Perth Amboy evening news., 1923-05-14
Geographic News
Bulletins by the
National Geographic Society
PUNCTUATION POINT

PUNCTUATION POINT
"Kastelorizo, raided by Turks, who
were repealed by an Italian garri-
son, was a notable island among the
classic Greeks" says a bulletin from
the Washington, ID. c., headquar-
ters of the National Geographic So
ciety.
To-day the island is important
only as a key to Italy's sphere of in
fiuence on the contiguous mainland
of Asia Minor. A region as c%onspicu-
Gus in Ionic times as England is In
the modern world has become one of
the least known areas in the inhabi-
ted world OF 1923.
Lacks Even n Name
1.-TWO major peninsulas protrude
from the south coast of Asia Minor
II the Mediterranean. Tiny Kaste-
iorizo lies along the shore of the
westermost protuberance, which
juts out between the Gulf of Makri
and the picturesque part of Adalia.
The shore line between these points
marks the coast of ancient Lycia; the
peninsula now has no distinctive
name.
1T taxes the imagination to real
lie the wealth, culture, and great
pOpuidllOl VI WtSL6IU Asia N1llOr III
the era of the Seven Wise Men,
through the period of the Kings of
Pergamus, down to the time of the
Roman occupation and that great
1~etter-writer, st. Paul.
First Cities of "Asia''
This region then had at least
230 cities, each city struck off its
own coins, and at least three claim
ed pre-eminence as the first city of
Asia The Aegean was to Ionia what
the western Mediterranean was to
Europe of medieval times; and Greek
colonists fringed the shores of the
eastern Mediterranean. In nomen-
clature, at least, Kastelorizo gives a
hint of classic times for the atlas
still designates 1t as an Aegean Is
land-the easternmost-and it has
been governed in modern times as an
adjunct to Rhodes.
1.-THE setting, too, recalls that en-
vironment which gave the Greeks the
joy of living and youth of mind
which the world still envies. Here,
says one writer. the sea is bluer
than other seas; the tints of the skies
are softer, the violet and rose blend
more marvelously in the sunsets. the
mountains have a sensuous attrac-
LioH, anu liO sdiAS Oh tHe AOitHOA
allure
Steamers Pass 1t BY
"KasteloriZo then was n facet
of the charm of insular life of the
Mediterranean. Now the steamers
that ply from Rhodes to Adalia pass
1t by. 1t has attained nj distinction
since it acquired it's present name
from the red castle erected there by
the adventurous Juan de Heredia,
when Edward III was on England's
throne.
From the steamer the island
fecks the shore line back of which
rise the snow-capped peaks of Lycia,
the foothills of the Taurus noun
tains.
lone discerns the site of Xanthus,
a city of which Homer sang, which
gave up an obelisk to modern ex-
plorers not many years g While
Egypt's tombs were storage vaults,
the rock-cut tombs of these shores
represent homes as they were fur
nighed while their dead were yet
living. 1t is from a Lycian sarco-
phagus that bas-reliefs were taken
to the British Museum which are
considered some of the most exquis-
tie extant types of this style OF dec
grafton.
AdaIia Built IN cliffs
"Adalia, which is the apple Of the
Italian eyes as Smyrna was of the
modern Greeks, is the most fasci-
mating city on the coast. C%liffbuilt,
he town is notable for many cas-
cades OF sparkling water. though it
seems like stretching a point to call
them cataracts.
Everywhere pieces of ancient
sculpture are used to adorn walls, /
c~ourtyards and fountains.
The ancient wall is preserved almost
in it's entirety.
"Popularly Adalia is best known
for its dancing ~dervishes. For gen.
erations the Greeks have lived so
much to themselves that they retain
many ancient habits. This also is
true of the Jews. Bazaars and
mosques hold their early Turkish
character.
streets are very marrow in places
balconies of houses often project one
above the other so far that two per-
can almost join hands across the
street from the upper stori as.
"Adolia has a flourishing silk in
Cocoon sheds outside the
city limits are interesting houses the
laborers represent so many national