Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1915-11-05
BATTLE-GROUND
$500 YEARS OLD
Islands Along Coast of Asia
Minor Scene Of Fighting
for Centuries.

With the shifting Of ths center 81
the European storm and It's gather
\ ing In intensity toward the Balkans.
Turkey In Europe and the Near East;
those islands which dot the course
between Europe and Asia. battle
grounds in the $500 years OF strueeis
between the Orient and Oecident feF
supremacy. are forming once more
part OF the area where the future of
the west is to be decided There are
no lands in the world whose stories
are more absorbing than those 81
these islands. A bulletin Just issued
by the National Geographic Society
| gives a sketch Of the islands as pre-.
scented in q communication to the 50
ciety by Ernest Lloyd Harris. It i
as follows:
Where a broken fringe OF islands
parallels the coast OF Asia Minor. be-
| ginning with famed Rhodes, IN the
south; running northward, narrowly
separated from the mainland, par
ing near the present Aegean coast 81
! Bulgaria, is the dividing line betweeV
the Occident and Orient. These Isl
ands are the European marches
4 where Asia and Europe have clasIze4
\ throughout ali history.
Here we find Persian pitted against
Greek, Roman against Pon1zan. HE-
zantine against Moslnm. CRUSADER
against Saraceu, Turk against Moeuz
and. today, Europe divided AGAINST
itself, and against the east
Not only has Asia Minor and tho
islands facing its snores been the
stage upon which have been enacted
some Of the most gigantic events IN
human history, but 1t is at the prcs-
ent time one of the most interesting
and picturesque regions IN the world.
1t has been termed the uuinfessenoe
OF the east For nowhere else VIII
/ you find. thrown together IN close as
sociation, so many things or the
east-the camel caravan. the groves
Of cypress, olive. plane and valonia
| trees; the mosque and lowering
minaret; latticed windows and veiled
women, and a background made up
OF the remnants of an ancient civil
ization.
Rhodes, whose history is one chap
ter after another of fascinating ro-
nance from days Of remote antiquity.
through its reign as cultural center
during the age OF Roman occupation.
and its golden period as the strong
hold of chivalry during the occupation
of the island by the order OF the
Knights of St John, once dominated
the eastern Mediterranean. as a vest
pocket England on the coast Of Asia
Minor.
Cicero and Caesar finished their
educations at Rhodes, but imperial
Rome and Byzantium finally absorbed
| the schools of Rhodes. Next thf
I Knights of ST. John, founded in fIze
eleventh century at Jerusalem, after
many hardships, frightened again the
annals of the islands by making L
their home. They assumed the name
of the knights of Rhodes. and. after
innumerable wars. we're at last foresd
to retire, in 1872, before the Turks 70
/ Malta At the present time tile island
is being held by Italy. which took
possession In 1912. in the course Of her
war with Tripoli-
''Chios, $50 miles to the north, one
of the richest members OF the Ioi1lan
union, subject, in turn, to Athenfan.
| Roman. Italian and Turkish ,30mina-
ton. has long been a bone OF confen
tion between the Turk and Greek
and was first reunited TO its parent
country, Greece. in 1913. after . seq
aration of more than $500 years
THE Chians Joined their brother
| Creeks in the wars Of liberation
which began in the first years Of the
7, last century. In 1872 the Turks
| slaughtered SO, 900 Chians in she spaee
of two months and sold $1,000 others
| into slavery, and the land was thor
oughly devastated
HSamos, at the mouth OF the DAY
upon which stood ancient Ephesus,
the Magnificent. formed one Of the
Oldest settlements Of the Ionians IT
the Mediterranean. Samos was tile
birthplaces of the philosopher Pytilar
/ eoras. and here. too. was the wonaere
full temple OF Hera, boast OF the
/ Grecian world.
ssThe islands of the Aegean taken
/ together constitute one Of the most
historic and interesting insuiar re-
gions in the world. Besides the tWef,
I ty principal ones, which have Lent
/ much to history, there are innumeFe7
BILE smaller ones. The larger ISLANDS
have a number OF fertile and well
watered valleys and plains, the prso-
/ cipal products of which are wheat.
wine, oil, mastic. cotton silk, raisi11s.
| honey and wax. Coral and spon9<
| fisheries are numerous. and in most
| of the islands the ancient Greek type
! nerseveres among the people,