834 The National Geographic Magazine 



cities and railway communications, the 

 traveler often meets with the Yuruks, and 

 to a certain extent must depend upon 

 them for information and food. While 

 visiting the ruins of Hierapolis, I became 

 the guest, for an hour or so, of the 

 Yuruks encamped at that ancient place. 

 The Turkish coffee served was the best 

 that I have ever had in this country. 

 Cooked in a little brass pot imbedded 

 among glowing embers of charcoal 

 heaped in a large brazier, this coffee, 

 served in tiny cups, produced a drink the 

 palatableness and fragrance of which, 

 upon similar occasions, has worthily 

 called forth the admiration of such a 

 great traveler as Bayard Taylor. 



Asia Minor in some respects is a 

 sportsman's paradise. In the months of 

 December and January the coast dis- 

 tricts of the vilayet of Smyrna abound 

 in woodcock, and, strange to say, they 

 seek shelter for the most part among the 

 ruins of the ancient cities. Snipes are 

 frequent among the marshes. In the 

 month of September great flights of quail 

 settle to rest in this part of the country, 

 and more especially in the island of Mity- 

 lene, before they continue their way to 

 Africa. During a visit to that island last 

 autumn I saw thousands of quail brought 

 into the market of the little town. They 

 were all alive, and had been caught in 

 nets at a certain place in a deep ravine 

 near the coast, where they settle a few 

 hours each year in their onward flight 

 across the Mediterranean. 



Duck< are very numerous. Near the 

 ruins of Hphesus there is a vast marsh 

 where thousands of them may be seen in 

 the month of January. Nearly every 

 other kind of water fowl are to be found 

 in more or less numbers throughout the 

 country. Partridges are also plentiful. 

 This vilayet is noted for wild boar. The 

 Meander plain is their home, but they 

 often come as far as the suburban towns 

 of Smyrna. The brown bear is said to 

 be numerous in the interior of the coun- 

 try, and leopards are often shot among 

 the hills not far from Smyrna. Hare is 

 abundant everywhere. Wildcat, panther, 

 mountain lion, and lynx are said to exist 



in some numbers in the interior. Deer 

 are plentiful in the highlands, and fox 

 hunting is good. 



LESEOS, OR MITYEENE 



Rising up like a huge promontory 

 from the sea, the Island of Mitylene may 

 be seen from far away. It is, and ever 

 has been, one of the most prosperous 

 islands of the .ZEgean Sea. It has an 

 area of about forty miles in circumfer- 

 ence, the surface of which is broken by 

 two deep inlets. The mountain tops, 

 among them the lofty Olympus, are cov- 

 ered with forest, and the little streams 

 which flow through the deep valleys 

 never go dry. It is an attractive island. 

 The ancient Cohans termed it the pearl 1 

 of their race, and Terpander and Sappho 

 sang of its beauty in their lyrics no less 

 than twenty-six centuries ago. 



There are a few antique remains in 

 Mitylene. Here and there traces of the 

 walls of ancient Lesbos may be seen, as 

 well as remnants of a theater. The castle 

 of Mitylene is the finest monument of the 

 middle ages to be found anywhere in the 

 Orient. It is built upon the site of the 

 old Lesbian acropolis, which at that time 

 was disconnected from the mainland by 

 a narrow sheet of water. This castle 

 was built by the Genoese, and a visit to it 

 will be rewarded by a splendid view of 

 the town and harbor. At one time it 

 must have been a strongly fortified posi- 

 tion. Today it is the headquarters of a 

 small Turkish garrison. 



The writer visited Mitylene on two oc- 

 casions in the summer of 1907, and spent 

 in all about a fortnight there. One ex- 

 cursion was made to the entrance of the 

 Bay of Hiera, and the other to the center 

 of the island. In Roman times a huge 

 aqueduct brought water from the base of 

 Mount Olympus to Mitylene. Many of 

 its arches may be seen not far from the 

 town, and they give a good idea of the 

 gigantic works executed by the ancients 

 in this respect. There are several Genoese 

 castles of note in different parts of the 

 island, which tell the tale of the ascend- 

 ancy of this seafaring people in the 

 middle ages. Occasionally one stumbles 



