96 THERMAL WATERS OF ASIA MINOR. 



vault under which the waters rise seem to have been con- 

 structed by the Eomans. Their structure presents nothing 

 which opposes the idea received by the inhabitants of the sur- 

 rounding villages — namely, that they were constructed during 

 the reign of Constantine the Great. And what seems to sustain 

 this hypothesis is the popular legend that the mother of Con- 

 stantine was indebted to these waters, at one period of her life, 

 for her restoration to health; and from this fact (according to 

 the authority of the celebrated archaeologist, the Patriarch of 

 Constantius) Yalova was formerly called Helenapolis. 



In want of more exact data we cite as sustaining this sup- 

 position the custom of the Greek villagers of the neighborhood, 

 kept up for many centuries, of assembling at these baths on 

 the anniversary of the fetes of St. Constantine and St. Helena 

 to celebrate the virtue of these waters. Yon Hammer, in his 

 history of the Turkish Empire, alludes to this place in the 

 following words : " Some leagues from Cara-Mursal, on the 

 south side of the Gulf of Nicomedia, there exist the baths of 

 "Yalova (ancient Sergla or Trepanon), This place was adorned 

 with a great number of palaces and hospitals by the Empress 

 Helen, whose father had kept an inn there. This place was 

 afterward raised to the rank of a city by Constantine, the 

 founder of the Byzantine Empire, and called Helenapolis in 

 honor of his mother. It was to this place that the first army 

 of the crusaders, conducted by Peter the Hermit and Gautier 

 sans-avoir, took refuge after being routed near Nice. It was 

 here also that the Saracens constructed pyramids and towers 

 with human bones. Helenapolis has been at all times cele- 

 brated for its thermal waters. Near their source is to be seen 

 the tomb of an Abdal — that is, an enthusiastic dervish — who, 

 armed with a wooden sword, undertook at the head of a body 

 of Mussulmans to conquer this city." 



There are several ancient authors who allude to these 

 springs, among whom are Ammianus Marcellinus, Mela, and 

 Anna Comnena. 



Yalova, which is now but a small village, was formerly the 

 place of debarkation for the inhabitants of the celebrated cities 

 of Nicomedia, of Nicea, and of the numerous cities of Bithynia, 

 who visited these springs. The port of Couri, whose antiquity 

 is indicated by several Greek inscriptions, was probably, as 



