40 



PROFESSOR SIR W. M. RAMSAY, D.C.L._, ON 



this in Central Anatolia, which has hardly any trace of Greek 

 character. 



What we find here is, in the first place, the old primitive 

 Anatolian condition. Of the Hittite periods there are now no 

 remains. There is no doubt but that Anatolia was the centre, 

 in the second millennium before Christ, of a great imperial 

 governing power whose influence extended from the borders of 

 the ^gean Sea to the borders of Egypt. Though this empire is 

 mainly associated with the name of the Hittites, I am not at 

 all sure that Anatolia may not be its correct name. We know, 

 however, from the result of the German expedition that the 

 names of all the Hittite kings who were previously recorded for 

 us only in Syrian and Egyptian annals are now found in the 

 capital of the northern parts of Anatolia. On this primitive 

 Anatolia are super- induced the great Eonian and Greek 

 remains. Greek and Eoman ideas begin to affect the country 

 only when the old ideals had died out. This development 

 seems to be based immediately upon the old Hittite or 

 Anatolian stratum, and after it comes the Turkish invasion. 



Now one great thing which disengages itself in this long 

 process and strikes the spectator first of all is the continued 

 degeneration. We have a region which must have been at one 

 period a fertile, delightful place of residence, well cultivated, 

 fortified, with such a civilisation as to be able even in the latest 

 Byzantine period to build up remarkable works of church 

 architecture. Now it has died down to the limits of food 

 supply, and there remains only a wretched little village of 

 thirty families, who are rapidly dying out. As the people grow 

 less and less able to use the opportunity given them, the water 

 supply also disappears, till now there is no food and a great 

 dearth of water. In fact, no water which is not poisoned can 

 be got, except at a distance of about two hours' journey from 

 the village. The inhabitants have habituated themselves to 

 live upon the poisonous water that is kept in the ancient 

 cisterns which have never been cleaned out for three or four 

 hundred years. In ancient times, in contrast to this water 

 supply or dearth of water supply, there were aqueducts to bring 

 the water, which can be traced iimning under the ground, but 

 they have all fallen away to ruin, and do not bring a drop of 

 water. There were also cisterns of about 50 feet in length and 

 the same in height, and 40 feet in breadth. In these cisterns 

 was stored up water for household purposes. Then for agricul- 

 tural purposes the water of the tiny streams, which are now 

 entirely dry except during and immediately after the rainfall. 



