a city of Turkish Armenia, situated at the extremity of a fine valley. It is built on the side of an uneven rocky height, on the summit of which, to the eastward, rises its citadel, of great antiquity. The walls of the town extend in a straight line east and west along the plain; then run up the acclivity of the rock on each side till they reach its top, where, strongly protected with round and square bastions, they meet at the great towers of the fortress. It is a perfect and interesting specimen of an Asiatic fortified city. Beyond the walls, a considerable suburb stretches out eastward; but three or four pentagon batteries, each mounted with five pieces of cannon, appeared to Sir R. K. Porter, who visited this place in 1818, to be the sole defences of the outer town. Seen from a distance, the town has a majestic appearance, from the imposing aspect of its citadel, the extent of its walls, and the height of its towers, which, being mostly of stone, give it an air of peculiar magnificence. But the illusion vanishes the moment the traveller enters the town, which presents an appearance of ruin, dirtiness, and neglect, in all its long and narrow valleys. According to Sir R. K. Porter, Kars is the Charisa of Ptolemy; and being considered as one of the strongest places in this part of the Turkish dominions, is the selected residence of the pa- sha of the northern frontier. In consequence of its situation as the very key of Armenia towards the north, it has stood a variety of sieges, and endured every change from the varied events of war. The population amounts to about 10,000 families, consisting of Turks, Koords, Armenians, Georgians, Jews, and a few Persian merchants. The place has no great appearance of prosperity. It is thirty miles from Erivan.