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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



the left the snow-capped mountains of 

 ancient Eycia pierce the azure blue of 

 the firmament. The scene is varied by a 

 changing view of immense precipices 

 over which plunge thundering torrents of 

 melted snow into deep gorges, cut into 

 the lower hills which separate the higher 

 ranges from the plain and sea. 



Situated not far from the coast is the 

 site of ancient Xanthus, a city full of 

 celebrity in days gone by. The ruins are 

 situated on the river Xanthus, mentioned 

 in the songs of Homer. Under the reign 

 of Cyrus a Persian army stormed and 

 carried the city, but the inhabitants pre- 

 ferred death to bondage and nearly all 

 perished at the hands of the conquerors. 

 This calamity was repeated by Brutus 

 after he had murdered Csesar, the people 

 of Xanthus again preferring death to 

 subjugation. 



A stay at Fineka enables one to study 

 the life and customs of the natives in a 

 section of Asia Minor seldom visited by 

 a stranger. Everything is primitive, and, 

 with the exception of a few large estate 

 owners, the people are wretchedly poor. 

 They live in miserable huts, which neither 

 keep out the cold of winter nor the heat 

 of summer. Another thing I noticed in 

 this section was the large number of gen- 

 uine African negroes who have lived and 

 intermarried with the Turks for genera- 

 tions past. They were all Moslems in 

 religion and there was absolutely no dis- 

 tinction made among them as far as race 

 and color were concerned. 



A WAYSIDE LUNCH 



I stopped one day for lunch in a large 

 estate near the ruins of Limyra. The 

 place was surrounded by a grove of 

 orange and lemon trees, which afforded 

 cool shade from a hot June sun. My 

 host was a genuinely hospitable Turk and 

 the lunch was served according to the 

 customs of the country. 



We all sat down on a large straw mat 

 in the center of a room which, for furni- 

 ture, could boast only of a bench around 

 the side and a few Turkish framed in- 

 scriptions on the walls. We squatted 

 down indiscriminately — pasha, donkey- 

 drivers, and peasants — forming a large 

 circle, in the center of which was placed 



a big tureen of boiling rice soup, from 

 whose top extended ten wooden ladles 

 or spoons. 



This soup was not served on smaller 

 plates, but each leaned forward and 

 helped himself from the tureen at every 

 mouthful. 



A whole boiled chicken was then passed 

 around by an attendant and we satisfied 

 our hunger by pulling off a leg or a wing, 

 as occasion suggested. Some of these 

 Turkish dishes are excellent, however, no 

 matter how crudely they may be served. 



And when you are living in camp and 

 in the saddle the Turkish way of serving 

 meals quite appeals to you. This par- 

 ticular lunch in question was typical in 

 every respect, and further courses of 

 pilaff and jaghurt, with oranges fresh 

 from the trees for desert, as well as gen- 

 uine Turkish coffee and cigarettes, made 

 us all ready for the siesta which in- 

 variably follows in this part of the world. 



PICTURESQUE ADAEIA 



On the southern coast of Asia Minor, 

 in a far corner of the Gulf of Adalia, is 

 situated the picturesque modern town of 

 Adalia. Few towns in Turkey can vie 

 with it in real genuine interest from the 

 viewpoint of presenting to the stranger a 

 deep insight into the habits and customs 

 of the people. The harbor itself is small 

 but deep, and only little coasting steam- 

 ers can anchor well in toward the quay. 



The town has been built upon a cliff 

 1 20 feet high, which commands the sea 

 and over which tumble innumerable 

 streams of clear, cold water that have 

 their sources far up among the distant 

 snow-clad mountains. These streams 

 serve at the same time to irrigate mag- 

 nificent orchards of figs, pears, and man- 

 darins. 



One sees in every part of Adalia pieces 

 of ancient sculptures used as adornments 

 in the walls, street corners, doorways, 

 courtyards, and fountains. About the 

 only antiquity, however, that has re- 

 tained its original position is the splendid 

 wall, which had been preserved almost in 

 its entirety, although belonging to differ- 

 ent epochs of history, and which has nat- 

 urally been patched and repaired fre- 

 quently during the hundreds of years of 



