The Medina sentinel. [volume] (Medina, Ohio) 1888-1961, 1921-10-27


1.-THE following is another interest
ing letter from Mr.. Millard Fuller,
one of several appearing from time
to time exclusively in the Sentinel,
and which is the end of the present
series that have been published for
the past few weeks. mir. Fuller is
an old Medina county boy, son OF Mr..
and Mrs. N. e. Fuller of Spencer,
and is an instructor in the American
College at Beirut, Syria. -Editor.l
Adana, Cecilia
Asia Minor,
August 81, 1921.
Dear Mother and All:
Perhaps you are not quite sure Of
the location of this city. Take the
map and find the island of Cyprus
in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.
Then if you will run your finger from
the extreme northeast point of that
island straight north to the main,
land of Asia Minor you will nearly
strike the little city Of Mersine, which
lis the seaport for both this city of
Adana and Tarsus. Then going to
the northeast of Mersine through
Tarsus and keeping south of the
Taurus mountains you will find
Adana.
Adana looks pretty good from the
approach by railway. In that respect
it is like Damascus, only Damascus
is not so bad when one enters, and
Adana is terrible. The only reason
that cities look good from the rail
way is that they are surrounded by
green orchards, for cities are built
on water sites, rivers, or springs, or
on the sea. The only trees in Asia
Minor are a few fig trees scattered
about, and the orchards in the vii
lagos and cities.
This city has little over 100000
population, of which about $4,000 are
Armenians, the rest are Turkish,
Arabs and Greeks. There was a
larger percentage Of Turks and fewer
Armenians before the war, but since
the disturbances of last summer
riots between Turks, Arabs and Ar
menians-many Of the Turks have
left, and ever since France has taken
over this city many Armenian ref
ugees have been pouring in.
When / arrived ! was met at the
beautiful station Gall railway sta
tions are fine buildings here) by the
head of st. Paul's College in Tarsus.
The Tarsus people were here in
Adana for a few days about the 4th
of July. Miss Webb of the American
Girls School was with him. They
took me to the Boys Y.GM C. A.
tcamp, where, met some Of the in
structors. 5S
Arrangements had been made for
a banquet for the alumni Of st. PauPs
College of Tarsus, at which there
were 40 or so present and the Di-
rector of the Y. M. C. A. roped me
in for that. Afterwards he and /
went over to the Turkish certer Of
the Y. M, where my work is, and
put on a cinema show for about 100
persons. You see ] started things
off with a bang and have been busy
ever since.
In the mornings l have been help
ing to audit the Y's books, the book
keeper is also the Director Of the
Near East Relief Association of this
city.
My afternoons / spent entertaint
ing the Turkish boys. I also have an
English class for an hour every af-
ternoon. My class consists of Arme-
mans, Turks, Arabs, Greeks and
Jews. They all speak French, how
ever, or I don't know what / would
do with them. Then on three after
noons a week I have an hour or SO
with a bunch of about 40 orphans
from the Assyrian orphanage. These
youngsters are all decendents of the
old Assyrian race. They speak
Syriac, but most ,of them know Turk.
ish too. They have turned Christ.
ian, belonging to the Jacobite church
/, see by recent magazines that they
are on the way to form a separate
nation. They are a peaceable, harm
less sort Of people who have suffered
. from Turkish massacres and depor
tatioris like the other Christian
. peoples here. There are great mum
ber here in the orphanage which tn
: French are helping sthe Jacobit
church to support, but we only get |
small bunch Of them.
Il The thing we are trying to do witt
!, those children, whose ages rang
4 from s to is, is to teach them I,
play. All work and no play has mad
! them dull enough. Teach them i