DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4099#0370
A TURKISH PYRGOS. 337
are composed of wicker, and thatched. In some of the meanest, a
single aperture serves for the triple purpose of door, window, and
chimney. The inhabitants are all Turks, who cultivate the rich
Olympic plain; they are civil to strangers, and appear a quiet
inoffensive people. Miraka is under the jurisdiction of Gastouni,
and the agha is appointed by the voivode of that town. The only
house in the village is the pyrgos of the agha; and as Turkish vil-
lages are universally overawed by a similar edifice, the description of
that at Miraka may serve for all. It has received the denomination
of pyrgos from its height and tower-like form; as it is a kind of
castellated structure, or fortified house, bearing a resemblance to
the smaller kind of Highland castles in Scotland, which were con-
structed about 300 years ago. It is four stories in height. The walls
which inclose the ground floor have one door, and a few narrow
apertures, resembling arrow-holes, made to admit the light. This
floor serves for horses and cattle, and has no communication with
the upper stories. An insulated mass of wall, with steps leading to
its summit, stands at the distance of about twelve feet from the
tower, and reaches as high as the door of the first habitable floor
which is over the stables. From this wall to the entrance of the
tower there is a draw-bridge, or, in times of profound peace, some
planks of wood, which are not removed at night. The floors and
stairs within the tower are of wood, and the access to some of the
most secure chambers is through a square aperture which is made
in the ceiling of the room below, and sufficiently large to admit only
one person at a time. The ascent to this is effected by a temporary
staircase or ladder, which, when a person has mounted, may be
drawn up, and the hole or trap-door closed.
In the night of the 24th, we were awoke by an earthquake, which
caused a violent concussion of the tower. The agha, with great
kindness, came into our room to assure us that there was no danger
of the house falling, which being composed of pliable materials,
would bend, but not break.
vol. n. x x
are composed of wicker, and thatched. In some of the meanest, a
single aperture serves for the triple purpose of door, window, and
chimney. The inhabitants are all Turks, who cultivate the rich
Olympic plain; they are civil to strangers, and appear a quiet
inoffensive people. Miraka is under the jurisdiction of Gastouni,
and the agha is appointed by the voivode of that town. The only
house in the village is the pyrgos of the agha; and as Turkish vil-
lages are universally overawed by a similar edifice, the description of
that at Miraka may serve for all. It has received the denomination
of pyrgos from its height and tower-like form; as it is a kind of
castellated structure, or fortified house, bearing a resemblance to
the smaller kind of Highland castles in Scotland, which were con-
structed about 300 years ago. It is four stories in height. The walls
which inclose the ground floor have one door, and a few narrow
apertures, resembling arrow-holes, made to admit the light. This
floor serves for horses and cattle, and has no communication with
the upper stories. An insulated mass of wall, with steps leading to
its summit, stands at the distance of about twelve feet from the
tower, and reaches as high as the door of the first habitable floor
which is over the stables. From this wall to the entrance of the
tower there is a draw-bridge, or, in times of profound peace, some
planks of wood, which are not removed at night. The floors and
stairs within the tower are of wood, and the access to some of the
most secure chambers is through a square aperture which is made
in the ceiling of the room below, and sufficiently large to admit only
one person at a time. The ascent to this is effected by a temporary
staircase or ladder, which, when a person has mounted, may be
drawn up, and the hole or trap-door closed.
In the night of the 24th, we were awoke by an earthquake, which
caused a violent concussion of the tower. The agha, with great
kindness, came into our room to assure us that there was no danger
of the house falling, which being composed of pliable materials,
would bend, but not break.
vol. n. x x