FROM ODESSA TO Moscow, VIA SEVASTOPOL, BATOUM, TIFLIS, BAKU, MERV, BOKHARA, SAMARKAND, CHARD- JUI, ASKHABAD, TlFLIS, THE DARIEL PASS, VLADIKAVKAZ AND ROSTOV
| 1st day | Leave Odessa by steamer across the Black Sea, for the Crimea. |
| 2d day | Arrive Sevastopol. The fortified harbor bears few traces of the terrible siege of 1854-5 5, when Russia stood at bay against combined England, France, Turkey and Sardinia. Yalta, a charming Russian summer resort, is reached in -the evening. The imperial residence is at Livadia, about four miles from the town. |
| 3d day | Reach Feodosia and Novorossisk. |
| 4th day | Arrive at Batoum, a city of 10,000 inhabitants, ceded to Russia after the Turko-Russian war of 1877-78. The Trans-Caucasus Railroad extends for 558 miles from Batoum to Baku, along the valley between the Grand Caucasus on the north and the Little Caucasus on the south, a fine stretch of country irrigated by canals since very early times. |
| 5th day 6th |
Tiflis (thirteen hours by rail from Batoum). The ancient capital of Georgia is an odd mixture of oriental architecture. From the Monastery of St. David a magnificent view of the country is obtained, including the peak of Mount Kazbek. The Georgian women are considered among the handsomest in the world. |
| 7th day 8th |
Baku (six hours by rail from Tiflis). The little capital of the Khans has increased under Russian administration, in twenty-five years, from a population of 10,000 to a city of 70,000. It is a very interesting city, for apart from its naphtha wells, much remains of the old Persian architecture and life. The peninsula of Apsheron, extending for forty miles into the Caspian Sea, and covering an area of 1,200 square miles, has been from earliest times the home of Zoroastrianism, or fire-worship, on account of the soil of the peninsula being charged with naphtha, sulphur and inflammable gases, which readily provide the worshipers with all the fire they need in the performance of their religious rites. An interesting excursion can be made by rail .to their ancient temple at Soura= khani. |
| 9th day | Cross the Caspian Sea, about fifteen hours by steamer. |
| 10th day | Arrive at Krasnovodsk. The rail journey from Krasnovodsk to Samarkand, a distance of 938 miles, is a succession of deserts and oases, a natural condition which enabled the Turkomans for centuries to defy the world. The Russians, however, built a line of railroad as rapidly as their forces advanced into the interior, and with protecting military posts intervening, were able to keep open communication with their base of supplies. Gradually, the whole country to the frontiers of Afghanistan submitted to the armies of the czar, and Qheok Tepe, a fortified town, was taken by the Russian General Skobeloff, with immense slaughter, on the i2th of January, 1881. |
| 11th day 12th |
Merv (558 miles by rail from Krasnovodsk), the ancient " Queen of the World," is situated on the River Mourghab, which waters the oasis. The city is a mass of ruins of mosques and temples. Prior to the Russian invasion Merv was a sealed book to Europeans, but a daring correspondent of the London Daily News, named O'Donovan, succeeded in penetrating its precincts in 1881, and barely escaped with his life |
| 13th day | A few miles from Chardjui the railroad crosses the Amu=Darya, the ancient Oxus, which having changed its course now flows from the Himalayas to the Aral Sea, instead of into the Caspian as formerly. Kagan is the junction for Bokhara. |
| 14th day | Bokhara (240 miles by rail from Merv), is the capital of the province of that name, and is an ancient city surrounded by clay walls. The blue dome of the Mosque of Namazza stands out from its surrounding green garden. The Masjid Baliand, the big mosque, will hold 10,000 people, and is said to have been built by Timour on the ruins of another. The Righistan, or public place, is in front of the citadel, and is surrounded by fine mosques and colleges. |
| 15th day 16th |
Samarkand (about twelve hours by rail from Bokhara). The mysterious impenetrability of this city long piqued the curiosity of the world. When conquered and taken by Alexander the Great it was a large and flourishing city, and after passing through the possession of many dynasties it was taken by Timour, who on account of the loveliness of its location made it his capital, and spared no pains in embellishing and beautifying it. It still continued a mysterious city until taken by the Russian General Kaufman in 1866. Among its splendid ruins the Tomb of Timour is the most interesting. Timour died in 1405, and among the many inscriptions on his tomb is said to be one without name or date, which reads, "If I were alive people would not be glad," a statement which, from all accounts of him, is not unlikely to be true. |
| 17th day | Leave Samarkand by rail for Chardjui, about 228 miles. i8th day. . |
| 18th day | Chardjui, a large, fortified Bokhara city of 30,000 inhabitants, with a fine palace, the residence of the bek, or governor of the province |
| 19th day | Askhabad (365 miles by rail from Chardjui), an ancient Turkoman city, antedating Merv, and a good place for the purchase of carpets and rugs. |
| 20th day 21st |
Leave Askhabad by rail for Krasnovodsk (344 miles). Arrive at Krasnovodsk, and leaving by steamer cross the Caspian Sea to Baku. |
| 22d day | Arrive at Baku, and leave by rail for Tiflis ( 283 miles) |
| 23d day | At Tiflis. |
| 24th day | Leave Tiflis by carriage, following the valley of the Kouri to Mtzkhet, the former residence of the Georgian kings, thence by the valley of the Aragon, and through a wild gorge to Mlett, about sixty miles |
| 25th day | Leave Mlett by carriage, climbing the divide to Gondaour, the highest village in the Caucasus, the altitude being 7,519 feet. The road then descends to Kobi, from which village to Kazbek the road commands a fine view of Mount Kazbek, 16,533 feet high, and about five miles off. |
| 26th day | Leave Kazbek by carriage, following the Terek to where it is joined by the Amilichka, which is formed by the largest of the eight glaciers of Mount Kazbek, the Devdoraki. The defile extends for twelve miles to the Gate of the Dariel (defended by a Russian fort) , from which point the valley opens out until Vladikavkaz is reached. This town commands a glorious panorama of the Caucasus Mountains, Mount Kazbek dominating all. Travelers who do not care to take this carriage trip can reach Vladikavkaz by rail from Baku, via Petrovsk, in about twenty-four hours. |
| 27th day | Leave Vladikavkaz by rail for Piatigorsk, where there are hot springs. This is a magnificent railroad journey, affording a view of Mount Dichtaou, 16,763 feet, and Mount Kach-taou, 16,935 feet, until finally Mount Elbrouz, 18,526 feet, the highest mountain in Europe, comes into view, affording a magnificent spectacle with its enormous glaciers. |
| 28th day | Leave Piatigorsk by rail for Rostov, on the River Don, a city of 75,000 inhabitants. |
| 29th day | Leave Rostov by rail for Moscow (778 miles, about thirty hours by through train). |
| 30th day | Arrive Moscow. |
