DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4719#0024
■SMYBKA.
mass
r trait i
contrast do they form to the Greeks, who appear all intelli-
gence, and who are certainly simple and unaffected! At Syra
a little boy, eight or nine years of age, acted for an hour as
cicerone to our party, and on dismissing him I gave him a
piastre, a coin of less value than twopence-halfpenny of our
money; on taking it he looked gravely in my face, and tears
glistened in his eyes; he kissed my hand, and then pressed
it to his forehead; it would require a far larger sum here to
obtain such an expression of gratitude.
The town of Smyrna, which I have now viewed from all
sides, in situation is beautiful, but in appearance is exactly
like a large town of Swiss chalets. The houses are very
much alike, and all of wood, with brown roofs and without
chimneys. The few tiers of warehouses on the Marina or
quay are whitened over, but these also are built of wood,
the better to bear the shaking of the earthquakes. I do not
think that there is a house more than one story above the
ground-floor in the town; the ground-floor is always the
bazaar or store-house, the residence being above. The
churches, with the exception of the mosques, are like wooden
barns, and without tower or belfrv.
I have been admitted to the Casino or public rooms, where
there are papers, card-rooms, and billiards, and invited to a
ball there on Monday, previously to which I am to dine with
our kind and attentive Consul, Mr. Brant. I have been in-
troduced to many Europeans here; their manners are pe-
culiar, and not pleasing, displaying the caution of the Eng-
lish merchant, without the varied acquirements which in
England are united with mercantile habits. The Erank
people here, having no interest in the country they inhabit,
and no voice even in the local government of the town,
devote their thoughts wholly to business; their goods are all
the stake they have, and even this interest is limited by the
climate and government; no one has a house of value, for
the frequent earthquakes place them in jeopardy; and ships
b2
mass
r trait i
contrast do they form to the Greeks, who appear all intelli-
gence, and who are certainly simple and unaffected! At Syra
a little boy, eight or nine years of age, acted for an hour as
cicerone to our party, and on dismissing him I gave him a
piastre, a coin of less value than twopence-halfpenny of our
money; on taking it he looked gravely in my face, and tears
glistened in his eyes; he kissed my hand, and then pressed
it to his forehead; it would require a far larger sum here to
obtain such an expression of gratitude.
The town of Smyrna, which I have now viewed from all
sides, in situation is beautiful, but in appearance is exactly
like a large town of Swiss chalets. The houses are very
much alike, and all of wood, with brown roofs and without
chimneys. The few tiers of warehouses on the Marina or
quay are whitened over, but these also are built of wood,
the better to bear the shaking of the earthquakes. I do not
think that there is a house more than one story above the
ground-floor in the town; the ground-floor is always the
bazaar or store-house, the residence being above. The
churches, with the exception of the mosques, are like wooden
barns, and without tower or belfrv.
I have been admitted to the Casino or public rooms, where
there are papers, card-rooms, and billiards, and invited to a
ball there on Monday, previously to which I am to dine with
our kind and attentive Consul, Mr. Brant. I have been in-
troduced to many Europeans here; their manners are pe-
culiar, and not pleasing, displaying the caution of the Eng-
lish merchant, without the varied acquirements which in
England are united with mercantile habits. The Erank
people here, having no interest in the country they inhabit,
and no voice even in the local government of the town,
devote their thoughts wholly to business; their goods are all
the stake they have, and even this interest is limited by the
climate and government; no one has a house of value, for
the frequent earthquakes place them in jeopardy; and ships
b2