The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-05-26
FROM TIE HOLY LAND.
Beautiful Descriptive Letter from Consul
General q. I. Sweeney, Now in the Orient.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.

Special to the indianapolis Journal.
COLUMBUS, Ind. May &.-Z. t. Sweeney.
consul-genera at Constantinople. whose
home is in this city. and who has just been
granted a leave of absence. has been
spending a few days drifting about through
the Holy Land. and has written q very in
teresting letter to q friend here, q portion
of which is as follows:
81 left Co~nstantinople for Saloniea last
Wednesday evening. Had a delightful
voyage through the Marmora. and as far as
the Dardanelles. arriving the next morn
ing at 8 O'Clock, where VIC landed. In q
few minutes the sound OF the
whistle called Us back to the ship. ana we
were soon steaming down the Dardanelles
to the open sea. In two hours We had
passed the ancient Acrop0lls of Dardanus.
the ruins of Troy, the mouth of the Scam
ander. and we're put In open sea: In the
afternoon we passed the Island of Lemnos,
and ut 4 O'clock came in sight of old Mount
Athos. lifting it's huge form out of the sea
to the extent OF several thousand feet.
crowned with heavy snow. So steep is it
natural mountain. The monasteries that
cling TO lite sides seem as If they were hung
on with hooks. We passed under it about
dark. The lights from the monasteries
twinkling in it's dark ravines seem to give
it . strange, ghost-like appearance. Not q
female of any 1 n Is allowed upon the pro-
montory. 1t 10 called the Holy mountain.
The old monks either have to import their
hen nor COW can defile its holy precincts
with their polluting presence. and as to
w~omen-ughi one woman would demOralize
all the monks on the p~rOmontOry. There
are twenty-on moi a~steries on the island
and about six thousand monks.
I'VE landed at the Russian monastery
and lot OFT about fifty old priests who were
making a pilgrimage to the pla &c. Ats
p. NJ. we left there and next morning arrived
at Salonica. The ship had the American
nag Tying. 1t was soon observed by the
squadron of the British, anchored in the
harb0r, who gracefully lowered their union
jack. 1t mad me feel that we were very
close akin to tho 'blarsted BRITISH after all.
MIR. Lazzare. the agent, came on board and
took US on shore to his country house. q
mile out. While in Salonica we visited the
ancient church of St. Sophia. In this
church, now unused. is a handsome pulpit
popularity believed to have been used by
Apostle Paul when he preached here. We
also visited the Eski d. JENA (old assem-
bly,, supposed to be the site of the original
church founded by the Apostle Paul, and
also to stand on tho sight of the ancient
I'VE then visited the church of st. Deme-
trius. the most elegant of all the churches
of the city. In shis is the tomb of st. Deme-
trlus, which Is q simple marble slab, under
NnlCu u u Ol6Ck mOlQ Ol 0aItu, 6upUOScu
by the Greeks to have a peculiar healing
efficacy. Mothers make il into pills and
give it To their children. All these mosques
were formerly churches- Thessalonlca was.
in former days, the great church center of
the Greek empire. Constantinople had
formerly 365-o one for every day in the year.
Salonica, to out-do COnstantinople. built
266, and thus had more than one for every
day in the year. Not knowing what to call
the last. she named 1t the Church of the
Superftuity.
A 5 o'clock we steamed away, and next
morning sighted Mt. Athos. When we had
anchored, the,Russian consul came on board
and invited US to join hin on an excursion
TO Phlllippl. We set out in q carriage,
drawn by four horses, preceded by q
mounted cavasse. over the same road that
Paul and Silas are said to have travelled
and toiled YEARLY and foot-sore mp the
same steep road hat then, as now, led
through the pass of Symbolum. The first
died. Ii is q small conical hill, about forty
feet high, on the summit of which are
some ancient buildings. We then over
looked the field of battle in which the death
knell of the Roman republic was pro-
nOunced. and the ~ascendency of Augustus
Caesar was assured. Here Brutus killed
himself, as he says, more readily than he
killed Julius Caesar at Rome. The first
name of Phillippi was Crenides (~springs. J
1t also passed for awhile under the name
of Datus, but after Phillip captured it he
rebuilt and gave it his own name. On the
return trip we met and dined with Baron
Chairman. the Spanish consul. who looks
almost exactly like the late Secretary
Window. OF all PauPs wanderings this
place Is. for many reasons. the most in
teresting."