SOME RUINED CITIES OF ASIA MINOR* 



By Ernest L. Harris 

 American Consul General to Smyrna 



ON the top of Mount Pagus, which 

 overlooks the bay and modern 

 city of Smyrna, stand the ruins 

 of a medieval castle. If it had never 

 been destroyed it would probably be to- 

 day as interesting a sight as the castle of 

 Heidelberg or the Alhambra of Grenada. 

 But only a few old walls are left, and 

 even these are being rapidly torn to 

 pieces in order to furnish the necessary 

 paving material for the streets of 

 Smyrna. In Germany everything is 

 done to preserve or restore the old mon- 

 umental castles which ornament the 

 length and breadth of that country. In 

 Turkey everything is done, on the con- 

 trary, to hasten and complete their ruin. 



Mount Pagus has a history of its own. 

 It has been the center of centuries of 

 strife. Alexander the Great once spent 

 a night upon its summit, and when he 

 awoke in the morning he was so im- 

 pressed by the natural beauty of the sur- 

 rounding scene that he declared it was 

 a situation worthy of a city. It is claimed 

 that he induced the inhabitants of the an- 

 cient city across the bay to remove to the 

 Pagus. King Lysimachus built an acrop- 

 olis where the castle now stands, and 

 upon the slopes of the hillside were 

 grouped a stadium, theater, and other 

 public buildings. 



Smyrna then rose rapidly to affluence 

 and power. It was one of the Asiatic 

 cities which competed and won the per- 

 mission to erect a temple in honor of 

 Tiberius, the ruins of which have en- 

 tirelv disappeared. 



Smyrna was one of the seven golden 

 candlesticks of Asia, being the seat of one 

 of the Seven Churches. Polycarp was 

 martyred in the stadium in 155 A. D. 



Apart from the disasters of war, the 

 old city on the Pagus was often destroyed 

 by earthquakes, but the Byzantine Greeks 

 being hard pressed by the Turks, as often 



restored its fortifications and castle. 

 Smyrna was always the center of conflict, 

 because it could be strongly fortified and 

 easily provisioned from the sea. It was 

 the scene of terrific contests between 

 Omar and the Knights of Rhodes. Then 

 came the struggle of the Genoese and 

 Venetians for commerce and trade, espe- 

 cially the former, who obtained treaties 

 with Smyrna, Chios, and Phocia. 



The Genoese influence and establish- 

 ments were so numerous in this countr) 

 600 years ago, and the impression then 

 created was so powerful, that even unto 

 this day all the ruins scattered over the 

 countryside are known by the name of 

 Genoese. Ruins of Genoese castles are 

 very numerous along the coast of the Le- 

 vant and in the islands of the archipel- 

 ago. In 1402 Tamerlane wrenched 

 Mount Pagus from the Knights of 

 Rhodes and built a wall with their skulls. 

 When the Tartar chieftain retired the 

 Turks again took possession, and with 

 the exception of one short period there- 

 after, when the Venetians stormed the 

 city and slaughtered the inhabitants, 

 Mount Pagus and Smyrna have remained 

 in the undisputed possession of the sul- 

 tans. As the remains of antiquity have 

 disappeared from Smyrna it has become 

 a very interesting modern half Oriental, 

 half European city. 



The Yuruks, to whom I have referred 

 several times, are nomads who wander 

 over Asia Minor and have no special 

 place where they remain for any great 

 length of time. They speak Turkish 

 and claim to be Moslems. They are al- 

 ways accompanied by their flocks and 

 herds, which often consist of many thou- 

 sand sheep, cattle, and camels. They are 

 by no means poverty-stricken and are, as 

 a rule, quite hospitable to the traveler 

 when they are well paid. In traveling 

 over Asia Minor, far from the seacoast 



* Continued from the November, 1908, number. 



