IMPRESSIONS OF ASIATIC TURKEY 



601 



days when Lucian of Samosata wrote his 

 comedies and satires. 



WONDERI^UL CEDAR FORESTS 



Upon the northern border of these 

 provinces of Adana and Aleppo the main 

 range of the Taurus breaks the horizon, 

 with its rugged, snow-capped peaks, 

 whose aUitude is from 7,000 to 10,000 

 feet. This great backbone of mountains 

 runs east and west, curving at the west- 

 ern end southward to the Mediterranean 

 and extending eastward into the high- 

 lands of Kurdistan. North and south 

 from the city of Marash to the sea runs 

 the Amanus range, whose peaks are from 

 5,000 to 7,000 feet in height. 



It was from these cedar forests that 

 the pillars for many of the Babylonian 

 temples were hewn. The immense logs 

 had to be carried over a rough, hill coun- 

 try fully 100 miles before they could be 

 rolled into the waters of the Euphrates 

 to be floated down to their destination. 



The eastern or landward slopes of the 

 Amanus range are entirely deforested; 

 but on the seaward side, owing to the 

 mists and moisture, the fresh growths 

 have been rapid and many of the forests 

 are very dense. The difficulties of trans- 

 portation are so great that when the 

 majestic cedars and pines are felled the 

 trunks are often left to rot, while the 

 tops and branches are loaded on mules 

 and carried down the rough trails. The 

 cedars are of the species Cednis libani, 

 and are far more plentiful than in the 

 Lebanon range. 



From the stumps of certain cedars re- 

 cently cut down in the Taurus it is evi- 

 dent that the larger trees are from 300 

 to 500 years old. The height ranges from 

 50 to 80 feet and the girths are often over 

 20 feet. The cedars grow higher up the 

 mountain side than any other trees. Near 

 them are the balsams, a balsam and a 

 cedar often growing up very close to- 

 gether. On the Amanus range oaks and 

 beeches are found in abundance, the 

 beeches at an altitude of 4,000 feet and 

 the oaks somewhat lower down. 



Mistletoe grows plentifully on the oaks 

 and the balsams, but no romantic seni- 

 ments stir the hearts of the mountain- 

 eers. The shepherd girls climb the trees 



and tear off the clusters to feed them to 

 their flocks of goats ! 



The Turkish government has had a 

 Bureau of Forestry for years past, but 

 corruption and idleness and lack of scien- 

 tific training have combined to produce 

 nothing except wasteful expense for sala- 

 ries. 



The shortage of forests partly accounts 

 for the exorbitant prices paid for lumber 

 all through Asia Minor and for the cost 

 of charcoal, which ranges from $20 to 

 $40 a ton. The laborious caravan trans- 

 portation over desperately difficult trails 

 also affects the cost of fuel and lumber. 

 During a prolonged snow-storm in the 

 Aleppo province, in 191 1, charcoal 

 reached the price of $100 a ton, and bi- 

 tuminous coal from England was on the 

 market in Aleppo at very high rates. 



Another harmful effect of the denud- 

 ing of the mountains is seen in the wild 

 torrents that sweep down in early spring 

 through the hill country to the Euphrates. 

 Rapidly melting snow and heavy rain- 

 fall are the natural causes. It is difficult 

 to conceive of the suddenness of these 

 floods. Caravans encamped near a dry 

 river-bed have more than once been 

 swept to destruction. And sometimes 

 travelers while peacefully crossing a 

 stream will find the water rising so rap- 

 idly around them as to carrv the horses 

 off their feet and endanger the lives of all. 



Certain torrents are known by famous 

 accidents which have thus occurred. 

 "The drowner-of-the-bride and "The 

 sieve-maker's torrent" are two that are 

 greatly dreaded. 



I have found on the bank of a certain 

 swift stream caravans that had accumu- 

 lated for 22 days, no one daring to cross. 

 Bridges are found only on the main mili- 

 tary routes, and even those bridges are 

 in wretched repair. The Euphrates 

 gathers up the waters of that vast region 

 and sweeps away to the Persian Gulf at 

 the rate of five miles an hour. During 

 the April and May floods, due to the 

 melting snows of Armenia, the river 

 spreads out to a width of over half a 

 mile, even as far north as Carchemish. 

 This makes the crossing in the antiquated 

 ferry-boats very difficult indeed. 



The mountain scenery is majestic and 



