ADANA. 47 



pillars, built roughly into the foundations of modern 

 houses, catch the eye. A point of extreme interest is a 

 mound at the edge of the present town, thought to 

 mark the site of the ancient capital, and standing on 

 the summit one would indeed have to be built in a 

 callous mould to be unconscious of the strange spell 

 of the romance of history as it is borne in upon one 

 that here, on this very spot, it in all probability was 

 that Mark Antony " enthroned i' the market-place did 

 sit alone whistling to the air," while " the city cast her 

 people out upon her," to gaze on the syren queen of 

 Egypt, Cleopatra, whose barge " like a burnished throne 

 burn'd on the water," as, decked in a wonderful disguise 

 representing Aphrodite, she sailed up the Cydnus river. 

 There remains now for me to make a passing refer- 

 ence to Adana, and the chief towns of the Cilicia of 

 to-day may be said to have been enumerated. The 

 morning train from Mersina starts at this time of year 

 at about 8 a.m., and steaming leisurely eastward across 

 the absolute level of the western plain, manages to 

 spend precisely two and a half hours in covering the 

 forty-one miles to the terminus, a performance which no 

 doubt appeals to the inherent sense of dignity which 

 prevades, and is an inalienable attribute of the East. 

 The town is built partly on an isolated hill and partly 

 on the plain, on the right bank of the Saros river, 

 spanned here by an excellent bridge ; and, in addition 

 to a good bazaar displaying a vast assortment of the 

 piece-goods of the West, can boast of well-built govern- 

 ment buildings, churches, and mosques. I gazed in 

 through the gateway of the most interesting of the 

 last, said to be built on the site of an ancient church, 

 but could see but little of the architectural beauty of 

 the interior, Europeans being prohibited from entering 

 without special permission. Mr Chambers, the hospit- 



