In the heat of midday the mirage, or, as the
Hungarians call it, "Delibab," appears and shows wonderful rivers,
villages, cool green woods--all floating in the air. Sometimes one sees
hundreds of white oxen and church towers, and, to make the picture still
more confusing and wonderful, it is all seen upside down. This, the
richest part of the country, is situated between the rivers Danube and
Theiss, and runs right down to the borders of Servia. Two thirds of
Hungary consist of mountainous districts, but one third has the richest
soil in Europe.
Great rivers run through the heart of the country, giving it the
fertility which is its great source of wealth. The great lowlands, or
"Alfoeld," as the Magyars call them, are surrounded by a chain of
mountains whose heights are nearly equal to some Alpine districts. There
are three principal mountain ranges--the Tatra, Matra, and Fatra--and
four principal rivers--the Danube, Theiss, Drave, and Save. Hungary is
called the land of the three mountains and four rivers, and the emblem
of these form the chief feature in the coat-of-arms of the country.
The Carpathian range of mountains stretches from the northwest along the
north and down the east, encircling the lowlands and sending forth
rivers and streams to water the plains.
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