We now entered the city, which is of an oblong form, and surrounded
by two walls: the outer one is about fifty feet high: its basement
is constructed of baked bricks, the upper part being built of dried
clay. This forms the first line of defense, and completely encircles
the town, which is about a quarter of a mile within the wall. Four
high wooden gates, clamped with iron, barred the approach from
the north, south, east, and west, while the walls themselves were
in many places out of repair.
The town itself is surrounded by a second wall, not quite so high
as the one just described, and with a dry ditch, which is now half
filled with ruined _debris_. The slope which leads from the wall to
the trench has been used as a cemetery, and hundreds of sepulchres
and tombs were scattered along some undulating ground just without
the city. The space between the first and second walls is used
as a market-place, where cattle, horses, sheep, and camels are
sold, and where a number of carts were standing, filled with corn
and grass.
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