BAYAZID,
a town of Turkish Armenia, situated at the base
of Mount Ararat, in 39° 24' N. lat., 44° 20' E.
long. ; 50 miles S.S.W. from Erivan, and about
180 miles E. of liranun. It is governed by a
pasha of two tails, whose authority extends over
a surrounding district of considerable extent,
but its limits are not distinctly defined.
Kinneir assigns to the place a population of
30,000, of whom the great majority are Turks ;
but Stocqueler says that the population is
estimated at 3000, the greatest proportion of
whom are Armenians ; and French writers estimate
the population at 10,000. Whatever be the number,
the majority are, undoubtedly, Armenians; and our
own information inclines us to consider the
French estimate of the population to be nearest
the mark.
The
town is built on a declivity, the summit of which
is said by the inhabitants to be strongly
fortified ; but they do not like to allow the
fortifications to be inspected. The city itself
is also surrounded by walls and a rampart.
Bayazid has a very uninteresting appearance. The
houses are small, and, for the most part,
inconveniently built. Were it not for the pasha's
palace, which is covered with white plaster and
rises high above the rest of the town, it would
be difficult to distinguish it from the craggy
elevation on the side of which it is built, for
the houses are composed of the same material as
the rocks, and the soil affords not an inch of
verdure. There are three mosques, two Christian
churches, and a monastery of considerable
celebrity in Armenia. Little business is carried
on at Bayazid. The inhabitants have no
encouragement to attempt manufactures, because
Russian articles of a much better quality than
they can make, and at a much cheaper rate, are
obtained from Erivan. (See Kinneir's Geographical
Memoir of the Persian Empire ; Morier's Journey
through Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor; Stocqueler's
Pilgrimage through Khuzistan and Persia.)
THE PENNY CYCLOPAEDIA OF
THE SOCIETY FOR THE DIFFUSION OF USEFUL
KNOWLEDGE.
VOLUME IV. LONDON: CHARLES KNIGHT, 22, LUDGATE
STREET MDCCCXXXV.