MUSH  , the

chief town of a sanjak of the same name of the Bitlis vilayet of Asiatic Turkey, and an important military station . It is situated at the mouth of a gorge in the mountains on the south side of the plain, the surrounding hills being covered with vineyards and some oak scrub . There are few good houses; the streets are ill-paved and winding, while the place and its surroundings are extremely dirty . The castle, of which there are some remains, is said to have been built by Mushig, an Armenian king of the province Daron, who founded the town . A khan, with two stone lions (Arab or Seljuk) in bas-relief, deserves notice, but the bazaar is poor, although pretty embroidered caps are produced . Good roads lead to Erzerum and Bitlis . There are 1400 inhabitants, consisting of Kurds and Armenians, about equally divided . The climate is healthy but cold in winter, with a heavy snow fall . Mush is the seat of the Gregorian and Roman Catholic Armenian bishops and some American mission schools . Some miles to the west at the edge of the plain is the celebrated monastery of Surp Garabed or St John the Baptist, an important place of Armenian pilgrimage . Mush plain, 35 M. long by 12 broad, is very fertile, growing wheat and tobacco, and is dotted with many thriving Armenian villages . The Murad or eastern Euphrates traverses the western end of the plain and disappears into a narrow mountain gorge there .

Vineyards are numerous and a

fair wine is produced . Wood is scarce and the usual fuel is tezek or dried cow-dung . There are several sulphur springs, and earthquakes are frequent and sometimes severe . It was on the plain of Mush that Xenophon first made acquaintance with Armenian houses, which have little changed since his day .