Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1888-07-21
HOLY LAND TOURISTS.
EN- ROUTE HOME THROUGH THE
GRECIAN ARCHIPELAGO.
Island OF Cyprus-Ancient Rhodes
City of Smyrna-Temple of
Diana at BaaIbec-Etc.
Especial Correspondence of the REcoRD-Ux1os.l
SMXRNA Mn 1899

changed. The island is fourteen miles
long, and at the narrowest place only five
wide, while at the widest it Is fifty miles.
The Cyprians are exceedingly proud of
Their country, and especially of the pres
ent British rule. They insisted on our
buying postage stamps bearing the image
of Queen Victoria, supposing that We took
as much interest in their affairs as they
did, but when they discovered that we
were Americans they yielded the palm
and were satisfied with charging us a franc
to row Us ashore, Their principal product
is cotton, and silk-raising is becoming a
prominent industry. Their olives and
grapes abound, while copper and other
minerals enrich the long mountain range
of the islands.
Barnabas was a native of Cyprus and
with Paul commenced the great evangeli-
cal work which spread through these
islands TO Rome. St. Mark also was here,
and frequent mention is made of it in the
Scriptures. The present inhabitants are
divided among the Turks and Greeks,
with few English and French.
Rhodes has population of q 600 There
Is little Of interest here. The harbor is
fine, and the place where Colossus stood is
easily seen. 1t seems like fiction that this
little island once ruled the seas, and that
in the fifth century, before Christ, it was
already in a well-advanced state of pros
perity. When the knights of St. John
were driven from Jerusalem, in the twelfth
century, they took refuge here Suffers
came on our ship with all manner of
carved wooden trinkets, inlaid with mother
Of pearl, and oblong shells wrought in
beautiful designs Others sold cream
marmalade that was pronounced very fine.
An Austrian vocalist came on board, and
during the evening rendered several songs
in Austrian and French that were delight
ful to US in this far away sea.
The ship called at ancient Chios for a
cargo. This island was terribly shaken by
the great earthquake in 1882, and the city
was laid in ruins, and many of the inhab-
itants persisted but the enterprising
citizens have rebuilt more permanently,
and business has largely increased. But
how changed the scene. This morning
MAY 2d) the fog is so dense that We can
not see the length of the ship. The huge
fog whistle keeps up its ugly noise, and off
northwest there comes response as if
some marine demon was accepting a chal
lenge to contest the right of the sea.
The Grecian islands are numerous in
this latitude, and navigating is very dam
geroIs. At about II NJ. we barely escaped
4 wreck by approach to a rock The bow
OF the vessel came within twenty feet of
being crushed to splinters. The Waterman
abaft saw it in time and gave the alarm.
This is the third time we have narrowly
escaped disaster at sea since we left Amer
lea. We were later favored with good
view Of the Island of Palmosa ancient
Patmos), and could distinctly see the Con-
vent of st. John in the center Of the high
est elevation. 1t has numerous converts
all dedicated to the apostle John. Its
inhabitants-with the exception of those
in business in the little city of the port
are religious recluses.
st Smyrna things begin to wear a mod
erriZed appearance. They have a commo-
dious and beautiful water front SMYRNA
IS the principal city of Asia Minor. 1t
was the only city of the seven addressed
by the Revelator that commended itself to
the notice of that apocalyptic writer, and
is to-day the only one of the seven cities
remaining. Polycarp was the Bishop of
Smyrna and suffered martyrdom in the
stadium here about 166 years after the
birth Of our Savior. We made a visit to
his 75puted toa;b, and after a long winding
course through the dirty Mohammedan
quarters, and a stroll of half an hour
through the filthy lanes of the Turks
quarters and the unkept avenues of the
jew, we were exhausted but the native
guiae seemed to know but one way to get
10 that tomb, and that was the circuit of the
city When we reached the place our ex-
pec-.tions were sadly disappointed. We
foun5 q tomb about twelve feet long, six
teet vide and five feet high. 1t is oval
in form at the top and is plastered with
Oriental cement and whited. 1t is in
closed in 4 wall of the same material, and
hight about sixteen by twenty-four feet.
At the head of the tomb stands cypress
tree, the cones of which the guardian gave
us with the hope of receiving backsheesh.
There is no entrance to the chamber OF
the tomb, and probably the body of Poly
carr and that of his son, are in a rock
hewn vault, of which this is only an outer
covering.
The ruins of the old amphitheater are
still to he seen, and many marks of the an
Client city stand like sentinels to guard the
Golfers of buried wealth.
There is 4 railroad from here to Ephe-
sus, a distance of forty-fve miles, and we
have just completed arrangements to &C
out and visit the ruins. The cars are Of
English style, and the engine looks like
an unfinished dummy. The road is poorly
hallasted, and for some reason the engineer
goes out on the engine platform every few
minutes with an oil-can in hand and oils
up while the concern is in full motion.
The section through which we are pass
ing Is very productive and is fully adapted
10 the olive, fig, lemon and orange, while
grapes would abundantly thrive. The
great city of Asia Minor is no more; but
such numerous heaps Of ruins are not else,
where to be seen in Asia.
At Baalbec the ruins are more extensive
in the great temple, but here was city
of temples. The temple Of Diana lies be-
fore me in broken fragments Many of its
Ionic columns and capitals were carried
into distant countries to enrich theil
palaces. The temple was 422 ieet il
length, and 220 feet in breadth 1t had
l27 Ionic columns of Parian marble, each
shat: a single stone go feet high. 1t wa.
220 years in building. But massive as il
was, it is but small part of the palatial
marble heaps that adorned Ephesus
Palaces, temples, theaters, colonnades
stadiums and public marts crowded each
other on the plain and on the terraceC
hill. greatly enjoyed my ramble among
its broken shafts and ruined arches, and
fairly basked in the sunlight of that his
toric Christian civilization, the influence
of which in the days of St. Paul plante,
the germ of its utter destruction. TIL,
depravity Of the Ephesians is clearly i'm
pressed from the letter addressed to tn
Church by St. John, and many proofs o
their tendency to idolatry are still to b
seen; but the imperishable record of trutl
shows that neither Asia nor the rest o
the world longer cry out that Diana of tn,
Ephesians is great.
The village now on the site is called
Agasaluk. The inhabitants are Turks
who seem unconscious of their benightet
surroundings. They continue to dig amon
the ruins for coins and other valuables
and atfer them for sale to visitors Thei
women do the most of the work, and $
ignorant and superstitious are they tina
their rulers hold them in the most servil