THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



A VIEW OF CONSTANTINOPLE FROM A CITY OF THE DEAD 



"It is in Constantinople that the currents which cause the whirlpool of the Balkans have both 



their origin and their end." 



They, of a truth, deem themselves the 

 direct descendants of the worthies of 

 classic days, and certain it is that their 

 life has shown a persistent continuity 

 which warrants the claim. 



Whether their land has been ruled by 

 a Roman emperor, a Frankish duke, a 

 Venetian bailli, or a Turkish pasha, the 

 thread of 1 Iellenic existence has remained 

 unbroken. In the monasteries have been 

 preserved their religion, their tongue, 

 their traditions; mothers have taught 

 their children the glories of the Greek 

 heritage in defiance of the infidel inter- 

 diction, and today the Greek people stand 

 forth, in character at least, exactly as 

 they did in days of yore, as Aristophanes 



pictured them, as St. Paul described 

 them, on Mars' Hill, and as every scholar 

 has learned to regard them. 



MODERN ATHENS IS A URIEEIANT CAPITAL 



In many of its aspects Greek life re- 

 mains unchanged from its classic fea- 

 tures. Modern Athens, to be sure, is a 

 brilliant capital, advancing its claim to be 

 known as the Paris of the Levant. Less 

 than a century ago it finally passed from 

 Turkish possession, and it was then a 

 handful of hovels huddled together be- 

 neath the Acropolis. Today it is a city 

 of wide and gay streets, dotted with small 

 parks and adorned with handsome public 

 buildings, many of them the gifts of rich. 



