Sat 29. [29 June 1907] All the village came to see us pack and to get
the last piastre it could out of us! Kal Hussein came up from BBK and
had to be content with 3 mejs for his corn. We loaded onto 4 camels
and our 2 donkeys and hired a donkey for Costi. So at 6.20 we ......
rather sadly down the hill in bright .... weather. "Hkatirik ya moyyeh!"
said Fattuh as we passed the well. The whole path was edged with
flowers. At the bottom of the hill we found the cart and packed into it -
a heavy load. All this took about 2 hours. Mehmet of Suleiman Hajji
had brought it up. Then we parted with Costi who rode off rejoicing to
Aryk Euren [Arikˆren], and with Hajj Weli who had brought the camels
down. We rode past Suleiman Hajji, under the Hittite stone and
through Ilanli, all the water in these wells is slightly brackish. Here we
hired a man to go with Elyas the donkeys and the cart, and we rode
over the corner of the hill and over the absolutely flat plain to Uzun K.
Fattuh related how he had bought his wife £60 worth of gold
ornaments so that she might have that property always with her in
case he died for his sister had threatened her that if he died his
money wd go to her children as the wife had none. It was pretty hot
but there was a slight N breeze to keep us alive. We lunched in the
house of the Khoja, a very pleasant spot. All these villages are
Turkman. They say the Degle and Yaz Tepe people are Yuruks, the
BBK partly Yuruks partly Turkman. Musa is a Yuruk, Osman and
Abdullah Turkmans. I had a long talk with the people after lunch while
F. slept. They say the land is very poor and indeed the crops seem
to be scanty. We arrived at 11.45 and left at 1.45. Very little
cultivation. Most of the flat plain grows practically only one little
spindly aromatic plant. We saw the women getting great harvests of
yellow flowered thistles for camel fodder. We saw Egilmeg to the right
and passed through Kayajik and Ort Oba which is the same as K.'s
Hassan Oba. So we reached Otamish [Hotamis (Kayacik)] at 4.15.
Very windy and sunny. We went to the house of one of position who
gave us Iran and coffee and sat there talking till the carrt arrived about
6.45. Most of the people had gone up to yaila in the Boz D [Boz Dag].
They say there is no water there and the water is all below in deep
wells, and no euren, but according to K the latter can't be true. The
people of Uzun K don't go to yaila. The evening was quite cool and
the great flat plain in front of my tent very delicious. There is a little
mound to the W of the village which I thought was old but I saw nothing
but modern potsherds on it and the people say it is being made for a
fort with guns. F.'s swears are Yiftah harimu and Wallah al azim. The
Turkmans are certainly very like Father. A pleasant day. I was so
glad to be on the road again. F. quoted a proverb while we were
riding as the crow flies across the plain: [Arabic characters].