The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-07-06
GEN. OATES WRITES OF
 HIS TRAVELS IN EUROPE
AScendcd the Sides of VeSuyiuS---A Visit to tLe Ruins of POmpeii--At BrindiSe, on the
 Adriatie Sea.

] sumed the voyage. The next morning at 5 o'clock we landed at Patras, Greece. At 7:3o a. m. we proceeded by rail during the day along the shores. at times of the Ionian sea, and through the best part of Greece which Is rather q poor country. 1t looks better about Corinth than any part through which we passed. After a ten hours run we arrived in Attn ems, the ancient seat of learning, poetry and eloquence. The town was built hun dreds Of years before Christ--yes thou sands of years. It has been captured and destroyed two or three times by the Turks But now it'is in the hands of it's ancient stock--the Greeks-and is larger perhaps than ever in all its history. Sew eral wealthy men have gone there from other countries, the English being pre- dominant. and are building up the place. It now has population of 1s0,00o. The Queen consort of King Edward VII of England Is the sister of King George of Greece. We visited his palace, it is not gorgeous in riches Greece Is financially almost bankrupt. The paper money of the kingdom is at a discount of one-third. We visited the Metropolis or ruins of the an- cient capital and palace. 1t was built five to six hundred years before Christ. It was erected on the top of a small mountain which is solid rock. It was an immense building, was built entirely of white marble of the most superior quai- ity. 1t Is hard and brittle and rings like glass when stricken with iron The col- umns were gix and a half feet in dian- eter and fifty-four feet high. The temple of Minerva, the temple of Jupiter. the temple of the vestal Virgins and the temple of the wingless victory were all on this hill and connected The temple to Esculapias was down near the base as were the theatres. A short distance is the hill upon which Paul preached to the Athenians. Near by is the prison In which the great philosopher. Socrates. died and the ruins of the forum in which Demosthenes's eloquence moved men to action. His name is pronounced by Gre clan scholars "De-mos-the-fie," placing the accent on the ne, which is quite diff ferent from the pronunciation I was taught. The old stadium is now being rebuilt of white marble with seating ca pacity for fifty thousand spectators. walked over it. Fifty men are at work on it. We visited the museums of statu- ary, painting and all the places of in- terest for four days and then took pas- sage on the steamship Thalia. She took us through the Aegian Sea and the Hele- spont or Dardanells, then stopped short
 
 that point 1t being but one mile and a quarter wide. At the same point Alexan- der the Great crossed his army under Par ninian from the European to the Asiat,c side and centuries after Sulaiman Pasha crossed the Turkish army from Asia to Europe The Dardanells are thirty-three miles long, from one to four miles wide and from twenty-five to fifty fathoms deep in mid-channel. It connects the seas Aegian and Marmosa. GaIlipoli is the most important old city on it and has a large mixed population of Turks, Alba nians, Greeks Armenians and a motley crowd generally. Strategetically 1t Is con- sidered the key to Constantinople. The site of ancient Troy Is but four hours drive by carriage from this place on the Asiatic side.
 Our ship arrived In the Bosphorus and anchored about o'clock a. m. The Dutch chambermaid came to the door of our state room, knocked and said "Stantinopolee madame and we were in front of the great Turkish capital. The small boats rowed by Turks with their red fez caps swinging in the air as the oars worked back and forth, all chat -tering to make a few Piastres. by rowing passengers and their luggaGo ashore. The first thing in order was to present ny pdSSpOtt anu LItcfl tU nave OuE Odb- gage examined at the custom house A large number of dirty, rusty Turks, who had come In the steerage of the ThaiIa were subJecting their plunder to exami- nation and were an unattractive crowd to be in. When we got through we piled Into a carriage and were driven through the narrow. dirty streets of Galata up Into Para on the hill and put up at the Grand Hotel Londers London), which overlooSs the Golden Horn and gives a good view of Stamboul beyond. It was from the windows of our rooms a spien- did view. The Bosphorus, the Horn. the Mosques with numerous minarets, tow CTS and spires presented a splendid panorama. but all the crowded narrow and filthy streets in most places without sidewalks (and wherever found they are not more than two feet wide). are chiefly occupied by mangy dogs which go to sleep or coil up in the sun on the side walk. and pedestrians have to walk around them. There are thousands and thousands of dogs who live in the streets and in such novels as they can find by chance. They seem to be regarded by the Turks as sacred. If cart. wagon or horse runs on to one or mashes his foot, where he is asleep In the street. he sets up howl of pain and the dogs in that neighborhood join in and the cry and barking will extend. so that hundreds of dog voices will arouse all sleeping people and keep the nervous awake perhaps for hours. One day we went by steamer up the Bosphorus on the European side. along which the castles and mosques and pri- vate residences on the high hill tops cover the sides down to the waters edge, and along which are also numer- ous harurns all apparently closed and not woman to be seen except few servants and now and then Turkish woman, but always yelled so that you cannot see her face. We went up to the Black Sea, nineteen miles and returned down the Asiatic shore, which is very much like the other except that it Is not so well built up. Another day l obtained kaik, which is long light row boat with two Turks as oars- men and a dragOman, or guide, and we were rowed six miles up the Golden Horn beyond Ayub to the sweet waters, where thoIlsands of the Turkish women go every Friday, which is their Sunday. Up there Is the women's mosque into which they go to worship and study their bible the koran-and into which no man can be admitted. They all go yelled and gen orally guarded by trusty old woman and a Eunich. large number of the latter being negroes.
 We went to the Mosque where the dancing or whlriing Dervishes perform. We obtained admission to the gallery and saw their entire proceedings for more than an hour and 1t surpassed all conceivable methods of worship.
 w. C. Oates.
 (To be continued next sunday.)