Journeys In Persia And Kurdistan ( Vol.Ii).

368 JOUKNEYS IN" KUEDISTAN LETTER ssxni

All the male members of a family bring their brides
to live under the parental roof, and one " burrow " may
contain as many as three generations of married couples
with their families. On becoming an inmate of her
father-in-law's house, each Armenian bride, as in the
country districts of Persia, has to learn the necessity of
silence. Up to the day of the birth of the first child
she is 'the family drudge, and may not speak to any one
but her husband, and not to him in the presence of his
parents. Maternity liberates her tongue; she may talk
to her child, and then to the females of the household;
but she may not speak freely till some years of this
singular novitiate have passed by. She then takes a
high place in the house, and eventually rules it if &jg.e is
left a widow. The Armenian women are veiled out of.
doors, but only in deference to the Moslems, who regard
an uncovered head as the sign of a bad woman. The
girls are handsome, but sheepish-looking; their com-
plexions and eyes are magnificent.

Sunday was windy, with a gray sky, and the necessity
of getting over the Ghazloo Pass before the weather
absolutely broke was urged upon me by all On the
plain of Norullak,* not far from Tangaloo, I forded the
Euphrates,—that is, the Murad-chai, a broad, still, and
deep river, only fordable at certain seasons. The fine
mountain Bijilan is a landmark in this part of the
country. Leaving the Euphrates we ascended for some
hours through bleak uninteresting regions to Kara
Kapru, and on the road passed thirty well-armed Kurds,
driving a number of asses, which the zaptiehs said had
been driven off from two Christian villages, which they
pointed out. I was interested in the movements of
some mounted men, who hovered suspiciously about my
caravan, and at one time galloped close up to it, but
retired on seeing the Government uniforms, and were