Bisbee daily review., 1908-04-07
ANCIENT SMYRNA
 IN TURKISH EMPIRE
Has a Population of 250,G00 and Is Most Liberal City
 of the Sultan
lC. c. Yoang.)

true, two railroads which go out from this city, but they are the first and only ones to be built in Asia Minor, and they only proceed a little distance inland. smyrna is another one of the very old cities of earth, founded many years before Christ; was the real home of Homer, even though Grecian poet; now has population of of 25c 900 and is the greatest fig and rug market in the world. The city, as stated above, is in Asia, but it has European face, for many people from Europe live here for trade reasons. Greeks predominate here in the popu- lation. and of all the large cities in the Turkish empire, for this is Asiatie Turkey, Smyrna is the most liberal. six other cities claimed the great Life is safer and property value is less liable to fluctuation and the peo- pie per capita are more prosperous; and this is no small matter, for Smyrna is second only to Constanti- nople on the Mediterranean. smyrna has wharf in it's lnarbor three times as long as c avenue, and lined up here are boats and ships thicker than wagons and carriages oR any side street in Douglas. The city is built like all these Mediterranean seaport towns, on the side of hill which rises like an Arizona mountain bleak and barren heavenward. Another story of lhillclimbing If one reaches the top-which we did. There are two lines of horse cars in the town but they have not learned the art of ascending the hill; and this would be no small matter financially, for people have owned the property from ancient times and it would require perhaps years of litigation to secure right of way.
 Another strange but happy thought about this city is it's continral exist ence in all the passing years. Earth quakes, conquerors and fire have sought to put it out of commission but each time it has come back to business. Alexander fhe Great al most utterly destroyed the city once, but gave permission for its rebuilding and up again it went as the rival of every other great Mediterranean sea- port Then the city had a competitor 48 miles away by land and on sea, which was Ephesus, but now only a heap of ruins; though now Smyrna aas no commercial rival nearer than than Consantinople, 22S miles dis tant. Then this ancient town en- joys the distinction of being less dis turbing in trade conditions; also the Orthodox Greek Christians are pre- dominant over the followers of Mos. lem, and all beliefs are measurably tolerated.
 The original Smyrna was named in honor of and for the wife of the famous Theseus, for whom a great temple was built in Athens, and oi course, it's inhabitants were at first idalators. But the Apostle Paul in troduced in Smyrna christianity about the year 53, A. D., during one of hff many visits to the city. Here he did much preaching and the church he planted here beame, of the seven churches of Asia Minor, one of tht best, and it and Philadelphia are the only two towns of the seven now ir living existence, and the others are now in ruins. The second and thirt chapters of Revelation gives a his torical account of all the seven church es. The Apostle John who wrote Rev lelation, three letters and the gospe
 which bears his name. often came tt Smyrna and as well to ali the othel seven churches in these parts. Amont the followers that Apostle John had
 was Folycarn who was burned at thu stake by the then ruling, now believ ing Roman Emperor. The trial tool
 place in the open race course, thu ruins of which are still to be seen
 and when he would not recant hi
 faith in our Lord the fagoti
 were applied; the body was buriet
 near by on the old road to Ephesus
 this was 155 A. D., and Polycarp, nt
 doubt, saw many people besides Johl
 who had talked with our Lord TneI
 too, it is safe to state that there is nS
 doubt about this being the grave o
 the ancient preacher Polycarp.
 I am told there are five thousand
 peDple engaged iI rug manufacture fl
 he city of Smyrna, and then man!
 thousand rugs are brought in iron
 the country districts. Along the olr
 Epesus road, which has been trod b. caravans for over 2OOO years, on, sees the camel trains loaded wit1 bales or bundles of rugs Often say } ten and fifteen camels in one train either going out of Smyrna with pre- duets of city market to sell or bring Ing to the city produce of. the interio , for sale. A strange custom of seliin . rugs still prevails in Smyrna, and tn s merchant does not object because
 this way he get rugs at low price
 The unopened bales of rugs are LII
 loaded from the camels and still ul opened are sold to the jobber who vi i Ipay the best price. This is an ancie1 f custom and they do not seem to kno
 that 1t helps to lower the price, ft ; a man who does not buy in suc } Iguess work as this will or cannot pa
 ltop prices. Many of these camel trair
 come 500 miles from the interior ,- Asia Minor. and the country rugs al n the best quality. Tn the great factori, n in smyrna the best rug makers on IT get about one franc a day, 20 cents
 America In this article want
 speak of my visit to the most famo'
 ruins in all Asia, that of ancient Ep = s esus. and which by rail is only ~ ~ miles from Smyrna Ephesus Is [