THE BURIED CITIES OF ASIA MINOR 



11 



a modest prisoner's dwelling in the city 

 below was a change of fortune which 

 made a powerful impression upon the 

 Ionian and Athenian Greeks. The effect 

 of the downfall of the Lydian dynasty 

 is amply reflected in Greek literature 

 and art of that time. 



The stranger who visits this spot to- 

 day is almost overwhelmed by the con- 

 tending thoughts which rush upon him. 

 Where noble temples, the best products 

 of an advanced civilization, once stood 

 in all their glory, where an intellectual 

 people once held sway, there stand today 

 a few wretched mud huts occupied by 

 still more wretched inhabitants, who 

 have degenerated to the level of the jack- 

 ass which is tied to their door and which 

 brays hideously all the day long. The 

 picture is too miserable to describe, too 

 miserable even to photograph. Sardes, 

 the home of kings, the place where the 

 priests performed their sacred rites, 

 where wise men conferred, for the pos- 

 session of which soldiers fought, is no 

 more ! 



"The hand of the king that the scepter hath 

 borne, 



The brow of the priest that the miter hath 

 worn, 



The eye of the sage, and the heart of the brave 

 Are hidden and lost in the depth of the 

 grave." * 



PHILADELPHIA 



The historic city of Philadelphia was 

 founded by Attalus Philadelphus about 

 150 B. C. The walls are the chief ob- 

 ject of interest today about the old place, 

 and they are very extensive. In the cen- 

 ter of the town are the ruins of what is 

 supposed to be the church of Saint John. 

 Four huge shafts are still standing, and 

 some fresco work of Christian worship 

 still clings to the side of one of them. 

 There are also other ruins in Philadelphia 

 which are all Byzantine in character, but 

 they are so surrounded by buildings or 

 built into houses and walls that it is ex- 

 tremely difficult to find them. 



At Philadelphia there are some hot 

 baths and mineral springs which have 

 been celebrated in both ancient and mod- 



* William Knox. 



ern times. They are now the property 

 of the Turkish government, and are 

 leased to a private company which bot- 

 tles the water for shipment to Smyrna. 

 A small hotel has been erected near the 

 springs, and every summer a consider- 

 able number of people resort to the place 

 in order to enjoy the baths. 



Not far from Philadelphia, in the di- 

 rection of Mount Tmolus, about a half 

 hour's walk from the mineral springs 

 just mentioned, there is a large wall 

 about 6 feet in height and perhaps 150 

 yards in length. It is said to have been 

 erected by Tamerlane from the bones of 

 slaughtered prisoners when that con- 

 queror plundered Philadelphia in 1402. 

 Appearances greatly favor this supposi- 

 tion, and I removed several pieces from 

 the wall which greatly resemble bones 

 of the human body. That the wall was 

 erected by Tamerlane there seems to be 

 good grounds for assuming; as to the 

 authenticity of the facts connected with 

 its construction I shall leave for others 

 to decide. One thing is certain, how- 

 ever: it is one of the most interesting 

 relics in all Asia Minor — a monument to 

 the dead, in a way, which presents a 

 strange contrast to the splendid mauso- 

 leums which are to be found in nearly 

 every ancient necropolis in this country. 



WHERE VENUS REIGNED 



In order to reach Aphrodisias (named 

 in honor of Aphrodite or Venus) one 

 must prepare for a five days' journey 

 from and return to Smyrna, 18 hours of 

 which is spent in the saddle. It takes 

 three days to get there and back from 

 the nearest railway station. In the val- 

 ley that leads to Aphrodisias there are 

 many old Genoese bridges which are still 

 used by the Turks, and they seem to be 

 as solid and substantial in their construc- 

 tion as the day they were built. 



Among the ruins of Aphrodisias there 

 are some 30 columns still standing, 

 which at one time belonged to the various 

 temples which adorned this city. With 

 the exception, perhaps, of Baalbek these 

 are the most imposing ruins in Asia 

 Minor or Syria. Aphrodisian monu- 



