42 JOURNEY THROUGH THE SOUTH-WESTERN QUARTER

during dry fummers, it prefents only a fliallow brook. Its bedbeing broad and ftony, it may at all feafons be be croffed bytravellers with lefs danger than the Alma or the Belbek. Laftly,the Katfha flows through a fine, open, and fertile country,which is in every direction interfperfed with Tartar villages,and embellifhed with orchards.

The calcareous mountains between the Katflia and Belbekbecome gradually fteeper, higher, and more abrupt, ftandingalfo nearer to each other. A ftill more lofty and almoft uni-form ridge of fimilar mountains, however, appears beyond thelaft-mentioned river, proceeding from the weftern fea-coafttowards the Eaft. It is only in one place completely inter-fedted by a dale, which extends in a fouthern direction fromthe Belbek to Mankup. A very difficult road, leading overthefe mountains, was exprefsly contrived for the journey ofher late Imperial Majefty to Balaklava and Sevaftopol; butwhich, on account of its fteep fouthern declivity, efpeciallybeyond the ridge, renders the paflage for carriages extremelyhazardous. Befides, there is a regulär poft-road on the rightproceeding towards Duvankoi y or the Village of Prayer, (fix-teen verfts diftant from Bakhtfhifarai,) in the vicinity of whichwe reached the banks of the Belbek in a narrow fteep, andunufually warm dale. Here we defcended to the left of theriver as far as the extenfive piain which ultimately forms thefea-fhore. The lower part of the whole Valley is laid out ingardens, among which there are vineyards, producing on theirmarly foil a fweetifh, agreeable wine, very fimilar to that ofChampagne; and which, on proper treatment, poflefles a likeeffervefcent, or fparkling property. The moft valuable forts

have