96 RUINED CASTLES IN ASIA MINOR. 
coast, possesses a venerable castle, replete with thrilling 
historical memories. For two and a half centuries this 
was the seat of an independent Greek empire, the last 
struggling remnant of the great old Greco-Roman em- 
pire. And now, after four long centuries of Turkish 
domination, the inhabitants have a decidedly Hellenic 
cast of character, and the family language among the 
Greek portion of the community is still essentially the 
language of Xenophon, preserving, indeed, many archa- 
isms which have been lost out of the more polished lan- 
guage of Athens and Constantinople. As you walk about 
the neglected ruins of that once famous fortress the na- 
tive Greek who accompanies you will sigh over the mis- 
erable misrule of the present government, and glancing 
furtively about to assure himself that no Turk will over- 
hear him, he will ina hoarse whisper, pour forth a rapid 
torrent of invectives against this unrighteous usurpation, 
and tell you of the secret hopes which, his people cherish 
of an extension of the present Greek kingdom till it 
achieves a restoration of the old boundaries and prestige 
of the Byzantine empire. 
Another noteworthy castle of the Byzantine period 
stands on a remarkable promontory at Sinope, which is 
located at the northernmost and central point of this 
Black Sea coast. This point of land runs out into the 
sea in such a position as to form the finest harbor on 
this entire coast. Unlike most such castles, this is not 
dismantled and deserted. The sentry paces constantly 
before the heavy, iron-bound gate, and the blood-red 
moslem standard floats over the patched and renovated 
walls and towers, while old-fashioned bronze cannon 
point their smooth bores through the deep embrasures. 
One reason for this vigilance is that this fortress is uti- 
lized by the Turkish government as a state prison. 
Were our theme at this time the fertile and somewhat 
startling one of Turkish prisons it would be in place 
