The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-05-18
UNTRAVELED KURDISTAN.

first person who has explored the
Sati Dagh, a difficult country with
splendid mountain scenery" said
Colonel Francis r. Maunsell of the
British army Upon the conclusion Of
a lecture by Captain Bertram Dickson
of the same service before the Royal
Geographical Society recently. The
Sati Dagh is in eastern Kurdistan,
not far from the Persian frontier
and about 400 miles northeast Of
Aleppo, the ancient Beroea. Upon
exploration in that part of the world
Colonel Maunsell is an unexception-
able authority: he has made two eX-
Fed;tions into remote Kurdistan and
for a time was military consul at Van.
What makes Captain Dickson's
sally into the Sati Dagh country of
unusual interest is that it brought
him into contact with tribes that had
a full history of the voyage of Noah
in the Ark, in which account they
put implicit faith. 1t has its touches
of humor. Local tradition afirms,
for instance, that the Ark bumped on
Sipan D, $4,000 feet in height, and
that Noah, weary of drifting about on
the face of the waters, exclaimed
"Sabahn Allah" praise God!),
probably a unique case, says Captain
Dickson, of a ships captain returning
thanks to the Almighty for running
his vessel upon a reef.
The River Tigris bounds on the
west the region traversed by Captain
Dickson, the foothills coming down
almost to it's bank. South of Lake
Van the mountains pile up ruggedly,
their peaks running close together,
with deep gorges between, in which
the thunder of waterfalls and the
dash of tortuous streams are inces-
SAINT. The average height of these
peaks is not less than 10000 feet.
Called by the ancient Assyrians Nairi,
thRy were known later by the general
name of Ararat. The single summit
of that name rises sixty miles to the
northeast of Lake Van. Local ira
dition discards Mount Ararat as the
resting place of the Ark; Moslems,
the Yezidis (devil worshippers), and
Christians alike maintain that the
landing was made on Jebel Judi,
which rises only 1000 feet (Ararat
is 1920 above the Mesopotamian
plain. Captain Dickson argues for
the Kurdish legend that with a sub
siding food in the plains a boat would
probably run aground on the high
ridge at the edge of the plain rather
than on a solitary peak miles from
the plains with many high ranges
Intervening" He says further:
.. There is a large Ziaret (Zijgurat
or sanctuary at the top Of: Jebel
Judi, where every yea in Augustus
held a great fete attended by thou
sands of energetic Noslems, Chris
tians and Yezidis, who climb the
steepest of trails for 1000 feet in the
terrific summers heat~to do homage
to Noah. This mountain seems to
have been held sacred at all times,
and certainly it has a wonderfully
awesome fascination about it, with its
huge p%recipices and jagged, tangled
crags watching over the vast Meso-
potamian plain. The villagers showed
me the exact spot where Noah de-
scended, while in one village, Has
sana, they showed me his grave, the
vineyard where he is reputed to have
INDUCED overfreely in the juice Of
the grape, the owner declaring the
vines had been passed from father to
son ever since"
Perhaps Jebel Judi is the height
to which the Hon. James Bryce
should have made his pilgrimage. 1t
Is more accessible than Ararat, and
che ascent Is much easier. Captain
Dickson was Hospitality received by
the mountain people and the men
Of the plains. Many races of varying
faiths live in the villages, each tribe
retaining it's characteristics and hold
ing aloof from all others. In the
highlands there are Kurds and Ar
menians, and occasionally Assyrians
and Yezidis, but most of the Assyr-
tans prefer the plains. Then there
are %Jacobites in the Mosul district,
and colonies of Jews in the Hakkiari
mountains. Kurds predominant, and
they are perpetually at war among
themselves on account of blood feuds.
Those of the high plateau preserve a
military organization, carry Martins
and wear a uniform in imitation of
the Cossacks. This story is told to
illustrate that the Moslems are not
always very orthodox:
ga Kurd came to the Sheikh of
Shemsdinan and said that he had a
cock which had spoken on three sep
arate occasions, saying, 'Christ's re-
ligion is the only faith He asked
the Sheikh whether he should turn
Christian or kill the cock as an in
ddel. The Sheikh after much thought
decided that they must keep the cock
to see which Of Christ's religions it