
But not so Arzrum upland,
Mnogodorozhny our Arzrum;
We do not sleep in luxury shameful,
Not cherplem bowl unruly
The fault of debauchery, fire and noise.
fast we: jet sober
The holy water have watered;
Intrepid and frisky crowd
Our horsemen into battle fly;
Harem our available,
eunuch strict, incorruptible,
And there sat quietly wife.
I lived in a palace in the rooms seraskirovom, where the Harem. The whole day I wandered through the countless transitions, from room to room, from the roof to the roof, the stairs to the stairs. Palace seemed looted; serasker, suggesting running, brought out of him that he could. Sofas were skinned, carpets removed. When I walked around the city, Turks beckoned me and showed me the language. (They take every franc for a doctor.) It bothered me, I was ready to answer them in the same. I spent the evening with an intelligent and amiable Sukhorukov *; the similarity of our studies brought us. He told me about his literary assumptions, of their historical investigations, once they started with such zeal and success. The limitations of his desires and requirements of a truly touching. Pity, if they will not be executed.
serasker palace was always a lively picture: there, where surly Pasha silently smoked in the midst of their wives and unscrupulous youths, where the winner received reports of his generals victories, distributed pashalik, I talked about the new novels. Mushsky Pasha * Count Paskevich came to ask him to place his nephew. Walk in dvortsu, important Turks stayed in one of the rooms, eagerly said a few words and then fell into a reverie: in this very room his father was beheaded at the behest of serasker. That is the real oriental impressions! Glorious Bay damask *, Caucasus storm, visited Arzrum two elders Circassian villages, rebellious during the last war. They dined with the Count Paskevich. Bay damask, a man of about 35 years, undersized, broad. He is in Russian does not speak or pretend, not speaking. His arrival in Arzrum I am very pleased: he was my guarantee a safe crossing over the mountains and Kabardia.
Osman Pasha, taken prisoner by Arzrum and sent to Tiflis with serasker, asked Count Paskevich for the safety of Harem, it leaves in Erzerum. In the early days of it was forgotten. One day at lunch, talking about the silence of the Muslim city, occupied 10 000 troops and in which none of the residents have never complained about a soldier violence, Earl remembered Harem Osman Pasha and ordered Mr.. BUT. * go to Pasha home and ask his wives, whether they are satisfied or whether they any grievance. I asked permission to accompany Mr.. BUT. We went. N G-A. he took with him to the translators Russian officer, whose history is curious. 18-years old, he got captured by the Persians. it had saved, and it is more 20 years as a eunuch in the Harem of one of the sons of Shah. He talked about his misfortune, stay in Persia with a touching simplicity. In the physiological respect of his testimony were precious.
We came to the house of Osman Pasha; We entered an open room, harvested very decently, even tasteful, - on colored windows were engraved inscriptions, taken from the Koran. One of them struck me as a very intricate for the Muslim harem: you ought to bind and to loose. We brought the kofiyu in cups, set in silver. The old man with the white beard, the venerable, father Osman Pasha, I come on behalf of their wives to thank Count Paskevich, - but Mr.. BUT. I told flatly, that he sent to the wives of Osman Pasha and wants to see them, in order to make them themselves, that they are in the absence of a spouse all happy. Hardly Persian prisoner had all this translate, the old man, as a sign of resentment, I clicked language and announced, that he could not agree to our demands and that if Pasha, on his return, provedaet, that strange men saw his wives, the old man and his servants, and all orders Harem beheaded. attendant, between with which there was not a eunuch, confirmed the old man's words; but Mr.. BUT. were steadfast. "You are afraid of your Pasha, - he said to them,, - and I'm his serasker and dare not disobey his orders ". - There was nothing. We were led through the garden, where two were fountain Tosi. We are approaching a small stone structure. The old man stepped between us and the door, it gently unlocked, not letting go of the hand valve, and we saw a woman, head-to-yellow shoes covered with a white veil. Our interpreter repeated her question: we heard an old woman of seventy shamkanie; r. BUT. interrupted: "This is the mother of pasha, - he said, - I sent for wives, Bring one of them "; izumilisy still guesswork Gyaourov: the old woman left and returned a minute later with a woman, covered as, as she, - from under the veil there was a nice young voice. She thanked the count for his attention to the poor widows and praised Russian treatment. N G-A. Art had to join with her in further conversation. I meanwhile, looking around him, suddenly I saw above the door round window and the round window of five or six round heads with black inquisitive eyes. I would like to announce its opening g. BUT., but nodded their heads, flashed, and several fingers began to threaten me, let them know, so I kept silent. I obeyed, and not shared by my Nakhodka. All of them were pleasant face, but there were no beauty; and, who spoke at a door with g. BUT., It was, probably, povelitelynitseyu harem, treasury of hearts - rozoyu love - at least, I imagined.
finally Mr.. BUT. stopped their questioning. The door closed. Faces in the window disappeared. We visited the garden and the house and came back very happy with our embassy.
In this way, I saw Harem: It succeeded rare Europeans. Here you have the basis for a novel east.
The war is over looked. I was going to return. 14 July I went to the popular bath, and I was glad to life. I cursed dung sheet, bad servants, etc.. How can you compare bath arzrumskie with Tiflis!
Returning to the palace, I learned from Konovnitsyn *, standing on guard, that Arzrum opened plague. I immediately introduced quarantine horrors, and I am on the same day decided to leave the army. The idea of the presence of the plague is very unpleasant unaccustomed. Wanting to erase this impression, I went for a walk through the bazaar. Stopped in front of the bench gunsmith, I began to consider some kind of dagger, when suddenly someone hit me on the shoulder. I looked: for me was terrible beggar. He was pale as death; of red zagnoennyh his eyes streaming tears. The thought of the plague again flashed in my mind. I pushed the beggar with the inexplicable feeling of disgust and returned home very unhappy with his Walking.
But curiosity prevailed Well; The next day I went to the physician in the camp, where there were Plagued. I did not come down from his horse and took the precaution to become the wind. The tent brought us sick; He was extremely pale and unsteady, like a drunken. The other patient lay unconscious. After seeing the plague and promising unfortunate speedy recovery, I drew attention to the two Turks, which renders it under the hand, undressed, shtupali, as if the plague had been nothing, as the common cold. I confess, I was ashamed of my European timidity in the presence of indifference and quickly returned to the city.
19 July, come and say goodbye to Earl Paskevich, I found it in a strong bitterness. It was received the sad news, Burtsev that the general was killed by Bayburt. It is a pity it was a brave Burtsova, but this incident could have been disastrous for the whole of our scanty troops, who came deep in a strange land and surrounded by unfriendly nations, ready to rise at the hearing about the first failure. so, war resumed! Count offered me to be a witness for further enterprises. But I was in a hurry to Russia ... The Count gave me as a souvenir Turkish saber. She kept my monument of my pilgrimage vosled brilliant hero conquered deserts Armenia. On the same day I left Arzrum.
I went back to Tbilisi on the way already familiar to me. seats, more recently, a lively presence 15 000 troops, were silent and sad. I moved to Sagan-lu and could barely find a place, where our camp was. In Gumri I survived the three-day quarantine. Again I saw Bezobdal and left the elevated plains of Armenia cold to sweltering Georgia. In Tiflis I arrived on August 1st. I stayed here for a few days in the kind and cheerful society. I spent several evenings in the gardens with the sound of music and songs Georgian. I went further. Moving through the mountains my wonderful for me was the, which is near Kobe at night caught me by storm. morning, passing by Kazbek, I saw a wonderful sight: white, ragged clouds over tighten across the top of the mountain, and secluded convent *, illuminated by the sun, it seemed, I floated in the air, carried by the clouds. Rabid Beam also appeared to me in all its grandeur: ravine, filled with rainwater, He excelled in their ferocity most Terek, immediately threatening revevshy. Coast were torn; huge stones were shifted from the place of clutter and flow. A lot of Ossetians razrabotyvali road. I crossed safely. Finally I left the gorge close to the expanse of wide plains Big Kabarda. Vladikavkaz I found Dorokhova * and Puschina. Both were traveling on water treatment of wounds, they have received in the current campaigns. We Pushin on the table I found a Russian magazines. The first article, I caught *, It was the analysis of one of my works. It strongly scolded me and my poems. I began to read it aloud. Leo stopped me, requiring, that I read with great mimic art. You must know, that analysis was decorated with ordinary amusement facilities of our criticism: It was a conversation between the sexton, Prosvirnov corrector and printing, Sanity of this little comedy. The requirement Puschina seemed so funny, that shame, produced on me reading a magazine article, completely disappeared, and we laughed from the heart.
This was my first greeting to the kind fatherland.
