742 



The National Geographic Magazine 



even by the archaeologist. I may state 

 that I have visited and inspected all the 

 places herein described, and personally 

 photographed the views here shown. I 

 wish also to state in the beginning that 

 I am not an archaeologist, and have had 

 no training* on the subject. This must 

 account for any inadvertencies which 

 may crop up in the course of this narra- 

 tive. 



Much is being done at present in the 

 way of excavating the ancient cities of 

 Ephesus, Pergamus, Priene, and Miletus. 

 For a number of years the Austrian 

 government has been busy at Ephesus, 

 and the German government is at pres- 

 ent carrying on excavations at Pergamus 

 and Miletus. On the whole, however, 

 little has thus far been done to unearth 

 the buried cities of Asia Minor. Super- 

 ficial excavations have been made at 

 many points. Thorough excavations, 

 however, such as have characterized the 

 work of the Germans at Priene, where a 

 whole city has been brought to light, are 

 an exception. 



A CITY BURIED UNDER OEIVE ORCHARDS 



The ruins of ancient Tralles are situ- 

 ated upon a high plateau which over- 

 looks the fertile plain of the Maeander 

 River. At the foot of the hills stands 

 the modern town of Aidin, the second 

 place of importance in the vilayet of 

 Smyrna. Today this neighborhood is 

 considered the garden spot of Asia 

 Minor. It is the center of the fig dis- 

 trict, and the olives and wine produced 

 are much prized on account of their 

 quality. This is also the region in which 

 the best cotton in Asia Minor is grown. 



It is probable that this valley was kept 

 in a much higher state of cultivation in 

 ancient times. When the city surren- 

 dered to Alexander the Great the figs of 

 Tralles were celebrated throughout the 

 ancient world, and it is a well-known 

 fact that at that time the hills along the 

 whole extent of the Maeander were cov- 

 ered with forests which prevented, in a 

 measure, the destructive inundations 

 which characterize this river today. 



Ancient Tralles now lies imbedded 



under a vast orchard of olive trees. Most 

 of these trees are more than two hun- 

 dred years old. The ruins extant above 

 the surface of the earth, some standing 

 erect in the shape of pillars and arches, 

 some thickly strewn among the trees, 

 present a picturesque and unique scene. 

 In 1888 some excavations were made, 

 with good results. The ruins, however, 

 have suffered much at different times 

 from earthquakes, and especially on ac- 

 count of being used as building material 

 for the houses of Aidin, and some of the 

 finest columns have been removed and 

 set in the public buildings of that town. 

 Remains of the acropolis, stadium, and 

 theater may still be seen. It was from 

 the latter that Strabo claimed that he 

 could look across the plain of the Maean- 

 der and see the people sitting in the the- 

 ater of Magnesia. On the edge of the 

 plateau still stand three enormous arch- 

 ways which are either a part of a Greek 

 gymnasium or Roman bath. The slabs 

 of marble which ornamented these arches 

 have long since been removed. 



Generally speaking, Tralles would be 

 an easy city to excavate. There is no 

 rock formation of a serious character. 

 The earth covers the ruins loosely, and 

 could easily be removed. The olive 

 orchard, with the roots of the trees ex- 

 tending in every direction deep into the 

 ground, would form the greatest ob- 

 stacle, not only from the point of dig- 

 ging, but as an item of expense, for the 

 reason that these fruit trees would have 

 to be purchased outright from their 

 owners before being destroyed. 



Tralles was one of the most important 

 cities in Asia Minor. Its position,, half 

 way between the ports of Ephesus and 

 Miletus, on the coast, and the interior 

 cities of the country, must have been 

 favorable always to transient commerce. 

 It was renowned for the wealth of its 

 inhabitants. It was repeatedly destroyed 

 by earthquakes and fires, and as often 

 rebuilt, until about the thirteenth cen- 

 tury, when the last catastrophe left the 

 city a mass of ruins. 



Since then the remnants have been 

 used in constructing mosques and in 



