The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1921-10-12

I rose to power, the glories Of Cyzicus
passed away. Today practically moth.
ing is left of the once great city, for
Byzantines and Turks alike used the
old buildings In the place Of natural
quarries as sources of stone with
which to build the latest metropolis of
the Marmora and the Bosphorus.
NicOmedia, now Ismid, at the ex.
IRENE eastern end of the Marmora,
was another city Of world importance.
Under the Emperor Diocletian it was
for brief time the capital Of Rome
and the world. Nicaea, just to the
south Of Nicomedia and short dis
lance inland, has three times been the
seat Of empire. Twice the Turks, be-
fore they reached Constantinople,
made 1t capital riyaliDg to degree
old Bagdad; and for more than half
the Thirteenth century, between its
peaks Of Turkish brilliance, while the
Franks held ConstantinOple, it was the
capital of the Byzantine empire
There, too, the Nicene creed, a land
mark In the disqualification Of Chris
tian theology was framed.
Chalced0n, RodostO, Heracleia Per.
fnthos, Selymoria were other centers,
no mean cities in their day. which have
disappeared or dwindled to inslgnifi-
canoe. Thriving communities in al.
most each case until the Turk ap.
peared on the scene, they have been
since touched with the blight to pros.
perity and progress that is said ever
to follow his steps.
eosphorus Most Important.
Shorter and narrower than the Oar
danelles. the BosphOrus, third link in
the chain Of historic waters that sep
arates Asia Minor and Europe, is per.
hGps most important; 1t Is the imme-
date gate to and from the great Black
sea which reaches toward the heart of
southwest Europe. To dominate it Is
to dominate one Of the worlds great
trade routes, a fact which has been
put to good account from the days of
pre-Byzantine Greeks to those Of Sci.
juk Turks. The strait is about TWEEN.
ty miles long and varies in width from
1,oOO feet or third of a mile to two
miles. Darius chose not the narrows
but point at which the shores are
more than half-mile apart as the
site for his famous bridge of boats.
The water in the Bosphorus is over
lOO feet deep. A mighty current flows
along the surface from the Black sea-
but beneath the surface return cur.
rent of water flows in the reverse di.
rection. similar inbound current
flows from the Mediterranean to the
Sea of Marmora, furnishing for the
BLACK sea at least an answer to the
old query: Why is the sea salt7
The Seljuk Turks recognized the
strategic Importance Of the Bosphorus:
and crossing it above Constantinople
IN 1852. built on the European shore
the old "Cut-throat Castle" only seven
miles above the city. With the Bos.
phorus In their control. they captured
the ancient capital the following year.
Until the conclusion of the World
war and the adoption of the treaty of |
Sevres with defeated Turkey, the
Turks had sat for over 500 years as
The masters Of the Bosphorus.
Many Nations Around Black Sea.
At the northern end of the Bosphor.
ID lies the Black sea-a dark, forbid.
ling ocean to the landsman and we'll
worthy Of its name. One wonders that
he early Greeks named 1t Euxinos.
'ignifying friendly to strangers" IN.
ess they did SO by way of Offering
propitiatory complaint to the angry
yea god. Here we are dealing with
10 small sea comparable in size to
'ur lakes. but with great expanse Of
water 100 miles long and from 200 TO
EOV miles wide, which would cover
mississippi. Georgia. Alabama and
South Carolina and a considerahle
'art OF Tennessee into the bargain.
Around the Black sea are now
'rouped more nations than its waters
ave touched. perhaps, at any othe,
ime In history. Just beyond the mar.
ow zone Of the straits and the tinv
'atch to which Turkey-in- Europe has
hrunk' Greece, forging northward
ID" mas a strip Of the coast. Next
ONES Bulgaria with a shoreline ~
oout 100 miles; and beyond 1t lies
loumania. occupying the greater par,
y the western end Of the sea. Across
ne north stretches Russia. ana In the
as' lie Georgia and Armenia. Stretch.
ng along the rocky south shore !,
arkey-'n.Asia. Hardly less Interest
a IN the Black sea are inland Austr,,
I''h"' Si"vhkia. Hungary and Inc.
Ia Via. whose ,,,n,,,,, .,,.,