Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-05-10
Forsrssses or me Bosphorus.

phorus, which connects Euxine or
Black Sea with that of Marmora,
form a sort of open pathway be-
tween Russia and Turkey, and the
ever present anxiety with which
the government of the sublime
porte regards the movements Of the
Car has caused the establishment
of a line Of defenses that, in case
of war between the two countries,
would render the Bosphorus we'll
nigh impossible. The distance be-
tween the two seas in a straight
line is fifteen miles but the voyage
by steamer through the winding
channel of the straits IS several
miles longer. Stambeul, the Turkish
city of Constantinople, occupies
the promontory at the Southwestern
extremity of the Bosphorus, over
looking the Sea of Marmora on one
side, and divided by the inlet called
the Golden Horn on the. other,
from Pera and Galata, the quarters
of the town allotted to Christian
inhabitants or foreigners. Oppo-
site this, on the Asiatic shore, is
the town Of Scutari, which was
founded in very ancient times by
the Persian conuuerors of Asia
Minor.
The general drift of these waters
is from the Euxine southwark to
Join the waters of the Mediterra-
mean; but there are many cross
currents, eddies and backwaters
from the intercepting barriers, and
a southerly wind often drives the
whole surface water up the strait.
There are on each side of the chan
mel seven prominent headlands,
these forming, together with the
opposite shores, seven small basins,
the waters of which have the
appearance Of small lakes, being
apparently enclosed by the sur.
rounding land. Before entering
the Bosphorus from the Black Sea
the traveller passes the fortress of
Miveanitza and the lighthouse of
Asia. In this vicinity he encoun-
tiers q cluster of rocks, called the
Cyanean, from their blush black
or slaty color, but also the Symple-
gades, or "Clashers," from their
appearance to rush together and to
strike each other, when viewed un-
der certain atmospheric conditions,
which reflect light from the
dancing waves around them. Ships
were often wrecked among the
Symplegades and so it was tabled
that the Argo, Jason's ship, had her
tail or rudder cut off by the rocks
suddenly closing in behind in her
swift passage between them. Pass
ing on beyond Papaz BoUrnou on
the right hand the vessel next
glides between the fortress of Kar-
ibjeh, also on the right bank, and
that of FIJI Bournou on the left.
Under the shadow of these head
lands lies the basin or harbor of
Buyuk Liman, which was a~nciently
styled that of the Ephesians. This
basin is a commodious refuge for
ships escaping from the storms of
the Euxine, providing they can
weather the point just mentioned.
The Turkish fort of Rumeil
KAYAK, as well as that of Anadolon
KAYAK, which guard the southern
entrance of Buyuk Liman, have
taken the place of two ancient
structures, which bore the sculp-
tured arms Of Genoeae and Byzan-
tine masters. A short distance to
the south of these, opposite each
other, stand Deli Tabia and Mahd-
jar Bournou. The latter has been
remodeled, and it is now the most
important of the defenses against
an enemy coming down from the
Black Sea.
Below the ~fortresses mentioned
arc others onardinO ~carefullv everv
point Of the strait, their multiplicity
evincing how thoroughly the sub
lime porte comprehends the fact
that the possession of the Bos-
phorus is the KEY to the Turkish
empire in Southeastern Europe and
Western Asia. The strait must
ever continue to be, as it has been
in the past ages, a locality of great
commercial and political import