Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1835-07-20
SKETCHES OF TURKEY.
From Commodore P0fer'S Letters.
THE SITE OF ANCIENT TROY.

ton OF 1t. have II fortunately in my power To do
50 having, oul, three days since, drank from the
sources ot the Seamander and from that yer, source
toonhicl Hector leapcd over when pursued by A.
chi'les, and where Trojan damcs before the war,
washed their linen, rs well is themselves a purc
crystal stream gushing from limestone rock, cool
aud delicious
like etgstai c'sar, aud cold as Uini,r snorrs.
u hcfc Tfojtm DANES (trt yet aiarmR BY Greece
baShed thar far garments IN The dfgs Of pcace."
have drank from thai very stream. the dcscrip-
ton of witch yon will find in the twenty second
book of the Had aud have surveyed from the
top OF the "hich Wach,owcr,n mentioned in the
same book, the whole plain OF Troy.
After an early breakfast, we landed IN a bay OPP
poSc to a group of islands, called the chart
Rabbit Islands believe the anccnts did not no.
lice them, and had no namc Tor them This bay is
about hall way between Tcncdos and the mouth of
tine DarlmcllcS. 1t is believed to be the same where
the Greean calieys were hauled up. Here II
branch Of the Seamander. or rather mill-racc cut
from the Scamandcr by the Captain Pacha, to
whom the plain belongs, discharges its IT,
We walked from thence To the mill, about mile
and a hall distant, without seeing any lnng wlatc,
CT that indicated IN the slightest degree that a city,
ancient modern, had ever existed, that il had
even been the abode ofman. The whole WAS one
barren drearv waste, Giving growth To species OF
coarse prickly grass, through which il some
what difficult To make our way.
We had ON ourlctl what modcrns call the Tomb of
Menclhus, mound OF earth about one hundred
feet hgl, aud as many nj the base and exactly
like our Indian barrowS. Ny impression is, tia, it
WAS intended signal tower. The one mention
ed by Homer, on the top ri which Twas IS perfectly
similar, the mounds called the tomb oi An
toehus, Achilles, Patroclus, and AlaA. And this
opinion Is reasonable from the distance which sep
aratcS them, which is such as enables person to
see objects distinctly with the naked eye for we
do not know thai the aneicnlS had telescopes.
On arriving at the mill, which is constructed in
the rudcsi maucr and works, Ike our tub mills,
-four pair Of stones we found Greek and his FAM
lily OF wrelchcd looking, dirty, hall-s;ar,cd chill
dren, lodged in some filthy and miserable looking
hogclS. From hence, after much difficulty, we
got two horses with which We proceeded To .
Greek village, about five or six miles oil, to pro-
cure oilers for the rest OF the party, there bcinr
-four otus. Here we were delayed some time at
small shop, which we entered Tor shelter from the
scorchmp rays of the sun. Daring our stay we
received polite MESSAGE from the Ara by noble
looking Turkish soldier, inviting us to take coffee
with him, which We accepted. On entering his
house We found fine, htn1some man, of about
thirty years Of age, richly dressed, who met us
with the manners of perfect gentleman, and man
ofthc world lie asked us To be seated, when
pipes and coffee presented. The conscrsa-
ton was carried on chiefly in Turkish but some
times in Italian.
Although there was nothing outside the kiosk
that indicated even comfort, there was within it
great luxury. The small and slightly elevated
platform which surrounded the inside was covered
with rich carpets and mats the carthcn floor was
l.,l vi f., ,SI If me
flower pot, filled with migniot, gave dclighin a.
dnnr to the air
The appearance of the ,illaac was miserable IN
the extreme. II i, inhabited by Greeks who cult
vac the extensive plains of Troy, now belonging to
lhc Captain Paclla. Itisth office Of the Ava to
collect for him tho revenues derived thcrcirom,
which is done, the poor Greeks informed me,
with great rgor
On lcayin% the AGA we mounted our horses, and
guided by Greek, proceeded to the site OF an
Gent Troy, a distance oi nine or ten miles without
meeting human being or habilaljon. The
greater part Of this distance VAS a barren, uncnll-
waited waste, covered with scrub oaks from four to
FIVE feet high, from Which they gather the ealI nut.
Our guidc pointed ou to US what he called the
walls Of Troy. a piece Of stone masonry level
with the ground, about three feet thick, and eight
or nine feet lona. Also some stones, which were
evidently the ruins of some half dozen houses,
quito small, trom their shape position and number,
compared with other establishments ihavc seen. |
have no doubt of their having belonged 10 farm
honscs, perhaps 81 no very ancient date
Prominence W. proceeded To the sources Of the
Scamandcr, at one Of which we found granite
column, about ten feet in length, protecting one
side Of the fountain while on the other, there
were LARGE slab, OF beautiful white marble which,
from their size shape, and the moriiccs in their
cdacS, had III ancient times served lining iurit.
\ quarter of mile from this stands Turkish
village, attached to which is graveyard, and the
graves are marked with the shafts OF small marble
and granite columns, from their appearance very
ancient. On Il hill, ad ioinine the village, we
found number OF marble and granite columns,
standing erect of considerable size, with onl,
about one third Of their lcnelh above the ground.
| should Judge, from what was visible of thcn their
whole lrn2th must have been from twenty-five to
thirty feet. We found here also marble door sills,
such as are me, with in pompcii and othcr mar
blcs which were used by the anciens 10 encrus'
and decorate the exterior of their houses.
These are SAID to be the remains of the palace
of Priam, on the site OF which now stands Il mister
able Turkish block house, built of nburnt bricks.
Near this is a private buryingeround entirely en-
closed with large and beautiful slabs Of white mar
bic, every way similar TO those found mt the
fountain. There wa near this also enormous
square block Of granite, evidently Of great anliqu-
~, with whole in the upper side in the form of
our morticcs, ii foot in diameter, and about the
same in depth The inhabitants OF the village use
it 10 pound their grain in, and for aught know it
4 a..