ISKELIB

iskelib, the chief town of a _caza_ (governed by a _kaimakam_) in the vilayet of angora in asia minor, altitude 2460 ft., near the left bank of the kizil irmak (anc. _halys_), 100 m. in an air-line n.e. of angora and 60 s.e. of kastamuni (to which vilayet it belonged till 1894). pop. 10,600 (cuinet, _la turquie d'asie_, 1894). it lies several miles off the road, now abandoned by wheeled traffic, between changra and amasia in a picturesque _cul de sac_ amongst wooded hills, at the foot of a limestone rock crowned by the ruins of an ancient fortress now filled with houses (photograph in anderson, _studia pontica_, p. 4). its ancient name is uncertain. near the town (on s.) are saline springs, whence salt is extracted.