[Footnote *: The situation (of Dara) does not appear to give it
strength, as it must have been commanded on three sides by the
mountains, but opening on the south towards the plains of
Mesopotamia. The foundation of the walls and towers, built of
large hewn stone, may be traced across the valley, and over a
number of low rocky hills which branch out from the foot of Mount
Masius. The circumference I conceive to be nearly two miles and a
half; and a small stream, which flows through the middle of the
place, has induced several Koordish and Armenian families to fix
their residence within the ruins. Besides the walls and towers,
the remains of many other buildings attest the former grandeur of
Dara; a considerable part of the space within the walls is arched
and vaulted underneath, and in one place we perceived a large
cavern, supported by four ponderous columns, somewhat resembling
the great cistern of Constantinople. In the centre of the
village are the ruins of a palace (probably that mentioned by
Procopius) or church, one hundred paces in length, and sixty in
breadth. The foundations, which are quite entire, consist of a
prodigious number of subterraneous vaulted chambers, entered by a
narrow passage forty paces in length. The gate is still
standing; a considerable part of the wall has bid defiance to
time, &c. M Donald Kinneir's Journey, p. 438. - M]
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