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206 THE EXPLORATION OF THE CAUCASUS
forests and flowery meadows, of fields golden with barley. Com-
pared to the warrens, or stone-heaps, that serve the people of
the northern valleys for dwellings, the towered villages and
castellated farms of Suanetia assume at a distance a false air of
mediaeval romance. North of the chain, at Bezingi or Balkar, the
traveller feels himself at the bottom of a well. He knows hours
A SUANETIAN LANDSCAPE
of climbing are required in order to enlarge or vary the outlook.
Here the landscapes are wide and constantly changing : the
visible sky is not a narrow strip but a broad arch. The hill-shapes
may recall Savoy — the basin of Sallanches ; but the forests show
richer and more varied foliage than we are accustomed to in the
High Alps. The pines no longer predominate, or press on one
another until they become mere ragged staffs. They present